President's Speech - Address of Thanks

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Motion. We are no longer in the 3rd Industrial Revolution where computers were mere tools to aid us in automation and productivity. In what many believe is the 4th Industrial Revolution, artificial Intelligence systems can now self-learn and self-improve to the extent that one day, many more job groups including those in the middle levels such as radiographers and bookkeepers, jobs like that can disappear.

Jobs such as drone operators, app developers, sustainability engineers are jobs that did not exist 10 years ago. Previously, handmade dumplings or 手工水饺 are now made in factories without human beings or what the Chinese call 无人工厂 in China; and even beggars in China have already gone cashless, with many having their own QR codes or other online access for givers to transfer monies directly.

Closer to home, a friend of mine who incorporated a business and was looking for a new corporate logo. Instead of using the traditional means to seek out a local designer, he approached an online global design service provider. For about S$400, an automated online system organised a global competition of logo designers who submitted a total of 50 designs, out of which five were shortlisted and then after further briefing and discussion with the designers, one was selected by my friend. This is the sort of boundary-less global marketplace, global labour market that is impacting Singaporeans; a world that presents either threats or opportunities, depending on how future-ready Singapore is.

Sir, what I have just described -- the factory with no humans; the online global design house; jobs that will disappear and new jobs that never existed before -- that is the external setting that Singapore has to find our place in.

In a world such as this, whilst all of us will learn to be consumers of technology, many more need to be developers as well in order to stay relevant. A dual economy of a different kind is emerging – people and businesses who thrive in this new world versus those who will barely survive; one that can cause inequality and tensions in a small nation-state like ours.

Against this backdrop, it is no wonder that President Halimah had called upon the 4G leaders to go for bold changes and not be contented to tweak things at the margins. And indeed, business cannot be as usual.

Sir, I will focus on education because I firmly believe that a good education is the most powerful means to access a better life for every Singaporean.

First, on education for adults, on SkillsFuture. The boldest move in Singapore in education in recent years has been the inclusion of adult learners into the mission of MOE; a very bold move, significant one that must be applauded. Indeed, as German psychologist Eric Fromm puts it, why should society feel responsible only for the education of children, and not for the education of all adults of every age?

For the typical workforce, it is still early days to know if the SkillsFuture movement will fully realise its mission to transform Singaporeans to take charge of their own learning; be less obsessed with chasing the paper and to be more obsessed with mastering the skills and staying ahead of the game in their vocations, a mantra often repeated by Minister Ong Ye Kung. The take-up rate of the SkillsFuture credit of $500 per adult citizen has in the last year doubled from about 6% to 12%; a positive sign but there is much more to do.

For the non-traditional workforce such as those with special needs, the SkillsFuture movement has not yet made them its priority and accorded the attention it deserves. This will be a non-traditional workforce that can be tapped upon.

Sir, the SkillsFuture movement is an important one to secure Singapore’s future. So, I urge the Ministry to conduct a review with all its key stakeholders to:

One, identify the root causes of why SkillsFuture has not attained more traction than it deserves.

Two, develop and resource further strategies, both bold and incremental, on how more adult Singaporeans can be transformed to take on the opportunities and threats posed by a global market place and the labour market.

Three, develop robust SkillsFuture plans to equip adult Singaporeans most at risk of being left behind, such as those with special needs. Think about turning competent special schools to lifelong learning institutions or CET providers to train their alumni or others with similar learning profiles.

Let me turn next to the education of our younger ones.

It was only as recent as two months ago in this House that I had called for boldness in tackling the excessive obsession and time spent preparing for high-stakes exam in particular, the PSLE. I will say a few words about it since it is a hot topic.

Sir, I am not surprised by the Minister's position or the Ministry's position that PSLE is here to stay because it is welcomed, as quoted by Minister, it is welcomed by a segment of Singaporeans. But Sir, it is unfair to ask Singaporeans to give up something when they are not given the knowledge or the hope for a better alternative. After all, doing well in high-stakes exams has long been seen in Singaporeans as the passport to top schools and hopefully top jobs later; never mind the disproportionate amount of time, money and stress to prepare for it.

