Mr S Iswaran
Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Education

 

Ms Grace Fu

Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education

 

Mrs Josephine Teo

Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC and Chairperson of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education

 

Ms Yeoh Chee Yan

Second Permanent Secretary

 

Ms Ho Peng
Director-General of Education

 

 

Colleagues, Teaching Scholars, Ladies and Gentlemen

 

1                    It is a great pleasure to be here with you at our annual Teaching Scholarships Presentation Ceremony. This ceremony is important because it gives us a glimpse of our future. Because whether our schools can continually improve and our students developed to the fullest depends critically on the pipeline of teachers, educators and leaders that come into our system. No system can rise above the quality of its teachers. So, today we look to you, as Teaching Scholars and Award recipients, as our hope for the future, to maintain and upgrade our educational system after you have completed your training.

 

2                    I am pleased to announce that this year MOE is giving out a total of 420[1] teaching scholarships and awards. This is the highest number of scholarships and awards we have given out so far since 2003[2]. This year we have a bumper harvest because of the strong interest in teaching amongst quality candidates who have many other attractive options.  

 

3                    As a reflection of the outstanding quality, four of you have been awarded the prestigious Overseas Merit Scholarships for Teaching by the Public Service Commission and 17 of you will be given the coveted Education Merit Scholarship.

 

4                    As in the past, recipients of scholarships and awards have chosen Universities across the globe so this will add greater diversity and exposure to different systems among our teaching force. The largest number overseas is in the UK with 48 headed there. 10 will be in the United States. This year, we have 11 scholars pursuing their studies in Japan (2), China (5), Germany (3) and France (1). Not all are confined to the traditional teaching subjects - we have 17 awards for Fine Arts and 9 candidates will receive scholarships to study Music[3]. This is an unprecedented number of scholars majoring in aesthetics, reflecting our push towards a more holistic education.

 

5                    I am of course delighted that we have so many top quality entrants who have chosen a career in Education. To get the best out of you, MOE will seek to develop your potential to the full. Let me share with you some of the development programmes we have in store to accomplish this.

 

6                    Last year, during this scholarship presentation ceremony, I announced the launch of the Teaching Internship Programme (or TIP) where A-level graduands are attached to our schools for at least 4 weeks under the mentorship of experienced teachers to better appreciate what being a teacher involves.

 

7                    A total of 194 A-level students took part in our TIP this year. From them, 59 are here today. Four will receive the Education Merit Scholarship. 32 of them will be awarded MOE teaching scholarships and another 23 the MOE Teaching Award to pursue their undergraduate study.  They tell us that the TIP stint has helped confirm their calling to teach. A teaching intern at Dunman High School, Ms Tan Mei Hui discovered her passion for interacting with young people and was strongly recommended for a scholarship by her teacher-mentor. Today, she will be receiving the Education Merit Scholarship to read Music at the Royal College of Music in London. 

 

 

 

8                    Because of its usefulness, the TIP has since been extended to local undergraduates and polytechnic students and more to overseas Singaporean undergraduates who can participate in the TIP when they return to Singapore during term breaks.

 

9                    Our pilot run of the overseas TIP attracted 5 Singaporean undergraduates[4]UK and USA universities such as Imperial College, University of Cambridge and Columbia University. These teaching interns started their 5-week experience in our schools in July. from top

 

10               The TIP is a new program but because it has proved successful in allowing applicants to make informed decisions about teaching as a career, we will progressively expand it. Today 1 in 7[5] of our teaching scholars and award holders went through the TIP.  By 2015, as far as possible, we will require all scholarship candidates to undertake a teaching stint in our schools before proceeding for their studies.

 

11               During the course of your undergraduate study, we will help you stay in touch with developments in education through a 3-week attachment to schools, both here and overseas.

 

12               Mr Loo Jia Ming, an Education Merit Scholar awarded in 2003 and recipient of the Outstanding Foreign Student Award from Fudan University, was attached to Taipei’s Municipal Yu Cheng Senior High School, Taiwan, where he observed lessons and taught Taiwanese students. This enabled him to better appreciate the different approaches to education in East Asia. Jiaming’s experience in Taiwan will help develop his professional expertise as a teacher of the Chinese Language. 

