SPEECH BY MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, AT THE MAY DAY DINNER 2006, 29 APRIL 2006, 7.50 PM AT SUNTEC CITY CONVENTION CENTRE

Giving Our Young The Best Start

President of NTUC, John De Payva

Secretary-General of NTUC, Lim Boon Heng

Comrades, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen

1.           I am honoured to join you this evening for our May Day dinner. First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the 75 May Day Awardees tonight.

IMPORTANCE OF THE LABOUR MOVEMENT

2.           The labour movement has been behind Singapore�s success over the last 45 years.  John De Payva has just described how the symbiotic relationship between the NTUC and the PAP has benefited Singapore and helped Singaporeans progress together.

3.           How it has helped us deal with difficult problems and solve them together. The way NTUC has convinced workers to support policies that are in their interests, and the way the PAP Government has recognised the sacrifices that workers make and ensured that the benefits of growth and surpluses are shared widely.

4.           How we have looked to the horizon, anticipated challenges that are coming, and worked together to prepare Singaporeans for them. So that we create good jobs not just for today, but good jobs many years into the future. 

HELPING EVERY SINGAPOREAN BECOME THE BEST HE CAN BE

5.           The theme for May Day is �Together, A Brighter Future for All!�.  A brighter future for every Singaporean. We will make this happen.

6.           And the most important way of achieving a brighter future is through education. We must help every Singaporean find his or her talents and take them as far as possible. And help every worker keep upgrading and learning new skills.

7.           This is how we will prepare for challenges that we can already see coming 10 to 15 years from now, as well as those we cannot see and which will always catch us by surprise.  It is the way we ensure that Singaporeans can succeed, no matter how the world around us changes.  

8.           This is why education is a key part of the PAP�s programme for the future. We want to give our young the best start. We will give them the best education possible, something no other country provides, through our schools, ITEs, polytechnics and universities.

9.           That means everyone.  It does not matter what your parents do or where you live.

10.           It does not matter if you are an early starter or late starter. It does not matter if you are strong in academic work or strong in practical work, whether you are book-smart or street smart. Or strong in the sports, the arts or entrepreneurial skills.

11.           We will give you a top-quality education, help you find your talent, build it up, and go as far as possible. 

12.           This is what we are working hard at in education, and want to do more of. We are providing more bridges, more opportunities for students to move across different streams and courses, more second chances for late bloomers, and more paths to allow different talents to blossom.

13.           As PM puts it, we will create a whole mountain range of talents, not just a few peaks. 

14.           So this is the way education is preparing Singaporeans for the future. We are not saying �this is what you are capable of�. We are saying �tell us where you want to go, and we will help you get there�.  It�s not what you have already achieved, but what you eventually want to achieve. Some will get there on the straight path. Others will take a longer path up, but often end up stronger than  the rest. Some will open up their own paths.

15.           But they all move up, they all take Singapore up, they all create the mountain range of excellence.

16.           Instead of telling you all about our policies and programmes in education, let me tell you some real stories of Singaporeans. Individuals who are crossing bridges, catching up by taking second chances, or taking a path that best develops their talents . Starting from our primary schools, all the way up to university. 

HELP OUR CHILDREN GET OFF TO A GOOD START

17.           Lee Jia-yi is a primary two student at Hougang Primary School. Both her parents work; her mother is a housekeeper in a hotel and her father a lift technician. When she started school last year, Jia-Yi was very quiet and shy. She was unable to do her daily assignments and failing in her class tests. Her reading ability was one year behind the average.

18.           So the school put her in the Learning Support Programme. We have them in all our primary schools  -  specially trained teachers working with the pupils in small groups. Jia-yi picked up quickly because of this programme.

19.           By the  end of her first year, she was scoring almost 70% for English and over 70% for Mathematics, and reading books that are ahead of many children her age.

20.           She has also gained confidence and is now leading the group in charge of setting up the sound and audio-visual systems for the school hall and parade square for the school�s afternoon session.

