report on the ministry of education 1978

Report on the Ministry of Education (Goh Report)

In August 1978, then Deputy Prime Minister Goh Keng Swee was tasked to lead a study team to identify problems in Singapore’s education system and propose solutions for reform. [1] The government was of the view at the time that a thorough review was crucial to align the education system with the rapidly changing social and economic needs of the country. [2] A key aim of the exercise was to consider how education policies and their implementation could be made more flexible to enable each child to learn at a pace suited to his or her ability. [3] Submitted on 9 February 1979, the Report on the Ministry of Education 1978 (also known as the Goh Report) identified three main shortcomings in the education system, namely, high education wastage, low levels of literacy and ineffective bilingualism. [4] These problems stemmed largely from the peculiar situation created by existing bilingual policy in which the languages of instruction (primarily English and Mandarin) were not spoken at home by some 85 percent of school children. [5] This troubling state of affairs was exacerbated by the switch from Chinese-stream to English-stream education over the preceding two decades, which witnessed the accelerated establishment of English-stream schools, along with the mass recruitment and training of new teachers to the detriment of the quality of teaching. [6] The Goh Report pinpointed weaknesses in the policies, systems and procedures of the Ministry of Education (MOE). Foremost was the failure of the education system, with its rigid and uniform curriculum, to cater to differences in absorption capacities and rates of learning among students. [7] Another factor was the lack of long-term planning and specific objectives to guide the curriculum, for example, there was no clear definition of “effective bilingualism”. [8] Having identified the problems in education and their underlying causes, the study team proposed several recommendations that became the basis of the New Education System (NES). [9] Among the major changes brought about by the Goh Report was the streaming of pupils into different courses at the upper primary and secondary levels depending on their language proficiencies and academic abilities at Primary 3 and Primary 6 respectively. [10] The report also made recommendations to improve the organisational effectiveness of the MOE, one outcome of which was the establishment of the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore (CDIS), which began operations in June 1980. [11] The Goh Report was endorsed by parliament on 30 March 1979. [12] References 1. P. M. Raman. (1978, August 17). New team to study education . The Straits Times , p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. 2. Soon, T. W. (1988). Singapore's new education system: Education reform for national development (p. 1). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Call no.: RSING 370.95957 SOO. 3. The Straits Times , 17 August 1978, p. 1. 4. Goh, K. S. & Education Study Team. (1979). Report on the Ministry of Education 1978 . (p. 4–1). Singapore: Singapore National Printers. Call no.: RCLOS 370.95957 SIN. 5. Soon , 1988, p. 9; Goh & Education Study Team , 1979, p. 1–1. 6. Goh & Education Study Team , 1979, p. 1–1. 7. Goh & Education Study Team , 1979, pp. 4–1. 8. Goh & Education Study Team , 1979, pp. 4–3, 4–5, 5–1. 9. Soon , 1988, p. 1. 10. Goh & Education Study Team , 1979, pp. 6–1 - 6–4. 11. Goh & Education Study Team , 1979, pp. 6–5 - 6–8; Yip, J. S. K., & Sim, W. K. (Eds.). (1990). Evolution of educational excellence: 25 years of education in the Republic of Singapore . (p. 73). Singapore: Longman Singapore. Call no.: RSING 370.95957 EVO. 12. Fong, L. (1979, March 31). All 'ayes' for Goh report . The Straits Times , p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.

Rights Statement

The information in this article is valid as at 2014 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

The Report on Ministry of Education by Goh Keng Swee

• Collections

In August 1978, then Deputy Prime Minister Goh Keng Swee was tasked to lead a study team to identify problems in Singapore’s education system and propose solutions for reform. The government was of the view at the time that a thorough review was crucial to align the education system with the rapidly changing social and economic needs of the country. Submitted on 9 February 1979, the Report identified three main shortcomings in the education system, namely, high education wastage, low levels of literacy and ineffective bilingualism. This artefact was part of the selection in the time capsule buried in 1990 by then DPM Ong Teng Cheong to celebrate Singapore’s 50th anniversary of independence in 2015.

See related items

Dark blue floral patterned blouse

Old Parking coupon (40 cents)

First brochure sent out on Medisave scheme

You may also like.

Refurbishment of Bukit Brown Cemetery Gates

Masjid Petempatan Melayu Sembawang

Sembawang Hot Spring Park

Arts and Culture Employment Study 2016

Singapore Cultural Statistics

Singapore Fashion History through Fashion Journalism

The Story of the Sree Narayana Mission and the British Military Withdrawal from Singapore

Government agencies communicate via .gov.sg websites (e.g. go.gov.sg/open) . Trusted website s

Look for a lock ( ) or https:// as an added precaution. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

An Overview of Singapore’s Education System from 1819 to the 1970s

Director's Column

In Search of the Child: Children’s Books Depicting World War II in Singapore

Journey to the West: Dusty Roads, Stormy Seas and Transcendence

Why Politicians Don’t Stay? Making Sense of Critical Political Events in Post war Asia

Pantun: Sumber Rujukan Sosiobudaya Masyarakat Melayu

The Ya Yin Kwan Collection: Treasures of Early Southeast Asian History

邓小平与新加坡经验 Deng Xiaoping and Singapore Experience

14th General Conference of the Congress of Southeast Asian Librarians (CONSAL)

Through government reports and reviews held at the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library, Librarian Wee Tong Bao traces the evolution of Singapore’s education system.

Among the little-known national treasures on the shelves of the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library is a large collection of government reports and reviews on various subjects. One subject on which the Library has a wealth of documents and tracts is the history of Singapore’s education system. When the policies and inquiries that had been published from the founding of modern Singapore till 1978 are examined chronologically, one can see the evolution of Singapore’s education system – from a laissez-faire arrangement to a nationally centralised system by the late 1970s.

In the beginning, British administrators were concerned only with providing primary education in the schools they had established. Missionaries and communal leaders had also set up schools of their own using money that the government provided, in the form of “grants-in-aid”. From 1870 till the start of World War II, the colonial government paid more attention to the island’s schools when it commissioned inquiries into the different aspects of education. Many committees were formed to review teaching and other aspects of the education system in the English and Malay vernacular schools. Reports were written on how funds were disbursed to schools, recommendations for the curriculum for government Malay vernacular schools as well as the provision of tertiary education in the English school system. Many of these reports were later named after the respective chairpersons heading the inquiries.

The Education System before World War I

The founder of Singapore, Stamford Raffles, professed:

The British presence on the island was represented by the East India Company, which was mainly concerned with trade. This being so, the British administrators initially focused on commerce, leaving most of the other social concerns such as education to the different communities on the island. In 1858, the colony, along with two other settlements (Penang and Malacca) in the Malacca Strait, was put under the control of the Governor-General of India. The administrators maintained their laissez-faire approach to education in the Straits Settlements. Things begin to change with the transfer of oversight from the India Office to the Colonial Office in London in 1867. The new British administration became actively interested in the affairs of the Straits Settlements and forced various committees to look into various sectors. In 1870, the Woolley Committee compiled a report on the state of education in the colony. 1 In 1872, the position of inspector of schools was created to take charge of educational matters in the Straits Settlements. The first person to fill this position was A.M. Skinner. 2

After the publication of the Woolley Report in 1870, another committee chaired by E.E. Isemonger was formed to look into the state of vernacular education in the colony. 3 The impetus for this inquiry was the depressed trade conditions in the 1890s as a result of which the administration wanted to find out how best to expend the decreased revenue. The Isemonger Report was completed in 1894. Subsequent committees tasked to review and make recommendations concerning the disbursement of grants produced the “Report of the Committee appointed by His Excellency the Governor and High Commissioner to consider the working of the system of Education Grants-in-Aid introduced in 1920 in the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States“ by E.C.H. Wolff in 1922 and the “Report of the Committee to Consider the System of Grants-in-Aid to Schools in the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States” by F.J. Morten in 1932.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the British administrators wanted to find out more about the education that was being provided, especially post-primary and technical education. This was almost one century after they founded the Singapore Institution (later renamed Raffles Institution) in 1823 to educate the children on the island. The government had provided only primary education up to then, and the British rulers felt that it was time to consider post-primary education in the form of secondary or technical education. In 1919, a committee led by F.H. Firmstone was formed to propose the groundwork necessary for the “advancement of education preparatory to a University in Singapore”. 4 The “Report of the Commission appointed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies on Higher Education in Malaya” (McLean Report) followed in 1939. The main objective of this report was to assess the Malay education that had been provided and to propose how higher education could be introduced. Another objective of the McLean committee was to look into the conferment of degrees to graduates of Raffles College and King Edward VII College of Medicine as there was increasing dissatisfaction that the certification was not recognised by many organisations as full degrees.

It was around this time that the British rulers felt that the system of education in the Straits Settlements needed a new focus, once they realised that many students were not able to find jobs as clerks in the government service or with private companies. Several committees were commissioned between 1917 and 1938 to review and make recommendations on vocational and industrial education, which would equip students with practical skills. Four known reports on vocational and industrial education were published during this period. R.O. Winstedt conducted two such inquiries in 1917 and 1925. Winstedt reviewed vernacular and industrial education in the Netherlands East Indies in 1917 and recommended that government Malay schools teach “three basic subjects of reading, writing and arithmetic, [with] special attention… to the Malay traditional pursuits of husbandry and handicraft”. 5 The objective of his second review in 1925 was to determine the viability of industrial and technical education in Singapore, which built on the Lemon Report of 1919, a study of technical and industrial education in the Federated Malay States before the implementation of a higher education system in the colony.

It was the 1925 Windstedt Report that convinced the government that the Federated Malay States and the Straits Settlements were both ready for vocational training. In 1927, B.W. Elles was asked to plan for a school of agriculture, and to recommend the courses to be taught there. Vocational education was further supported by the publication of “Report on Vocational Education in Malay” by H.R. Cheeseman in 1938. Cheeseman’s committee recommended increasing the number of trade schools, introducing workshop craft for boys and domestic science for girls, including science in the curriculum of all secondary schools, and emphasised the “importance of gardening in schools and of agricultural training for vernacular school teachers”. 6

It must be noted at this juncture that much of the curricular “reform” or “rethinking” of the Education Department concentrated on Malay and English education because the Malayan Government had little control over Chinese schools. Hence, the official reports and reviews published during this period placed a strong emphasis on vocational and technical education for Malay students in the government Malay primary schools throughout Malaya.

Political Influences on Education Policies Before World War II

Education policies before World War II were not formulated solely with the economic situation in mind. The government was also influenced by political forces. For example, the 1920 Schools Registration Ordinance not only marked a big step forward in British direct involvement with the education of all children in Singapore, it also heralded the end of the British non-interference approach towards Chinese vernacular schools. With this ordinance, the local government sought to “gain control over all schools in the Colony”. The government officially declared the following:

Although the ordinance applied to the island’s mission, government and other schools, it was introduced also as a result of the sociopolitical conditions prevailing in 1919 and 1920. Many local Chinese were caught up with the political upheaval in China, exacerbated by the unfair terms of the Versailles Peace Conference, which ceded Shandong to Japan. A number of students and teachers in Malaya organised demonstrations and boycotted Japanese goods in protest. In Singapore, mass demonstrations and open violence broke out on 19 June 1919. Demonstrators attacked Japanese shops and destroyed Japanese goods. In response, the British authorities declared martial law. 7 These disturbances disrupted the economic progress of Singapore and the rest of British Malaya, and Chinese students and teachers were identified as the key agitators in these incidents.

The ordinance was first presented as the Education Bill to the Straits Settlements Legislative Council on 31 May 1920. It met with strong objections from some factions of the Chinese community, which felt that the government’s attempt to remove the political element from Chinese education was as good as putting an end to Chinese vernacular education. They were “full of fear and suspicion”, and sent their petitions through Lim Boon Keng, the Chinese representative of the Straits Settlements Legislative Council. Despite their objections, the ordinance was eventually passed in October 1920. 8

Under this ordinance, managers and teachers of schools were required to register with the Education Department within three months for existing schools, and one month for new schools. Any changes in the teaching staff or committee of management of the registered schools had to be reported to the Education Department within one month. Every registered school also had to be inspected by the director of education, who was empowered to declare schools unlawful if there was any evidence of involvement in political propaganda detrimental or prejudicial to the interests of the colony. 9 The ordinance and the general regulations were first amended in 1925, and were repeatedly amended to ensure compliance and effectiveness.

