comment on national day rally
The Prime Minister put forth several ideas and plans regarding education in his National Day Rally. How realistic do you find these plans and do what extent are they important to the future of Singapore?
In his rally speech, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong addressed the education policies in Singapore. New initiatives are being introduced too. He saw the need for the younger generation of Singaporeans to be more familiar with different languages, instead of being just a bilingual. We should not be complacent with knowledge of English language and our mother tongue. In my opinion, it is an intelligent strategy to implement the Malay Special Programme. By knowing a third language, greater social interaction between the different races is encouraged. In addition, the Regional Studies Programme which is going to be introduced in some secondary schools will create more opportunities for students to participate in exchange programmes and visits to some Southeast Asia countries. It helps to promote our ties with our neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia where the vast majority speaks Malay. Moreover, we can made use of opportunities like overseas trips to deepen our understanding of each country’s culture. It is essential to constantly maintain our ties with other countries in the region given the fact that Singapore is a small country with limited resources. Hence, we have to make preparations and pave the path for any emergencies where we have to seek help from the neighbouring countries.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also mention about the plan to build a fourth university in Singapore to create more university places for students. I think it is essential to expand the number of university places for students in order to cater to the number of students. When there are limited vacancies in the university, many will turn to alternatives in getting a degree like for instance, pursue the education abroad. Certain conditions like less stressful lifestyle, higher paid jobs can cause those who are studying overseas to put off their plans in joining the Singapore’s workforce. When this occurs, Singapore will be facing a loss of talents to boost the quality of our workforce and we cannot let this happen. It is a price that we cannot afford to pay if we want to stay competitive in this challenging economy where quality and efficiency of the workforce matters. Therefore, by building a fourth university is important to the future of Singapore.
