Dr Ng Eng Hen,
Minister for Manpower and 2nd
Minister for Education
Mr Chan Soo Sen,
Minister of State for Education
Mr Hawazi Daipi,
Senior Parliamentary Secretary
General Lim Chuan
Poh,
Permanent Secretary
Miss Seah Jiak Choo,
Director-General of Education
Colleagues,
Ladies & Gentlemen,
To Light A Fire: Enabling Teachers,
Nurturing Students
Opening Remarks
1��������� Many
of you have told me how you were inspired by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong�s inaugural National
Day Rally Speech. �I am sure all of you
were also struck by the fact that a substantial portion of his speech was
dedicated to Education. �It was the
strongest statement possible of the importance that Education holds for
Singapore�s future. �It is through
Education that we will nurture and inspire the next generation of Singaporeans,
and through their ideas, convictions and passions, will make the future of our
country.
2��������� �Teach
Less, Learn More� has caught the imagination of educationists, students and
parents, and the public and media. �It
has lit a fire of its own. �It also goes
to the heart of what we are trying to do in education.
3��������� At
the MOE Work Plan Seminar last year, we set out our priorities in education for
the next few years. �We set out to promote
Innovation & Enterprise (I&E) in our schools, to better prepare our young
for a changing and more complex future. �I&E
described the spirit of inquiry, and the tenacity, that we have to nurture in
our students. �It was also a call to all
our teachers and stakeholders to re-look at the way we do things, and to
reassess our assumptions and beliefs, so as to better realise the goals of an
ability-driven education system.
4��������� I&E is a continuing journey, not a
once-off task. �We are introducing
greater flexibility into our educational structures and curriculum. �But at its core, I&E is about a
qualitative change in the interactions between teachers and students, in and
out of the classroom. �It is about
teaching less and learning more, about spurring independent thinking and learning,
and about encouraging students to follow their passions. �It requires that we reassess the �why� and the
�how� of teaching and learning.
Consultation with Stakeholders
5��������� The
initiatives I will be describing today are the result of many months of hard
work by MOE officials, school leaders and teachers. �We have consulted several hundred stakeholders
in education over the last 6 months. �Recently,
we also started the Education Forum � a series of dialogue sessions with
students, teachers and parents, to gather further feedback and ideas, and to
bounce off some of the proposals MOE has been working on. �We have had six such dialogues in recent
weeks. �We have also engaged another key
set of stakeholders, our employers, through a newly established Industry Roundtable
on Education. �We brought in leading
industry players, local and expatriate, to give us their considered views on
the future economic landscape, and the skills and attitudes they feel
Singaporeans will need to thrive in the future.
6��������� I
will highlight some of the key ideas and suggestions that have surfaced from
these several rounds of discussion.
A Robust System
7�������� But
let me first state what must surely be obvious. �We do not need to turn the cart over and start
again.
8��������� We
have a strong and robust education system, that has been a key source of
competitive strength for Singapore. �It
is a key differentiator, something that still gives us an edge today over many
other cities.� Our teachers, parents and
students live education seriously, and set high aspirations for themselves. �We have avoided the large disparities in educational
standards seen elsewhere, between schools for the privileged and those for the
masses. �All our schools are
well-resourced, staffed with capable and reflective leaders, and well-motivated,
thinking teachers.
9��������� We
have therefore achieved high standards across the spectrum of abilities,
allowing a large proportion of Singaporeans to proceed to a high quality
post-secondary and tertiary education. �The
percentage of young Singaporeans per cohort who have university qualifications in
fact rose from 22% in 1999 to almost 30% in 2002, and has risen further since.
10������� Much
of what we have done in the past remains relevant to the future. �But it is precisely the strength of our
education system, the fact that our fundamentals are in good working order,
that allows us to look ahead, identify the gaps that we need to close, set new
directions, and move forward with confidence.
11������� We
know that if we stick to all we have done in the past, and seek comfort in all
our long-held assumptions and beliefs, we will not be fulfilling our mission of
preparing our children, and Singapore, for the future. �In a very real sense, we will not be nurturing
a generation of Singaporeans who are able to break new ground and chart new
directions for Singapore, instead of following what others before them have
done.
12������� What
are our goals in education? �We want to
nurture young Singaporeans with minds that keep enquiring, and a desire
to use their energies to create a better society. �We want to help every child find his own
talents, and grow and emerge from school confident of his abilities. �And we want our young to have the toughness,
the �adversity quotient�, to face up to life�s demands and inevitable setbacks,
and be willing to work hard to achieve their dreams.