21.           We have many others like Jia-Yi. About 2000 students in  Primary One benefit from the Learning Support Programme each year.

22.           And we are now enhancing the Learning Support Programme. Bringing it from a  group size of 10 students, to 5 students per teacher. It is an expensive programme, but there are many Jia Yis who can tell us how effective it is.

BRIDGES AND LADDERS -- NO START IS TOO LATE

23.           Gowthami D/O Kanakasabai also comes from a humble family. She entered  Clementi Town Secondary as a Normal (Technical) student. She worked hard, and was encouraged on by her teachers She did well. So after Sec 2,  she was transferred from N(T) to N(A). But she was clearly very good at her Mathematics. So the school also allowed her to take Mathematics as part of the Express Course  -  she will complete her Maths faster.  Gowthami has already crossed two bridges.

24.          There are many like Gowthami in the Normal (Academic) course. About one-fifth of all our Normal (Academic) students are now taking one or two subjects in which they are strong as part of the Express Course, in 4 years instead of 5. 

25.           Next up, David Hoe.  He was from the EM3 stream, and did the Normal (Technical) Course at secondary school. He did exceptionally well in Sec 4. But equally important, he knew where he wanted to go.

26.           He was determined to take his �A� levels, do well and go to university, and to become a teacher. The school assessed him carefully, and let him cross over to the Express stream and start again from Sec 3. He knew he would be taking more time than others to complete his schooling, but it was the path he wanted.

27.           So David, a former N(T) student, is now in a Secondary 4 Express class at Beatty Secondary, sitting for his �O� levels this year. He crossed a big bridge.  

MANY WAYS TO SUCCESS

28.           We are also helping our young discover their talents outside of academic work. Success is not just about scoring straight �A�s. 

29.           Hadizan Jamaan was an EM3 student. In Pioneer Secondary, he was in the Normal (Technical) Course. In secondary one, he was introduced to rugby, which he grew to love. He became the captain of the school team, and then went on to become an outstanding Rugby player. He is now a National Rugby player.

30.           But Hadizan also found that his success in rugby gave him confidence to succeed in other pursuits. He went to ITE, did well, and is now studying Electronic Engineering in Singapore Polytechnic. He did not give up on his studies just because he had a weak start.

31.           Peter Lim, now 32,  is another inspiring example of someone who has taken the longer path, but has ended up doing what he wants. He was in the Express Stream, but did not do well at school. He tells me he did badly in both his languages, and did not feel engaged.

32.           But he discovered his talents when he joined a technical institute after his �O� Levels. He joined the Japan-Singapore Technical Institute (JSTI). At JSTI, he found something he loved, which was electronics.

33.           After his National Service, Peter decided to return to studies.  He went to Nanyang Polytechnic, and became one of its top students.  NYP gave him a scholarship to do a degree at the University of New South Wales, where he obtained a 1st Class Honours. Peter returned to NYP as a Development Engineer.

34.           In January last year, he won another scholarship to pursue a Dual-Masters Programme in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) jointly administered by Nanyang Technological University with ESIEE (�cole Sup�rieure d'Ing�nieurs �lectrotechnique et �lectronique), a prestigious French university.

35.           Peter is now back at NYP and engaged in full time research, while supervising final year students on their projects.

36.           Dian Farziana is my next example. Her family wanted her to go to a JC after her �O� levels, and she did. But she was not happy doing JC studies, and was not what she called a model student. So she quit JC and switched to what she really wanted to do, which was to pursue a polytechnic diploma in the biomedical sciences. She preferred the applied route of learning. And she did very well.  -  she received a whole string of awards at Singapore Polytechnic that I won�t go through (Lee Kuan Yew Award, Biomed Diagnostics Gold Medal, Abbott Diagnostics Award (twice), Shell Companies in Singapore Prize, OCBC Prize, Health Sciences Authority Award, the All Eights Award and a Distinction for her co-curricular activities.