Postwar Development

When World War II ended, Singapore returned to British rule once again. On 7 August 1947, a “Ten-Year Programme” was established. This was meant to be the “basis for future educational development in the Colony of Singapore”. 10 The general principles outlined in this policy were “foster[ing] and extend[ing] the capacity for self-government, and the ideal of civic loyalty and responsibility; … [providing] equal educational opportunity to the children – both boys and girls – of all races, … upon a basis of free primary education there should be developed such secondary, vocational and higher education as will best meet the needs of the country”. 11

As Singapore was still recovering from the devastation of the war, it was understandable that “the first priority (was) rehabilitation”. 12 Much emphasis was given to primary education, though the scope of the policy also covered areas such as post-primary education in the English and vernacular schools, training of teachers, administration and inspection of schools and the types of schools. 13

This policy also stressed that “the basis of all schools should be regional rather than racial, and should ensure the intermingling of pupils of all races in all the activities of school life”. 14 To facilitate the implementation of the “Ten-Year Programme”, surveys were carried out throughout Singapore to determine the number of schools and pupils enrolled in each area. In total, 26 surveys were conducted, covering areas such as Jurong, Kranji and Lim Chu Kang in the west, Bedok, Tampines and Changi in the east, Sembawang and Seletar in the north, and New Bridge Road, South Bridge Road, Market Street, Raffles Place and Collyer Quay in the south. The surveys revealed that there were a total of 118,251 pupils in 449 schools at the time (see below). 15

Based on the data collected, the committee made proposals about school facilities, capacity of existing schools and ways to support the new initiatives in the years to come. The report of the committee also included appendices showing the estimated annual increases in enrolment and expenditure from 1951 to 1960.

In 1955, the Ministry of Education was formally established. In the following year, two important documents on education were released: the “Report of the All-Party Committee of the Singapore Legislative Assembly on Chinese Education” followed by the “White Paper on Education Policy”. The White Paper built on the findings of the All-Party Committee Report, and highlighted the challenges faced by Singapore: “to reconcile those elements of diversity which arise from the multi-racial structure of its population”, and “to cope with the phenomenal increase in the population of school-going age”. 16 To address the first challenge, the government decided on “build[ing] a Singapore or Malayan nationalism”. The paper explored how a “common Malayan loyalty” could be built in the schools. To underline its belief that the “education policy should be based on equal respect for the four principal cultures of Singapore”, the paper also proposed replacing the several legislation governing schools then – namely, Education Ordinance, 1948 (No. 22 of 1948), Registration of Schools Ordinance, 1950 (No. 16 of 1950) and Schools (General) Regulations, 1950 – with a single Education Ordinance that would apply to all schools. 17 This was achieved with the passing of the new Education Ordinance in 1957. To meet the second challenge of increasing numbers of school children, it was proposed that the schools be expanded, and that more teachers should be trained. 18

Throughout the 1960s, the government continued to pay attention to education – particularly vocational education – and ordered several more reviews. The impact that the type of education system had on the economy was of utmost interest to the government. With Singapore’s limited natural resources, the government realised that industrialisation would be the lifeline of Singapore’s economy, and thus “her human resources must be harnessed to the full”. 19 A review led by Chan Chieu Kiat, the “Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Vocational and Technical Education in Singapore” (subsequently known as the Chan Chieu Kiat Commission) in 1961 suggested restructuring the secondary education system to accommodate vocational, technical and commercial education. 20 So that students and teaching staff of vocational institutions could keep up with the advancements in their chosen fields, the commission also suggested that “the setting up of a technical and scientific section in the National Library deserved urgent consideration”. 21

The 1961 Chan Chieu Kiat Commission was complemented by the “Commission of Inquiry into Education” led by Lim Tay Boh the following year. The terms of reference of this commission were to “inquire into the Government’s Education Policy, its content and administration in all fields other than vocational and technical education, and to make recommendations”. 22 This inquiry, however, did not review the two universities. This commission submitted an interim report in 1962, and a final report in 1963. Some of the key recommendations of this commission included the adjustment of class size and pupil-teacher ratio for primary and secondary schools, revision of the Primary School Leaving Examination by aligning the examination syllabus to the teaching in the schools, training of teachers, allowance and remuneration of principals and teaching staff, as well as skills and facilities that could enhance students’ learning. Examples of recommendations made were: “all trainee teachers and some of the experienced teachers should be given training in librarianship”, and “the necessity to appoint a qualified School Library Adviser at the Ministry of Education”. 23

The most significant review in the 1970s was the 1978 Goh Keng Swee Report on the state of education. This study, however, was not a formal commission of inquiry, and no terms of reference were spelt out for the team. Goh remarked that “the approach we [the team] take is that of the generalist, and not of the specialist” (1978 Report, p. ii). 24 The team highlighted key problems in the education system at the time, such as the preference for English-stream schools, the importance of bilingual education, the necessity of streaming students according to their learning capabilities, moral education syllabus and administration at the Ministry of Education.

This report had a far-reaching impact on the development of education in the years to come. In 1979, primary three pupils were streamed into Express, Normal or Monolingual classes. With the preference for English-stream schools, all the four language-stream schools were merged into English-stream schools, where lessons on all subjects were conducted in English except for the mother tongue (Chinese, Malay or Tamil), which students studied as a second language. This merger was reflected in the 1984 “Directory of Schools and Institutions”, in which schools were no longer classified by language stream. As shown in the Preface of the Directory:

The Ministry of Education also ensured that pupils who had the capability to study another language as a first language could continue to learn their mother tongue as a first language too. This was implemented under the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) in nine schools in 1979.

Singapore’s education system from 1819 to 1978 can be seen to have passed through three distinct phases. In the first phase, before the outbreak of World War II, there were other providers of education besides the British. The second phase took place after World War II, and was marked by the government’s concerted effort to centralise the curriculum to maximise scarce resources in the immediate postwar years. The third phase was heralded by the creation of a national school system after the nation’s Independence in 1965. The legacy of different language traditions continued into the early 1980s. Even without an official history of these developmental phases, the motley of policy papers and reports kept in the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library capture the evolution and details of these phases. 25

Through the official reports and policies, one can see that the attempts by the government to exert control over all schools in Singapore were evident before World War II. The 1920 School Registration Ordinance can be considered to be the first such endeavour. Official reviews and inquiries were still being carried out along ethnic lines even after World War II. The following government reviews underscore this contention: “Report of the Committee on Malay Education” (Barnes Report) in 1951, “Report of a Mission Invited by the Federation Government to Study the Problem of Education of Chinese in Malaya” (Fenn Report) in 1951, “All-Party Committee on Chinese Education Appointed to Look into the Education Needs of Chinese Schools” in 1955 and the “Report of the All-party Committee on Chinese Education of the Singapore Legislative Assembly on Chinese Education” in 1956.

It was not till the 1957 Registration of School Ordinance that we see another attempt by the government to consolidate the numerous “micro-systems” that existed within Singapore’s education system. The main shift away from policies with communal considerations to those stressing national concerns took place after self-rule was attained. Some of these developments were captured in the 1961 “Commission of Inquiry into Vocational and Technical Education in Singapore” (Chan Chieu Kiat Commission) and in the 1962 “Commission of Inquiry into Education” (Lim Tay Boh Commission). The 1978 Goh Keng Swee Report recommended the merger of all four language-stream schools into a common English-stream system. All schools were transformed into English-medium schools by 1984. By then, it was no longer necessary to address educational issues peculiar to ethnicity and language stream as all policies and reviews subsequently applied to all Singapore schools.

If readers wish to explore the subject further, I recommended David Chelliah’s A History of the Educational Policy of the Straits Settlements with Recommendations for a New System Based on Vernaculars (1940) and Saravanna Gopinathan’s Towards a National System of Education in Singapore, 1945–1973 (1974). Both authors also consulted the resources that I have referred to in my article. Their works are available at Level 12 of the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library, National Library.

All-Party Committee on Singapore Chinese Middle Schools Students’ Union, Singapore, Singapore Chinese Middle Schools Students’ Union (Singapore Legislative Assembly Command Paper Cmd. 53 of 1956) (Singapore: Printed at the Govt. Print. Off., 1956). (Call no. RCLOS 371.83 SIN; microfilm NL9547)

All Party Committee on Chinese Education, Singapore, Report of the All-Party Committee of the Singapore Legislative Assembly on Chinese Education (Singapore: Govt. Printer, 1956). (Call no. RCLOS 371.9795105957 SIN)

C.M. Turnbull, A History of Singapore, 1819–1988 (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1989. (Call no. RSING 959.57 TUR)

Central Advisory Committee on Education, Malaya, Report on the Barnes Report on Malay Education and the Fenn-Wu Report on Chinese Education [Kuala Lumpur: Govt. Press, 1951) (Call no. RDTYS 371.979920595 MAL)

Commission of Inquiry into Vocational and Technical Education in Singapore, Singapore, Report of the Commission of Inquiry Into Vocational and Technical Education in Singapore (Singapore: Govt. Print. Off., 1961). (Call no. RCLOS 371.426 SIN; microfilm NL11766)

Committee on a Polytechnic Institute for Singapore, Singapore, Committee on a Polytechnic Institute for Singapore (Singapore: Government Printing Office, 1953). (Call no. RCLOS 378.5951 SIN)

Committee on Malay Education, Malaya, Report (Kuala Lumpur: Govt. Press, 1951). (Call no. RCLOS 371.979920595 MAL; microfilm NL9546)

F.J. Morten and Straits Settlements, Report (Straits Settlements. Legislative Council Command Paper no. 103 of 1932) (Singapore: Printed at the Govt. Print. Off., 1932). (Call no. RRARE q379.12; microfilm NL7596)

Francis H.K. Wong and Gwee Yee Hean, Official Reports on Education: Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States, 1870–1939 (Singapore: Pan Pacific Book Distributors, 1980). (Call no. RCLOS 370.95957 WON)

Goh Keng Swee and Education Study Team, Report on the Ministry of Education 1978 (Singapore: Printed by Singapore National Printers, 1979) (Call no. RSING 370.95957 SIN)

H.R. Cheeseman, Report on Vocational Education in Malaya (Singapore: Printed at the Govt. Print. Off., 1938). (Call no. RRARE 371.42 CHE; microfilm NL9821)

Legislative Assembly, Singapore, White Paper on Education Policy (Singapore Legislative Assembly Command Paper Cmd. 15 of 1956). (Singapore: Legislative Assembly, 1956). (Call no. RCLOS q370.95951 SIN; microfilm NL9547)

Legislative Council, Straits Settlement, Straits Settlements, Proceedings of the Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements (With Appendices) for … (Singapore: Government Microfilm Unit, 31 May 1921). (Microfilm NL1120)

Lee Kuan Yew, New Bearings in Our Education System: An Address … to Principals of Schools in Singapore on August 29, 1966 (Singapore: Ministry of Culture, 1966). (Call no. RCLOS 370.95951 LEE; microfilm NL9547)

Lee Ting Hui, Chinese Schools in British Malaya: Policies and Politics (Singapore: South Seas Society, 2006). (Call no. RSING 371.82995105951 LEE)

Lim Tay Boh, Final Report (Singapore: Govt. Printer, 1964). (Call no. RCLOS 370.95957 SIN; microfilm NL15271)

Lim Tay Boh, Interim Report on the Six-Day Week (Singapore: Govt. Printer, 1962). (Call no. RCLOS 370.95957 SIN; microfilm NL9547)

Malaya, Memorandum on Chinese Education in the Federation of Malaya (Kuala Lumpur: Art Printing Works, 1954). (Call no. RCLOS 371.979510595 MAL; microfilm NL9546)

Member for Education, Malaya, Annual Report … on the Education Ordinance, 1952 (Malaya Federal Legislative Council Command Paper no. 29 of 1954) [S. l.: s. n., 1954]. (Call no. RCLOS 370.9595 MMEAR-[RFL]; microfilm NL9546)

