SINGAPORE: New Education Minister Heng Swee Keat
says he will devote the coming weeks to better understand the
student experience.
His ministry will embark on a detailed study to
identify some schools across all levels and backgrounds and analyse
their strengths.
This could lead to new prototypes being designed,
which would then pave the way for policy reviews and organisational
changes.
Mr Heng said: "We want our education system to be student-centric.
I want to understand more deeply the experience of the students,
the interaction in schools, the experience of the teacher and
student leaders, and to hopefully begin to design the prototypes so
that we can look at where the experiments are, which ones have
worked well."
On Friday, Mr Heng made his first official address to students at
the closing ceremony of the pre-university seminar, amidst much
cheer.
He surprised the crowd by going on stage spontaneously to sing the
popular national song "Home".
After the event, he told reporters he was touched by the students'
knowledge, passion and creativity.
Mr Heng said his ministry will also engage more parents in dialogue
by reactivating COMPASS (COMmunity and PArents in Support of
Schools), an advisory council made up of parents and the
community.
He identified his two Senior Parliamentary Secretaries, Hawazi
Daipi and Sim Ann, who will be "reactivating COMPASS very
soon".
- CNA/ir