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Synopsis :

Parliamentary Secretary (Education), Ahmad Mattar, touches on several aspects of the metric and Imperial systems, but focussing more on Ministry of Education (MOE) programme. Topics raised include:
1) background to government's decision to go metric;
2) main organisations involved in the changeover, namely Ministry of Science and Technology, Metrication Board set up in 1970 with Baey Lian Peck as chairman;
3) success of industry's change to metric system.

On MOE's programme, Ahmad Mattar says a time-table of deadlines and subjects is already up for the schools, such as:
a) primary schools having complete metrication by end 1974;
b) secondary schools using metrics in science and mathematics examinations by end 1975;
c) Home Economics moving to metrics easily by end 1974, but Geography's study of maps has to wait until metric editions are published;
d) technical education complete metrication by end 1974;
e) vocational education has no deadline set as its change to metrics depends on industries goiong metrics.

Encik Ahmad Mattar then talks about:
4) importance for Singapore to move to metrics:
a) benefits to trade and industry especially with shift to production for export;
b) benefits education also - time saved in learning and teaching metric system could be utilised in other fields.
5) MOE acting as 'a central authority' to monitor schools' progress in metrication is in tandem with the change for Singapore as a whole.

He extends his appreciation to the three organisers, that is the Science Teachers' Association of Singapore, the Metrication Board and the Ministry of Education, for organising the seminar with two objectives in mind, namely to guide and assist science teachers in schools in their 'teaching of science subjects' in metrics and to 'obtain solutions to problems concomitant' with S. I. usage'.