This is the 25^th time we are celebrating Teachers’ Day in Sembawang.  I would like to thank our Community Leaders for arranging this dinner tonight so that we can all thank all our hard working principals and teachers who are working so hard in order to educate our children. They are doing a great service to parents and their children and it is only right that we should organize this function as a small gesture of our appreciation for their hard work and commitment.

Among the priorities which PM Lee Hsien Loong discussed at the National Day Rally on August 22^nd, improving the education system was given special importance.  This is because a good education system is fundamental to making Singapore work.

Over the years, the Government has invested considerable resources in improving our education system, maintaining high standards and providing more variety and flexibility.  In 1994, our students attended schools that were mostly double sessions.  Now, all our secondary schools are single-session schools, and our primary schools are moving towards partial single session.

In 1994, 37% of our teachers were diploma-holders or graduates. Today, this stands at about 70%. Ten years ago, only 6 in 10 of our students completed post-secondary education. Today, 8 in 10 do so.

The results are evident in the high standards for which Singapore is known throughout the world. Our students regularly do well in international assessments. They win prizes in academic competitions overseas. At the recent 15^th International Biology Olympiad held in Brisbane, Australia in July 2004, for example, Singapore had 2 gold medalists and 2 silver medalists, emerging 2^nd out of 43 participating countries.

            With the hard work and resources which we have put in over the last 25 years, we have today a robust education system which is capable of giving almost all our children a high average level of education, making sure that they know the basics and preparing them for further training when they leave school either in our ITE, Polytechnic or University.  Over the years, we have introduced many innovations like Independent Schools and autonomous schools, and now the Integrated Programme and specialized schools such as the Sports School, the NUS High School for Mathematics and Science, and the Arts School.  This will allow us to fully develop students with special talents in a variety of areas.

            The challenge now is for MOE to further improve the system by introducing more flexibility but without lowering standards so that we can achieve our aim of having an education system which will inculcate a love of learning in our young people and develop each child to the best of his or her potential.  This is an enormous task.

As we proceed to improve our education system, three challenges lie ahead:

i)                    Revising the curriculum to make it less stressful and to make it more meaningful and interesting;

ii)                  Educating enough teachers and making them passionate about their teaching;  and

iii)                Communicating the changes to parents and the public so that they will not be alarmed but will welcome the changes.

We have to start with revising the curriculum because over the years the curriculum tends to be overloaded.  When I was the Education Minister many years ago, I was always worried by the fact that the curriculum seems to be expanding all the time and at the back of my mind, I always had the worry that the capability of any child, however bright, had a limit and if you keep on adding more and more then after a while, the child becomes overloaded and develops an aversion to learning.  Once the child dislikes learning, then it is very difficult to get him or her to be enthusiastic in school.  Revising the curriculum is therefore the starting point for any improvement to the education system.

            The next requirement is of course teachers – not only more teachers but more good teachers, teachers who are enthusiastic about their work and who are committed to their profession.  We now have a good crop of teachers entering the teaching profession, not only female teachers but also male teachers.  In 1999, one out of every four teachers recruited was male.  Today, one out of every three teachers recruited is male – a considerable improvement.  Our female teachers are of course doing an excellent job but we need a sufficient number of male teachers to be role models and examples for our boys to follow and it is good if we have a healthy mix of make and female teachers in our schools.  In this respect, it may be useful for MOE to study how other countries are able to encourage their able young men and women to take up the teaching profession.

            Finally, education is a very sensitive subject because it deals with something which is very dear to Singaporeans.  Making changes in education is always politically very difficult because essentially every parent is an expert in education, having gone through the education system himself or herself, and of course having the education of their children very much in mind.  An extensive campaign of public education and explanation is necessary in order to explain to parents why the changes are necessary and the changes have to be phased in gradually so that they are not disruptive and parents are not alarmed.

            I welcome all of these changes which we are making to our education system.  When fully implemented, I am confident that we will have a very good education system which will stand Singaporeans and their children in good stead in the coming years.  Under the capable leadership of Minister for Education Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam and the dedicated MOE officials, I have no doubt that we will succeed in this task.  When we have finished, we will bring our educational system to a higher level and this will be a boost to Singapore and to Singaporeans.

            Let me conclude by thanking all our principals and teachers for the hard work which they have done.  They have rendered a great service to Singapore.  I wish them all the best in their coming years as they go about the exciting job of awakening young minds and educating younger Singaporeans.