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SINGAPORE: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has said the country needs to become a more diverse economy, providing students with different outlets that fit their strengths and interests.
He was speaking after a visit to the Nanyang Polytechnic to see the latest developments in polytechnic education.
Mr Lee said Singapore's economy needs all kinds of talented people.
That was exactly what he saw when he visited the interactive and digital media and engineering schools in Nanyang Polytechnic on Monday.
Mr Lee feels that it is not just scoring in examinations that would give these students a good life. Some of them are good with their hands, while others are proficient with robots.
R Muthukumaran, a Nanyang Polytechnic student who is studying for a Diploma in Mechatronics Engineering, said: "I am from the SAF and everybody in the SAF is now modernising. I want to stay relevant to the system and this will definitely help me to last longer in the SAF."
Mohammad Noh Abdul Rahim, who is studying for a Diploma in Biomedical Engineering, said: "In poly, we learn skills like how to use computer programmes and the final-year project did help widen our outlook on the economy."
Nanyang Polytechnic too is expanding its courses. Its seven schools currently offer 33 full-time diploma courses and the number is increasing to 45 soon to cater to 15,225 students.
Minister Mentor Lee said: "We now have to try and bring up people who do not necessarily do well in the universities, but who will do well in life.
"That's the concentration that we should give because people who go to university (make up) about 25 per cent; poly - about forty plus per cent; and you have special schools, arts, sports schools and so on. You've got to go in that direction."
During his interactive sessions with the students, Mr Lee was very keen to find out more about why they had chosen a particular course at Nanyang Polytechnic. He also wanted to know more about their future plans.
Mr Lee was also told that over the last four years, more than 90 per cent of Nanyang Polytechnic graduates have found jobs upon graduation.
- CNA/ir
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