• Mrs Ong-Chua Li Ling Eileen, Haig Girls’ School,
• Mrs Lee Kok Hong, Temasek Primary School and
• Mrs Lim-Ng Yee Ping Diana, Coral Secondary School.

More information on the award recipients is in Annex A.

The annual President’s Award for Teachers recognises the commitment of teachers to the total development of students and to nation-building. This year’s recipients are outstanding teachers who have demonstrated inspiring passion, innovation and dedication in teaching. Not only do they infuse values education into the teaching of Maths and Science, they also take pains to make lessons come alive for their students, from tapping on cookie-baking to teach mathematical concepts to organising experiential learning journeys beyond the classroom so that students can learn more about Information Communications Technology.

This year saw a record number of nominations received since the Award was introduced in 1998. A total of 7806 nominations for the Award were received from principals, teachers, students, parents and former students, for the nomination of 2043 teachers who come from 225 schools. A Selection Panel, comprising prominent members of the community and senior officers from the Ministry of Education selected the three recipients. (Annex B)

A single intake system will facilitate a stronger educational programming in these schools where all students would start their course of study together. It obviates the need for the two admission exercises and the turn-over of students due to the two intakes (see background). In addition, it will also reduce the waiting time for some ‘O’ level graduates, who might otherwise need to wait for three months before entering JCs/MI.

JCs and MI will continue to share between 10 and 12 common weeks of school holidays with the primary and secondary schools (see 2009 School Terms and Holidays webpage). The common holiday periods of 1 week each in March and September, 4 weeks in Jun and the remaining weeks at the end of the year, will enable families with children studying in different educational levels to spend time together.

To make the single-intake possible, the following changes will take place from 2009:

1. The ‘O’ level results, which are currently released in late January, will be released in early January; and
2. The posting results from the Joint Admissions Exercise, currently released in mid-February, will be released in end January.

The revised school calendars for JCs and MI, based on a single intake in early February of 2009, are on the 2009 School Terms and Holidays webpage.

Background

Currently, there are two JC/MI intakes: one in January that is based on school preliminary examination results, and another in March based on ‘O’ level results. The two-intake situation gives rise to “churning” of students in JCs and MI in March, as quite a number of JC students chooses to switch courses or colleges after receiving the ‘O’ level results. The students in the second intake, who have not attended the pre-university course in the first 3 months, might also have difficulties in catching up with the ‘A’ level curriculum. In addition, some students who failed to meet the criteria to enter the JC/MI after the release of ‘O’ level results, faced disappointment when they have to leave after 3 months.

The revision of JC and MI calendars was one of the recommendations of the JC / Upper Secondary Education Review Committee in October 2002.

This change from the current two-intake system is made possible as the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board has taken greater control of the GCE ‘O’ level examinations since 2006. In addition, MOE has streamlined the processes for the ‘O’ level examinations and Joint Admissions Exercise, conducted after the release of the ‘O’ level results for students to select courses in JCs, MI, polytechnics and ITE.

The Guest-of-Honour for the ceremony, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, presented the awards at the SEAMEO Regional Language Centre.

The Lee Kuan Yew Award for All-Round Excellence

The Lee Kuan Yew Award for All-Round Excellence, established in 2005, is a pinnacle award which recognises well-rounded students who have excelled in both academic and non-academic spheres, and who exemplify positive character development, strong leadership qualities and commitment to service to the community. The award is presented at the end of Secondary education.

This award is part of the overall framework of Lee Kuan Yew awards, made possible through the interest proceeds from the principal fund of the Lee Kuan Yew Donation account of the Education Fund.

Seven students were presented with this Award. The names of the awardees are given in Annex A.

The Prime Minister’s Book Prize

The Prime Minister’s Book Prize, established in 1974, is an annual award for bilingualism given at the primary, secondary and pre-university levels. This year, 30 students were awarded the Prime Minister’s Book Prize—12 in the Primary section, 12 in the Secondary section and six in the Pre-University section. The names of the awardees are given in Annex B.

