Mr Chairman,
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,

1. On behalf of the Singapore delegation, I would like to express my appreciation to the organisers of the Ministerial Form on Child-Friendly Learning Environments for their excellent efforts in organising this Forum.
2. Singapore is happy to participate in this Ministerial Forum. We all share similar challenges in preparing our young for a globalised and innovation-driven future, even though our education systems and programmes may differ. This Forum is a useful platform for sharing and exchanging of ideas and experiences among SEAMEO countries as well as countries outside of Southeast Asia.
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
3. I will briefly speak on Singapore’s journey in the provision of “inclusive education” to our children. Inclusive education has been used in many countries to describe the integration of children with special learning needs into mainstream schools. In Singapore, we have adopted a “Many Helping Hands” approach on this issue. The education of children with special learning needs is conducted through a tripartite partnership between government, community and family. Our starting point is to see how we, as a nation, can work together to ensure that our children with special needs have access to the opportunities they need to participate fully in the economy and society.
4. Children with learning needs who are able to benefit from a mainstream curriculum are educated in mainstream schools. Assistive technologies, and in some cases retrofitted facilities, allow these students to successfully integrate into a mainstream school environment. However, some children with special needs are better served at Special Education schools, or SPED schools, which have specially trained staff, and which are often supported by para-medical personnel. At SPED schools, children can learn at their own pace through a curriculum and environment tailored to their needs. SPED Schools are operated by Voluntary Welfare Organisations (or community organisations), which come under the purview of the Ministry of Community Development and Sports in Singapore. In addition, the government provides funding and development support to Special Education Schools. SPED students receive up to 4 times the funding of students in mainstream schools. The National Institute of Education, which is our national teacher training facility, also provides training for Special Education teachers.
5. The topic of inclusive education can also be interpreted more broadly, to consider the importance of holistic education for all our children. Holistic education should take into account multiple dimensions of a child’s development, including cognitive, moral and social aspects. It should seek to harness the potential of all children and help them to develop their abilities to the fullest. In addition, all children, regardless of their race, gender, family and social background, should be given the opportunity to attend school together.
6. I will share Singapore’s experiences in the context of this broader definition of “inclusive education”.
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE – THE JOURNEY THUS FAR
7. The mission of the Singapore education system is to mould the future of the nation. Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) does so by providing our children with a balanced and holistic education which strives to develop their potential to the fullest, and develop them into good and committed citizens.
8. Today, Singapore has achieved almost universal education at the primary and secondary levels. Cohort participation rate at the higher education level, i.e. universities and polytechnics, is about 60% now, and we are targeting to increase this to 65% by 2010.
9. However, the situation was very different some forty years ago when Singapore first attained self-government. At that time, many children were not in schools. There was also no standardised curriculum. Vernacular schools, such as community-run Malay, Chinese and Tamil schools, followed largely the curriculum of the home countries of these languages, while English schools adopted the British system of education.
10. In the 1960s, a series of educational reforms were undertaken to ensure comparable standards and parity across all English stream schools and the vernacular streams. A common syllabus and common examination were instituted at primary, secondary and pre-university levels. In addition, a massive school-building programme was undertaken. New schools were completed at the rate of one school per month; and many teachers were recruited. The aim then was to create a place in school for every child of school-going age.
Streaming
11. Following initial efforts to provide every child in Singapore with an equal opportunity for education, we made further fine-tuning to the system, to ensure that every child, according to his aptitudes and ability, can maximise his potential at school.
12. In particular, the introduction of ability-based streaming in 1980 helped to reduce the high drop-out rates in schools. For instance, school drop-out rates have reduced from 11% in 1980 to 0.3% in 2000 for primary schools, and from 19% in 1980 to 2.4% in 2000 for secondary schools. With ability-based streaming, students are able to follow a curriculum and pace of teaching that matches their abilities and aptitudes. In this way, we ensure that all students acquire at least basic literacy and numeracy skills and do not drop out prematurely.
Implementation of Compulsory Education
13. In 2003, Singapore introduced 6 years of compulsory education for Singaporean children. Although most children of school-going age were in school, and school drop-out rates were low, we were concerned nevertheless that the small number of children who did not attend school would not be well equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge for the knowledge-based economy. We wanted every child in Singapore to be given the same opportunity to develop his/her potential to the fullest.
14. In the implementation of compulsory education, every effort is made by MOE to trace families of children who reached primary school-going age but were not registered for primary school. This is to ensure that no child would miss out on the opportunity for education.
15. The efforts in early years to create a place in school for every child, coupled with ability-based streaming to reduce drop-out rates, and the introduction of compulsory education in recent years, have ensured that practically all children have access to and remain in school for 10 years of education. This is inclusive education in our context. In addition, various forms of financial assistance schemes have been put in place to assist children from low-income families. In Singapore, we believe that no child should be deprived of education because of financial difficulties.
TOWARDS THE NEXT PHASE
16. Moving forward, the emphasis of the Singapore education system is to enhance the quality of holistic education to help prepare students for the challenges of the future. The future will be one of continuous and unexpected change. Those who dare to do things differently and who dare to venture into new frontiers will be rewarded if they succeed. Singapore is thus moving beyond preparing students with a strong academic foundation to preparing them for the high innovation, high entrepreneurial knowledge-based economy of the future.
17. Broadly, we are moving from a highly structured education system focussed on efficiency, to a more flexible system aimed at nurturing a more diverse range of talents. New and different educational pathways are being introduced to cater to different needs and abilities of students. For instance, the Integrated Programme which provides a seamless upper secondary and junior college education has been offered in several schools in Singapore this year. In addition, specialised independent schools are also being set up to cater to students with exceptional talents in areas like sports, maths and science, and the arts. The Singapore Sports School commenced operations in 2004. The NUS Maths and Science School will start operating from 2005. A specialised arts school will open in 2007.
18. Within the curriculum, we have introduced greater customisation and differentiation to cater to varied abilities and interests of students, within the framework of ability-based streaming. For example, the Learning Support Programme (LSP), a specialised intervention programme, provides additional support to students in Primary 1 and 2 who are weak in their language and literacy skills. At the other end of the spectrum, the Gifted Education Programme provides a more challenging educational experience for the intellectually gifted students. In addition, for students who have special talents in the languages, art or music, there are Language, Art and Music Elective Programmes in schools to develop their talents.
19. Apart from academic pursuits, more focus will also be directed to activities outside the classroom. Co-curricular activities, community involvement programmes and other enrichment programmes such as expeditions or student camps play a critical role in character building. They provide opportunities for students to negotiate their values and beliefs, to take risks, experiment and pursue their ideas and passions. Out-of-classroom activities are an integral part of holistic education.
CONCLUSION
20. As I noted at the beginning of my presentation, inclusive education is about providing holistic education to all children, regardless of their race, gender, family and social background. Singapore’s experience, and I believe also that of many other countries, shows that providing access to education is an important first step to inclusive education. What students learn and how they learn are equally important factors that will determine the quality of their learning. These important attributes of “inclusive education” – access and quality of education – must be given due emphasis in our education systems in order to develop our students to be well-rounded individuals, grounded in strong values and ready for tomorrow’s challenges.
21. It is true that the circumstances of Singapore are unique because of its small size and population. We do not have many rural areas. This is unlike the experience of many of the countries that my esteemed counterparts come from. However, the presence of different SEAMEO countries here today shows that we are equally committed to the education of our children. There are many learning points that we can share and learn from each other. I would like to thank the SEAMEO Secretariat for making this Ministerial Forum today possible for us to do so.
22. Thank you.