Mr Lee Yi Shyan at the Opening Ceremony of the Asia Study Visit for African Policy Makers

Speech by Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State for Trade & Industry at the Opening Ceremony of the Asia Study Visit for African Policy Makers, Monday, 19 June 2006, 9.00am at Meritus Mandarin Hotel

Honorable Ministers for Education from Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, and Madagascar,

Your Excellency Enok Nygaad, Norwegian Ambassador to Singapore

Mr Yaw Ansu, Director of Human Development Department for Africa Region, World Bank,

Distinguished Speakers, Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

A very warm welcome and good morning to all of you, especially to friends who are visiting Singapore for the first time. I am very honored to be able to join you in this distinguished gathering of educators and decision makers whom I believe, hold the key to a better future for your people. We in Singapore understood the importance of education very well and from very early on because we have no natural resources apart from a small population.

The Singapore Cooperation Programme

When Singapore became a member of the United Nations in September 1965 following our independence, we benefited from a number of technical assistance programs provided by United Nations. These programs had a profound impact on the way we subsequently developed our human resources. We remain grateful for their help.

In return, Singapore established “The Singapore Cooperation Program (SCP) in 1992 to share with developing nations the technical competency and skills which we have developed over the four decades. To date, the SCP has sponsored training programs and visits such as this Study Tour for more than 42,000 officials from 162 developing countries.

Role of Education in Economic Development

Unlike many countries endowed with natural resources of oil and minerals, Singapore recognized that a sound and robust education system was the only we could make a living. Since independence 41 years ago, the Singapore Government has invested heavily in education, especially in basic education. Later on, as we had more resources, we began to pay attention to secondary level (or high school) and tertiary education. Vocational training and the life-long training of the labor force also received great attention in recent years. In fact, the education sector has been the second largest recipient of government funding for many years –averaging 5 per cent of Singapore’s GDP annually. For a 4.3 million population, we currently have some 2,800 education establishments in Singapore, of which 300 are public schools. We invest heavily in education. We invest in the future.

In our short 40-year history, Singapore’s education system underwent three major paradigm shifts to keep pace with the changing focus of our economic policies and meet rapid industrialization needs.

First Phase: Survival-driven education

The first phase began in the early 1960s and lasted up to the late 1970s and was coined “survival economics” or “survival-driven education”. Upon our independence in 1965, Singapore was confronted with severe racial, religious and political turmoil. National integration and economic development were at the core of Singapore’s education policies. Bilingualism, with English as the lingua franca amongst the different races. This was an important strategy aimed not only at social cohesion but also at building our direct link to the outside world, the global business community.

Basic education was made compulsory and provided to all from the age of six. In 1962, out of a population of 1.7 million, the student population stood at nearly 400,000.We needed more schools rapidly then. We opened one new school every month. In the same period, we reviewed and upgraded technical and vocational education to produce enough skilled workers for the rapid expansion of labor intensive manufacturing industries. By 1979, enrolment in vocational and industrial training had risen from 2,800 to 14,000 within a decade.

Second Phase: Efficiency-driven education

By the end of the 1970s, it became clear that Singapore had to revamp our education system to support our economic restructuring strategies to focus on building a capital-intensive economy. This second phase could be termed “sustainable development through an efficiency-driven education”, with a strong emphasis on science, technology, research and development. Total enrolment tertiary level, i.e. in local degree and diploma courses, tripled from about 20,000 students in 1980 to more than 60,000 students in 1992.

Third Phase: Ability-driven education

The next milestone shift in the education paradigm – from efficiency-driven education to an ability-driven one, was initiated in 1997, as the Singapore economy moved towards a knowledge-based economy. This phase emphasized the maximal development of talents, abilities and lifelong learning. Tertiary institutes of education offered more degree and diploma programs that were more multi-disciplinary and broad-based in nature. Besides availing all rounded education, we also hoped multi-disciplinary studies would stimulate innovation and risk taking attitude amongst the students.

In the meantime, more funds were being channeled to support scientific research and development work amongst research institutes and universities. For instance, from being primarily teaching universities in the past, the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have been enhancing their research capabilities, and are now aspiring to be among the world’s top research universities.

Our polytechnics offering diploma programs have also been building centers of excellence in niche areas. As service industries become a second engine of growth for Singapore in the 80s, our vocational training institutions, such as the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) began to introduce new courses such as Service Skills in Tourism and Food & Beverage Operations. ITE and the polytechnics, which together provide educational opportunities for over 60% of our annual cohort, will remain a key source of competitive strength for Singapore.

Our Speakers

I understand from the organizers of today’s seminar that there would be many experts sharing their experiences on the different aspects of education delivery and infrastructure, and the impact of education on developing economies. Through their sharing, I hope you will find useful applications that could be adopted for implementation in your countries.

Closing Remarks

In closing, I would like to once again thank Your Excellences for honoring us with your presence. I am also grateful to the World Bank for co-hosting this visit, and to MFA and IE Singapore for their successful partnership with the World Bank for this study visit.

On a lighter note, do take advantage of your timely visit to experience the Great Singapore Sale. I understand this hotel was specially selected because it is right in the heart of Singapore’s shopping belt. We hope that you will take some time to visit the city.

I wish you a very pleasant and insightful exchange ahead.

Thank you.