Ministry of Education, Singapore, Annual Report (Singapore: Printed at the Govt. Print. Off., 1946–1967). (Call no. RCLOS 370.95951 SIN; microfilm NL9335)

Ministry of Education, Singapore, Directory of Schools and Institutions (Singapore: Education Statistics Section, Computer Services Branch, Planning & Review Division, 1982–1984). (Call no. RSING 371.00255957 DSI)

Ministry of Education, Singapore, Educational Policy in the Colony of Singapore: Ten Years Programme (Singapore: Ministry of Education, 1947–1949). (Call no. RCLOS 370.95951 SIN; microfilm NL4083)

Ministry of Education, Singapore, ETV Singapore (Singapore: Ministry of Education, 1966–1979). (Call no. RCLOS 370.95957 SIN)

Ministry of Education, Singapore, Singapore, Educational Policy in the Colony of Singapore: Supplement to the Ten-Year Programme: Data and Interim Proposals (Singapore: Ministry of Education, 1949). (Call no. RCLOS 370.95951 SIN)

Ministry of Education, Singapore, Singapore Government Press Statement (Singapore: Ministry of Education, 1966–1976). (Call no. RCLOS 370.95957 SIN)

Mission Invited by the Federation Government to Study the Problem of the Education of Chinese in Malaya, Malaya, Chinese Schools and the Education of Chinese Malayans: The Report of a Mission Invited by the Federation Government To Study the Problem of the Education of Chinese in Malaya (Kuala Lumpur: Govt. Press, 1951).  (Call no. RCLOS 371.979510595 MAL)

Public Relations Office, Singapore, Education Week, May 8th–13th, 1950: The Steps to Success (Singapore: Published by Public Relations Office for the Dept. of Education, 1950). (Call no. RDTYS 370.95951 SIN)

Robert L. Jarman ed., Annual Reports of the Straits Settlements 1855–1941 ([Slough, UK]: Archive Editions, 1998). (Call no. RSING 959.51 STR-[AR])

Saravanan Gopinathan, Towards a National System of Education in Singapore, 1945–1973 (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1974). (Call no. RSING 379.5957 GOP)

Singapore, Chinese Schools – Bilingual Education and Increased Aid (Singapore: Govt. Print. Off., 1953). (Call no. RCLOS 371.9795105957 SIN)

Sophia Raffles, Memoir of the Life and Public Services of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1991). (Call no. RSING 959.57021092 RAF)

Straits Settlements, Annual Departmental Reports (Singapore: Printed at the Govt. Print. Off., 1891–1938). (Call no. RRARE 354.595 SSADR; microfilm NL2927, NL2928, NL 25412)

Straits Settlements, Straits Settlements Government Gazettes (Singapore: Mission Press, 1858–1942). (Call no. RCLOS 959.51 SGG)

Straits Settlements, Report (Straits Settlements. Legislative Council Command Paper no. 45 of 1922) (Singapore: Printed at the Govt. Print. Off., 1922). (Call no. RRARE q379.12 STR; microfilm NL7548)

Straits Settlements. Technical Education Committee, Report, 1925 (Singapore: Technical Education Committee, 1925). (Call no. RRARE 607.5951 STR; microfilm NL7596)

T.R. Doraisamy et al., 150 Years of Education (Singapore: TTC Publications Board, Teachers Training College, 1969). (Call no. RSING 370.95957 TEA)

Yeo Hailin, “The Registration of Schools Ordinance of British Malaya, 1920: Origins and Outcome,” (Bachelor’s Thesis, National University of Singapore, 1990, https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/166959

APPENDIX: A Select List of Education Policies and Papers from 1819 to the 1970s

1870: Report of the Select Committee of the Legislative Council to Inquire into the State of Education in the Colony (Woolley Report)

1894: Report of the Committee Appointed to Inquire into the System of Vernacular Education in the Colony (Isemonger Report)

1902: Report of the Commission of Enquiry into the System of English Education in the Colony (Kynnerseley Report)

1917: Report on Vernacular and Industrial Education in the Netherlands East Indies and the Philippines, by R.O. Winstedt

1919: Report by the Committee Appointed by His Excellency the Governor to Advise As to a Scheme for the Advancement of Education Preparatory to a University in Singapore (Firmstone Report)

1919: Report of the Committee on Technical and Industrial Education in the Federated Malay States (Lemon Report)

1922: Report of the Committee Appointed by His Excellency the Government and High Commissioner To Consider the Working of the System of Education Grants-in-Aid Introduced in 1920 in the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States (Wolff Report)

1925: Report of the Technical Education Committee (Winstedt Report)

1927: Report of the Committee Appointed to Draw Up a Scheme for a School of Agriculture as a Joint Institution for the Federated Malay States and Straits Settlement (Elles Report)

1928: Proceedings of the Committee Appointed by His Excellency the Governor and High Commissioner To Report on the Question of Medical Research Throughout Malaya. (Command Paper – Straits Settlements. Legislative Council; No. 13 of 1929)

1932: Report of the Committee to Consider the System of Grants-in-Aid to Schools in the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States (Morten Report) (Command Paper – Straits Settlements. Legislative Council; No. 103 of 1932)

1938: Report on Vocational Education in Malay, by H.R. Cheeseman

1939: Report of the Commission Appointed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies on Higher Education in Malaya (McLean Report)

1947–1949: Educational Policy in the Colony of Singapore: Ten Years Programme (Vol. 1) and Supplement to the Ten-Year Programme: Data and Interim Proposals (Vol. 2)

1951: Report of the Committee on Malay Education (Barnes Report)

1951: Chinese Schools and the Education of Chinese Malayans: The Report of a Mission Invited by the Federation Government to Study the Problem of the Education of Chinese in Malaya (Fenn Report)

1951: Report on the Barnes Report on Malay Education and the Fenn-Wu Report on Chinese Education

1953: Chinese Schools – Bilingual Education and Increased Aid (Command Paper – Singapore. Legislative Council; Cmd. 81 of 1953)

1953: Report of the Committee on a Polytechnic Institute for Singapore

1956: Singapore Chinese Middle Schools Students’ Union (Command Paper – Singapore. Legislative Assembly; Cmd. 53 of 1956)

1956: Report of the All-Party Committee of the Singapore Legislative Assembly on Chinese Education (Led by Chew Swee Kee)

1956: White Paper on Education Policy (Command Paper – Legislative Assembly; Cmd. 15 of 1956)

1961: Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Vocational and Technical Education in Singapore (Chan Chieu Kiat Commission)

1962: Interim Report on the Six-Day Week – Commission of Inquiry Into Education (Lim Tay Boh Commission)

1964: Final Report – Commission of Inquiry Into Education (Lim Tay Boh Commission)

1979: Report on the Ministry of Education 1978 (Prepared by Goh Keng Swee and the Education Study Team)

Doraisamy, 150 Years of Education , 26.  ↩

Wong and Gwee, Official Reports on Education , 66.  ↩

Straits Settlements. Technical Education Committee, Report, 1925   ↩

Cheeseman, Report on Vocational Education in Malaya .   ↩

Yeo, “Registration of Schools Ordinance,” 32–34.  ↩

Lee, Chinese Schools in British Malaya , 89–104.  ↩

Straits Settlements, Straits Settlements Government Gazettes , no. 21 (29 Oct 1920), sections 10, 11, 18 and 19.  ↩

Ministry of Education, Singapore, Educational Policy , 5.  ↩

Ministry of Education, Singapore, Educational Policy , 9.  ↩

Ministry of Education, Singapore, Educational Policy , 5–9.  ↩

Ministry of Education, Singapore, Educational Policy , 6.  ↩

Ministry of Education, Singapore, Educational Policy , 2.  ↩

Legislative Assembly, Singapore, White Paper on Education Policy , 4.  ↩

Legislative Assembly, Singapore, White Paper on Education Policy , 7.  ↩

Legislative Assembly, Singapore, White Paper on Education Policy , 10.  ↩

Commission of Inquiry into Vocational and Technical Education in Singapore, Singapore, Report of the Commission , 61.  ↩

Commission of Inquiry into Vocational and Technical Education in Singapore, Singapore, Report of the Commission , 38–46.  ↩

Commission of Inquiry into Vocational and Technical Education in Singapore, Singapore, Report of the Commission , 60.  ↩

Lim, Final Report , x.  ↩

Lim, Final Report , 97.  ↩

Goh and Education Study Team, Report on the Ministry of Education 1978 , ii.  ↩

See Appendix for a select list of educational policies and papers mentioned in this article.  ↩

(Stanford users can avoid this Captcha by logging in.)

• Send to text email RefWorks EndNote printer

Report on the Ministry of Education, 1978 [microform]

Available online, at the library.

Education Library (Cubberley)

The Education Library is closed for construction. Request items for pickup at another library.

More options

• Find it at other libraries via WorldCat
• Contributors

Description

Creators/contributors, bibliographic information, browse related items.

• Stanford Home
• Maps & Directions
• Search Stanford
• Emergency Info
• Terms of Use
• Non-Discrimination
• Accessibility

© Stanford University , Stanford , California 94305 .

Government agencies communicate via .gov.sg websites (e.g. go.gov.sg/open) . Trusted website s

Look for a lock ( ) or https:// as an added precaution. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Development of Education in Singapore

Colonial Period

Decolonisation Process

Post-Independence SEA

Primary accounts of Singapore from 1800s to 1942

Singapore's Public Housing

Communist Party of Malaya A Comprehensive Bibliography

Understanding Singapore (I)

Guide Index

Government policies and papers, publications, accessing national library board singapore resources, introduction.

Singapore routinely ranks among the top performers in educational attainment, as measured by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Programme for International Student Assessment. Singapore’s strong education system produces high-achieving students who are self-aware, morally sound, and resilient when facing challenges.

This resource guide contains only English-language publications. It includes all government policies and review committee papers in the development of education in Singapore; and also key publications on education and issues concerning formal education in Singapore.

(listed in chronological order)

Colonial Period (1819 to 1942)

• Kynnersley, C. W. S. (1902?). Report. (Straits Settlements. Commission of Enquiry into the System of English Education in the Colony) . Singapore: Printed at the Govt. Print. Off.? Call no.: RRARE 370.95951 STR

A team was sent to enquire into and report on the system of English education in the colony, especially secondary and technical education.

• Great Britain. Board of Education. (1905). Educational systems of the chief crown colonies and possessions of the British empire: including reports on the training of native races . London : His Majesty’s Stationery Office. Call no.: RRare 370.9171241 EDU

Part of a three-volume publication, this third volume reports on the education systems in the Federated Malay States, Hong Kong, Straits Settlements, Fiji and Falkland Islands.

• Wolff, E. C. H. (1922). Report on the Committee to Consider the Working of the System of Education Grants-in-aid in the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States . Singapore : Printed at the Govt. Print. Off.?. Command paper (Straits Settlements. Legislative Council) ; no. 45 of 1922. Call no.: RRare q379.12 STR

The Committee was tasked to consider the workings of the grants-in-aid system and to determine if it should be continued, amended, or discontinued for alternative systems. Grants had been given to support schools controlled by non-government bodies.

• Winstedt, R.O. (1925). Report 1925 (Straits Settlements.Technical Education Committee)1925 . Singapore : Technical Education Committee. Call no.: RRare 607.5951 STR

The Committee set up to determine the viability of industrial and technical training.

Federated Malay States. Education Dept. (1932-39). Annual report (Straits Settlements. Education Dept) . Kuala Lumpur : Federated Malay States Govt. Print. Off. Call no.: SERIALS 370.9595 MAL

Morten, F.J. (1932). Report (Straits Settlements. Committee to Consider the System of Grants-in-Aid to Schools in the S.S. and the F.M.S.) Singapore : Printed at the Govt. Print. Off.?. Command paper (Straits Settlements. Legislative Council) ; no. 103 of 1932. Call no.: RRare q379.12 STR

While the system of grants-in-aid worked well, its costs rose due to the rapid expansion of the English stream of education (which received more aid than the Chinese and Tamil streams). There were further budgetary concerns due to the depression of the 1930s. Director of Education, F.J. Morten, was tasked to head the Committee that reviewed the system “with a view of recommending such economics as may be necessary”.