The Lee Kuan Yew Award for Mathematics and Science

The Lee Kuan Yew Award for excellence in Mathematics and Science was instituted in 1992. The awards are given under three categories—Secondary, Pre-University and Polytechnic. This year, of the 40 recipients, 15 are in the Secondary category, ten in the Pre-University category and 15 in the Polytechnic category. The names of the awardees are given in Annex C.

The Lee Kuan Yew Award for Outstanding Normal Course Students

The Lee Kuan Yew Award for Outstanding Normal Course Students was presented for the first time in 2004. This year, two awards were given out to the top two Normal (Technical) students, based on their ‘N’ level examination results. The names of the awardees are given in Annex D.

The Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship to Encourage Upgrading (LKY-STEP Award)

The Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship to Encourage Upgrading (LKY-STEP Award) was given out for the first time in 2001. This year, a total of 15 LKY-STEP awards were presented—ten to outstanding Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduates pursuing full-time studies at our polytechnics, and five to outstanding polytechnic graduates pursuing full-time undergraduate studies at our universities. The names of the awardees are given in Annex E.

Disciplinary areas are aligned with the main thrust of Singapore’s economy and manpower needs.

The disciplinary areas chosen for the new university’s initial offerings are aligned with the main thrust of Singapore’s economy and manpower needs over the medium term. The choice of these disciplinary areas also aims to ensure that graduates would have good employment prospects and exciting opportunities for career development on graduation.

Table 1: Alignment of Core Disciplinary Areas for New University with the Economy

The combination of the three disciplines provides a unique base from which we can develop the interdisciplinary approach of the university.

These three disciplinary areas were also chosen for their compatibility with the educational approach of the new university. As the new university will emphasise interdisciplinary learning, its disciplinary areas should have a strong potential for collaboration and synergy. For example, top universities like Stanford University have infused design thinking principles into other disciplines like Engineering and Business. The cross-fertilisation of ideas emerging from the interdisciplinary approach can potentially yield innovative solutions to difficult problems.

These disciplines would help the university attract its fair share of talent.

The new university’s disciplinary areas provide it with scope to develop innovative flagship programmes that would be attractive to bright students. The discipline areas form a strong core that would appeal to students with diverse backgrounds, and form the basis for strong academia-industry collaboration.

The New Publicly-Funded University

Chairman of the New University Steering Committee

MOE has appointed Mr. Philip Ng Chee Tat, Chief Executive Officer of the Far East Organization, as Chairman of a Steering Committee to oversee the establishment of the new university. Mr Ng brings with him extensive experience in the corporate sector. He has also been actively involved in the development of the higher education sector in Singapore through his membership on the Board of Trustees of the National University of Singapore (NUS), and the Board of Governors of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School and Republic Polytechnic. A write-up on Mr Ng is at the Annex.

The Steering Committee will comprise leaders from academia, industry and the public sector. Some of its key tasks are to:-

• Facilitate the appointment of the Board of Trustees and management team for the new university. This will include an international search for the President of the new University.
• Develop a Masterplan for the development of the new university’s permanent campus and in the interim, to locate a temporary campus;
• Guide the development of the new university’s academic programmes; and
• Identify suitable and reputable overseas universities to form partnerships and collaborations to enhance these academic programs.

Location of the New University

The new university’s campus will be located in Changi near the Singapore Expo. The site is within walking distance of the Expo MRT station and easily accessible by road via the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) and East Coast Parkway (ECP). It will also be served by the Downtown Line (under stage 3) upon its completion in 2016.

The new university’s campus is right next to the Changi Business Park, home to high technology businesses and knowledge-intensive facilities of leading companies. This will offer the new university opportunities to develop a vibrant industry-academia eco-system around its campus. Housing facilities are also planned for student accommodation and to facilitate residential learning programs.

Apart from the amenities at the Tampines Regional Centre and Simei Town Centre nearby, students will also be able to enjoy new commercial amenities such as food & beverage and retail outlets being developed in the Changi Business Park.