13������� What�s
critical as we go forward is that we respect all talents, and nurture
diversity. �We should positively
encourage a diversity of talents� -� in intellectual fields, in the arts and
sports, and in community endeavour. �We
should value people with irregular strengths, not make them regular. �It is the irregular and unusual talents and
ideas that give most great cities their energy and vitality.
14������� And
above all, we should work to avoid a convergence of ideas, even as we
foster an abiding loyalty to Singapore and an interest in seeing Singapore
succeed. �Convergence is always the
danger when we are a small country, or just a city. �It is how many other cities in history have faded
away �- �because they converge and become closed
systems where everyone thinks more or less alike. �They lose the energy and vibrance
that comes from having a diversity of approaches and ideas.
15������� To
do this, we have to start young, encourage our children to question as
they learn, and to experiment with new ways of doing things � not just follow
the rest of the class. �We have to allow
a spread of ideas and learning habits, and not expect students to be fitted too
closely to the curve.
16������� Diversity
is also about the cultural channels we occupy.�
We must have minds that are tuned in to both the East and the West
� China, India and South East Asia, as well as the US and Europe.� That�s critical for Singapore�s future.� We cannot be a western-oriented city in Asia,
trying to get a lift from the rising wave of Asian prosperity. �Nor can we be just another Asian city.� We have to be an Asian city that is tuned in
to both the East and the West, be part of both the East and the West, and open
to their ideas. �That�s our advantage,
how we will be useful to both the East and the West, and how we will make our
future.
17������� How
do we achieve our goals in education? �A
number of themes keep recurring in the suggestions and ideas that have come up
in our dialogues with students, teachers and parents. �First, we have to gradually reduce the
emphasis on examinations, and focus on a holistic education. �Second, we have to give our students more
choice in their studies, so that they can shape and enjoy their learning. �Third, we have to do all we can to support
our teachers, so as to help them bring quality and innovative practices
into the classroom and school.
18������� Too
much learning today is aimed at recalling facts and model answers for
examinations.� As journalist Poon Sing Wah
observed in Zaobao recently, and as many of our Education
Forum participants also expressed concern about, too many Singaporeans �study for the sake of
examinations and forget everything when the examinations were over�. �They also have little time and interest in reading
beyond the examinable syllabus.
19������� It
is not unique to Singapore. �Students
from China and India often tell us that the schools they came from were even
more examination-oriented compared to what they find in Singapore.� Just yesterday, The Straits Times reported
that Shanghai schools were adopting a new Chinese Language textbook for ninth
graders, which included the topic of romantic love. �A 14 year old Shanghai girl commented that she
was looking forward to it, as there were a lot of Hong Kong and Taiwanese dramas
on TV and they were always talking about love. �She said she needed to understand love and
hoped to learn about it from the textbook. �But a 15 year old boy had less romantic
inclinations. �He said he did not want too
much of �all this love-related stuff� in the textbook, as �it�s not going to be
in the examinations�.
20������� In
Singapore as in other Asian countries, our exam-oriented system is matched by a
growing tuition sector. �In the last 4
years alone, the number of tutorial schools registered with MOE increased by
86%. �According to an MOE survey, 50-60% of
our upper primary students attended tuition in subjects that they were already
performing well in.
21������� Our
exams serve a key purpose in education. �They are an anchor in our meritocratic
system.� They provide transparency in the
system, and give parents and students confidence that access to a school or
tertiary institution is based on merit�
-� confidence which is often
lacking in other systems. �But we have to
seek a new balance in education. �We
have to shift from our heavily examination-oriented system, if we are to
achieve the goals in education that I described earlier and develop the
critical life skills that our young need for the future. �We must arouse a passion among our young for
knowledge and learning that carries through life. �We have to place equal emphasis on the non-academic
curriculum, that will help them make the most of their years together in school,
interacting, roughing it out with each other and making friendships. �And most fundamentally, we have to accept and
promote more diverse measures of merit, even if they cannot be
summarised in a single score.
22������� Our more diverse school landscape, with
Integrated Programme Schools, and the new Specialised Independent Schools,
support this new orientation in education. �So too will the new frameworks for admission
into secondary schools, JCs and universities, which
will allow students with achievements outside of their examinations to be given
recognition. �By the end of next year, some
of our secondary schools will select 10-20% of their students on their own
criteria, independent of the PSLE. �The
broadening of the school ranking framework, and move from point rankings to bandings
of schools, will reinforce schools� desire to provide a holistic education to
their students.
23������� The
majority of parents and students support these changes. �By changing what counts in education, and
measuring success in more diverse ways, we will help parents take a broader
perspective of education and allow our students to stay true to their interests
and aspirations.
