At the National Day Rally, I spoke of the economic strategy and social compact that we would need to build a New Singapore. We have to acquire new competencies and new bases of growth to continue our economic climb. At the same time, we have to strengthen our social cohesion, to address the strains of a widening income gap, and a faster-paced and more competitive economy.

Education is the key to the success of this new economic strategy. It is, in fact, the key to our national survival. We do not have any natural resources. We can only count on the skills and resourcefulness of our people. In the next phase of our economic development, we will need to be entrepreneurial, innovative and global-minded.

Furthermore, in the new economic environment, the quality of the labour force has become more important in determining a country’s competitiveness. And the first step to having a quality labour force is developing a quality education system.

The importance of education to a country, however, goes beyond economics. It goes to the very heart of a society. Teachers nurture a whole generation of citizens. They have tremendous influence on the values of the population. Whether our children grow up to have good and sound values will depend largely on what they are taught in their formative years.

This evening, I want you to reflect on the role you will play in our efforts to achieve the New Singapore.

We will spend more on education. We will increase spending from the current 3.6% of our GDP, to 4.5%. This translates to about $1.5 billion more each year, or an additional $2,500 per student.

The additional funds will be invested in better facilities, curriculum development, and teachers.

For example, we are spending $4.5 billion on the Programme for Rebuilding and Improving Existing Schools. This will provide our teachers and students with the most up-to-date learning facilities, including IT.

In the longer term, MOE aims to convert our primary schools into single-session schools. All our secondary schools are already single-session. Single-session schools give teachers and students more flexibility in curriculum-time management and use of physical space, and more opportunities to interact.

Making all our primary schools single-session, however, will be a massive undertaking. 50 new schools will need to be built, and additional principals groomed. MOE will make a decision on this issue in a year or two.

As for teachers, MOE recently introduced major improvements in their career and recognition structures. And we will do more, whenever necessary, in order to maintain teaching as an attractive profession.

We have a good and high quality education system today. This is shown in the performance of our students in international studies and competitions.

In the 2001 World Competitiveness Report, we were ranked third out of 49 developed and developing countries, on whether our educational system "meets the needs of a competitive economy".

In the Third International Maths and Science Study (1999), our Secondary Two students were ranked first in Maths and second in Science, out of 38 countries including developed countries.

In the last 3 years of Thinkquest, an international competition in which students design educational websites, we had the largest number of finalists after the US. One of our students won the platinum award for 3 years. He also won the "Best of Contest" Award, the competition’s highest accolade, in the latest competition.

More recently, our team of students emerged first in terms of the number of awards won at the 13^th International Olympiad in Informatics.

The honour for the students’ excellent performance in these international competitions and studies must be shared with the teachers.

In the area of the Arts too, Teo Chee Hean tells me that many of our Singapore Youth Festival performances are of professional standard. This is good.

Indeed, singing, musical and drama skills are important in making our students more rounded and socially confident. We spent close to $16 million last year to upgrade musical instruments and facilities for schools. In addition, every school has an annual Edusave grant, which the principal can use to hire specialist instructors to coach students in dance, music, and other social skills.

Such non-academic skills are important life-skills. In my time in school, there was no school band, no music lessons. So we never learnt to sing or appreciate music. This can be an embarrassment at times.

In 1977, I attended the ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting in Thailand together with the late Hon Sui Sen, who was then our Finance Minister. At the official dinner after the meeting, all the delegations were invited to sing. Musa Hitam, who was then the Trade Minister of Malaysia, sang "Burung Kakak Tua" with a melodious voice. Other ministers also performed credibly. But Hon Sui Sen and I could not sing. So we asked our officials to stand in for us. But they could not sing either. Fortunately, our officials had wits. They bravely went on stage, dedicated their song to the chairman of the meeting, and bellowed "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow"! The spirit behind the song found favour with the audience, even if the singing was off-key. They received huge applause.

Another incident took place some years ago when a group of my Marine Parade residents and their friends visited China. Their Chinese hosts entertained them with songs at a social function. The Singaporeans were invited to sing in return. None of them could do so. After much persuasion by the Chinese hosts, they sang, out of desperation, "Majullah Singapura"!