Overall, the new university will be a key feature within these dynamic environs. Its location will add to the richness and diversity of the experience for its students and staff.

Please refer to the factsheet for Information on the disciplines to be offered by the new publicly funded university.

Starting Date and First Intake

The new university is expected to take in its first intake in 2011.

Public Consultation on the Naming of the New Publicly-Funded University

A public consultation on the naming of the new publicly-funded university will be conducted from 11 Aug 08 to 30 Nov 08. Members of the public can submit their ideas for the Steering Committee’s consideration.

Other Recommendations of the Committee on the Expansion of the University Sector

The Government supports the plans of the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University to deepen their capabilities in research while enhancing the quality of their undergraduate programmes. The Government also supports the Singapore Management University’s plans to grow to a mid-sized university.

The Government agrees that liberal arts education could be a potentially valuable addition to Singapore’s university landscape, and will undertake further study to determine how this model of education can be introduced here. The Government has also agreed to explore the provision of public funding to more degree programmes in niche areas.

Background

The Committee on the Expansion of the University Sector began work in September 2007, after the Prime Minister announced the Government’s commitment to increase the target cohort participation rate to 30% by 2015 at the 2007 National Day Rally. The Committee was chaired by Senior Minister of State for Education RAdm (NS) Lui Tuck Yew and comprised members from the private and public sector as well as academia. Dr Tony Tan, Chairman of the Ministry of Education’s International Academic Advisory Panel (IAAP), served as advisor to the Committee.

The preliminary recommendations of the Committee were debated in Parliament at the Committee of Supply Debate in March 2008. The Committee released the recommendations of its preliminary report to the public on 24 June 2008. Following this, the IAAP endorsed the Committee’s recommendations at its 7th Meeting (25-27 Jun 2008) held in Singapore. Please see the executive summary and final report (520kb .pdf) of the Committee for more details.

Over the next few years, edumall 2.0 aims to provide every teacher with a wide range of digital resources including full length videos, video clips, interactive websites, multimedia activities, lesson plans and visual, aural and textual archived resources. Over the next few years edumall 2.0 will build up a wide data base of quality resources from trusted sources and provide an array of easy-to-use online tools and an effective search engine.

edumall 2.0 will also feature individual subject pages for each subject on the school curriculum that will develop into online centres for educational communities where teachers can discuss ideas, debate issues, and share resources and teaching tips with one another.

Every teacher will have a private, online web space in edumall 2.0. This can be designed to meet individual needs and preferences so as to become a personalised online resource centre.

The current preview at the International Conference on Teaching and Learning with Technology (ICTLT) 2008 on 5 Aug, is the seed from which edumall 2.0 will grow and flourish over the next few years. Once edumall 2.0 has taken root among teachers, it will be opened to students so as to foster independent and collaborative learning and research. Over time, we intend for edumall 2.0 to become self-sustaining, and, as much as possible, self-regulating. We envisage a wiki-community who will use edumall 2.0 to exploit the full potential of web2.0 technology through the utilisation of on-line resources, collaboration in the creation of new resources and ideas, and a national and international on-line community of learning.

Themed “Learning, Leading, Innovating”, iCTLT 2008 will feature a host of topics covering the use of ICT in learning environments and the exploration of emerging technologies for enhanced teaching and learning.

The conference will bring together about 1,700 school leaders and educators from the education sector, research and academic institutes, and authorities to exchange views and experience on new developments and practices in the use of ICT for learning and teaching. This year’s conference has attracted more than 100 presentations, about half of which are from countries such as Australia, China, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States. The participants for this conference come from about 20 countries.

The iCTLT 2008 is supported by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, National Institute of Education and the Singapore Tourism Board. Three similar conferences will be held from 2008 to 2012.

Programme Highlights

iCTLT 2008 comprises a two-day main conference cum exhibition, held on 5 and 6 August 2008. Prior to the main conference, school visits were held on 4 August 2008 for foreign delegates to showcase how ICT is used in teaching and learning, and how Singapore schools have implemented MOE’s Masterplan for ICT in Education. Workshops were also held prior to the conference on the innovative use of ICT for pedagogy.

