It is my pleasure to offer my heartiest congratulations to the Principal, staff and students of Sembawang Secondary School on its Official Opening this evening. Sembawang Secondary began with 320 secondary one students in January 1999 in holding premises which were shared with two other schools.

It must have been a memorable moment of great pride for you in September that year, when you moved to this new building. I note that the student population has tripled over the past two years and I am confident that the school will continue to grow and serve the Sembawang community well.

It has been said many times that Singapore’s only resource is its people.

Hence, it is very important that all Singaporeans be educated and trained so that they will be able to adapt to the changing economic demands which, in the main, are driven by external forces. To this end, the Government has been spending a very large amount of money on education. In FY 2001, the budget allocated to education is $6.3 billion, which is about 22% of the national budget.

The outcome of this large investment is the high standard of education in Singapore. Our academic achievements in education, as shown in the results of national examinations and international surveys such as the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS, 1999), are laudable. We will have to sustain our successes in order to continue to do well in the 21^st century. The 21^st century environment will be a very different environment. Globalisation will be a key driving force. We must therefore embrace the challenges and opportunities that globalisation brings. Our education system will have to be tuned such that we have the ability to educate a generation of students with the confidence to face the future.

I would like to elaborate on two main changes we face in this new century, namely, the changes in the workforce and the changes in our environment.

As economies become more closely knit and barriers to the flow of goods, services and information diminish, competition between cities and countries will intensify. No country can be guaranteed to have permanent competitive advantages. Countries that do well in the future must possess the capacity to create and utilize knowledge successfully. In such an environment, our people will have to continuously undergo training and development to upgrade our skills so that we can stay relevant and be a player in the competitive world market.

We will have to constantly seek new ways to stay ahead. Innovation is absolutely critical to sustain the competitive advantage in the new economy.

Many of us may have the impression that innovation is the work of only the top scientists and researchers. There is a need for a paradigm shift in all of us.

Innovation should be everybody’s business - the principal, teachers and students included. Every one of us has the creative capacity to innovate.

Our students need to grow from being thinking, learning students to becoming thinking, learning workers, from followers to innovators and from problem solvers to creative entrepreneurs. Our schools must provide the environment to enhance students’ thinking and learning as well as stoke their latent talent for innovation. Schools, as learning organizations, must therefore seek to discover new ways to serve the needs of their students.

As a result of globalization, the advancement in technology and the influx of information through the Internet and other forms of media, we are constantly exposed to foreign ideas and values. We are today able to tap into new knowledge banks and utilize them to the fullest. But the exposure also brings along with it the potential of placing our values under stress. Fortunately, we have a set of shared values which, over the years, has created the social cohesion that unites our multi-racial society and allows us to progress with stability and strength. What we need to do is to ensure that we continue to adhere to our shared values and keep strong our national identity and pride in our country.

Globalization has also provided young Singaporeans with the opportunities to be economically mobile. Therefore, the issue of what keeps them rooted to Singapore must be addressed. Young Singaporeans’ strong commitment to our nation is important as they contribute towards the growth of our nation, whether they are working in Singapore or beyond. The sense of identity and nationhood have to be imbued from young in school. In this respect, I am glad to note that our schools are placing emphasis on the National Education Programme and, in particular, the Community Involvement Programme.

Sembawang Secondary School and its stakeholders must work closely together to realise their vision of the school and give the best education they can to the students. I am confident that the school will rise to meet the community’s expectations. Led by a good and experienced team of the Principal and her staff working with the community, students of Sembawang Secondary can look forward to programmes that will challenge and prepare them well for the future.

On this note, I would like to wish Sembawang Secondary School every success in fostering an environment of quality relationships, innovations and continuous learning. It is my pleasure now to declare Sembawang Secondary School open.

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