24������� But
we also have to keep evolving our teaching and assessment methods, so that we
reduce the need for students to memorise large amounts of information for their
examinations. �We have to encourage
students to learn more actively and independently, and be less reliant
on model answers and lecture notes. �We
cannot make this move in a big leap, but have to take meaningful steps to take
us forward towards our goals in education. This will be �Major Works in Progress�
for several years to come.
25������� The
second theme that underpins the initiatives we are taking is that we should
allow students more choice in their studies. �It comes up consistently when we meet students
and parents. �We should allow our
students more choice in the subjects they learn, particularly in secondary
schools and JCs.
26������� We
all know that students learn best when they enjoy their learning and are
motivated to learn. �But many students tell
us that they take subjects that they qualify for, or which schools judge that
they will score well in, rather than the subjects that they enjoy or wish to
take. �We should loosen up, and give more
choice to students. �We cannot constrain
choices too much if we want to maximise the motivation to learn, and allow
their learning to carry through life, beyond their examinations.
27������� There
is another, broader reason why we should allow more choice in learning. �We want our students to take the
responsibility to shape their own choices in life, and as a generation, to shape
the kind of Singapore they want for the future. �It requires passion and a certain
self-determination. �If we keep telling
them what they should do in school, which subject they will not score so well
in and therefore should not study, or which CCA they qualify for, we are
limiting the possibilities they can make for us in future.
28������� The
third theme is the importance of teachers in everything we want to achieve in
education. �It is the teachers who inspire
our students to do more than the ordinary, or to go beyond what they can
achieve with ease. �It is teachers who
take education beyond �filling a vessel with knowledge�, and who �light a fire�
in our young. �We will do more to help
them in their mission.
29������� Several
of the students who attended our Education Forum dialogues, when asked about
the most rewarding part of their education, indeed highlighted the teachers who
made the difference in their lives. �Darin
Cheong, now a student at ITE West, said his greatest
reward was the teachers who took the time and effort to motivate him to study
when he was in Assumption English School. �They were always there with words of
encouragement, telling him that wherever he might be, it would never be the end
as long he had the right attitude. �They
were teachers who understood him and his friends in the Normal (Technical)
Stream well, and sacrificed much of their free time to groom the students. �I was touched by Darin�s love for his former
teachers, Ng Chee
Wai, Lim Fong Yew, Patrick Wong, and Ahmad Bin Salani.
30������� Likewise,
Gregory Leong, a Sec 3 student at The Chinese High
School, felt that his teachers made the difference. �They were willing to hang out with their
students and to learn together with them�
-� as �co-learners� as he put it. �And Mustafa Izzudin,
now in his 4th year in NUS� University Scholars Programme and winner
of the National Youth Achievement Gold Award in 2002 (amongst several other
achievements), felt that his most rewarding experience in school was the
dedicated teachers he had at St Patricks and Tampines Junior College. �They taught him valuable lessons in life. �As Mustafa said, this dedication of our
teachers, spread across the system, is why you do not have to go to a top
ranked school to do well in Singapore.
31������� Assistant
Professor Mansoor Jalil, one of our
top young scientists, now at NUS, told me he still remembered his maths teacher
in Fowlie Primary School[1]
who went beyond the mechanics of algebra to ensure his students had a basic
understanding of the fundamentals. �He
also convinced Mansoor to set his sights high, which
he did. �Mansoor
also recalled with fondness his Physics teacher at RI, who in his enthusiasm would go totally
off-tangent in his lectures. �He would go
from discussing Newton's laws, that were in the textbooks, to something way
off, such as the four fundamental forces of nature and how the weak and
electromagnetic forces are actually one and the same. �These lectures were what made learning
memorable.� As Mansoor
put it, the main hindrance in his learning in secondary school was the factual
overload and the rush to finish the syllabus and cram for the examinations. �He felt it did little to stimulate higher
thinking skills or prepare him for life after school. �But it was the few inspiring teachers who captured
his imagination.
32������� There are many other such stories of
teachers inspiring students to probe more deeply, or simply giving their
students confidence in themselves and motivating them to aim high. �We must focus on supporting our teachers so
that they can give off the best for their students.
33������� Let
me now elaborate on the initiatives that we will undertake in the coming years
to meet our goals in education. �I will
do so under our two key areas of focus: Enabling our Teachers, and Nurturing
Students.
34������� First
of all, I would like to talk more about what we are doing for our teachers. �We will enable our teachers, so that they can
take education to a higher plane. �We
will provide them with more time and space to reflect on their teaching and
innovate, and to motivate and inspire their students. �We will also help them to build up their
capabilities as teaching professionals.
35������� Let
me start with our initiative to provide schools with more teachers. �To do so without compromising on the quality
of teacher recruited, we cannot rush. �MOE
will recruit about 2000 teachers every year to
provide more teachers to primary schools, secondary schools and the JCs/CI over the next five years.[2]� By 2010, primary and secondary schools will
have about 10 more teachers than would otherwise have been the case. �The JCs/CI will have
the equivalent of 8 more teachers.
