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The mission of MOE is to mould the future of
the nation, by nurturing the people who will
mould the future of the nation. We provide our
children with a balanced and well-rounded education,
help them discover their talents and realise
their full potential, and nurture them into good
citizens, conscious of their responsibilities
to family, society and country. Our schools,
ITEs, polytechnics and universities strive to
bring out the best in our young by developing
them into useful and responsible individuals
and citizens, and providing them with a strong
foundation in the knowledge and skills necessary
to earn a living. A total budget of $6,966 million
has been voted to MOE in FY2006 to achieve this
mission.
MOE heavily subsidises the operations of schools
and tertiary institutions:
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$3,001 million to subsidise the operations
of primary schools, special education schools,
secondary schools, independent schools,
centralised institutes and junior colleges;
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$1,763 million to subsidise the operations
of the 3 universities;
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$702 million to subsidise the operations
of the 5 polytechnics; and
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$232 million to subsidise the operations
of Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs).
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Creating More Opportunities
New and better infrastructure
 MOE is investing in new capacity at our schools
and post-secondary educational institutions to
help every Singaporean complete at least 10 years
of general education and move on to post-secondary
education.
MOE will invest $176 million to:
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improve school infrastructure ($99 million):
To-date the total number of schools announced
for PRIME is 222;
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construct 6 new schools to cater to
single session and reduction in pupil-teacher
ratio ($38 million);
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increase hostel capacity for schools
($16 million); and
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develop new premises for the merged
centralised institute ($13 million).
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As part of MOE’s efforts to create a
learner-centred school environment, MOE has announced
a new framework, Flexible School Infrastructure
(FlexSI), to give schools more flexibility in
school design to support innovative teaching
approaches to better engage students in learning.
MOE will invest $10 million to build and refurbish
Special Education schools.
To enable more Singaporeans to pursue post-secondary
education, MOE will invest $364 million to develop
and improve the infrastructure of the post-secondary
educational institutions. The major projects
include:
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development of the Republic Polytechnic
permanent campus and provision of teaching
furniture and equipment ($105 million);
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land premium for ITE 2nd Regional Campus
($73 million);
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NTU - Establishment of 3 new schools
($39 million); and
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NTU - Expansion of Campus Facilities
Phase 3C ($29 million).
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NUS and NTU will be corporatised as not-for-profit
companies limited by guarantee in FY2006, in
line with the recommendations of the University
Autonomy, Governance and Funding Steering Committee.
As autonomous universities, NUS, NTU and SMU
will be given greater flexibility to decide on
matters such as their internal governance, budget
utilisation, tuition fees and admission requirements.
They will be provided with annual sinking fund
contributions for future renovation and redevelopment
projects. These flexibilities will enable them
to differentiate themselves, chart their own
strategies towards achieving peaks of excellence
and make far-reaching changes to create a unique
educational experience for their students, as
well as compete in the global university landscape.
Learning Beyond the Classroom
 MOE supports the efforts of schools in establishing
twinning programmes with schools overseas. Twinning,
or student exchange, programmes expose our students
to different cultures and environments. Students
benefit by gaining a better understanding of
the regional and global environment. Students
also develop social and cultural skills in the
process. MOE wants to encourage every school
to have at least one twinning programme. Our
goal is for all schools to provide at least 10%
of their students with the opportunity to participate
in a twinning programme during their years in
the school. This will eventually mean that 9,000
students will be involved in twinning programmes
per year.
Keeping Education Affordable
MOE will review the eligibility and benefits
of its Financial Assistance Scheme to ensure
that education remains affordable for children
from low income families. This will provide greater
support to needy students while maintaining a ‘Many
Helping Hands’ approach, involving MOE,
schools and the community.
Greater Flexibility and Choice for Our Learners
 MOE has introduced greater flexibility and
choice in education to cater to the diverse abilities
and interests of our students, in the arts, the
sports and in intellectual and professional endeavours.
Students are given more options to develop their
talents in our schools, through to our ITEs,
polytechnics and universities.
MOE will continue to provide more flexibility
and choice to our learners. More opportunities
will be provided for students to pursue subjects
and activities that match their interests.
Some of the key initiatives that MOE will implement
in FY2006 include:
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placing greater emphasis on character
development in schools. By 2007, MOE will
integrate Social Emotional Learning into
the revised Civics and Moral Education
(CME) syllabus. Greater attention will
be paid to developing life-skills, such
as helping students to recognise and manage
emotions, develop positive relationships,
handle challenging situations and make
responsible decisions;
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extension of elective modules to Normal
(Academic) [N(A)] students;
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allowing eligible N(A) students to skip
the ‘N’ Level examinations;
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allowing secondary schools to offer
new ‘O’ level subjects not
offered in the upper secondary curriculum
(like Economics and Computer Studies).
This enables schools to build up their
curriculum niches to cater to students
who have the interest and aptitude in specific
fields of study. MOE will also study if
selected schools could establish links
with the polytechnics so that capable and
interested students can be offered places
at the polytechnics after completing secondary
school education without having to sit
for the ‘O’ level examinations;
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implementing a new modular Chinese Language
curriculum at Primary 1 and 2 in all primary
schools in 2007. The new Malay Language
and Tamil Language curriculum will be implemented
at Primary One to Primary Four levels in
2008, followed by Primary 5 in 2009 and
Primary 6 in 2010; and
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an enhanced Vocational Training Centre
(eVTC) will start operating in 2007. The
eVTC will be developing new curriculum
and programmes to better motivate the target
group of students, build up their basic
academic foundation and equip them with
the essential skills to take on the challenges
in the workplace. The school environment
will also be enhanced so as to place greater
attention on catering to the social and
emotional needs of the students.
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Supporting Our Teachers
 Teachers are key to our efforts to “Teach
Less, Learn More” (TLLM), which is a call
for all educators to teach better - to engage
our students and prepare them for life- rather
than to teach more for tests and examinations.
This would mean deeper and richer interactions
between teachers and students, and more opportunities
for students to learn and develop holistically.
Better engagement will encourage students to
take greater  ownership of their learning, and
strive beyond academic excellence. This will
help to develop attributes and cultivate mindsets
that students need for life, particularly in
building strength of character and being rooted
in sound values.
MOE will provide teachers and school leaders
more space and support so that they can focus
on improving the quality of interaction with
their students, both in the classroom and beyond.
MOE will spend resources to:
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free-up teachers’ time for them
to reflect, discuss and plan their lessons
so that they can be more effective in teaching,
nurturing and developing our students;
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strengthen focus on professional development
in curriculum customisation, pedagogy and
assessment;
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set up a Centre of Excellence for Professional
Development at each of the four zones;
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offload experienced teachers, such as
Senior Teachers or Heads of Department,
to mentor beginning teachers; and
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establish an Education Leadership Development
Centre for the professional development
of school leaders.
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MOE will deploy 3,000 more teachers to primary
schools, secondary schools and the Junior Colleges/Centralised
Institute by 2010. In addition, every secondary
school will be provided with a full-time school
counsellor in 2006 and every primary school and
JC will be provided one by 2008. Co-Curricular
Programme Executives will also be provided to
help teachers with the administrative processes
when organising co-curricular activities. Special
Needs Officers (SNOs) will continue to be recruited
to help pupils with mild to moderate dyslexia
and Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) integrate
better into their school programmes. The SNOs
will complement the support that classroom teachers
presently provide to students with special needs.
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