37.           I met Dian last year when she won the Education Merit Scholarship from MOE, which is most prestigious Scholarship offered by MOE. She was the first polytechnic student to win the scholarship. Dian knows she made the right decision to follow her passion, not what was expected of her.  She is now doing a Bachelor in Science programme with honours at the University of Queensland, Australia. She too, like Peter Lim, will return to serve in education.

38.           Finally, let me tell you the story of Dr Peter Ho, now 35. He grew up in a 2-room flat when he was young. His mother is a housewife, and his father used to be work supervisor in a tiling and paneling company.

39.           Peter went to Kampong Bahru Primary School. He had a special intellectual talent, and did well   -  well enough to get into Raffles Institution as a student in the Gifted Education Programme. He then went to NJC, and then to NUS.

40.           When he completed that,   Peter won a fully-funded University of Cambridge scholarship to do a PhD in Physics at the University of Cambridge. He eventually returned to Singapore to start up the Organic Nano Device Lab in NUS. He is deepening our efforts in plastic electronics.

41.           At age 35, Peter already has more than 15 patents to his name .  Last year, he won the Omicron Nanotechnology Prize 2005 of the Institute of Physics (Singapore), and was also awarded the SNAS Young Scientist Award 2005 for his research on organic semiconductor devices.

42.           When asked what he feels most proud of, Peter said, �It is like I am succeeding in my own little way to wave the Singapore flag on the world stage that I am truly proud of.  I hope this is just the beginning, and as you look around there are other Singaporean scientists, entrepreneurs, and artistes, who have achieved more.�

VIRTUOUS CYCLE OF SUCCESS

43.           These individuals I have spoken about, from Jia Yi to Peter Ho, tell us some thing about our education system. They tell us something about the reality of a system that is offering a path for every talent.

44.           A system that gives a second chance for those who do not start off well, so that they can catch up.

45.           And which finds a different talent in someone who is not doing well.

46.           It is also a system which gives a boy like Peter Ho, growing up in a 2 room flat, the best opportunities to develop his intellectual talents, in a way that few other countries will provide.   

47.           They are all taking opportunities, not looking at what they started with but what they can do in future. They are all succeeding in their own way.

48.           But these individuals also tell us something about the society we are building. These are individuals who have not only succeeded in their own ways, but want to contribute to society. In fact several of them want to contribute to education, so that we keep this system going. David Hoe, who wants to be a teacher; Dian Farziana, who will return to our schools; Peter Lim at the polytechnic; Peter Ho at NUS.

49.           I haven�t asked Jia-yi, who is 8 years old, how she wants to give back to society! But she is already contributing to her school, doing the sound and audio work every day, and will I am sure do more as she grows up. Just like Gowthami, who dances frequently for her school. Or Hadizan, who went further, to play for Singapore.

50.           No one is without talent. Everyone has a talent, that we must find and nurture. Everyone can contribute.  As the Chinese saying puts it -  �Tian Sheng Wo Cai Bi You Yong�.

51.           It is not just in academic achievement that we are seeing people succeed. The ITE graduates who go on to polytechnic or university are not the only ones who are succeeding. There are many others, who go on into the workforce, keep picking up new skills, move up in their jobs, and help keep Singapore�s competitive edge. That�s success too. 

52.           Which is why the NTUC�s many programmes to help our workers upgrade really matter  -  helping workers in good jobs move further up, helping low-wage workers get better paid jobs, and  helping  those who lose their jobs by training them in new skills and matching them to new jobs. This is how we keep Singapore at the edge.

CONCLUSION

53.           We are doing what the PAP Government has committed to in education. The improvements are real. And we will do more. We are giving all our children to have a good start in school. We are creating many paths to success, not just one. We just opened a new path, in Northlight School, to help those who cannot cope with the regular school curriculum to acquire skills and confidence so they too can move up and succeed.

54.           We are opening up more opportunities, nurturing talents of all sorts, and helping them create our mountain range of success in Singapore. 

55.           And I have no doubt that what we do in education will be built on by the NTUC and its tripartite partners, so that we achieve �A Brighter Future For All�.  

56.           I wish all workers in Singapore a happy May Day.