Lifelong learning is a mindset and habit often formed during one’s younger school days and a difficult one to cultivate when one is older. Our schools will need the time and resources to do the upstream work that is critical in developing a curiosity and a love for learning. And without this habit, it is futile in adulthood, to try to develop every Singaporean to his fullest potential -- the mission of SkillsFuture.

Learning from other systems, more than once in this House, I had shared about other schools models like the Yun-Ku School that was recently launched by AliBaba founder Mr Jack Ma, a former teacher himself; I have shared about his 10-year school system and also shared about other school systems in other parts of the world and inclusive models that have done none the worse elsewhere in the world.

Locally, I had the chance to witness a home schooling system that had scaled up to a school. I saw how a repository of learning resources are accessible to both students and staff; how each child is taught to be self-driven in this school to set his own learning goals; how each teacher is truly a facilitator; how their academic rigour in this school led to standards that met both local and overseas tertiary admission criteria; and although in this school, I saw that technology could have been applied more widely, yet it displayed many attractive features of what good education comprises.

Sir, I have met many passionate educators including school leaders who agree and who are willing to pilot a better alternative to our current school system, especially for the younger ones. I am confident that we can learn from the strengths of our local systems and that of others to present a better alternative to the current model where the high-stakes PSLE has become the holy grail.

It is up to the Minister and his advisers to decide if piloting a better alternative is a bold or a reckless move.

Questions to ask of our current school system. Singapore has often prided itself on doing well in the global stage. We were reminded yesterday again by Minister that we are top in the OECD’s PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) ranking in 2015, second to none.

Do not get me wrong. There is merit to learning from the experts from the OECD and the like; and to know where we stand versus other countries. But the PISA is but a test of the skills and knowledge of 15-year-olds who have a whole life ahead of them, at least another 60 years according to life span statistics. Surely, there should be other data points to measure if we are doing right in trying to develop every Singaporean to his fullest potential and nurture life long learners for the future – part of the Addendum that is released by the Ministry.

PSLE or no PSLE? Smaller or big class sizes? To stream or not to stream? These questions may soon be less important than asking ourselves the following questions:

One, does our current education system for our young produce the self-driven, self-motivated, agile lifelong adult learners who are able to survive and thrive in the new age of rapid technological disruptions?

Two, what are the process and outcome milestones we are driving at, in view of the external and domestic setting the 4G Government is now in?

Three, if we were starting from a clean slate, what would our education landscape or education system look like? How can we reimagine it?

Four, what is the new curriculum, beyond coding and computational thinking skills, does our lifelong education system need to deliver in this rapidly changing world?

Five, what are the features of our current system that we must retain at all cost?

Six, what are the features that are causing pains but have become sacred cows that we have learnt to revere and even defend?

Seven, how do we maximise the potential of every Singaporean, regardless of their learning ability and profile, and ensure an inclusive education system for all?

Sir, I believe these are the questions that not only the 4G Government should ask and seek answers to. The rest of us Singaporeans who care for our country, who are concerned for our future should ponder over them too.

Minister Ong Ye Kung spoke about the unfinished business of tackling inequality in this House yesterday – on the income gap that he is concerned about; about growing the middle-income core; social mobility and the need for interaction between groups from different socio-economic classes.

Education is a crucial tool to help finish the unfinished business of addressing inequality. Education equips Singaporeans to maximise their potential, to work, to earn more and enjoy a better quality of life; to be socially mobile and to provide the opportunity to learn and play together with fellow Singaporeans who are different from us. It can empower us to become not only successful for ourselves, but also use the fruits of education to bless others beyond ourselves.

Education is thus too important to leave it to only the educators. It affects all of our lives and we should jointly envision, co-shape and support a lifelong education system that is uniquely Singapore and second to none.

Sir, if a ladder is not leaning against the right wall, as someone once said, then every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster. The Government therefore can and should make changes to the system for the better and the longer good and ensure the education ladder in our country leans against the right wall. As for the rest of Singapore, Sir, we too must take our place and support, build and climb that ladder that will lead us to the right wall. Only then can the dream of fulfilling the potential of every Singaporean become a reality, and not a slogan.