Our past investments in education will help us create the New Singapore. By themselves, however, they will not be enough. We need to lay a stronger foundation for Singaporeans to be enterprising, innovative and global-minded.

We need to look at the school curriculum, to see if changes are required. I do not mean just the examinable syllabus such as Maths and Science, but also the co-curricular and enrichment programmes.

For example, overseas field trips and exchange programmes broaden the horizon of our students. They open our students' eyes to the opportunities outside Singapore, and to our own constraints and vulnerabilities. They also enable our students to measure ourselves against others. If our students have little awareness of the wider world, they will be like the proverbial frog that lives in a well.

We will try to make available more funds, so that more students can make study trips to neighbouring countries.

But if we cannot bring all our children to the outside world, then we must find ways to bring the outside world into our classrooms.

Having some foreign students study together with our local students in our schools is the most practical way. Such interactions will help our students appreciate other countries and cultures. They also have the following benefits.

First, good foreign students will liven up our schools, and motivate our own students to do better. Secondly, the friendships our children forge with their foreign classmates might prove useful in future. Thirdly, some of these foreign students will stay on in Singapore after their studies, and contribute to our economy and society.

Teachers should also introduce international perspectives into the subjects they teach, for example, in the General Paper, or even in the teaching of languages such as English. You should draw the themes, examples and references you use in your teaching from the wider world. Our students will then be more informed of events and developments outside Singapore. To be a global nation, our people must have an active interest in what is going on outside Singapore. Such interest is cultivated from young.

An innovative and entrepreneurial mindset is also best developed from young.

In the last few years, our schools have tried to provide a more well-rounded education that nurtures creativity and innovation. The curriculum has been streamlined to encourage creative and critical thinking, and problem-solving. This teaches our students to be nimble and resourceful. In 1999, we reduced curriculum content by 30% to free up more time for developing such skills.

We should invest more effort into developing assessments which do not have just one answer. This way, students will be encouraged to exercise their thinking skills and innovative spirit to come out with different solutions for the same problem. An education system which is premised upon one right answer and one right approach forces conformist thinking. It does not allow students latitude to think out-of-the-box.

I am glad that many schools also have non-academic programmes to encourage student initiative. For example, some schools have set up co-operatives to help students learn first hand about managing a business.

To develop a more creative and innovative mindset, we need also to review our method of instruction.

MOE introduced inter-disciplinary project work in all schools from last year. Through such project work, students appreciate the inter-connectedness of disciplines, acquire useful problem-solving and communication skills, and learn to work in teams. More importantly, such project work makes our students more inquiring and self-reliant. The students are not handed the answers to be learnt by heart. They are guided to some extent in their research, but are largely left on their own to execute the project.

In your teaching, you should also encourage your students to ask questions, rather than simply sponging up whatever you tell them. A questioning attitude helps to open up the mind.

I recognise that part of this inhibition to question the teacher is cultural. It is, however, also an issue of priorities. In Israel, when a child goes home, his mother would ask, "How many questions did you ask today?" In Singapore, the mother would ask, "How many marks did you get for your test?"

No prizes for guessing which child will grow up to have more depth and breadth, and which one will likely suffer from tunnel vision, and stress.

To encourage more diverse and innovative teaching methods, we might even consider allowing, in the longer-term, some private schools to be set up. They would, of course, have to teach core subjects, including National Education, but they can be totally independent of MOE.

As teachers, you yourselves must be innovative if you want to shape lives and mould the nation.

For example, once a policy direction has been set by MOE, you should exercise initiative in creating your own curriculum and method of instruction. I do not think that it is the intention of the policy makers at the Ministry to circumscribe what you can or cannot do down to the last detail. I am sure that they would be more than pleased to see you exercise some independence, so long as you work towards their broad policy goals.

