SINGAPORE: The Education Ministry gave out a record 356 teaching scholarships and awards on Monday to talented students aspiring to be teachers.

These students have been selected from different backgrounds – a diversity that the ministry hopes would inject new creative energy into the education system.

At the teaching scholarship presentation ceremony, many of the recipients said they have their teachers to thank for their academic success and leadership achievements.

Some, like 20-year-old polytechnic graduate Wong Gaik Choon, are among a growing number of scholars who have taken a different path from the usual junior college route to the teaching profession.

Ms Wong said: "I wanted to teach ever since I was in secondary school because the teacher there has inspired me very, very much. I decided to go for biomedical science in poly instead of the usual JC route because I wanted to do science.

"In Poly, the teachers don't just spoon-feed us. They make us do research into subjects we like. That spurred me on to learn more and pass on my knowledge to students later."

More students are now opting to use their scholarships, which come with a bond of four to six years, to study in countries like China, Japan and Germany, instead of the US and UK – a move that is welcomed by the Education Ministry.

Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said: "We want to find ways to encourage more scholars to take the alternative route in future. The overseas scholars who choose to study outside the UK or the US bring something different into the system.

"We hope to see a diversity of experiences, insights and perspectives, gained from the various avenues, take root in our schools and multiply."

And with more scholars taking up alternative degree courses like art, the seeds of creative learning are set to take root.

Georgiana Phua, a 22-year-old La-Salle College of the Arts diploma holder, who is on the MOE teaching scholarship to study Fine Arts at the University of Chicago, said: "It's important in art to question and understand a sense of self and the environment, and I think when children and the students know that, they can help to shape society."


- CNA/so