Apart from three keynote speakers, the conference also features four other invited speakers, as well as paper presentations by academics, teachers, school leaders and industry partners. The conference will end with a panel discussion to consolidate the knowledge and experiences gained during the conference.

The exhibition, which includes exhibits by 15 primary schools, 8 secondary schools, 4 junior colleges, two Japanese universities and 37 industry partners, will showcase 4 key areas:

1. Overview and outcomes of the first and second Masterplans for ICT in education and programmes for ICT in education;
2. Partnerships forged between schools, IHLs and industry partners in the exploration of emerging technologies for teaching and learning;
3. Use of ICT in learning environments; and
4. Industry developments in technologies for learning.

For more information on iCTLT, visit the iCTLT website.

About ISTE

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is a non-profit membership organisation based in the United States for educators and education leaders engaged in improving teaching and learning by advancing the effective use of technology in PK-12 and teacher education.

Founded in 1979, ISTE is home to the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS), the Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology (CARET), and the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC). It supports more than 100,000 members with information, networking opportunities, and guidance as they face the challenge of transforming education.

To learn more about ISTE, visit the ISTE website.

The broad strategies of the third Masterplan for ICT in Education are:

• To strengthen integration of ICT into curriculum, pedagogy and assessment to enhance learning and develop competencies for the 21st century;
• To provide differentiated professional development that is more practice-based and models how ICT can be effectively used to help students learn better;
• To improve the sharing of best practices and successful innovations; and
• To enhance ICT provisions in schools to support the implementation of mp3.

Strengthening Integration of ICT into Curriculum, Assessment & Pedagogy

ICT will be more extensively integrated into the planning, design and implementation stages of the curriculum, assessment and pedagogy. There will be greater alignment of students’ learning outcomes in the syllabi, national examinations, and classroom experience to 21st century skills such as IT skills, and the ability to communicate persuasively and collaborate effectively. Students will be required to use ICT to look for information, synthesise reports, give feedback on each others’ work and collaborate with peers within and outside school.

Differentiated Professional Development

School leaders can create the environment for teachers to reflect and learn from each other about effective teaching practices that incorporate ICT use in the classrooms to achieve desired learning outcomes for their students.

In addition, MOE will train a pool of “ICT specialist teachers” with strong pedagogical groundings to model and lead professional development efforts within and across schools. A learning roadmap will also be developed to help pace teachers in learning how to effectively use ICT in their classes.

Improve the sharing of best practices and successful innovations

To improve the sharing of best practices, MOE will support the establishment of a network of educational labs where innovations can be prototyped and tested. These labs will provide the latest technologies to promote exploration of learning possibilities. They can also serve as training ground for pre- and in-service teachers.

MOE will continue to support schools to innovate in the use of ICT and to facilitate sharing of good practices among schools through programmes like the FutureSchools@Singapore and LEAD ICT@Schools.

Enhanced ICT Provisions

Accessibility of ICT to students will be increased through more flexible and mobile infrastructure provisions such as wireless internet access, piloting 1-notebook-to-1-pupil ratio in more schools, and higher data bandwidth to the Internet.

Background

The Masterplans for ICT in Education drive the use of ICT in education. The underlying philosophy of the Masterplans is that education should continually anticipate the needs of the future and prepare pupils to meet those needs.

The first Masterplan for ICT in Education (1997 — 2002) laid a strong foundation for schools to harness ICT, particularly in the provision of basic ICT infrastructure and in equipping teachers with a basic level of ICT integration competency, which achieved a widespread acceptance for its use in education.

The second Masterplan for ICT in Education (2003 — 2008) built on this foundation to strive for an effective and pervasive use of ICT in education by, for example, strengthening the integration of ICT into the curriculum, establishing baseline ICT standards for students, and seeding innovative use of ICT among schools.

