The mission of MOE is to mould the future of the nation. We will provide our children with a balanced and well-rounded education, so as to help them discover their talents and realise their full potential, and nurture them into committed citizens. 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 $7,034 million has been voted to MOE in FY2007 to achieve this mission.

MOE heavily subsidises the operations of schools and tertiary institutions:

• $3,236 million to subsidise the operations of primary schools, special education schools, secondary schools, independent schools, centralised institutes and junior colleges;
• $1,638 million to subsidise the operations of the 3 universities;
• $762 million to subsidise the operations of the 5 polytechnics; and
• $242 million to subsidise the operations of Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs).

Towards Quality School Education

Creating conducive learning environment

MOE will invest $395 million to provide conducive physical facilities and up-to-date IT networks and equipment to support pupil-centred strategies for learning. In this way, schools have the flexibility and resources to best meet students’ needs. The initiatives include:

• Improving the quality of school facilities ($225 million). To-date, 203 schools have enjoyed the benefits of Programme for Rebuilding and Improving Existing schools (PRIME);
• Investing in 7 new primary schools to support the reduction of class size to 30 for P1-2 and moving to single session for P3-6 by year 2013 ($47 million);
• Investing $26 million to provide a conducive education and training environment to children with special needs;
• Attracting foreign talent to Singapore to provide a stimulating learning experience for our students, through increasing hostel capacity for schools ($14 million);
• Developing more peaks of excellence in our school landscape by building capacity for schools offering the Integrated Programme ($11 million); and
• Making effective use of IT to enrich teaching and learning in schools ($7 million).

Physical Education, sports and games are integral to the holistic, well-rounded education that our schools provide. The provision of the indoor sports hall will contribute an approximately 50% increase in a school’s sports facilities. MOE will invest $690 million over 7 years to allow all schools the opportunity to promote mass sports participation, as well as develop their niches in competitive sports. A batch of 60 schools will be the first to benefit from this project.

To ensure that students have more opportunities to participate in outdoor field activities, MOE has allocated $40 million over a period of 3 to 5 years, to introduce synthetic fields in selected schools. The synthetic field will give schools greater flexibility to schedule Physical Education lessons, and field sports and games without having to worry about over-use affecting the condition of the field.

Greater Flexibility and Choice for Our Learners

MOE is also introducing greater flexibility and choice in education to cater to the diverse abilities and interests of our students. More opportunities are being provided for students to develop their talents in school, and to progress to post-secondary education institutions, i.e. the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), Polytechnics and Universities. Some of the key initiatives that MOE will implement in FY2007 include:

• Offering applied subjects to upper secondary students in collaboration with the polytechnics, to cater to students who have interest and aptitude in applied learning. These subjects will be offered as Advanced Elective Modules and Applied Graded Subjects (which can be taken as ‘O’ Level subjects).
• Providing a pathway for secondary school students, who have the aptitude and interest, to obtain confirmed places in the polytechnics before sitting for the ‘O’ level examinations. Final-year secondary students will be able to do so through a Direct Polytechnic Admission exercise for 2008 polytechnic admissions.
• Introducing Subject-based Banding starting from the 2008 Primary 5 cohort, replacing the current EM3 stream. With Subject-based Banding, students will be able to offer a mix of Standard or Foundation subjects depending on their aptitude in each subject.
  
• Implementing a new modular Chinese Language curriculum at Primary 1 and 2 in all primary schools. 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.
• There will also be enhancements made to the teaching and learning of English Language in schools. To cater to the learning needs of students without prior exposure to English, the lower primary curriculum will be strengthened. Strategies for Effective and Engaged Development in English Language (SEED-EL), a programme being piloted in the lower primary curriculum in 30 schools in 2006, will be phased in all schools by 2009. Students who need additional help will continue to be supported by an enhanced Learning Support Programme.
  

Nurturing a Quality Higher Education Sector

As Singapore competes in the first league of world economies, we need a population that is skilled, innovative and entrepreneurial. To meet the increased need for highly trained manpower by the economy and Singaporeans’ aspirations for more opportunities for higher education, MOE has earmarked $287 million to develop and expand the capacity of the universities, polytechnics, Institute of Technical Education and arts institutions. The major initiatives include:

• Pioneering the development of the residential college system in NUS to provide grounds for developing social and intellectual bonds among students ($40 million);
• Developing NTU to be a comprehensive university through the building of three Schools offering new degree programmes ($34 million);
• Developing Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School as a leading medical school in Asia that will attract excellent faculty and students from Singapore and beyond ($19 million); and
• Expanding campus facilities to support the growth of NTU ($16 million).

MOE will continue to inject greater diversity and create new options for tertiary education in Singapore. For example, Ngee Ann Polytechnic has tied up with Wheelock College of the US to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education from July 2007. More tie-ups between polytechnics and foreign specialised institutions are expected in the next few years.

Preparing Students for a Globalised Future

We will better prepare Singaporeans for the challenges of the future economy, so that they will be better able to engage the region and our local communities. To do so:

• MOE will enhance its support for the learning of Asian languages, including our official Mother-Tongue Languages and the Non-Tamil Indian Languages, i.e. Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.
• Arabic and Bahasa Indonesia will be offered as Third Languages at the MOE Language Centre.

As we prepare our students for a globalised future, MOE will also enhance heartware and rootedness among our young. To create a stronger sense of belonging and commitment to Singapore, MOE will be enhancing the engagement of our young, and encouraging them to shape the character and life of our society. More support would be given to customise quality programmes and experiences, and encourage ground-up, school-based initiatives.

Levelling Up Opportunities through Education

To further strengthen the role of education as a social leveller, MOE will provide more opportunities for disadvantaged groups to level up through education. Measures include:

• Improving the quality of Special Education in Singapore; and
• Reducing attrition in school and pre-school.

Supporting Our Teachers

Teachers are the heart of our education system. They help to make a difference to our children and to the future of our country. MOE will be spending $250 million via the new GROW package, for the professional and personal Growth of Education Officers, through better Recognition, Opportunities, and seeing to their Well-being over the next three years, to ensure that the teaching profession continues to attract, motivate and retain good teachers, capable school leaders, and dedicated specialists. The following initiatives are being implemented in phases starting January 2007.

(A) Professional Development and Growth

MOE will enhance sabbatical opportunities for teachers to give them time to undertake purposeful professional development. We will help teachers to do so by enhancing the Professional Development Leave (PDL) scheme. MOE will also introduce a new Learning & Development Scheme. In the scheme, teachers will be entitled to claim up to $400 or $700 per year, for any learning-related expenses that they choose. In addition, every school will eventually have a School Staff Developer (SSD), a senior personnel whose job is to ensure that the training and professional development programmes are customised to our teacher’s needs, while supporting the school’s goals.

(B) Recognition and Opportunities

In terms of recognition and opportunities, MOE is committed to ensuring that total compensation for Education Officers remains competitive. MOE will be making improvements in these areas:

1. Strengthening retention benefits;
2. Increasing the starting salaries of Pass/ Pass (Merit) Degree and Diploma recruits and review the pay of mid-career entrants; and
3. More career options and advancement opportunities for teachers, along both the teaching and leadership tracks.