• Straits Settlements. (1934). The subsidiary legislation of the Straits Settlements enacted under the Raffles College Ordinance / edited under the supervision of the Solicitor-General, Straits Settlements. Singapore : Printed at the Govt. Print. Office. Call no.: RRare 344.595707684 STR

This subsidiary legislations gives approval for college regulations on fees, and the rules concerning furlough and leave.

• Cheeseman, H.R. (1938). Report on vocational education in Malaya, being proposals regarding the provision of additional facilities for vocational education and : modifications in school curricular so as to bring education into closer touch with present day conditions . Singapore : Printed at the Govt. Print. Office, Command Paper/ Straits Settlements Legislative Council; no.64 of 1938. Call no.: RRare 371.42 CHE

The Committee recommended proposals for additional facilities for vocational education and a more practical secondary school curriculum.

Official report of the proceedings. (1939). Educational Conference of Malaya (5th : 1939 : Kuala Lumpur) . Singapore : S.S. and F.M.S. Education Dept. Call no.: RSEA 370.9595 EDU (RU)

McLean, W. H. (1939). Higher education in Malaya : report of the Commission appointed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, June, 1939 . London : H.M.S.O., “Colonial no. 173”. Call no.: RCLOS 378.595 GRE

The Commission was tasked to survey existing arrangements for higher education in Malaya and Singapore, both general and professional, and to consider the directions and methods for further development.

• Singapore. Ministry of Education. (19–). Annual report . Singapore : Printed at the Govt. Print. Off. Call no.: RCLOS 370.95951 SIN

Post-Colonial Period (1945-1958)

Malaya. Ministry of Education. (1947). Annual report . Kuala Lumpur : Printed at the Govt. Press. Call no.: Serials 370.9595 MAL

Singapore. Ministry of Education. (1947-49?). Educational policy in the Colony of Singapore : ten years programme . Singapore : Ministry of Education. Call no.: RRare/RCLOS 370.95951 SIN

Volume 1 (1947) of a two-volume publication (the other is in 1949). It contains the principles of Singapore’s Education policy while Vol 2 contains data and interim proposals. The main principles laid down were promoting self-government, equal opportunities for all races, free primary education, and to develop education for secondary levels and beyond.

Singapore. Ministry of Education. (1949). Singapore Department of Education ten-year progranme [sic] : data & interim proposals (1949) . Singapore : The Dept. Call no.: RCLOS 370.95951 SIN -[RFL] Volume II (1949) of a two-volume publication (the other is in 1947). Vol 1 contains the principles of Singapore’s Education policy while Vol 2 contains data and interim proposals. The main principles laid down were promoting self-government, equal opportunities for all races, free primary education, and to develop education for secondary levels and beyond.

Malaya. Central Advisory Committee on Education. (1951). Report on the Barnes Report on Malay Education and the Fenn-Wu Report on Chinese Education. Kuala Lumpur : Govt. Press. Call no.: RCLOS 371.979920595 MAL

Chaired by L.D. Whitfield, the task of the committee was to review the recommendations of both the Barnes and Fenn-Wu report as they showed great disparity. The Barnes report was endorsed.

• Malaya. Committee on Malay Education. (1951). Report .(Barnes Report) Kuala Lumpur : Govt. Press. Call no.: RCLOS 371.979920595 MAL

The Committee was set up to inquire into the adequacy of educational provisions for the Malays in the Federation of Malaya. Its recommendations included national schools that used only Malay and English, and thus drew protests from the non-Malay population.

Malaya. Mission Invited by the Federation Government to Study the Problem of the Education of Chinese in Malaya. (1951). Chinese schools and the education of Chinese Malayans : the report of a mission invited by the Federation Government to study the problem of the education of Chinese in Malaya . (Fenn-Wu Report). Kuala Lumpur : Govt. Press. Call no.: RCLOS 371.979510595 MAL -[RFL] A study undertaken as a result of widespread non-Malay opposition to the Barnes Report for the Federation of Malaya.

Malaya. Member of Education. (1954). Annual report … on the Education Ordinance, 1952 . [S. l. : s.n.] Command paper (Malaya. Federal Legislative Council) ; no. 29 of 1954. Call no.: RCLOS 370.9595 MMEAR

The first annual report was submitted by E.E.C. Thuraisingham and it documents the parts of the Education Ordinance of 1952 that was brought into force in 1953.

• Singapore. (1953). Chinese schools – bilingual education and increased aid . Singapore: [s.n.]. Command paper (Singapore. Legislative Council) ; Cmd. 81 of 1953. Call no.: RCLOS 371.9795105957 SIN

A white paper that aimed to combine increased aid with a requirement for bilingualism so as to bring Chinese schools into the main folds of the education system.

Singapore. (1953?). Supplement to the Ten-year programme : data and interim proposals . Singapore : Ministry of Education. Call no.: RCLOS 370.95951 SIN-[RFL] This paper contains the detailed planning of school development in Singapore, such as the maps and listings of schools and enrolment in each municipal area, as well as statistics on population and costs of financing education.

Singapore. Committee on a Polytechnic Institute for Singapore. (1953). Report of the Committee on a Polytechnic Institute for Singapore . Singapore : Government Printing Office. Call no.: RCLOS 378.5951 SIN

This is one of the three reports leading to the establishment of Singapore Polytechnic in 1954, with the passing of the Singapore Polytechnic Ordinance. The three reports are:Thio Chan Bee Report (1952), Dobby Report (1953), and Gibson Report (1954).

• Malaya. (1954). Memorandum on Chinese education in the Federation of Malaya . Kuala Lumpur : Art Printing Works. Call no.: RCLOS 371.979510595 MAL

A memorandum that was presented to the High Commissioner, Gerald Templer, by Tan Cheng Lock, President of the Malayan Chinese Association, protesting against recommendations made in the Barnes report and the Education Ordinance of 1952 that are harmful towards Chinese education, and Chinese language and culture in the long run.

• Chew, S .K. (1956). Singapore Chinese Middle Schools Students’ Union . Singapore. Printed at the Govt. Print. Off.. Command paper (Singapore. Legislative Assembly; Cmd. 53 of 1956. Call no.: RCLOS 371.83 SIN

This paper announces the Government’s dissolution of the Chinese Middle School Students’ Union on 24 September 1956. It relates the influence of the Malayan Communist Party on the union and its activities. The Union was deemed to have engaged in “ill-considered attacks on, and destructive criticism of, constituted authority”, which the All-Party Committee viewed as a “disservice to Singapore”.

• Chew, S. K. (1956). Report of the All-Party Committee of the Singapore Legislative Assembly on Chinese education . Singapore : Govt. Printer. Call no.: RCLOS 371.9795105957 SIN

This is the report of the All-Party Committee appointed to look into Chinese education following the 1955 student unrest. Many of its ideas were continued during the self-government years.

• Singapore. Legislative Assembly. (1956). White paper on education policy . Singapore : Legislative Assembly. Call no.: RCLOS 370.95951 SIN

This white paper took up most of the recommendations by the All-Party Committee in 1956 for a more equal system of schools, and put forward ideas for technical education. Many of its ideas were continued during the self-government years. An Education Bill was introduced in 1957 to implement the proposals from this white paper.

Independence (1959-1978)

• Chan, C. K. (1961). Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Vocational and Technical Education in Singapore . Singapore : Govt. Print. Off. Call no.: RCLOS 371.426 SIN

The Commission looked into the provision of vocational training as an avenue for employment. Recommended a tripartite system of academic, vocational and technical education. Led to restructuring of secondary school system, and the introduction of secondary vocational schools, secondary technical schools, secondary commercial schools and vocational institutions.

• Lim, T. B. (1962). Interim report on the six-day week . Singapore : Govt. Printer. Call no.: RCLOS 370.95957 SIN

The 6-day week was introduced in 1959 to provide more study time for schools, with subsequent revision to the curriculum. This paper reports on the implementation with suggestions for refinements.

• Lim, T. B. (1964). Commission of Inquiry into Education Singapore : final report . Singapore : [s.n.]. Call no.: RCLOS 370.95957 SIN

The Commission was tasked to “enquire into the Government’s Education Policy, its content and administration in all fields other than vocational and technical education, and to make recommendations”. The result is a wide-ranging 105-page report covering curriculum, instruction, and manpower issues.

• Lee, K. Y. (1965). New bearings in our education system : an address … to principals of schools in Singapore on August 29, 1966 . Singapore : Ministry of Culture. Call no.: RCLOS 370.95951 LEE

An important speech by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of the newly independent Singapore, charts the new directions in the education system, which eventually laid the foundation for the social structure of the nation.

• Singapore. Ministry of Education. (1966). Progress in education: a brief review of education in Singapore from 1959 to 1965 . Singapore: Ministry of Education. Call no.: RCLOS 370.95951 SIN

This booklet gives a brief summary of the progress of Singapore’s education system from the time of self-government in 1959 to independence in 1965, including cost of education, school fees, development of primary, secondary, vocational and technical education, teacher training, textbooks, syllabuses.

Singapore. Ministry of Education. (1966). Singapore government press statement / [issued by the Ministry of Education]. Singapore : [s.n]. Call no.: RCLOS 370.95957 SIN

Singapore. Ministry of Education. (1972). Education in Singapore . Singapore: Educational Publication Bureau. Call no.: RSING 370.95957 SIN

This book gives a brief historical background of Singapore’s education system and outlines its latest development in pre-school, primary & secondary, tertiary, teacher training, adult and special education up to 1972.

• Singapore. Technical Education Department. (1973). Technical education and industrial training in Singapore : a brief review of the achievements of the Technical Education Department, 1968-1973 . Singapore: The Dept. Call no.: RSING 373.2467095957 SIN

An 11-page overview of the work of the Technical Education Department.

• People’s Action Party (Singapore). (1959). The tasks ahead; P.A.P.’s five-year plan, 1959-1964 . Singapore : Petir. Call no.: RCLOS 329.95957 PEO

Based on the White Paper of 1956, this five-year plan marked the beginning of self-government. Part 2 of this publication discusses the role of education as part of the nation building plan. The plan placed emphasis on the equal treatment of the four streams of education (Malay, Chinese, Tamil and English), Malay as the national language, and the study of Mathematics, Science and Technical Subjects. The announcement was made by First Education Minister Wong Nyuk Lin in a speech titled Spring Source of Our Nation.

• Singapore. (1959). First education triennial survey : covering the years 1955-7 inclusive . Singapore : Printed at the Govt. Print. Office. Call no.: RCLOS 370.95951 SIN

The report begins with a 12-page historical overview and an 8-page overview of the education system then. The rest of the report details educational developments in the three years surveyed, with statistics and photographs.

• Singapore. Bill (1959 Select Committee on the Nanyang University). (1959). Report of the Select Committee on the Nanyang University Bill : ordered by the Legislative Assembly to be printed, 4th February 1959 . Singapore : Printed at the Govt. Printing Office by R.D. Gillespie. Call no.: PublicationSG Papers (Singapore. Legislative Assembly) ; L.A. 3 of 1959.

Nation Building (1979-1990)

• Goh, K. S. (1979). Report on the Ministry of Education 1978 / prepared by Goh Keng Swee and the Education Study Team. Singapore : Printed by Singapore National Printers. Call no.: RCLOS 370.95957 SIN

Popularly known as “the Goh Report”, this report gave a candid and insightful assessment of MOE’s problems. It outlines broadly the New Education System that introduced streaming so that appropriate education can be provided to students of widely varying ability. The report gives insight into Dr Goh’s approach to educational policy, and Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s views on the education system (through his personal response to the study, published as part of the report).

• Ong, T. C. (1979). Report on moral education 1979 / prepared by Ong Teng Cheong and [the] Moral Education Committee. Singapore : Singapore National Printers. Call no.: RCLOS 375.17 SIN

The Committee was tasked to review the existing moral-education programme in schools and to make recommendations on the syllabus, instructional methods and selection of suitable teachers. It identified the strengths and weaknesses of the Education For Living and civics subjects taught respectively in primary and secondary schools; and proposed that they be replaced by a single “Moral Education” programme spanning primary and secondary levels under the charge of one subject standing committee. The report also laid the groundwork for the new primary-level Good Citizen and secondary-level Being and Becoming moral-education curriculum.

