Hj Abu Bakar Maidin, President of Jamiyah

Excellencies

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

A very good afternoon to all of you.

I am honoured to be here to officiate at the opening of the new Jamiyah Education Centre which will expand the teaching facilities and courses offered to the community. I still have pleasant memories of my first visit two years ago when I was the guest-of-honour at Jamiyah Children's Home Charity Carnival.

The Executive Council of Jamiyah and the Management Committee of this Jamiyah Education Centre is to be congratulated for bringing together contributions from various sectors to provide this educational service.

With this new centrally located Education Centre in Geylang Road the centre will be more accessible to the public. Jamiyah offers a range of ITE-certified courses such as the Certificate in Office Skills, Certificate in Business Studies in Accounting and Secretarial courses. Diploma courses in accounting and marketing are also available. This is a milestone for Jamiyah in its effort to provide a good education for those aspiring to expand the frontiers of their knowledge. Enrolling in courses will stand our people in good stead as we move towards becoming a knowledge-based economy. Knowledge is the key that opens many doors of opportunity.

The importance of a good education cannot be understated. Providing our children with a good foundation will allow them to acquire appropriate skills and training. This will build confidence and self-esteem in our children and spur them on to do even better. We must continue to prepare our children for new challenges as Singapore moves forward.

Life-long learning will be necessary for all Singaporeans in the 21st century. The desire to want to learn constantly and upgrade ourselves is a critical component of a Knowledge-Based Economy. We must nurture this yearning in our children from an early age. Armed with this, our children will never have to face problems of being inadequately trained or lacking the relevant skills for the future.

Another important aspect of education is inculcating values in our children. This requires the combined efforts of school, home and the community.

Education for our children is a long-term investment. It must be sustained by an earnest commitment towards wanting the best for our children. This centre embodies that commitment. My congratulations once again to Jamiyah for providing opportunities to the community to upgrade themselves through its educational programmes.

Thank you.