36������� MOE
will not fix a template for how these teachers should be deployed within the
school, for example whether class sizes should be reduced. �We will leave it to the school leaders to
decide, based on the profile and needs of each school. �Our schools are already thinking actively
about this. �Some intend to adopt more
flexible class arrangements, for example, parallel teaching where the class is
split into two groups according to ability or understanding of a topic, and
taught by two teachers.� This is
especially useful in primary schools, where students� abilities tend to be mixed.
�Another method involves pulling out the very weak or very able pupils for
certain subjects or periods, while grouping the class together for other
periods.
37������� With
more teachers in schools, there could also be more time for teachers to plan
their lessons and to adapt them to different groups of students. �Schools can also offload experienced teachers
in some teaching duties to enable them to mentor and guide beginning teachers. �Or they may deploy teachers with specialised
skills to develop new, school-based niche programmes.
38������� Importantly,
teachers will also have more time to spend with their students. �With more teachers, schools could meet the
growing need to inculcate strong values in students, and help them develop character.
More Counsellors
39������� Besides having more
teachers, we recognise that schools need more counselors.
�I am therefore pleased to announce that
we will provide one full-time counselor to every secondary school, which is
where the needs are greatest, by 2006. �We will do so for all other schools by 2008. �We will achieve this by training selected �serving teachers, retired principals and
teachers, and mid-career professionals to be counselors. �In addition, we will also train 2 more
teacher-counselors in our secondary schools.
40������� I should add that the
provision of more counseling resources in schools does not remove the traditional
responsibility that all teachers have to care for and guide their students.
�But the provision of additional counselors
will certainly help teachers and schools manage the difficult and complex cases
that require more time and effort.
More Manpower Grant for Schools
41������� We
can also help our teachers by giving schools more money to hire additional
staff. �(This is on top of the additional
trained teachers I mentioned earlier.)
42������� Teachers
participating in the Education Forum told me that one of their biggest
distractions from teaching their students was the administrative work that they
had to do. �These range from data-entry
to event management responsibilities.� Schools
currently receive a manpower grant to help them hire additional manpower
to help out in this regard. �We will
increase the grants to schools from next year, on average by about 50%. �Schools can use the increase to get more
clerical support, or hire additional relief teachers.
43������� We
have also put in place an Adjunct Teacher Programme for schools to
re-hire trained teachers who had left the profession. �The scheme will start from next month. �These Adjunct Teachers can have more flexible
work arrangements than the current relief teaching
scheme.
Programme for
School-Based Excellence in Primary Schools
44������� There is another area where schools
would benefit from having more resources, which is in developing niches of
excellence in the school.
45������� This is especially desirable for our primary
schools, which are currently relatively uniform compared to the more diverse landscape
of offerings at our secondary schools and junior colleges. �We will give greater support for primary
schools that are trying to provide a richer and more unique educational
experience for their students. �Under a
new programme for School-Based Excellence in Primary Schools, starting from Jan
2005, MOE will provide up to $100,000 to primary schools that demonstrate that
they have strong school-based programmes that could benefit their students. �The schools will have to demonstrate how they would
like the use the additional funds in a meaningful and impactful
way.
46������� Some primary schools aspire to enhance the
role of aesthetics, to reinforce formal curriculum. �Others are looking to develop new pedagogical
approaches. �Canberra Primary School, for
instance, is conducting in-house training on �Human Dynamics� for its teachers to
give them better insight into individual students� natural or preferred ways of
absorbing, processing and retaining information. �The teachers have used this know-how to
develop new, customised teaching techniques.�
The school has seen results � the students are more confident and able
to answer questions directly, even for those who were previously very shy.
47������� Under the Programme for School-based
Excellence, primary schools that are ready will be able to inject additional
quality into education, and develop distinct programmes to distinguish
themselves.
Developing our Teachers Better
48������� We will to continue to provide more
opportunities for teachers to develop themselves.� MOE has developed a new Learning Framework
for teachers that will guide them in their continual learning and development[3].
It outlines the key learning
areas and milestone programmes that teachers would require in their various
roles � as beginning teachers, experienced teachers, senior teachers, heads of
department and thereon.
49������� A set of Professional Development
Continuum Models (PDCM) has been developed by NIE in collaboration with
MOE.� The PDCM provides a structured path
for teachers to obtain higher professional certification, including
undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.�
Teachers can attain such advanced certification, by taking various
accredited courses and selected in-service courses offered by MOE and NIE, such
as the milestone programmes I just mentioned.