• Eng, S.P., et al. (1982). Report on the moral education programmes : “Good citizen” and “Being and becoming” . Occasional Paper (Institute of Education, Singapore) No. 12. Singapore : Institute of Education. Call no.: RSING 370.114095957 REP

Following from the recommendation of the report on moral education (1979), the Good Citizen and Being and Becoming (developed by Dr. (Rev.) R.P. Balhetchet) moral education programmes were piloted in 1981. This report follows up on the first survey of moral education programme in Singapore in 1981. Conducted in September 1982, this report surveyed the teachers who were delivering the programmes. Their attitudes, perceptions of pupils’ attitudes, instructional methods, and perceptions of the success of the two programmes The report concluded that both programmes had merits and weaknesses; and provided recommendations on the implementation of the two programmes.

• Singapore. Ministry of Education. (1987). Towards excellence in schools . Singapore : Ministry of Education. Call no.: RSING 371.20095957 TOW

A report to the Minister for Education, Republic of Singapore based on a study trip to schools in USA and UK in 1986. It describes their observations of the characteristics of good schools, and lists recommendations on the curriculum, admission of pupils, greater autonomy for principals, provision of resources, and pastoral care and career guidance.

• Singapore. Advisory Council on the Disabled. (1998). Opportunities for the disabled : report of the Advisory Council on the Disabled . Singapore: The Council. Call no.: RSING 362.4095957 SIN

The Council was led by Dr Tony Tan, then Minister for Education. The report gave findings from public consultations and recommendations to help the disabled integrate into Singapore society, one of which included Special Education. The Council recommended that MOE have greater involvement in special education, provide funding for special education children up to four times that of children in primary schools, and provide land and schools for special education schools to help their long-term development.

Singapore. Advisory Council on the Disabled Committee on Education & Training of Disabled People. (1988). Special education for disabled children : report of the Committee on Education & Training of Disabled People, Advisory Council on the Disabled . Singapore : The Council. Call no.: RSING 371.9095957 SIN

Singapore. Advisory Council on the Disabled Committee on Education & Training of Disabled People. (1988). V ocational training for disabled people : report of the Committee on Education & Training of Disabled People, Advisory Council on the Disabled . Singapore : The Council. Call no.: RSING 362.40484095957 SIN

The report recommends that vocational training and rehabilitation that is provided to disabled people be overseen and better co-ordinated through the establishment of a Vocational Rehabilitation Committee within a government ministry/ statutory board.

Future Learning (1991 onwards)

Singapore. The Board. (1991). Upgrading vocational training/Vocational & Industrial Training Board . Singapore: Vocational & Industrial Training Board. Call no.: RSING 370.113 UPG This is a report by the VITB Review Committee on recommendations to implement the changes proposed by the MOE Review Committee on Improving Primary School Education (1990). The proposed changes outlined in this report led to VITB’s new positioning as a post-secondary institution, and its re-organisation into ITE.

Yip, J. S. K. (1991). Improving primary school education : report of the Review Committee . Singapore : Ministry of Education. Call no.: RSING 372.95957 IMP

Report of the Review Committee appointed by the Minister of Education to review primary school education to better cater to the bottom 20%. It recommended at least 10 years of general education for all students, a revamp of academic streaming at the primary level, a distinction within the Normal stream secondary education between Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical).

• Singapore. Education Service Commission. (1992). Annual report . Singapore : Education Service Commission. Call no.: RCLOS 354.595700895 SESCAR

The Education Service Commission was established in 1990, and functions to appoint, confirm, emplace (on the permanent or pensionable establishment), promote, dismiss, and exercise disciplinary control over all public officers in the Education Service.

Singapore. Ministry of Education. Education Endowment Scheme. (1993). Annual report [electronic resource] / Education Endowment Scheme . Singapore : Ministry of Education. Call no.: RSING 379.11095957 SMEEES -[AR] The Education Endowment Scheme, commonly known as the Edusave Scheme, was launched in 1993. It aimed to enhance the quality of education in Singapore and to motivate pupils towards academic excellence through providing equal educational opportunities to all Singaporeans.

Institute of Education (Singapore). (1994). Institute of Education annual report . Singapore : The Institute. Call no.: PublicationSG S. (Singapore. Parliament) ; S. 46 of 1994.

Singapore. Gifted Education Branch (1994). Gifted education in Singapore : the first ten years . Singapore : Gifted Education Unit, Ministry of Education. Call no.: RSING 371.95095957 GIF

This publication gives a brief history of the development of the Gifted Education Programme in its first decade, and gives account of its initiation in 1990 in Nanyang Primary School.

Singapore. Ministry of Education. Education Endowment Scheme. (1994). Education Endowment Scheme annual report . Singapore : Ministry of Education. Call no.: PublicationSG S. (Singapore. Parliament) ; S. 50 of 1994.

Singapore. Education Service Commission. (1994). Education Service Commission annual report . Singapore : Education Service Commission. Call no.: PublicationSG S. (Singapore. Parliament) ; S. 86 of 1994.

Singapore. Ministry of Education. (1998). Learning to think : thinking to learn . Singapore : Ministry of Education. Call no.: RSING q370.95957 SIN

In 1997, MOE adopted “Thinking Schools, Learning Nation” (TSLN) as its vision statement. This vision was first announced by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in 1997, and describes a nation of thinking and committed citizens capable of meeting the challenges of the future, and an education system geared to the needs of the 21st century.

• National University of Singapore. Committee on University Admission System Singapore. Ministry of Education. (1999). Preparing graduates for a knowledge economy : a new university admission system for Singapore . Singapore: Ministry of Education. Call no.: RSING 378.161 NAT

Chaired by Shih Choon Fong, this report introduces a new admission system that moves away from relying solely on “A” level examinations.

• Wong, A. (2000). Report of the Committee on compulsory education in Singapore . Singapore : Ministry of Education. Call no.: RSING q370.95957 SIN

Chaired by Aline Wong, this report recommended that compulsory education be introduced up to Primary 6 in national schools for Singapore citizens residing in Singapore, subject to the exemption of certain categories of children (e.g. those with special needs, attending madrasahs). The Compulsory Education Act (Cap 51) was passed by Parliament on 9th October 2000 and assented to by the President on 16th October 2000. Compulsory Education was implemented in Singapore from the new school year commencing 1st January 2003.

• Singapore. Ministry of Education. (2000). Report of the Committee on compulsory education in Singapore . Singapore: Ministry of Education. Call no.: RSING q370.95957 SIN

This reports on Compulsory Education which was implemented in 2003 and its recommendations.

• Singapore. Junior College/Upper Secondary Education Review Committee. (2002). Report of the Junior College/Upper Secondary Education Review Committee . Singapore : Ministry of Education. Call no.: RSING q373.328095957 SIN

Chaired by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the key outcome of this review was the introduction of the Integrated Programme, a seamless upper-secondary and junior-college education in which secondary-school students can proceed directly to junior college without taking the General Certificate of Education (GCE) ‘O’ Level Examination. The JC curriculum was also revised to be broader and more flexible, with one significant change being the requirement for all students to study at least one subject outside of their main area of specialisation.

• Singapore. Ministry of Education. (2004). 20 years of gifted education : from promise to flow . Singapore : Ministry of Education. Call no.: RSING 371.95 TWE

An overview of the Gifted Education Programme that was introduced in 1984.

• Singapore. Ministry of Education. Malay Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee. (2005). Report of the Malay Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee . Singapore : Ministry of Education. Call no.: RSING q499.2807105957 SIN

Chaired by Hadijah Rahmat, the committee reviewed the teaching of Malay language in schools, and received approval for its recommendations in the following areas- differentiated instruction for Primary 1 and 2 classes, greater emphasis on oral skills, revision of syllabus and instructional materials (to be more engaging with clearly articulated learning outcomes), special programmes for Malay language in schools to encourage more students to study the language more deeply, and creating a community cultural milieu for the use of Malay.

• Singapore. Ministry of Education. Polytechnic-School Review Committee. (2006). Report of the Polytechnic-School Review Committee . Singapore : Ministry of Education. Call no.: RSING q373.5957 SIN

Chaired by Gan Kim Yong, the key recommendations were: (1) Advanced Elective Modules (AEMs): 40h elective modules offered by some schools with polytechnics for exposure to practice-oriented learning approaches; (2) New Applied Subjects at ‘O’ level: ‘Applied Graded Subjects’ (AGS) jointly developed with polytechnics. (3) Direct Polytechnic Admission (DPA) Exercise: allow students to receive confirmed places in the polytechnics prior to taking their GCE ‘O’ level examinations.

• Fu, G. (2009). Report of the Primary Education Review and Implementation Committee . Singapore : Ministry of Education. Call no.: 372.95957 SIN

Recommendations fall under three main thrusts: (1) Balancing knowledge with skills and values, by enhancing non-academic programmes and introducing more holistic assessments; (2) Investing in a quality teaching force, by increasing manpower and focusing on academic and professional development; (3) Enhancing infrastructure, such as single-session primary schools and support for social services within school premises.

• Singapore. Mother Tongue Languages Review Committee. (2011). Nurturing active learners and proficient users : 2010 Mother Tongue Languages Review Committee report . Singapore : Ministry of Education. Call no.: 370.1175095957 SIN

The report examines the changing language environment in Singapore by better defining the varying exposure to English and mother tongue languages at home, as well as the impact of the curricula and teaching approaches introduced after the 2004-5 reviews. It also reviews the developments in teaching language in other countries.

(listed in alphabetical order)

• Chai, C. S., Lim, C. P. & Tan, C. M. (Eds.). (2016). Future learning in primary schools : a Singapore perspective . Singapore : Springer. Call no.: RSING 371.33 FUT

This edited book gives an account of Nan Chiau Primary School, and how it functions as a “future school” that shapes future learning. The school implemented measures to improve student learning outcomes in a technology-rich teaching and learning environment.

Chelliah, D. K. (1948). A history of the educational policy of the Straits Settlements with recommendations for a new system based on vernaculars . Kuala Lumpur : Printed at the Govt. Press. Call no.: RCLOS 370.9595 CHE/ RDTYS 370.9595 CHE

Chelliah, D. K. (1960). A history of the educational policy of the Straits Settlements with recommendations for a new system based on vernaculars . 2nd Edition. Kuala Lumpur : Reprinted at G.H. Kiat. Call no.: RCLOS 370.9595 CHE

First published in 1947, this is a historical survey that traces the changes in the educational system and policy of Penang, Malacca and Singapore from 1800 to 1925. Chelliah was a prominent local educationist, who was acknowledged by the All-Party Committee in their 1956 report for his “able exposition” on educational policy.

• Chen, A. Y. & Koay, S. L. (Eds.). (2010). Transforming teaching, inspiring learning : 60 years of teacher education in Singapore, 1950-2010 . Singapore : National Institute of Education. Call no.: RSING 370.71095957 TRA

The book chronicles the transformation of teacher education in Singapore over six decades, from the beginning of teacher preparation in the post-war years to the leading role that teacher training plays in serving national needs.

• Chia, Y. T. (2015). Education, culture and the Singapore developmental state : “world-soul” lost and regained? Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan. Call no.: RSEA 379.5957 CHI

The book argues that “the history of citizenship education in Singapore is essentially the history of crisis management in the context of a developmental state.”

• Choy, W. & Tan, C. (2011). Educational reform in Singapore: critical perspectives . Singapore: Pearson. Call no.: RSING 370.95957 EDU

By linking research in three distinctive areas- institutional reforms, leader and teacher development, and organisational management- the book presents a holistic picture of the transformations that have occurred in the area of educational research in Singapore.

• Dong, Z. Y., Gopinathan, S., Lee, K. C. (Eds.). (2013). Globalization and the Singapore curriculum from policy to classroom . Singapore : Springer. Call no.: RSING 375.006095957 GLO

This volume provides a multi-faceted and critical analysis of the Singapore curriculum in relation to globalisation. It first details reform initiatives established by the Singapore government to meet the challenges posed by globalisation. It subsequently examines how these reforms have been translated into programmes, school subjects and operational frameworks that are then implemented in schools and classrooms. Through this examination, the book reveals how the initiatives, together with their curricular translation and classroom enactment, reflect on the one hand global features and tendencies and, on the other, distinct national traditions, concerns and practices.

