Singapore Government Press Release

 Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts

 36th Storey, PSA Building, 460 Alexandra Road, Singapore 119963.

 Tel: 3757794/5

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Ladies & Gentlemen

It is my pleasure to be here this afternoon at the CCC-ITE Bursary & Scholarship Presentation ceremony. I would like to congratulate the 16 scholarship awardees and 68 bursary awardees from Pasir Ris GRC. You have made your families and well-wishers proud.

I am very pleased that this year, there has been a large increase in the number of students who applied to ITE during its 2 admission exercises. The first exercise took place after the release of the "N" Level results last December. It saw a total of 8,784 students applying to ITE. These included 5,593 students or 83% of the first batch of students to graduate from the Normal (Technical) stream in 1997. A total of 7,055 students were enrolled into ITE during that admission exercise alone. This intake was already more than the 7,030 students admitted by ITE for the whole of last year.

The second admission exercise took place after the release of the "O" level results. Compared to 1997, the number of "O" level applicants has also increased. It rose 65% from 2,356 to 3,886.

This is very encouraging. It shows that more students are aware of the benefits of an ITE education. ITE offers a wide range of courses that train students in various skills that are highly sought-after in industry. Also, new courses are being offered all the time to meet the future needs of industry and commerce. Some recent new courses offered include courses in Wafer Fabrication, Logistics and Information Technology.

ITE graduates can therefore be confident that the training they receive will equip them to contribute effectively to the economy. The value of ITE graduates to industry is well-recognised. Employment surveys show that in general, their salaries will double within 5 years.

Besides preparing its students for a career in industry, ITE also enables them to progress up the academic ladder if they demonstrate the ability and choose to do so. In 1997 for instance, 446 ITE graduates enrolled into full-time polytechnic courses. Another 729 enrolled into part-time polytechnic courses. Thus, nearly 1,200 ITE graduates go on to the polytechnics each year.

The Government will continue to provide opportunities for all students to realise their full potential. The Government has embarked on a $360 million plan to upgrade and expand ITE campuses so that more students can have the chance of further education.

The Government and the Citizens’ Consultative Committees have also joined hands in the offering of the CCC-ITE Bursaries and Scholarships. These awards will provide students with a further incentive to take on the challenge of studying at ITE.

Finally, I wish all the ITE students receiving the Bursaries and Scholarships here today all the best in their future endeavours. They deserve our support and encouragement. Study hard. But remember, ITE is only the first step of your training after leaving school. After you graduate from ITE that is not the end of your training and skills upgrading. You must keep on learning new skills and improving yourself.

Thank you.

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