For more information on the Masterplans for ICT in Education, visit the following websites:

• Masterplan 1
• Masterplan 2
• Masterplan 3

Related Links

• Information Sheet on iCTLT
• Information Sheet on edumall 2.0

19th International Biology Olympiad (IBO)

The four students who represented Singapore at the 19th IBO held in Mumbai, India, from 13 to 20 July 2008, received two Gold and two Silver medals in a field of 220 student participants from 55 countries.

Singapore was in the top ten in terms of medals won, having placed 5th out of 55 countries.

The two Gold medallists are Men Yifei of Raffles Junior College and Sng Weirong Joshua of Hwa Chong Institution, with Men Yifei placed 5th in terms of individual world ranking. The Silver medallists are Choy Chi Chuen Kevin and Lim Min De Timothy of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).

The Singapore delegation was led by Associate Professor Shirley Lim, Head of Natural Sciences and Science Education, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University.

39th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO)

At the 39th IPhO held in Hanoi, Vietnam, from 20 to 29 July 2008, the Singapore team received the following medals: one Gold, three Silver and one Bronze in a field of 376 student participants from 82 countries.

In terms of medals won, Singapore was placed 11th out of 82 countries.

The Gold medallist is Chan Wai Hong Ronald of Raffles Junior College. The Silver medalists are Zhao Ye and Lam Chee Yong Leslie of NUS High School of Mathematics and Science; and Ng Kia Boon of Raffles Junior College. Zhai Weichao of NUS High School of Mathematics and Science received a Bronze medal.

The Singapore delegation was led by Associate Professor Kwek Leong Chuan and Associate Professor Rajdeep Singh Rawat from the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University.

40th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO)

The 40th IChO was held in Budapest, Hungary from 12 to 21 July 2008. Four students representing Singapore received one Gold, one Silver and two Bronze medals in a field of 255 student participants from 71 countries.

In terms of medals won, Singapore was placed 12th out of 71 countries.

The Gold medallist is Yeong Li Qian of Raffles Junior College, who was placed 2nd in terms of individual world ranking. The Silver medallist is Wang Yong Jin from Raffles Junior College. Foo Mei Hua Fiona and Lau Kang Ruey Gregory of NUS High School received Bronze medals.

The Singapore delegation was led by Dr Mak Ka Wai Karen and Dr Basheer Chanbasha from the National University of Singapore.

49th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)

The 49th IMO was held in Madrid, Spain from 14 to 22 July 2008. The Singapore team received one Silver and three Bronze medals in a field of 535 student participants from 97 countries.

The Silver medallist is Lei Lei of NUS High School of Mathematics and Science. The Bronze medallists are Lim Wei Quan of Hwa Chong Institution; Lee Jun Dominic of NUS High School of Mathematics and Science and Chiam Jia-Han of Raffles Junior College.

The Singapore delegation was led by Associate Professor Wong Yan Loi from the National University of Singapore.

A Joint Effort

Our students’ participation in the four International Olympiads is a joint effort between the Ministry of Education and the following organisations:

• Institute of Physics, Singapore;
• Singapore Institute of Biology;
• Singapore National Institute of Chemistry;
• Singapore Mathematical Society;
• National University of Singapore; and
• National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University.

Background

The International Olympiads for Science and Mathematics bring together the best and brightest students from around the world, challenging and stimulating their minds in the spirit of competition. Through rigorous tests of theoretical knowledge, students demonstrate their mastery of scientific and mathematical concepts. Their experimental skills are also put to the test in the Science Olympiads.

The Olympiads are thus global platforms to stretch some of our most able students in Science and Mathematics. By pitting their skills and knowledge against international peers, not only would our students be exposed to an enriching learning experience, they would also be motivated to strive for excellence in the international arena.

The 2008 School Placement Exercise for Returning Singaporeans (SPERS) is open for registration from 28 July 2008 for Singaporean children who are returning from overseas and wish to join our secondary schools, junior colleges (JC) or Millennia Institute (MI) at the beginning of academic year 2009.