Occasionally, I hear complaints about the impracticality of instructions issued by the Ministry. They are not suited to your special circumstances, you say. But you should not feel bound by these rules and regulations to the letter. You must learn to interpret rules and regulations against their broader policy intent, and not on the basis of every word and punctuation mark. At the Ministry level, rules and regulations are set for the general audience. If you have sound reasons why a particular instruction is not appropriate for your students or school, you should take the initiative to voice your concerns. Only in this way can we continuously improve the quality of teaching.

Let me cite you two examples of innovative thinking from the field of sports. Innovation does not only mean new technology or products. It also means new ways of doing things and new techniques to achieve the same goals.

Some of you might know that before 1968, high jumpers used to jump over the bar leg-first. In 1968, however, an American high jumper by the name of Dick Fosbury developed a different technique which enabled him to jump higher. He flopped over the bar head-first and backward. His coach tried to discourage him from the technique, fearing that it might break his neck. But he persisted, and won the 1968 Olympic gold medal for high jump, without breaking his neck. Today, this technique is called the "Fosbury Flop". Far from being a flop, it was a huge success. The technique is now used by high jumpers all over the world.

My other example is swimming. In school, I swam the butterfly and other strokes. The butterfly stroke has an interesting history.

The butterfly stroke grew out of the breaststroke, where the underwater recovery of both arms and legs was a barrier to speed. The butterfly, involving a double over-arm recovery out of the water, was devised by an American coach. This produced more speed. A year later, one of the coach's swimmers developed the skill of beating his legs in unison like a fish's tail. The coach and his swimmer combined the butterfly hand movement and this new technique of the legs - called the dolphin kick – and developed a new swimming technique which generated even greater speed.

My point in these two examples is that as teachers, you must question accepted techniques, and see if there is a better way of achieving your objectives. Ask yourself if what you are teaching now could be done more effectively to help students learn better. For example, can anyone come up with a better method of teaching Chinese to students who come from an English-speaking background?

We also need you to play a part in implementing our new social compact. This compact is an unwritten agreement between the Government and the people on how we should work together for economic growth, and how to share the cake. There will be greater stresses to our social fabric as we move higher up the mountain of economic development. We will evolve a new social compact that will strengthen the bonds between us.

Schools help forge strong bonds of community in three ways.

First, schools shape young minds. They help to pass on national instincts that are necessary for the survival of Singapore. National Education provides the knowledge and experiences for our young to understand Singapore, and to acquire a confidence about the Singaporean way of life.

Secondly, schools teach our young the meaning of citizenship. Citizenship is both a term of identification and of action. It means commitment, responsibility and making a difference to one’s community and society. Schools encourage our young to do something for others besides themselves and their families - whether that means teaching disadvantaged children multiplication tables, or visiting old people in old folks homes and helping them with their rehabilitation exercises.

Thirdly, schools provide individuals with the glue that cements them to Singapore. They develop a sense of belonging through the students’ attachment to their school and their bonds with their school-friends.

A doctor friend of mine recently visited his old primary school. I can understand why he has become nostalgic and sentimental. He is now on the wrong side of sixty!

At the premises, the caretaker confided proudly to him, "Do you know that PM Goh studied here?" Of course my friend knew. We were classmates. Pasir Panjang Primary School, where we had spent so many wonderful childhood years, held good memories for us - the memories of friends, teachers, and the games we used to play. Unfortunately, the school had closed its doors many years back for lack of students. Now, it is a half-way house for drug abusers.

Teachers are the heart and soul of education. We can sink all our money into physical infrastructure and curriculum, but without good teachers, these investments will not pay off. The quality of education our young receive, depends on the quality of our teachers. Our past achievements would not have been possible without our teachers. Our future achievements will depend on them.

We have about 24,000 teachers in the service today. Their educational profile is improving. In 1990, 31% of our teachers were graduates. Last year, 53% were graduates. This is well above the population norm, where only about 12% of the resident population aged 25 years and above have a university qualification. This is a healthy trend.

I am concerned, however, that a quarter of the teachers currently in service will retire over the next 10 years. Indeed, the teaching force is getting younger. The median age has declined from 43 years in 1996 to 38 years in 2000. It is projected to drop further to 33 years by 2005.

