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SINGAPORE: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has said Singapore's competitive edge comes from having a well-educated population and it is education that will decide the citizens' future.
He was speaking at the 90th anniversary dinner of the Nanyang family of schools at Raffles City Convention Centre on Saturday.
Given that the event was to mark the anniversary of Nanyang schools, it was fitting for Mr Lee to speak about their achievements.
He said that Nanyang High has produced distinguished alumni in various fields.
The Nanyang family of schools also offered many options for students, including a wide range of exchange programmes, modules for learning conversational Malay and arts and music courses.
But for the country as a whole, Mr Lee talked about the importance of education and how the face of education is changing to keep up with the times.
Learning how to read and write from young is a basic essential in today's environment.
But Mr Lee said that the way students are taught and the kind of knowledge channelled to them will have to change with a modern society.
"To prepare our young for an ever-changing world, schools need to nurture in their students a set of values that will make them grow up into upright citizens, able to work harmoniously together in our multi-racial society, to progress and thrive by our joint endeavours and prosper by our individual efforts," he said.
Mr Lee said that schools must use more interactive teaching methods in place of rote learning.
This is to encourage more thinking, innovative and creative minds, while ensuring the young have strong emotional bonds with fellow Singaporeans and the country at the same time.
"That was the kind of education that my wife and I wanted for our two sons and a daughter. We enrolled them in Nanyang Kindergarten, then Nanyang Primary School. The two boys went on to Catholic High School and the girl stayed on in Nanyang High. They have not disappointed their schools or their parents. Five of my seven grandchildren were also in Nanyang Kindergarten and Primary School," Mr Lee said.
Mr Lee said that the late former principal Liu Yuen Sien was one of the reasons why Nanyang was the school of choice for his children.
He praised her for being a great educator and firm believer in proper conduct.
Mr Lee said that since the 1970s, Nanyang High has been a leading school that nurtures able students who study both English and Chinese at the first language level.
But as English has become a dominant language, it is necessary to find ways to improve the teaching and learning of Mandarin. - CNA/ir
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