• Doraisamy, T., et al. (1969). 150 years of education in Singapore . Singapore : TTC Publications Board, Teachers Training College. Call no.: RCLOS 370.95957 TEA

A TTC special publication that marks the Ter-Jubilee of the founding of Singapore (6th February, 1819-6th February, 1969). It provides readers a survey and access to selected materials on education in the last 150 years, from 1819 to 1969. It has chapters on developments in educational policy and schools of the four language streams – English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.

• Gopinathan, S. (1974). Towards a national system of education in Singapore, 1945-1973 . Singapore : Oxford University Press. Call no.: RSING 379.5957 GOP 373.246095957 FIF

An examination of the unified national educational system in Singapore and its use as a means of achieving national integration.

• Gopinathan, S., et al. (Eds.). (1998). L anguage, society and education in Singapore : issues and trends . Second edition. Singapore : Times Academic Press. Call no.: RSING 306.4495957 LAN

This title provides a wide-ranging view of the language issues in Singapore. It contains information accumulated from language research activities from the 1980s to the 1990s. Topics such as language and national identity, language and cultural maintenance, language and power as well as language and education are covered.

Gopinathan, S., et al. (Eds.). (2003). Language, society, and education in Singapore : issues and trends . Second edition. Singapore: Eastern Universities Press. Call no.: 306.4495957 LAN This is the second edition to the 1998 issue.

Gopinathan, S. (2013). Education and the nation state : the selected works of S. Gopinathan . London ; New York : Routledge. Call no.: 370.95957 GOP

This volume is a compilation of 14 key writings by Gopinathan that span three decades. The essays are arranged thematically, providing an overview not just of his own career, but also reflecting the development and key concerns of education in the nation state that is Singapore.

• Gopinathan, S. (2015). Education . Singapore: Institute of Policy Studies : Straits Times Press. Call no.: 370.95957 GOP

This book belongs in the 50-volume series which commemorates the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s independence, Singapore Chronicles. It examines the impact of education in Singapore’s transformation by studying the social, political and economic contexts within which policy and practice are embedded. It also assesses the principles that shape policy formulation, and the success and failures of implementing them.

• Guan, C. Q. (2009). Can school children be taught to think creatively? : the creativity policy for Singapore education . Lewiston, N.Y. : Edwin Mellen Press. Call no.: RSING 379.5957 QUE

This book examines the construction and practice of creativity policy in Singaporean education, and contributes to the existing body of knowledge on creativity policy.

• Ho, S. O. (1952). Education for unity in Malaya : an evaluation of the educational system of Malaya with special reference to the need for unity in its plural society . Penang: Malayan Teacher’s Union. Call no.: RCLOS English 370.9595 HO

This book by a prominent local educationist of those times offers an analytical evaluation of the British educational policy in Malaya. The author recommended a single type (non-racial) of school to build a united Malaya.

• Improving Singapore schools : a study of 58 effective schools . (1993). Educational research monographs (National Institute of Education, Centre for Applied Research in Education No. 3.) Singapore : National Institute of Education. Singapore. Call no.: RSING 370.7805957 IMP

This study which began as a research project in 1990 under Dr. K.C. Cheung, was driven by the aim to provide “a knowledge base for the design of better school improvement programmes.” It documents the views and experiences of 58 principals of exemplary schools in Singapore on learning conditions, and teaching and learning processes that contribute to achievement in their schools.

• Institute of Technical Education. (2012). Reliving ITE’s transformation . Singapore : Institute of Technical Education. Call no.: 374.013 REL

The publication gives a brief history of vocational and technical education in Singapore, and the milestones leading to the formation of the Institute of Techincal Education.

Jarman, R. L. (Ed.). (1998). Annual reports of the Straits Settlements 1855-1941 . [Slough, UK] : Archive Editions. Call no.: RSING 959.51 STR -[AR]

Koh, T. S. & Lee, S. C. (Eds.). (2008). Information communication technology in education : Singapore’s ICT masterplans, 1997-2008 . Singapore : World Scientific Pub. Call no.: RSING 371.334095957 INF

This book covers the development and implementation of Singapore’s ICT masterplans in schools. Drawing on internal government documents, public documents, and interviews with school personnel, the book discusses the masterplans and key programmes (such as teacher training, edu.MALL, Digital Media Repository, infrastructure, eduPAD, BackPack.NET, LEAD ICT@Schools and FutureSchools@Singapore, and the Learning Sciences Lab) that were introduced.

• Law, S. S. (2015). A breakthrough in vocational and technical education : the Singapore story . Singapore ; Hackensack, NJ ; London : World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. Call no.: RSING 370.113095957 LAW

The book shares the Singapore experience in vocational and technical education that was made possible through strategic planning, organisational excellence, innovation and ingenuity. Through vivid first-hand accounts from its CEO, the book relates how the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) began to transform lives and change its image over five decades (1992–2007).

• Lee, K. Y. (2012). Lee Kuan Yew, my lifelong challenge : Singapore’s bilingual journey . Singapore : Straits Times Press. Call no.: S 306.4495957 LEE

This is a candid and illuminating story of Lee Kuan Yew’s 50-year struggle to transform Singapore from a polyglot former British colony into an independent nation.

• Lee, S. K., et al. (Eds.). (2008). Toward a better future : education and training for economic development in Singapore since 1965 . Washington, DC, : The World Bank ; Singapore : National Institute of Education. Call no.: RSING English 370.9595709045 TOW

This collection of essays covers education development comprehensively from 1965 to 2009, touching on educational system, textbooks, teacher education, technical education, higher education, and using IT in education. This book aims to give a comprehensive analysis. It is a follow-up to a presentation of Singapore’s education system to policy makers on an Asia Education Study Tour sponsored by the World Bank.

• Lee, T. H. (2006). Chinese schools in British Malaya : policies and politics . Singapore : South Seas Society. Call no.: 371.82995105951 LEE

This is the published Master’s thesis of Lee Ting Hui, also known as Lee Ah Chai. This book documents the political events that shaped Chinese education in Malaya, from the very beginning to 1941. Prior to 1894, most Chinese schools were organised by private institutions as the British government had no policy on Chinese education in Malaya. The British stance began to change when they realised how political events in China engendered the pro-China sentiments and influenced Chinese education in Malaya.

• Lee, T. H. (2011). Chinese schools in Peninsular Malaysia : the struggle for survival . Singapore : Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Call no.: 371.8299510595 LEE

A carefully researched study of the history of Chinese schools in Peninsular Malaysia. The first chapter overviews the period 1786-1941 when highly politicised Chinese schools were founded throughout the peninsula. The varying and often repressive official policies and their impacts are detailed through World War II, pre-Merdeka and post-Merdeka periods. Many issues, including staffing, language, textbooks, syllabus, tertiary education, and extension are detailed and discussed. Both the national and private Chinese schools and their managements are shown to have had to deal with situations fraught with major difficulties as they work to safeguard the education of the major segment of the population.

• Lim, C. P. (2006). The science & art of integrating ICT in Singapore Schools . Singapore: iT21 (Singapore) Pte Ltd. Call no.: RSING 371.334095957 LIM

This book gives an overview of the policies surrounding ICT in Singapore schools, and provides snapshots of its implementation through interviews/surveys with students and teachers. The author gives suggestions on classroom conditions and support strategies that are needed for effective integration of ICT.

• Lim, L. C. (Ed.). (2007). Many pathways.one mission : fifty years of Singapore education . Singapore : Ministry of Education, Curriculum Planning & Development Division. Call no.: RSING 370.95957 MAN

Published in commemoration of the Ministry of Education’s 50th anniversary, the book traces the evolution of the school system from 1957 when the Education Art was passed.

Lim, T. K. (Ed.). (1997). Maximizing academic potential : the Chinese High School gifted education programme in Singapore . Singapore : Times Academic Press. Call no.: RSING 371.95095957 MAX This monograph contains papers that arise from the study of gifted pupils and the progress of The Chinese High gifted education programme since it began in 1993.

Loh, P. F. S. (1975). Seeds of separatism : educational policy in Malaya, 1874-1940 . Kuala Lumpur ; New York : Oxford University Press. Call no.: RSING English 370.9595 LOH

This book discusses the origins and evolution of the four separately funded school systems of the Federated Malay States from 1874 and the determining factors influencing the British educational policy before the Second World War.

Nagle, J. S. (1928). Educational needs of the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States . Baltimore, Md. : [s.n.]. Call no.: RCLOS 370.9595 NAG -[RFL] A PhD dissertation submitted to John Hopkins University. The first two chapters introduce Malaya and the education system. This is followed by a discussion on issues of growth of education, financing, educational objectives and curriculum for primary schools.

Ong, C. M., Lim, H. Y. & Ng, L. Y. (Eds.). (2015). Tan Lark Sye : advocator and founder of Nanyang University . Singapore ; Hackensack, NJ : World Scientific. Call no.: RSING 378.5957 TAN

This book records Tan’s remarkable contributions to the founding of the Nanyang University.

• Pillay, G. F. (1985). Vocational training in the development process : the Singapore experience . Singapore : Vocational & Industrial Training Board. Call no.: RSING 374.013 PIL

“Presented to the International Conference on Employment & Training “Full Employment : Uncertain Futures”, 23-26 Sep 85, Perth, Western Australia.” It presents the vocational training infrastructure and how it contributes to meeting manpower development objectives. It also considers how the vocational training system can support employer-based training.

• Poon, K. K. & Khaw, J. (Eds.). (2007). Supporting students with special needs in mainstream schools : an introduction . Singapore: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Call no.: RSING 371.9046 SUP

This thin volume begins with an overview of special education in Singapore, then moves on to frameworks for understanding special needs as well as intervention strategies. Its companion volume is Supporting students with special needs in mainstream schools : a linked system of support, which proposes systematic approaches to the teaching/intervention cycle.

• Sing, K. L., Wing, O. L. & Low, E. L. (Eds.). (2014). Educational policy innovations : levelling up and sustaining educational achievement . Singapore : Springer. Call no.: RSING 379 EDU

This is the first volume in a series that deal with educational innovations in Singapore. It takes a comparative study of Singapore against high performing education systems around the world that have successfully implemented innovative educational policies that have both raised and sustained educational achievement.

• Soon, T. W. (1988). Singapore’s new education system : education reform for national development . Singapore : Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Call no.: RSING 370.95957 SOO

This book examines the background, policy, implementation and impact of the “New Education System” that arose from “the Goh report”, in particular the streaming policy.

• Tan, J. & Ng, P. T. (Eds.). (2005). Shaping Singapore’s future : thinking schools, learning nation . Singapore : Pearson/Prentice Hall. Call no.: RSING English 370.95957 SHA

This book covers the latest educational initiatives like the IT Masterplan, Innovation and Enterprise, National Education and Knowledge and Inquiry. All these initiatives are part of the Thinking Schools, Learning Nation (TSLN) strategy launched in 1997. The objective is to develop a total learning environment in the country.

• Tan, J. (2012). Education in Singapore: taking stock, looking forward . Singapore : Pearson. Call no.: RSING 370.95957 EDU

This book undertakes a scholarly critique of key aspects of Singapore’s education system in the past decade and a half, and makes predictions about its immediate future. The topics covered are: National Education, Teach Less, Learn More; the Primary Education Review and the Secondary Education Review and their implementation reports, integrated programmes; the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, Information and Communications Technology masterplans, madrasahs, students with special needs, stakeholder relationships, and performance management in the lives of school and teachers.

• Tan, J., Gopinathan, S. & Ho, W. K. (Eds.). (1997). Education in Singapore : a book of readings . Singapore : Prentice Hall. Call no.: RSING 370.95957 EDU

A source book of information and insights on Singapore education, examining the evolution of Singapore’s education policy over three decades, the nature of the school curriculum and its delivery in classrooms, and a macro-analysis of the system of education.

• Tan, J., Gopinathan, S. & Ho, W. K. (Eds.). (2001). Challenges facing the Singapore education system today . Singapore : Prentice Hall. Call no.: RSING 370.95957 CHA

This title debates the various challenges that Singapore’s education system face. Topics that are discussed include the effect of globalisation on Singapore’s education, the use of IT as a medium of instruction, the usage of Problem-Based Learning, the social equality of education and language education policies.