These teachers retiring in the next decade were recruited in large numbers in the 1960s, when we first embarked on a major expansion of education opportunities. They have given their unstinting dedication to teaching. They have gone through many changes in education through the last 40 years. They have educated hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans. They have helped make our education system one of the best in the world, and shaped our nation into what it is today.

The challenge ahead is to ensure that our education system continues to do well even as these experienced teachers retire. We need enough teachers with the right qualities to take the place of those retiring. We need to ensure that the teaching service gets its fair share of talent. This means giving teachers better support and recognition.

We have taken steps to address teacher’s concerns about heavy administrative workload. More administrative support has already been given to teachers. Since April this year, $20 million more have been set aside every year for an extra administrative post for every school. This increases to three the number of administrative posts in schools; there were none just five years ago. We are also providing principals and teachers with the necessary IT support to do their work better.

The Government is also committed to attracting and retaining good teachers. Under Edu-Pac, which we announced recently, we put in place a structure to attract and retain teachers, recognise their good performance, reward loyalty and experience, and provide opportunities for their continual development. Edu-Pac will cost the government an extra $173 million this year. We have proceeded with the new package despite the current economic downturn because of the overriding importance of a high quality teaching service.

Indeed, the best educational policies and programmes can only come alive in the hands of a good teacher.

But what makes a good teacher? I am not an authority on education or teaching methods. I cannot dispense advice as an educationist. I can only speak from my experience as a student, as a father of two children, and from my three months as an English teacher in Kay Wah Chinese Primary School in Lim Chu Kang. I was then waiting for my ‘A’ level results.

I taught Primary Three students. It was a humbling experience. I discovered very quickly that I was talking over the heads of the students. Most of them did not even know their A, B, C, and could not understand a word I said. They were mostly the children of farmers and workers in Lim Chu Kang. They spoke Hokkien at home. English was an alien tongue. I found out how difficult it was to impart knowledge. I had to learn to make myself understood.

But I take comfort in the fact that the school remembers me. Three years ago, the school, now known as Qihua Primary School in Woodlands, asked me to pen a message for its 60^th anniversary. If they could recall that I had taught there, maybe my teaching wasn't so bad after all!

I would say that there are three qualities that define a good teacher. These have little to do with academic qualifications. An academically well-qualified person does not necessarily make a good teacher.

First, a good teacher recognizes that every student is different. Students have different absorption capacities, and are motivated in different ways. A good teacher sees and treats his students as individuals. Only then will you get the best out of each and every one of your wards. Three months were not enough for me to know the students in Kay Wah. But I can still remember the name of the best student in English.

Secondly, a good teacher must be able to impart knowledge in a manner which leaves a lasting impression. He must be able to transform abstract concepts into easily understandable imagery.

I remember this teacher in my primary school, Mrs Chee, who taught us geography. She explained in an imaginative way the phenomenon of a mountain range having lush vegetation on one side and hardly any on the other side. This phenomenon occurs when the winds that blow inland and across the mountain, shed their moisture before they reach the other side of the mountain. To help us young children understand the concept, she painted the imagery of an old man going up the mountain, and carrying a bucket of water on his back. As he climbs higher, he gets more and more tired, and empties his bucket of water as he goes along. By the time he reaches the top of the mountain and descends the other side, his bucket is already empty.

I remember well too, her lesson on "meandering rivers". She told us about a "meandering river" at the junction of Alexandra Road and Telok Blangah Road. She encouraged us to see it for ourselves at low tide. I had seen the river before as I lived about a mile away. After that lesson, I have never forgotten the meaning of "meandering".

Thirdly, a good teacher goes the extra mile.

My PSLE-year form teacher, Mr Selverajah, had high ambitions for all of us. He was determined that many of us should make it to RI. So he put in extra effort in preparing us for the examination. His efforts paid off. That year, nearly half of our class made it to RI, a record performance. We had him to thank for our success.

I asked MOE to give me examples of present day teachers who go the extra mile. I think MOE had great difficulty deciding which outstanding teacher I should mention. If they had given me all the examples they had, I would be spending the next hour or so just reciting the names!

