“We will give every Singapore child the opportunity to succeed”: Prime Minister

After Singapore became independent in 1965, the Government made education one of our top national priorities. We did this to promote nation-building, especially for a young and multi-ethnic country. We did this to grow our economy, because we knew that people were our only resource and we needed to invest in them. We did this to give every Singaporean the opportunity to achieve his potential, as an embodiment of a meritocratic society where we let 100 flowers grow. And so the Government invested heavily to build new schools, to train a professional teaching service, and to develop an outstanding education system.

This education system has come a long way since then. Today every child can enjoy a high quality education, regardless of his family or social background. And our students perform well, not just comparing with ourselves but comparing internationally, in rankings and contests, whether it’s the TIMSS, the Trends in International Math and Science Studies; whether it’s the Olympiads for science, for mathematics, for IT; whether it’s the international debates, choir festivals, dance performances and so on. Internationally, we rank high. And this gives Singapore a competitive advantage. This is especially important, because we’re facing stiffer global competition. And we’re able to have this advantage because we have a good system, which enables our students to go far. So almost 70% of every group of students makes it to polytechnics or to universities – which is very high by international standards. And we imbue our students with the ethos of continuous learning and self-improvement throughout their lives, throughout their careers. Because we have this, Singapore has attracted investments, and this has created good jobs, and improved our quality of life. And given us the confidence to face the future.