• Tan, L. E. (1997). The politics of Chinese education in Malaya, 1945-1961 . Kuala Lumpur ; New York : Oxford University Press. Call no.: RSING 371.9795105951 TAN

This book chronicled the development of Chinese schools during the colonial rule, prior to Malaysian independence. It depicts the Chinese organisations united politically to fight for Chinese culture and education in Malaya during the Chinese Education Movement between the periods 1951 to 1961.

• Tan, O. S., et al. (2007). Teach less, learn more (TLLM) school-based curriculum innovation : research reports 2007 . Singapore : Co-published by Curriculum Policy and Pedagogy Unit, Curriculum Planning and Development Division, Ministry of Education [and] Educational Research Association of Singapore. Call no.: RSING 371.102095957 TEA

This collection of teachers’ research into their classroom innovations gives reader a close-up look on the diverse teaching methods and issues in Singapore’s classrooms.

• Tan, Y. K., Chow, H. K. & Goh, C. (2008). Examinations in Singapore : change and continuity, (1891-2007) . Singapore : World Scientific. Call no.: RSING 371.26095957 TAN

A historical account of examinations in Singapore with extracts from primary documents. Written by the Chief Executive of the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board.

• Toh, P. K. (1968). The scope of vocational and technical education in Singapore . Singapore : Economics Section, Economic Development Division, Ministry of Finance. Call no.: RCLOS 371.426 TOH

The study identifies three major difficulties that hamper the development of vocational and technical schools in Singapore, namely the low enrolments for secondary school technical stream, the low numbers of technicians and artisans produced (compared to engineers and scientists), and the dearth of qualified teachers.

• Vaish, V., et al. (Eds.). (2007). Language, capital, culture : critical studies of language and education in Singapore . Rotterdam : Sense Publishers. Call no.: RSING 306.4495957 LAN

This book discusses in detail each of the official languages in the state’s language planning and education policies.

• Wilson, H. E. (1973). Educational policy and performance in Singapore, 1942-1945 . [Singapore] : Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Call no.: RSING 379.5957023 WIL

The paper gives an account of the Japanese educational policy for Singapore, and how it was implemented through eradicating western and anti-Japanese influence, making Japanese the lingua franca of Malaya, and emphasising technical and vocational training.

• Wilson, H. E. (1978). Social engineering in Singapore : educational policies and social change, 1819-1972 . Singapore : Singapore University Press. Call no.: RSING 379.5957 WIL

This book examines the social impacts of the educational policies implemented in Singapore from 1819 to 1972. It focuses on the years from 1918 to 1959, during which the education policies underwent drastic changes and transformations under four different administrations, namely colonial rule, Japanese Military Administration, post-war colonial rule and early years of self-government.

• Winstedt, R. O. (1923). Education in Malaya . Singapore : Fraser & Neave. Call no.: RRARE 370.9595 WIN

A 34-page overview on the developments of education in Malaya, including Singapore, from 1800s to the 1920s.

• Wong, R. (1990). Ruth Wong’s Unto each child the best : the eminent educator’s insights on how to achieve excellence in education . edited by Lee Kok Cheong, Singapore : PG Pub. Call no.: RSING 370.95957 WON

This is a collection of essays by one of Singapore’s most well-known and respected educationist, covering issues such as systems-level policies, teaching, curriculum development, teacher education and higher education. In 1969, Dr Ruth Wong joined the Ministry of Education as Director of Research and Principal of Teachers’ Training College. She retired in 1976.

• Wong, F. H. K. & Gwee, Y. H. (Eds.). (1980). Official reports on education : Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States, 1870-1939 . Singapore : Pan Pacific Book Distributors. Call no.: RSING 370.95957 WON

This is a collection of twelve full texts and extracts from key official reports on education in Malaya, with a brief historical overview of the political and educational circumstances, as well as introductions to each excerpt.

• The 1870 Woolley report (Select Committee of the Legislative Council to enquire into the state of Education in the Colony)
• 1894 Isemonger Report (Committee appointed to enquire into the system of Vernacular Education in the Colony)
• 1902 Kynnersley Report (Commission of Enquiry into the system of English Education in the Colony)
• 1917 Vernacular and Industrial Education in the Netherlands East Indies and the Philippines by R. O. Winstedt 5. 1919 Firmstone Report (Committee appointed by His Excellency the Governor to tadvise as to a scheme for the advancement of Education preparatory to a University in Singapore)
• 1919 Lemon Report (Committee on Technical and Industrial Education in the Federated Malay States)
• 1922 Wolff Report (Committee appointed by His Excellency the Governor and High Commissioner to consider the working of the system of Education Grants-in-Aid introduced in 1920 in the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States)
• 1925 Winstedt Report (Technical Education Committee)
• 1927 Elles Report (Committee appointed to draw up a Scheme for a School of Agriculture as a joint institution for the Federated Malay States and Straits Settlements)
• 1932 Morton Report (Committee appointed by His Excellency the Governor and High Commissioner to consider the system of Grants-in-Aid to Schools in the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States
• Report on Vocational Education in Malay by HR Cheeseman 1938
• 1939 McLean Report (Commission appointed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies on Higher Education in Malaya).
• Yip, J. S. K. (Ed.). (1990). Evolution of educational excellence : 25 years of education in the Republic of Singapore . Singapore : Longman Singapore. 2nd impression 1994, with addendums on developments after 1990. Call no.: RSING 370.95957 EVO

The first authoritative documentation and analysis of the evolutionary processes that underpin the unceasing strive towards educational excellence in the formal school system of Singapore from 1965 to 1990. Co-authored by writers from MOE and NIE, it traces the development of education reform, school management, curriculum planning and development, educational technology, research and testing, and teacher education.

Accessing the Print Materials

You can search the library catalogue (for physical materials) in the library and from home (http://catalogue.nlb.gov.sg). The easy search function allows you to search/browse by author, title, keyword, subject and ISBN/ISSN whereas the advanced search allows you to narrow your searches to specific media types or language holdings. In both instances, you will also be able to limit your search to specific libraries by clicking on the “limit by branch” option.

To search Lee Kong Chian Reference Library’s Holdings

If you wish to search for only materials available in the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library, please always click on the “Limit by Branch” button at the bottom of the page, after you have keyed in your search term. This brings you to a new page whereby you will be able to select the library of your choice. Choose “Lee Kong Chian Reference Library” and select “yes” under the “Display only items available in the selected branch below” and then click on search.

Things to note:

Once you have identified the title that you need, please double-check the following information and write down the necessary info:

i. The “Status” of the item: the item is not available in the library, if the status displayed is “in transit”, “in process” or “not ready for loan”.

ii. Double-check that the item is in Lee Kong Chian Reference Library under “Branch”.

iii. Write down the Location Code and the Call Number of the item. This helps you to locate the item within Lee Kong Chian Reference Library. Please refer to the table below for more information (Note: Please feel free to approach the counter staff for help in locating the books.)

All featured books and periodicals are located at the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library.

Accessing the Databases

The National Library Board (NLB)’s eResources are free for all NLB members. Click here to find out how to register as a member.

If you’re having problems registering or logging in, please contact us . If you wish to find information in the databases but am not sure where to begin, or need recommendations on which databases to use, please use the “Ask A Librarian” function or send an email to [email protected] for help. The librarian will get back to you within three working days.

The information in this resource guide is valid as at Feb 2017 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history on the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

All Rights Reserved. National Library Board Singapore 2017.

Requests may take upwards of 12 weeks for processing

Report on the Ministry of Education, 1978

By goh, keng swee.

• 0 Want to read
• 0 Currently reading
• 0 Have read

My Reading Lists:

Use this Work

Create a new list

My book notes.

My private notes about this edition:

Buy this book

This edition doesn't have a description yet. Can you add one ?

Showing 1 featured edition. View all 1 editions?

Add another edition?

Book Details

Published in, edition notes.

Errata slip inserted.

Classifications

The physical object, community reviews (0).

• Created April 1, 2008
• 5 revisions

Wikipedia citation

Copy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Need help ?

Report on the Ministry of Education, 1978 /

• Description

Similar Items

• Report on the Ministry of Education, 1978 by: Goh, Keng Swee, 1918-2010 Published: (1979)
• Perception and practice in education : an STU report, 1980 Published: (1980)
• Education in Singapore Published: (1972)
• Education in Singapore by: Tan, Peng Boo Published: (1970)
• Annual report

Teaching Chinese Language in Singapore pp 3–23 Cite as

Chinese Language Education in Singapore: Retrospect and Prospect

• Foo Suan Fong 2 ,
• Zheng Yingjiang 2 &
• Liu May 2  
• First Online: 01 January 2022

253 Accesses

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Education ((BRIEFSEDUCAT))

Over the past half a century or so, Chinese Language as a subject in Singapore’s curriculum has gone through several rounds or review and revision in response to the changing needs of the nation as a cohesive whole with multiplicity in language and culture. Singapore’s language policy is a response to geo-politics and economic developments of the new nation. The revisions were necessary for the curriculum to be congruent with the nation’s developmental needs as well as the changing student learning capability. This chapter provides a background of the Chinese Language curriculum and the changes made in it over the years.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution .

Buying options

• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Compact, lightweight edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Ang, W. H. (2008). Singapore’s textbook experience 1965–97: Meeting the needs of curriculum change. In S. K. Lee, et al. (Eds.), Toward a better future: Education and training for economic development in Singapore since 1965 (pp. 69–95, p. 75). The World Bank; National Institute of Education.

Google Scholar  

Bao, Y. F. (2017). Evaluation of moral education in primary and secondary schools in Singapore. Taiwan Education Review Monthly, 6 (6), 45–54.

Cavallaro, F., & NG, B. C. (2014). Language in Singapore: From multilingualism to english plus. Challenging the monolingual mindset . In J. Hajek, & Y. Slaughter (Eds.) Chapter 2 (pp. 33–48). Multilingual Matters.

Chen Z. Q. (2005). Problems, challenges and reform strategies of Chinese language education in Singapore . Ph.D. dissertation of central China normal university.

Chen Y. F. (2007). Language planning in China, Hong Kong and Singapore: Study of Singapore-based primary school language courses. Fudan University Doctoral Dissertation.

Chen Z. Q. (2013). The new direction of Chinese teaching in Singapore—Implementation of “Active learners and proficient users”. Chinese Language Teaching and Research (4).

Cheng, Y. C. (2005). New paradigm for re-engineering education: Globalization, localization and individualization . Springer.

Book   Google Scholar  

Chew, C. H. (1998). The way Chinese language teaching should go . Nanyang Technological University Language Series, the Chinese Language and Culture Center.

Chew, C. H. (2006, March 21–23). Differences between Chinese and Mandarin in Singapore and countermeasures to deal with the differences. Lianhe Zaobao .

Chew, C. H. (2018, September 20). Review and prospect of Chinese teaching in Singapore. Lianhe Zaobao .

Chew, C. H. (1995). Language and education. In W. Yun (Ed.), Singapore society and language (pp. 43–73). Chinese Language and Culture Center.

Chinese Language Review Committee (1992). Report of the Chinese teaching review committee-review and suggestions for Singapore Chinese teaching (also known as Ong Teng Cheong Report ). Ministry of Education.

Chinese Language Review Committee (1999). Report of the Chinese teaching review committee (led by Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong). Ministry of Education.

Chinese Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee (2004). White paper on Chinese language curriculum and pedagogy review committee report (also known as Wee Heng Tin Report ). Ministry of Education.

Chua, S. C. (1964). Report on the census of population 1957 . State of Singapore

Cummins, J. (1978). Language and children’s ability to evaluate contradictions and tautologies: a critique of Osherson and Markman’s findings. Child Development 49.

Cummins, J. (2000) Language, power, and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Multilingual Matters.

Curriculum Planning and Development Division [CPDD] (2007a). 2007 Syllabus Chinese Language Primary . Ministry of Education, Singapore

Curriculum Planning and Development Division [CPDD] (2007b). Chinese Language for Primary Schools . Ministry of Education, Singapore and the People's Education Press, China.