50������� Taken together, the Learning Framework
incorporating the EPMS, PDCM and our current Milestone programmes will help
take the collective professionalism of our teachers to a higher level.� Teachers will be able to make decisions on
their own learning plans and chart their professional development over the
course of their careers.
Expanding Teacher
Work Attachment (TWA)
51������� Other than formal professional
development courses, teachers can also benefit from experiential learning,
through our Teacher Work Attachment scheme. �Last year, we announced that MOE will
facilitate the build up of a network of contacts in the business and community
sectors that teachers can choose for their work attachments.� We are working with public sector and
community organisations like, SAF, SPF, EDB, CDCs, Singhealth and National Health Group to offer placements
throughout their organisations.� We are
also working with the business chambers to offer teachers a range of possible experiences,
including attachments at SMEs.
52������� Besides local work
attachment, we are also working at providing teachers with the opportunity for
overseas teaching or work attachment.�
For overseas teaching, we will begin at the end of this year with short
stints for some teachers in UK and China. �For work attachments, we are currently partnering
with NUS Enterprise, Citigroup and Cyberland Pte Ltd.[4]
�We already have a teacher in Silicon
Valley through NUS Enterprise.� Wee Siew Bee, a teacher from Tampines
JC, wrote in the �Graduate� (a NUS publication) last month that her experience
had been exhilarating. �She had learnt to
live and embrace diversity, and felt much better equipped to mentor her
students on her return to Singapore.
53������� I am pleased at this point to announce
that we will be collaborating with NUS Enterprise to expand the range of the
Teacher Work Attachments that we currently offer.� NUS Enterprise has to date formed 80
start-ups involved in Infocomm Technology,
Bio-Technology, Engineering, and Publishing.
54������� This presents a wide range of exciting
development opportunities for our teachers.�
Under this new scheme, teachers will spend at least one day per week for
6 months in a local startup before proceeding
overseas for attachment. �The experience
will be an invaluable one in providing teachers with an authentic learning of
attitude, skills and knowledge in I&E. �Our students will benefit from the experiences
of these teachers, by way of the fresh perspectives and buzz they will bring
back to their classrooms.
Nurturing Students
55������� Let me now move on to talk about our
initiatives for nurturing students. �We
have put in place the structures, processes and resources to help our students.
�We will now focus increasingly on the
actual school experience of our students�
-� on teaching less and learning
more, on providing more choice and flexibility in their learning, and in inspiring
them to take greater ownership of their learning.
Teach Less, Learn
More (TLLM)
56������� We need to reduce the load on many of
our students, by trimming our syllabuses wherever we can without losing the
rigour of the education we provide. �Schools
should also evaluate how much homework we give to our students. �But we must also review our pedagogic approaches,
to go beyond a focus on tests and examinations.
Trimming
Curriculum Requirements
57������� MOE will review and trim the school
curriculum where we are able to do so without diluting students� preparedness
for education at the tertiary level. �This has to be a careful exercise. �We expect to be able to trim 10-20% of
secondary to pre-university curriculum on average in the next few years.
58������� Besides content reduction, we should relook at how we assess students.� At the Junior College level, we have received
regular feedback about how Project Work takes up more time than planned. �Students feel that the assessment criteria are
too detailed, requiring them to spend extensive time in documentation of
virtually every process.� They end up going
through the hoops just to score points, without adequate benefit in learning.
59������� We will take this feedback and learn
from it. �We will loosen and broaden
the assessment of Project Work. �From
next year, we will reduce the number of assessment criteria, to free up more
time for our JC students to explore and collaborate, rather than spend a lot of
time on documentation.
Reducing Homework
60������� There should also be a conscious effort
in our schools not to overload students with homework. �As Jeremy Lim, 14, wrote in Today on 8 Sep, "If
students have so much [homework] to do, the quality of work may suffer. �Learning can be difficult as work is done
perfunctorily to meet the deadline." �He said that if less homework is given,
students would be able to learn more while doing their homework. �"Otherwise they will just be running on a
treadmill - doing a lot of work but not making any progress."
61������� St Margaret�s Primary School has a bold,
school-wide approach to homework. �Each
teacher is given a weekly quota of one and a half hours to be used for homework
for each class.� In each class, the class
monitress uses a corner of the white board to total
up the time that different teachers were setting for homework that week. �The result? �The time spent on homework per day for each
student dropped from an average of 2 hours to 1.3 hours � a 35% reduction.
62������� Mr Hoe Wee Meng,
a Science teacher at Jurong Secondary School, related
at one of our recent dialogue sessions that he had tried not giving any
homework to his N(A) and N(T) students for a whole term.� The students were instead assigned group work
(which was to be completed in class) and given opportunities to work in the
laboratories, hands-on lessons which they enjoyed.� Wee Meng focused
his energies on enabling his students to learn independently and to do so
within the time given in school. �In the
end, he found the students managed to perform better in the common tests. �Their pass rates went up, not down.
