Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre to relocate to Jalan Besar in 2027
Artist's impression of the upcoming Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre campus at 1 Victoria Lane. (Image: MOE)
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SINGAPORE: The Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre will relocate to Jalan Besar from January 2027 after its current tenancy at 2 Beatty Road in Bendemeer expires.
The centre's new home will be at 1 Victoria Lane, the site of the former Stamford Primary School, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Saturday (Aug 23).
The MOE language centre offers Tamil at the G1, G2 and G3 levels, Higher Tamil and literature to secondary school students, and serves as the National Tamil Language Resource Centre.
MOE added that it will share the Victoria Lane site with an "appropriate user, who will be identified at a later date".
On the new campus, the ministry said it will provide students with larger learning spaces and upgraded facilities, including a sheltered court which can be used for various activities such as Kabaddi, as well as larger classrooms. Kabaddi is a popular contact sport on the Indian subcontinent.
The centre offers Indian performing arts as a co-curricular activity (CCA) and runs the National Elective Tamil Language programme - a two-year programme conducted at the pre-university level. It also conducts enrichment classes and cultural activities for students from MOE’s pre-school to junior colleges, as well as houses Tamil language principal master teachers and master teachers.
MOE noted that the centre’s new site will offer students and teachers better public transport connectivity as it is within walking distance of Bugis and Jalan Besar MRT stations, and is well-served by bus routes.
The move will also allow the centre to be closer to its partners, such as the Indian Heritage Centre and the Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association, as well as Singapore's Indian arts and cultural belt.
There could also be more opportunities for collaboration as the centre will be near educational institutions such as the future Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), Northlight School and Hong Wen School, said MOE. SUSS will get a new campus at the former site and vicinity of Rochor Centre by the mid-2030s.
Some key features of the current Beatty Road campus, such as the Thiruvalluvar statue, will be retained at the new Victoria Lane campus.