This is the third year that the Ministry of Education (MOE) is conducting SPERS, a centralised placement exercise held at the end of the year for returning Singaporeans (RS). With SPERS, Singaporean parents working abroad can look forward to easier re-entry into the mainstream school system for their children when they return to Singapore. RS children will only need to sit for one set of centralised SPERS papers for school admission and will no longer need to take multiple school-based tests.

RS children seeking admission to Secondary 1-3 or Pre-U1 in 2009 can participate in SPERS-Sec or SPERS-JC/MI respectively. Applicants will receive their school placement results in December and will be able join our secondary schools and JC/MI at the start of the school term in early 2009.

Pilot Supplementary Placement Exercise

Last year, in response to feedback from some overseas Singaporeans who were unable to return in time for the locally-conducted SPERS papers, MOE invited applications for SPERS papers to be taken in Shanghai at the same time when the same papers were being taken in Singapore. Shanghai was chosen because our data showed that PRC had the largest number of RS children seeking admission to our schools. The pilot eventually did not proceed as there was less than the minimum candidature of 20 applicants. Owing to this poor response, MOE will not be conducting the SPERS test overseas this year.

Instead, to better facilitate RS who are unable to return in time for the SPERS exercise, MOE will pilot a supplementary placement exercise after the SPERS exercise. RS will be able to choose to take part in SPERS or the pilot supplementary exercise and enjoy more flexibility in timing their return to Singapore.

The centralised SPERS papers for this supplementary exercise will be held locally in early January 2009 and applicants will receive their school placement results in February 2009. Registration for this pilot will open later this year, in October.

Information/Registration Website

Details of the 2008 SPERS-Sec and SPERS-JC/MI exercises and the pilot supplementary exercise can be found in the Annex. For more details and registration, please refer to the MOE RS website or contact us at the following:

RS seeking admission to primary schools may approach MOE at any time of the year for assistance. MOE will offer the RS a place in a primary school with vacancies near his/her home at the level appropriate for his/her age cohort. The RS will not have to sit for any placement test for admission, although the primary school may conduct assessment tests after admission to ascertain the child’s current attainment level and provide the appropriate assistance to help the child settle into the school. As Secondary 4 and Pre-U2 are national examination years, RS generally would not re-join at these levels.

The programme is organised by the Malay Language (ML) Teachers Association and supported by the Malay Language Learning and Promotion Committee (MLLPC). The objectives of the programme are:

• to provide opportunities for ML teachers to deepen their knowledge on Malay language and culture;
• to learn the culture, language and literature of Brunei Darussalam; and
• to develop network with schools and teacher partners from Brunei Darussalam.

In Brunei, the delegation will visit the Ministry of Education, schools, language and literary agency (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka) and institutes of higher learning. The delegates will observe lessons in primary and secondary schools, attend seminars at the University of Brunei Darussalam and have dialogue sessions with teachers.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli will also be meeting his Brunei counterparts from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Religious Affairs to further deepen the strong relationship between the two countries.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli will be accompanied by ML teachers, principals, Master Teacher and officials from MOE.

The initiative has taken off well. The number of schools offering CCM has since increased by more than 2.5 fold from 2006 to 2008. In 2006 there were 87 schools offering Conversational Chinese (CL) and 97 schools offering Conversational Malay (ML). This year, 239 schools offer Conversational CL and 249 schools offer Conversational ML. MOE’s aim is for all primary schools and two-thirds of our secondary schools to offer the CCM programme to their students by 2012.

More Structured Approach with Longer Programme Duration

In March 2007, MOE announced that additional resources would be provided to encourage as many schools as possible to offer CCM to students not taking these languages as their Mother Tongues.

With more support from MOE, schools now offer a more structured programme with a longer duration of 20 hours or more per year. To facilitate its implementation, a modular approach has been adopted - Beginner and Basic modules for primary schools and Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced modules for secondary and post-secondary institutions.

