SINGAPORE: Education Minister Heng Swee Keat said his ministry will be focusing on three outcomes: values, social and emotional competencies, as well as new skills in thinking such as being more globally aware.
Mr Heng was speaking during his visit to Gongshang Primary School on Saturday morning where he was gathering feedback on what needs to be done to improve the education system.
He also shared his views during the seminar with parents.
According to Mr Heng, the input from the seminar will help shape the direction that he is charting for the education system.
"I'm
looking at how we can better support our school leaders, our teachers
in delivering this education, and how we can also bring in parents as
part of this very important process."
During the seminar, some
parents voiced their concerns over students with financial difficulties
might be left behind and can't afford study aids such as computers.
Others
wanted to know how they can secure their children's place in their
school of choice during the annual Primary One Registration Exercise.
While
this was going on, many parents were unaware that the education
minister was sitting at the back of the hall listening and taking notes.
Midway through the seminar, Mr Heng made his presence felt as he addressed the issues that were raised up.
Mr
Heng said: "First criteria is really proximity. If you have a school
nearby, that is the best because you really don't want the child to be
travelling a long distance. Having said that, schools are very well
resourced. MOE provides facilities to all the schools.
"We
centrally post teachers and principals to the schools and we ensure that
there's a certain standard in all our primary schools. The fact that so
many of you are here today is very encouraging. It shows that as
parents, you care a lot about the education of your children. And this
is a very important value in Singapore."
Mr Heng said his visit was to get a real sense of what is happening in the schools.
"I
did not want to disrupt the interaction. I try to spend a lot of time
on the ground interacting with our school principals, with our teachers
and with our students because this is where the teaching and learning
take place."
- CNA/fa