63������� These are encouraging examples, but not
prescriptions. �I would encourage all
of you to work with your teachers to come up with your own school-based
solutions to make learning more effective without overburdening our students. Homework
will be more effective for some groups of students than others. But as we work
out our solutions, we should bear in mind that �Teach Less, Learn More� cannot
be a mechanical exercise. It is ultimately not about quantity, but about the
quality of interaction between teacher and student. It is about �why� and �how�
of teaching and learning.�
New Teaching
Approaches
64������� We have for some years now given schools
the autonomy to integrate and create their own school-based curriculum and to
introduce different pedagogical approaches. �Some teachers and schools have taken this
opportunity to see how we can help students learn more by actually teaching
less.
65������� For example, at Pasir
Ris Crest Secondary School, an enterprising Maths
teacher, Eugene Tan, took a fundamental re-look at the secondary maths
curriculum. �He integrated the Additional
and Elementary mathematics curriculum, similar to what JCs
do for Further Maths and Maths C. �He
realised that if he put the advanced topics in vector from Additional
mathematics and the more elementary topics in vectors from Elementary maths
together and delivered them as a block, he could be more effective and the
students could learn better. �He did
likewise for other related topics. �The
result? �He saved 5 weeks over two years.
�He also found that his students absorbed
their concepts better. �Has he taught
less and the students learnt more? �I
think he has.
66������� Eugene�s example gives me confidence
that our schools and teachers, if given the appropriate support, can make
�Teach Less, Learn More� a reality in our classrooms.
Giving Students
Greater Say in Subject Choice
67������� Next, I will talk about encouraging our
students to take the subjects they want to take, rather than those they qualify
for. �Currently, our students in
secondary schools are limited in their subject choices by the courses they are
in. �At the end of Secondary 2, most
schools will stream their Express students into either a pure science course or
to a combined science course based on their exam results. �Students in the Normal course also have a
fixed plate of subject combinations to choose from.
68������� We should give our students more room to
take the subjects that they are interested in, within the constraints of a school�s
resources. �I am glad to say several
schools are doing so, even where students wish to take subjects which they may
not be able to score very well in. �Literature
is a case in point. �In CHIJ Katong Convent, for example, all students are allowed to offer
Literature as a subject for study. �Even
Normal Technical students study Literature as a non-examination subject from
Secondary One to Secondary Four. �The
school believes that the study of Literature will polish the students� English
Language skills and develop a sensitivity to the strengths and foibles of human
nature. �To further enthuse its Normal
Course students, the school collaborates with the Necessary Stage to make
Literature real and exciting for their students through drama. �The school calls this programme Development
Through Drama (or DTD), and has seen some remarkable results in encouraging
their students to speak up with confidence.�
It is therefore not surprising that 54% of Katong
Convent�s Normal (Academic) students took English Literature as a full subject exam
at their �O�-level exams last year, compared to the 5% nation-wide for Normal
course students.
69������� Chinese Literature is a similar example,
also perceived to be a difficult subject to score. �But some schools are now actively encouraging
their students to take the subject to have a better grasp of Chinese language
and culture. �Dunman
High School for example seeks to immerse its students in Chinese culture so as
to enthuse them into taking these subjects.
70������� Some JCs are
already allowing their students greater choice in their subject combination. �At Yishun Junior
College, students are allowed to take whatever subject combinations they wish,
without constraining them to choose between an Arts or Science combination. �Temasek Junior
College is also seeking to do this � since last year, they have allowed Arts
students to take on science subject and vice versa. �The response has been very good. �Out of the 4 Arts classes, 3 have students
offering a Science subject. �Other JCs are also moving in this direction.
71������� We should give our students more choices
in our schools, including secondary schools, so that they can pursue what they
are interested in. �I recognise that the
practical constraints faced by some of the schools in offering more flexible
combinations of subjects to their students are real. �We do not currently have enough structural
flexibility in terms of the numbers of classrooms and teachers to offer
students the full range of subjects they want to take, in any combination they
wish. �But we can do more to loosen this
up, even within the constraints of our resources.
Offering of New
�O� Level Subjects
72������� We have also decided to allow certain secondary
schools to offer new �O� level subject in addition to, or in place of an
elective subject.� For a start, we will
allow schools to choose from the range of subjects offered by the Cambridge
International Examinations group of �O� level syllabuses, which are currently
not offered in our upper secondary curriculum. �Some of the possible subjects include Economics,
Computer Studies and Drama.� This is one
way to enable schools to establish curriculum niches of their own and
differentiate themselves. �Schools that
are interested in offering new subjects can now approach MOE to discuss how
best to implement this new flexibility.