Partnership with Home and Community

The support from MOE has enabled schools to implement CCM in a variety of innovative ways. Some schools have taken the opportunity to strengthen home-school partnership by tapping on parents and alumni to teach the lessons. Others reach out further into the community by working with Community Development Councils (CDC) to engage retirees and housewives as instructors. The CDCs have been very forthcoming and offer good support to the instructors recruited, which include pre- and post-training counseling and IT courses. Examples of these schools are listed in the Annex.

Some schools have even moved beyond the confines of their own school community to incorporate and instil the importance of sharing and caring in our young. For instance, students from Bedok Green Secondary taught CCM to students from nearby Yu Neng Primary.

At a meeting today, Dr. Ng Eng Hen, Singapore’s Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, and Mr. Somchai Wongsawat, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, reaffirmed their commitment to these new areas of cooperation, discussed under the Civil Service Exchange Programme (CSEP). Mr. Somchai is on an official visit to Singapore from 8–9 July 2008 at the invitation of Dr. Ng. This is the first meeting between the two Education Ministers.

The Eighth CSEP Coordinating Meeting took place in Bangkok from 29#8211;30 June 2008. During the meeting, Singapore and Thailand also agreed to increase the number of partner schools from 10 to 15 pairs, and to support the continuation of on-going initiatives such as annual student camps, exchange of teachers, scholarships and school visits.

While in Singapore, Mr. Somchai also visited the National Institute of Education, Institute of Technical Education College East and Jurong Secondary School, to observe their application of ICT in education.

This year’s OYEA winners are:

1. Mr Quek Swee Nee from Bukit View Primary School (28 years old);
2. Mr Cher Teck Yiang, Luke Melvin from Mayflower Primary School (29 years old);
3. Ms Chua Hwee Pheng from Pasir Ris Crest Secondary School (28 years old).

These three exceptional teachers stood out from 12 outstanding finalists who were selected from a total of 301 nominated teachers. Strongly anchored in their belief that education is much more than teaching various subjects, they seek to nurture all-rounded individuals through the lessons they deliver. They have also distinguished themselves by their deep passion for the subjects they teach, which translated into a desire to inspire and develop their students in those areas. They adopted innovative approaches both in and beyond the classroom, and demonstrated dedication to maximising their students’ potential. The achievements of these teachers are outlined in Annex A.

Besides receiving a trophy and citation certificate, the winners will also be fully sponsored to attend an overseas conference to further their professional development.

The OYEA is administered by the National Youth Council and supported by Teachers Network of the Ministry of Education. Besides honouring the achievements of young educators, the OYEA aims to inspire youths to take up a teaching career and be an excellent role model for the younger generation. Details of the OYEA can be found in Annex B. The list of the finalists can be found at Annex C.

Parents and the public are invited to participate in the Ministry of Education’s much anticipated ExCEL Fest 2008 to have a taste of what our children are experiencing in schools today. The event for the public will be held at Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre on 5 July 2008. With the theme of “Nurturing Every Child for the Future”, the event offers over 80 exhibits showcasing innovations in our schools, talks for parents, and classroom sessions on the latest in education. Participants can also interact with teachers from more than 100 schools and learn more about the diverse and exciting educational experiences that schools are providing our children.

The first day of the event will be for teachers and MOE staff while the second day is open to parents and members of the public. This is the third time the Fest is open to the public since it began. MOE expects a turn-out of some 20,000 parents and members of the public on 5 July 08.

Exhibits

More than 80 schools will be showcasing their innovative practices on engaging students, harnessing technology, shaping character and inculcating a global outlook. Teachers and students will share their innovative practices and how these help our students become active learners and discover their talents.

Talks and Classroom Sessions

Parents and the public can also register for talks and classroom sessions on topics ranging from “preparing your child for Primary 1” to “innovative ways to improve your child’s English”. Prior registration is required for these sessions.

Background

Since 2001, MOE ExCEL (Excellence through Continuous Enterprise & Learning) Fest has been a platform to showcase innovative efforts and share best practices in schools. It recognizes school, team and individual efforts in nurturing a culture of innovation and continuous learning.

For more details on MOE ExCEL Fest and to register for the various talks and classroom sessions, visit the ExCEL Fest website.