SINGAPORE – From removing mid-year exams in primary and secondary schools to doing away with academic labels such as Express and Normal streams, the education sector has seen some significant changes since 2021. Education Minister Chan Chun Sing told The Straits Times his three priorities for the education system here in 2024.

1. Mainstream school system to remain relevant and avoid complacency

Although Singapore students emerged as top performers in a study carried out by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2022, Mr Chan cautioned that this is no time for complacency.

“We are constantly seeking to surpass ourselves and not to surpass others,” he said.

While Singapore has excelled according to benchmarking studies such as the Programme for International Student Assessment and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, Mr Chan feels there are lessons we can learn from the downfall of successful businesses, such as Xerox, due to complacency.

“Our education system is perhaps one of the envies of the world. So we should feel justifiably proud. But I will say that this is probably one of the most cautious periods,” he added.

“There’s a tendency that you want to keep doing well at certain things. Then, if you don’t watch the horizon and you don’t watch what’s coming, you may suddenly find yourself being outdated.”

He echoed this during his address at the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) annual ceremony for the appointment of new principals at Shangri-La Hotel on Dec 28.

“We are doing well by all current metrics, but that is not our definition of success. We need to stay vigilant about the forces that are and will be impacting us,” he said, adding that it is the duty and responsibility of educators to look farther ahead to see if they will continue to excel in future as well.

2. Improve lifelong learning opportunities for adult learners

Alluding to Singapore’s stellar performance in recent benchmarking studies, Mr Chan said the real definition of success for the education system is not how well students score in the first 15 years of their lives when they are schooling, but rather, how they are able to thrive on their own in the next 50 years of their lives.

He said more about MOE’s efforts in this area of lifelong learning will be revealed during the upcoming Budget announcement.

Adult learners will receive more support, not just in terms of financial resources but also in the form of guidance when it comes to time management and upskilling.

“How do you get them to have these aspirations to keep upgrading, give them a bit of a leg-up. So this is all the important work that we need to do,” he said, adding that MOE will work with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and other organisations for this cause.

Another focus will be to strengthen adult learning methods through the Institute for Adult Learning, so that training can be better catered to older learners who have different responsibilities and time commitments as compared with younger students.

3. Uplift professionalism of Sped school educators

Currently, special education (Sped) schools are not run in a coordinated manner as compared with mainstream MOE schools, said Mr Chan.

He said educators in MOE schools have clear progression pathways and ample career development opportunities that cater to their aspirations and needs. Even if they move to different MOE schools, the system remains the same.

However, this may not be the case for Sped schools.

Mr Chan acknowledged that special-needs education is not as straightforward, as it involves a variety of interventions to address conditions ranging from autism to dyslexia or even multiple disabilities. Still, the system needs to be more organised, he said.

He added: “How do you get more teachers to understand the kind of deep professionalism (they need) in order to intervene in all this? For people to join, they must see a career path or a career progression.”

Although every Sped school caters to different special needs, Mr Chan said stakeholders have to come together to optimise Sped schools as a whole.

For a start, Second Minister for Education Maliki Osman announced on Nov 3 that additional funding will be provided to Sped schools to raise educators’ salaries, as part of MOE’s efforts to attract and retain talent in the sector.

From 2024, key staff and leaders in Sped schools can also look forward to more avenues for professional development, such as opportunities to reinforce teachers’ skills in working with students of different disabilities.

Correction note: This article has been updated for clarity.