73������� In the years further ahead, schools may also
leverage on their strengths to develop new subjects in their curriculum niche
areas. �They may also partner with recognised Post-Secondary Educational Institutes to develop
new subjects for �O� level students. �For
example, a school whose niche area is in the Life Sciences could develop the
modules into an examinable �O� level subject.
74������� However, schools would need time to gain the
necessary experience in running the module, build up the expertise and
resources in curriculum development and establish networks with partners.� Over time, I expect to see more diversity in
subject choices for our secondary school students. �It will help students to pursue their passions
and interests, promote the irregular talent besides the regular, and add to the
vibrance of our school system.
Offering of
Non-Native Mother-Tongue Languages
75������� We will also allow more students to take
a non-native Mother Tongue Language (MTL) as their third language.� (Non-native MTL as a third language is currently
offered through the Malay (Special Programme) (MSP)
and Chinese (Special Programme) (CSP), which are
optional O-level subjects.)� The programmes are offered
at Secondary One to students who meet certain criteria. �For example these students need to be either
in the top 10% of their PSLE cohort, or are within the 11-30% band in PSLE with an A* in MTL
or Distinction in Higher MTL and at least an A in English Language.)
76������� The ability to speak a third language is useful, and
will help young Singaporeans of all races operate effectively in the region and
beyond. �To facilitate more students
learning a non-native mother tongue, the existing eligibility criteria will be
lifted.� From 2007, Sec One students will be allowed to offer another MTL in addition to
their native MTL, as long as they have the interest and inclination.
77������� MOE will set up more Language Centres by 2007 to cater to increased demand, if needed. �In the meantime, schools that have the resources and are
ready may implement the refinement to the policy with effect from 2005.� They can conduct lessons for their own 2005
Secondary One students who are interested in joining the Programme.
Greater
Flexibility for Normal Course Students
78������� We will be doing the same for our
students in the Normal course ��� giving them more choices in the range of
subjects they can offer, according to their interest and abilities. �Since last year, our Normal (Academic)
students have been allowed to take 1 to 2 �O�-level subjects, namely Maths and
Mother Tongue, if they are strong in those subjects.
79������� This year, the first batch of students
will be taking their �O�-levels. �So far,
the response has been very good. �A total
of 2,400 N(A) students will be taking their �O�-levels in at least one of the
two subjects. �This represents 23% of the
entire cohort of N(A) students. �They
have been coping well. �We will expand
this flexibility in two ways.
80������� First, we are going to give more choices
of �O�-level subjects to Normal (Academic) students, beyond just Maths and
Mother Tongue. �They can offer subjects
from an expanded range of �O� level subjects, capped at 2 �O�-level subjects. �This will give our students the choice to do
the subjects they are strong in, to the best of their abilities. �This will be implemented from 2006 for the
Secondary 3 students then, with the first year of �O�-level exams in 2007.
81������� Further, we will extend this flexibility
to our Normal (Technical) students to offer 1 to 2 Normal (Academic) subjects
they are strong in. �The intent is the
same � to allow students who are able to do so the flexibility to advance their
learning in that particular subject.
82������� Students, teachers and parents that we
consulted were in favour of these changes. �We will proceed carefully with these changes
to ensure that students are able to cope with the demands of a more advanced or
faster-paced curriculum, before we consider any further moves to increase the
porosity between the different courses.
Normal
(Technical) Curriculum Revision
83������� The next initiative is the revision of
the Normal (Technical) curriculum itself by 2007. �The new curriculum has been revised to focus
more on practice-oriented learning, so as to better match N(T) students� approaches
to learning. �It will also serve to
provide N(T) students with a firm foundation to continue their education at
ITE. �This will be done progressively
from Secondary 1 to Secondary 4. �We will
retain an adequate overlap between the Sec 1 Normal (Academic) and Normal
(Technical) syllabuses to enable students to switch courses more easily.
84������� The Normal (Technical) curriculum will
also be enriched with Elective Modules (or EMs),
which will be developed in collaboration with the ITEs
and Polytechnics. �The EMs could be designed to achieve various objectives - as an
extension of what is learnt in current N(T) subjects, or as an introduction to
a course of study in ITE, or an exposure to possible career paths.� The EMs will
provide our students greater choice, to help them find their interests and
talents.