MOE gave me the example of Mrs Joanna Nolting, a Learning Support Coordinator. She is passionate in helping her pupils in the Learning Support Programme (LSP). The LSP is for very weak primary school students. Mrs Nolting introduced chess to her LSP pupils to raise their self-esteem. She even roped in her husband to help train the pupils. With this encouragement, her pupils entered this year's National Schools Individual Chess Championships, as well as the National Inter-School Team Chess Championships. The judges were so impressed that they awarded the pupils a Special Achievement Award for sportsmanship, perseverance and team playing. Some of the parents were so touched that their children were good enough to enter a national competition, that they cried when they spoke to the principal.

Teachers need the support of parents to do their job effectively.

I have read of instances where parents take umbrage with teachers for the way the teachers deal with their children. While teachers do make mistakes, we cannot allow parents to take matters into their own hands by harassing the teachers. Parents should, as far as possible, trust what the teachers are doing. If really necessary, bring the matter to the attention of the principal. The principal will deal with the teacher appropriately.

My friends and I used to have teachers who threw chalks at us when we were noisy, and punished us by pulling our ears, or rapping us on the knuckles with a ruler. We dared not complain to our parents. Had we done so, we would be further punished by our parents for being naughty in class. I do not think any of us turned out any worse for our parents not interfering. I am not saying that we should condone bad behaviour on the part of teachers. But I do believe that some parents today are overly protective, to the point that they hamper the effectiveness of the teacher.

Many parents today are also overly stressing their children, and themselves. You hear of parents sending their children to two kindergartens - one in the morning and another in the afternoon. They employ tutors for their children when they are only in pre-school. They want their children to do well not only in their studies, but also in ballet, piano, violin, swimming, art, speech and drama and many other enrichment programmes. They hold the belief that if their children do not get a good head-start in life, they will lose out.

Parents must keep in mind that the education of our children is a life-long marathon. What many parents are doing, however, is to treat it as a 100-metre dash. But if you do that, you stress your children out in their early years. They will not have the stamina to last the whole race. I have heard of many children who pushed themselves hard and were star performers in primary school, but fizzled out in secondary school. Do not let this happen to your children. Worse, do not drive your children beyond their natural capacity, and cause them excessive stress. It is counter-productive.

I believe that all our primary schools are well-equipped to give your children a good foundation in education. Push your children to go as far as they are capable, certainly, but to a sensible limit. Ensure balance in their lives.

The various awards for teachers - the Inspiring Chinese Language Teacher award, the Caring Teacher awards, Outstanding Youth in Education Award, and the President’s Award for Teachers (PAT) – reflect the nation’s regard and recognition of the important role a teacher plays. The awards are not just recognition of individual deeds, but recognition of the entire teaching service’s contribution to the nation.

Each teacher has unique skills, capabilities, talents and resources. If you look at the PAT winners, you find that they form a diverse group. All of them have distinguished themselves by their love and concern for their students, the high esteem their peers have of them, and their lasting influence as role models for both their students and fellow teachers. But they each hold different positions in school, be it as teacher, subject head or head of department. They teach different subjects - English, Maths and Science – and come from a wide spectrum of schools. This year’s winners came from Broadrick Secondary, Punggol Primary, Kong Hwa, and Nanyang Girls’ High. It is this diversity in the strength and ability of all the members of the teaching service and their collective contributions, that have made possible the achievements of our education system.

As teachers, the future of our children and the nation rests heavily on you. You affect a society’s performance capacity. You embody and help shape society’s values, beliefs and commitments. Teachers plant the seeds of progress in all areas – culture, the arts, literature, science and the economy.

Indeed, our development as a nation can only be as swift as our progress in education. The future of Singapore will depend on the quality of Singaporeans who pass through your hands.

If you do not do your job well, the country will see in the next generation a mass of self-indulgent, indifferent and under-performing Singaporeans. But if you get it right, Singapore will thrive with a people full of confidence, and with a clear sense of purpose.

Let me wish all teachers a happy Teachers’ Day. And thank you, for a job well done.

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