Next year Singapore will celebrate its 50th year of independence. 50 is, I suppose, a significant milestone for a country and is a good time for citizens to reflect on Singapore’s achievements, her setbacks, to consolidate and start planning for the future. It is also a time to celebrate and that is what SG50 is about. Singaporeans are invited to send their ideas of how we can celebrate as a nation this special birthday through the SG50 website.
Well, I did my fair share of pondering and drew up a wishlist for myself, well, actually, more accurately for my children, on what I hope Singapore to become in the coming decades, specifically in the area of education.
Recently I attended a parents engagement session, one of many feedback sessions conducted all over Singapore by ASPIRE, the acronym for Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review.
The acronym is very appropriate as it deals with the aspirations of students in the polytechnics and ITE as well as the nation as a whole.
Briefly the ASPIRE Committee was set up by the government to review the polytechnic and ITE education sector and get it ready and equipped for the challenges of the new [digital] economy. Industries change and adapt to these challenges by adopting new technology, increasing efficiencies, developing new talent and investing in skills upgrade and training.
A key challenge of this new economy is to ensure that our polytechnic and ITE graduates are industry-ready not just in terms of possessing the technical skills but also the soft skills like communication skills, being able to work in teams and having EQ.
During this discussion, several parents expressed their educational and career aspirations for their children, first from their own perspective and then from the perspective of their children.
Some differences were evident from the responses for both perspectives. Most parents still thought that a university degree is important for their children’s career advancement. There were mixed views on whether the pursuit of the degree should begin right after securing the diplomas or after gaining some work experience.
However, parents were almost unanimous in agreeing that polytechnics and ITEs should retain their core applied learning pedagogy and enhance their industry-linked training focus.
2 issues received greater attention in the ensuing discussions.
One – How can we better engage our students (potential students) in the polytechnic/ITE sector to ensure that their aspirations are not left floundering because of the rigidity of the educational system?
Two – How can we better enhance the industry exposure and training for our students so that they have the skills to add value at the work place and have career advancement which would allow employers to retain them for a reasonable number of years?
Dealing with issue #2 first – one model that was put forward for the parents to consider was the German model where students are put in an apprenticeship programme for 1-2 years with companies. This apprenticeship is a structured study-and-work programme whereby the student works 3 days of the week and comes back to school for 2 days to acquire the theory and book knowledge.
This has it’s pros and cons. The plus points are that such a programme will offer the students increased industry exposure and an excellent opportunity to obtain the industry-relevant skills. Good student-apprentices could be identified by the companies which may even offer them full-time employment upon graduation or sponsor their further studies (degree programme).
One of the costs of such a programme is the need for greater collaboration among the government, companies and polytechnics and ITEs to build a structured programme which delivers a high quality apprenticeship which does not dilute the academic rigour of polytechnic and ITE education. Other concerns include according proper academic and industry status and recognition to the programme, ensuring the apprenticeship has an assessment system that is fair, objective and consistent, ensuring there is a critical mass of companies willing to be part of this programme and that companies have a tangible incentive to be part of this programme.
The last 2 points on critical mass and tangible incentives deserve closer scrutiny. It is essential that companies in this new polytechnic and ITE educational landscape, realise that their roles are going to be different. Company supervisors will not just be bosses to the students, handing them work to do while supervising them as they are currently under internship programmes. They need to be mentors, passing on not just technical skills but gilt edged advice distilled from their many years of work experience to the students. Proper training plans should be carefully drawn up so that they are structured and leveled up over the 1-2 year period exposing students to different areas of work or varying levels of complexity.
On the point of tangible incentive, seeing how the roles have changed and indeed expectations are higher under this proposed programme, I feel it is only fair that the government offer some tax incentives to companies willing to partner polytechnics and ITEs in this programme. This could draw in the numbers which would address the critical mass issue.
However, I also see the need for the Education Ministry to introduce a special division that will have jurisdiction over this apprentice programme to train company supervisors to be able to
(i) develop structured training plans and
(ii) to become good mentors
This special division will also act as a mediation centre in the event that there are disputes arising between students and the companies or between the companies and the polytechnics/ITEs.
Now what about the Issue #1 – How can we make the aspirations of our students a reality?
I feel that this is an urgent issue that needs immediate attention. We have to be able to look at each and every student and offer them a decent shot at realising their fullest potential in the sector of their choice which they have the greatest interest in.
Some of you reading this will probably snigger and see it as a politically correct ideal which has little resonance on the ground. But success in overcoming great challenges almost always has it’s roots in a simply stated but potent idea.
I do not have the numbers to substantiate this but based on my personal experience as well as my experience as a polytechnic lecturer, I sense that there are many students who feel lost and directionless as they try to manoeuvre through the complex maze that is the current educational landscape.
Yes, the basic pathways have been defined for all to progress from primary school to secondary and post-secondary and finally tertiary institutions/universities. But there are a fair number, I feel, who “fall through the cracks” because they have not been sufficiently engaged and counseled.
Parents and educators (teachers) play a crucial role in identifying students’ passion and areas of interest. More has to be done in further studies and career counseling and it has to happen earlier at the minimum, at Secondary 3 level. Why Sec 3 level? Because this gives students enough runway to pursue their dreams – apply for courses they are interested in and do work that they are passionate about.
If student “A” knows that s/he is interested in animation and doing creative work on the computers, s/he could have benefited from a session with a further studies/career counselor who could pull out the relevant courses in ITE and polytechnics which offer these courses and check out their minimum entry requirements.
This could serve as an incentive for “lost”students to work harder in school in order to meet these entry requirements and qualify for these courses and eventually work in an industry which they are passionate about.
Aside from career counseling, a greater push is needed from schools to identify students’ interests in the allocation of modules or electives in the specialised schools or when students want to join a certain CCA or when a student works in a certain project in school.
Say for example, there is a student who has a keen interest in computers and is widely recognised as the computer “whiz” kid in class but is an average performer academically. This student should be given a chance to use his/her “gift” by offering him/her computer-related electives or when work is delegated in projects. Our schools can and should do more in recognising the “gifts” in our students and refrain from citing purely meritocratic reasons for denying them an elective or a chance to join a particular CCA which aligns well with their “gifts”.
Education has a special place in the hearts of all Singaporeans because it is through education that we realise our aspirations. It is through education that we build our character, become good citizens and exemplary workers and professionals .
I see education simply as a journey where we (parents and teachers) guide our young to a place where they have many doors to enter or to a place where there are fewer doors but these are the doors they are happy to open and continue on their life journey.
Teachers are the chief stewards in our young’s educational journey and we should try our best to make their aspirations a reality, a noble and worthy aim of ASPIRE and one which is firmly on my wishlist for Singapore as a prepare to celebrate our 50th birthday.
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