85������� Some schools have already started
working with ITEs and other agencies to implement
such electives for their N(T) students. �Bukit Batok Secondary School is
an example. �It has already introduced electives
in areas like stagecraft management, which teaches
students lighting and sound engineering, stage design, costumes, and make-up. �It has also introduced electives in music
technology, which teaches students about the design of handphone
ringtones; computer assembly, where students learn to
assemble computers from scratch; and digital photography. �These enrichment electives can be further
developed into Elective Modules in the formal curriculum. �Giving schools the resources to plan these EMs would enable them to provide more hands-on quality modules
for their N(T) students. �It will enrich
their educational experience.
N(T) Lateral
Transfer to N(A)
86������� We will also allow greater movement from N(T) to
N(A) by opening up the possibility for lateral transfers between the courses. �For N(T) students who have demonstrated the
ability to join the academic course, we will provide greater flexibility by
opening up opportunities for lateral transfers at each secondary level from
2005.� Schools will decide which students
to have done sufficiently well at their year-end N(T) exams to qualify for a
lateral transfer to the N(A) course. �The
current bridge for transfers upwards, from Sec 1 N(T) to Sec 2 N(A), will
remain unchanged.� However from Sec 2
onwards, students will be laterally transferred. �The revision will therefore require
transferred students to spend an additional year in secondary school.� This is needed to ensure that N(T) students
transferring to the N(A) Course from Sec 2 onwards are adequately prepared for
the rigour of the academic course.
87������� It is a pragmatic approach, because very few students
have so far been able to successfully transfer out of Normal (Technical) to
Normal (Academic) after Secondary 2 � the gap between the two courses is too
wide to cross, if we were to transfer students to the next level up immediately.
The lateral transfers will be more realistic. Of course, if schools do find an
exceptionally strong Normal (Technical) student who would benefit from joining
the Normal (Academic) course at a higher level, we would allow him to do so.
Motivating Our
Students
88������� The changes we�re making to the N(A) and
N(T) courses signal our commitment to a quality education for all our students
in our schools. �But it is again the
teachers who make the difference for our students. �Teachers who believe in their students. �Teachers like
Jared Oh, from Temasek Secondary School, who was
interviewed on CNA�s �Get Real� programme recently. �He said that at first, he would see the
students in his N(T) class as very disruptive, very noisy, or very quiet
students. �But when he dug deeper and
found out more about them, how they were at home and with friends, he
discovered that they were no different from any other child except that they
had a different approach to things, and learnt differently. �He kept telling them that if they were
persistent, they would be able to do well. �I could see how the students behaved around
him. �He was clearly an inspiration to
them.
89������� One
of the parents in Education Forum, spoke about her son in the Normal
(Technical) course in Whitley Secondary School. �Many of the students in the class were not motivated.
�So what the form teacher, Mr Koh Seng Hock, did was to pull
out one student at a time from the class each day. He put aside time to talk
with each student, get to know him better, guide him and encouraged him to
succeed. �The parent told me that her son,
like many other classmates, was a changed person. The dedication and
determination of the teacher made a difference in his students� lives.
Conclusion
90������� We are making changes in our education
system from a position of strength. �The
fact that our students by and large work hard and strive to do their best in
school is a happy situation. �In the UK,
for instance, the situation is the reverse. �A recent survey in north-eastern England
revealed that nearly a third of the 15 year-olds said that they had been picked
on by other students for doing well at school. �Those who were hardworking, and who were
considered by their teachers to be �normal�, were called �freaks� by their
peers. �The school culture has become so
averse to hard-work and good results that teenagers deliberately fail their
GCSE exams in order to be accepted by their peer groups. �We should never let ourselves get into this
sad state of affairs.
91������� The various initiatives I have announced
today require the commitment of all our stakeholders in education� -� our
teachers and students, our parents, and our employers and community leaders. �We are making calculated moves forward, �crossing
the river stone by stone� to use Deng Xiaoping�s phrase. �But we must take bold steps, not tip-toe
gingerly and keep looking back. �We must
be willing to move ahead with careful experiments in education, and learn and
improve as we go.
92������� As school leaders, you play the key role
in challenging and supporting our teachers, and shaping our schools for the
future. �Together with my colleagues at
the Ministry, I look forward to working with you and your teachers to light a
fire in our students. Do this well, and we will help the next generation make a
Singapore that is vibrant and exciting in the decades ahead.
__________________
[1] The school has since been merged with 2 other primary schools to become Tanjong Katong Primary School.
[2] This will mean a net increase of 1000 primary school teachers, 1400 secondary school teachers and 550 JC/CI teachers.
[3] This
framework, to be implemented in 2005, is aligned to the EPMS and maps out the
training of teachers in 3 dimensions: Professional Practice, Personal
Effectiveness and Leadership & Management.
[4] Citigroup has offered attachment places in Mumbai and Shanghai and Cyberland Pte Ltd in Brunei at the end of year. �