 

13               University life itself will provide many opportunities to hone your leadership skills. Mr Puah You Kai, a Year 2 Local Teaching Scholar, assumed the role of organizing Chairman for the Singapore Model United Nations 2009, an undergraduate-run conference for over 300 participants aged 17 years and above. At this conference, participants role-played country ambassadors and debated real-life global issues. Besides You Kai, four other Teaching Scholars were in the Organising Committee, Ms Ngiam Jing Zhi, Ms Charmaine Tay Mei Xian, Ms Rachel Kwan and Mr Kwok Yi Jun.  I encourage our teaching scholars and award holders to participate in and benefit fully from these activities.

 

14               The learning does not stop after your first degree.  MOE provides Masters sponsorship for deserving scholars. This year, 16 scholars and award holders have been awarded the MOE Masters Sponsorship, while 24 are continuing with their postgraduate studies directly after their undergraduate degrees. For example, Miss Thanaletchimy, a recipient of the Teaching Award in 2005, who graduated with First Class Honours from NUS, will be pursuing her Masters in Economics at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne) in France under MOE Sponsorship before coming back to teach. 

 

15               Today, our scholars who pursue their studies in China, Taiwan, France, Germany and Japan are granted sponsorship for their Masters studies as long as they meet the eligibility criteria.  Miss Tan Liang Si, an Overseas Teaching Scholar, will be one of the first this year to be granted sponsorship automatically for her Masters Studies in French Language in France. 

 

16               Today, I would like to announce more Masters sponsorship opportunities for outstanding teaching scholars and teaching applicants. First, those who excel in their undergraduate studies will be eligible to continue immediately for Master’s sponsorship. This includes deserving teachers who join us directly through the NIE programmes. From 2010, top-performing graduates from the Bachelor of Art / Science in Education at NIE will be eligible to pursue their Masters studies on MOE Sponsorship immediately after their undergraduate studies. Those who graduate with Distinctions in the PGDE programme could be awarded a "provisional" postgraduate scholarship which is tenable after 2 years of teaching and good performance.  

 

 

 

17               These efforts to provide better educational opportunities and early exposure to teaching are to groom leaders to contribute in positions of responsibility once they are ready. MOE has put in place a structured career development programme for teachers after they graduate from NIE. This includes postings to schools and within HQ to discover and develop your professional strengths. There are multiple tracks that suit different strengths. You can serve in leadership positions, develop as a specialist or as a master teacher – a teacher of teachers. For example, Mr Frederick Yeo Kok Peng, a Local Merit Teaching Scholar was appointed as Principal of Bowen Secondary in 2007 at the age of 36.  He had graduated with Honours from the National University of Singapore and was trained to teach Geography. After his stint at Jurong Junior College, he came to MOE HQ to work as a Curriculum Planning Officer in 2003. Subsequently he took on the Vice-Principal position at Raffles Institution before being appointed the Principal of Bowen Secondary. As a young principal, Frederick leads a team of 114 teachers and support staff to nurture some 1,400 students under his care.

 

18               Another example is Dr Elizabeth Pang, a specialist in education. Dr Pang, an Overseas Merit Teaching Scholar, majored in English Language and Literature at Oxford and obtained her Master's and PhD at Stanford. She started first as a teacher at Hwa Chong Junior College before she took on different portfolios at MOE HQ. As the Programme Director for Literacy Development, Dr Pang oversees the development of English Language curriculum in primary schools, including the implementation and evaluation of the Strategies for English Language Learning And Reading (STELLAR) programme. Dr Pang is also involved in international reading literacy studies and represents Singapore, the only Asian country in the Reading Development Group, of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS).

 

19                  These examples reflect the many opportunities and career paths for teachers of different skills and aptitude. MOE strongly believes that if we allow teachers to develop themselves fully and train them to lead schools and educate students well, then our education system can continually improve

20               Once again, let me extend my warmest congratulations to you and your parents. I wish you all the best in your studies and an exciting journey ahead. Thank you.

 

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