Curriculum Planning and Development Division [CPDD] (2011). 2011 Syllabus Chinese Language Secondary . Ministry of Education, Singapore.

Curriculum Planning and Development Division [CPDD] (2015a). 2015 Syllabus Chinese Language Primary . Ministry of Education, Singapore.

Curriculum Planning and Development Division [CPDD] (2015b). Happy Partners (欢乐伙伴) . Marshall Cavendish Education, Singapore.

Department of Statistics [DOS] (2011). Monthly digest of statistics Singapore: April 2011. Department of Statistics, Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Dixon, L. Q. (2005). Bilingual education policy in Singapore: An analysis of its sociohistorical roots and current academic outcomes. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 8 (1), 25–47.

Article   Google Scholar  

Dixon, L. Q. (2009). Assumptions behind Singapore’s language-in-education policy: Implications for language planning and second language acquisition. Language Policy, 8 , 117.

Editorial Board (2017). The 70th anniversary special issu e. Chinese Education Society of Singapore.

Fan, R., & Peng, S. (2008). Analysis of the characteristics of basic Chinese teaching mode in Singapore. Foreign Education Research , (12).

Foo, S. F. (2017). Practice of bicultural course. Special issue, editorial board of the 70th anniversary . Chinese Education Society of Singapore.

Goh, K. S. (1979). Report on the ministry of education 1978 . (also known as Goh Keng Swee Report ). Ministry of Education.

Goh, N. W. (2000b). National strategy and language planning: Consideration of Singapore’s language policy. Nanyang technological university series: Challenges in the 21st century-the status and future of Chinese language in Singapore (pp. 73–97).

Goh, N. W. (2000a, December 17). The joys and worries of the effectiveness of bilingual education from the population census. Lianhe Zaobao .

Goh, N. W. (2005). The spring breeze is blowing, the trees are sprouting—The status and prospects of Chinese in Singapore. International conference of the 10th anniversary of NTU Chinese language and culture center .

Goh, N. W. (2004). Status and prospect of Chinese language in Singapore . Creative Circles Press.

Goh, N. W. (2010). International communication of Chinese: A Singapore perspective . Commercial Press.

Guo, X. (2006). On Chinese language planning from a Chinese perspective. Language Studies , (1).

Guo, X. (2008). Re-examination of the diversity of Chinese language in modern Chinese society . Hong Kong Chinese Language and Literature Society.

Guo, X. (2004). Some issues on Chinese teaching in overseas Chinese society: Taking Singapore as an example. Teaching Chinese in the World, 3 , 9–13.

Hu, W. N. (2012). Study on Chinese curriculum standards and teaching materials for primary and secondary schools in Singapore . Master’s thesis of Shandong University.

Kuo, E. (1980). The sociolinguistic situation in Singapore: Unity in diversity. In A. E. Afendras, & E. Kuo (Eds). Language and society in Singapore . National University of Singapore Press.

Lee, K. Y. (1989). Speech at the world Chinese teaching symposium, Singapore. Proceedings of the 1990 world Chinese language teaching symposium . Singapore Chinese Studies Association.

Lee, H. L. (1999, January 21). Policy statement—Teaching each one according to his aptitude. Report of Parliament. Lianhe Zaobao.

Lee, H. L. (2004) Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong’s national day rally 2004 speech. https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/data/pdfdoc/2004083101.htm

Lee, H. L. (2013, November 20) SAP schools are still the important part of the education system. Lianhe Zaobao .

Lee, H. L. (2014, July 5). Interview with the prime minister on the 35th anniversary of the speak Mandarin campaign 2014. Lianhe Zaobao .

Lee, K. Y. (2012). Lee Kuan Yew, my lifelong challenge: Singapore’s bilingual journey . Straits Times Press.

Lin, D. W. (2011). A comparative study of the Chinese curriculum standards for high schools in Singapore and Chinese high school curriculum standards. Master’s thesis of Tianjin Normal University.

Liu, M. (2018). A comparative study of Chinese textbooks for primary schools and happy partners in Singapore . Master’s thesis of Jinan University.

Meng, Y. Y. (2009). Analysis of higher Chinese teaching materials in primary schools in Singapore . Master's thesis of Jinan University.

Ministry of Education [MOE]. (1991). Improving primary school education report. Ministry of Education, Singapore.

Ministry of Education [MOE]. (2011). Nurturing active learners and proficient users. 2010 Mother tongue review committee report (led by Former Director-General of Education Ho Peng). Ministry of Education.

Ministry of Education [MOE]. (2012a). Nurturing early learners (NEL): A curriculum framework for kindergartens in Singapore . (Revised). Pre-School Branch, MOE.

Ministry of Education [MOE]. (2012b). Improving quality and affordability of preschool education. Press release. Ministry of Education

Ministry of Education [MOE]. (2013). Nurturing early learners: A curriculum framework for kindergartens in Singapore, framework for mother tongue languages . Pre-School Branch, MOE.

Ministry of Education [MOE]. (2015). Nurturing early learners: A curriculum framework for kindergartens in Singapore, educators’ guides for mother tongue languages (MTLs). Pre-School Branch, MOE.

Ministry of Education [MOE]. (2019a). One secondary education, many subject bands: 28 secondary schools to pilot full subject-based banding. Press releases on September 03, 2019. Ministry of Education. https://www.moe.gov.sg/news/press-releases/one-secondary-education--many-subject-bands--28-secondary-schools-to-pilot-full-subject-based-banding

Ministry of Education [MOE]. (2019b). Remaking secondary school pathways. Ministry of Education. https://www.moe.gov.sg/microsites/cos2019/

Ministry of Social and Family Development [MSF]. (2013). Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) . Singapore.

Mother tongue review committee report (2011). Nurturing active learners and proficient users. (led by Former Director-General of Education Ho Peng). Ministry of Education.

Ong, Y. K. (2019, May 28). Speech at the ninth national teachers’ seminar. Ministry of Education Press Release.

Pakir, A. (1991). The range and depth of english-knowing bilinguals in Singapore. World English, 10 , 167–179.

Patrick, N. G. (2011). Language planning in action: Singapore’s multilingual and bilingual policy. Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific Journal, 30 , 1–12.

SCCL website: https://www.sccl.sg/en

Singapore Education Inquiry Committee. (1966). The Singapore education inquiry committee report . Commission of inquiry into education of Singapore—Final report (aka Lin Ximao Report) . Ministry of Education.

Singapore Education Commission. (1979). Report of the ministry of education of 1978 (aka Wu Qingrui Education Commission Report ). Ministry of Education.

SkillsFuture SG website: https://www.ssg.gov.sg/skillsfuture.html

Sun, M. Y. (2006). Seeing Chinese reading teaching from the reform of Chinese teaching and testing methods in primary and secondary schools in Singapore . Master’s thesis of Jinan University .

Tan, Y. Y. (2006). Research on the text of primary Chinese in Singapore . Master’s thesis of Jinan University.

Tharman, S. (2006, September 29) Speech by Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education, at the MOE Work Plan Seminar 2006. https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/data/pdfdoc/20060929994.htm

Wee, L. (2003). Linguistic instrumentalism in Singapore. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 24 (3), 211–224.

Xie, Z. W. (2006). Reform of Chinese teaching in Singapore in recent years from the report. Singapore Chinese Studies Association. Four episodes of Chinese teaching papers in Singapore . Raffles Books.

Xu, D. M., & Wei, W. (2007). Singapore language policy research report. In Xu Daming’s sociolinguistic research (pp. 103–19). People’s Publishing House.

Xu, Y. (2011). Analysis of Chinese textbooks for primary schools under the concept of differentiated teaching in Singapore . Master’s thesis of Jinan University.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Singapore Centre for Chinese Language, 287, Ghim Moh Road, Singapore, 279623, Singapore

Foo Suan Fong, Zheng Yingjiang & Liu May

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zheng Yingjiang .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

Singapore Centre for Chinese Language, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

Soh Kay Cheng

Timeline of Curriculum Revisions and Relevant Events

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter.

Suan Fong, F., Yingjiang, Z., May, L. (2021). Chinese Language Education in Singapore: Retrospect and Prospect. In: Kay Cheng, S. (eds) Teaching Chinese Language in Singapore. SpringerBriefs in Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7066-4_1

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7066-4_1

Published : 01 January 2022

Publisher Name : Springer, Singapore

Print ISBN : 978-981-16-7065-7

Online ISBN : 978-981-16-7066-4

eBook Packages : Education Education (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

Timeline: A history of education

• 1910 - The Times Educational Supplement begins publication on September 6 as a free monthly with The Times.
• 1911 - Consultative Committee on Examinations in Secondary Schools report recommends that children take public exams at 16. More than 80 per cent of 14 to 18-year-olds receive no education at all.
• 1912 - Maria Montessori publishes The Montessori Method.
• 1913 - The National Union of Teachers campaigns for a national salary scale.
• 1914 - The TES becomes a separate paper, priced 1d. The First World War begins in the summer.
• 1915 - John and Evelyn Dewey publish Schools of Tomorrow.
• 1916 - The TES becomes a weekly paper.
• The Lewis committee examining plans for post-war education of adolescents recommends leaving age of 14.
• 1917 - Exam council set up for secondaries: School Certificate examinations begin. Conscription causes teacher shortages.
• 1918 - Fisher Education Act raises school leaving age from 12 to 14 and ends all fees for elementary education.
• 1919 - The Burnham Committee introduces national pay scales for elementary teachers.
• Bradford uses intelligence tests in secondary selection.
• 1920 - State scholarships to universities introduced: 200 initially, 360 by 1936.
• 1921 - Free milk provided for all children in need.
• Geddes report on national expenditure leads to 6.5 million cuts in education.
• 1922 - Crisis hits economy. Teachers forced to accept 5 per cent pay cut and to contribute 5 per cent of salary towards superannuation. Times newspapers, including The TES, are sold to the Astor family.
• 1923 - Pay for certificated teachers in England and Wales averaged 310 for men and 254 for women.
• The first photographs appear in The TES.
• Jean Piaget publishes The Language and Thought of the Child. A S Neill founds Summerhill School.
• 1924 - “Black list” of worst buildings in urban areas is produced. More than 16,000 classrooms in England and Wales still accommodate two or more classes.
• 1925 - Educational broadcasting begins on the radio (John Logie Baird does not begin demonstrating television until the following year).
• 1926 - Hadow Report on the Education of the Adolescent recommends separation of primary and secondary education at 11. “Modern” as well as grammar schools to be established. Direct grant schools begin.
• 1927 - Bertrand Russell founds Beacon Hill School with his wife Dora. Cyril Burt publishes The Measurement of Mental Capacities.
• 1928 - The Board of Education reports 21 LEAs are using IQ tests for secondary selection, and notes that this is premature.
• 1929 - Open-air schools prove popular; 170 classes are held in London parks all-year round - these were thought to combat tuberculosis and other childhood infections.
• 1930 - Undergraduate population reaches 30,000 as more state university scholarships provided.
• 1931 - House of Lords defeats bill raising leaving age to 15.
• Teacher pay slashed by 10 per cent.
• 1932 - Grammar schools open to all according to ability, rather than giving a proportion of places to the brightest elementary pupils.
• 1933 - Hadow Report on nursery and infant education emphasises need for new open air schools.
• 1934 - Cyril Burt’s interpretation of intelligence tests refuted by research at the London School of Economics.
• 1935 - Marion Richardson publishes Writing and Writing Patterns.
• 1936 - Education Act calls for raising of leaving age to 15 in September 1939 (postponed by the outbreak of war).
• 1937 - Handbook of Suggestions for Teachers emphasises the need for child- centred primary education.
• 1938 - The Spens Report on secondary education recommends: expansion of technical and vocational courses; a leaving age of 16; and tripartite system of grammar, technical and secondary modern schools.
• 1939 - Evacuation after the outbreak of the Second World War in September means that, by the end of the year, a million children have had no schooling for four months.
• 1940 - A ship evacuating 90 London children to Canada is sunk by a torpedo. Herwald Ramsbotham, president of the Board of Education, refuses to ban conscientious objectors from teaching. H C Dent, a former headteacher, becomes acting editor of The TES.
• 1941 - Gas mask practice is held for children every week or fortnight. 425,000 London children now evacuated.
• 1942 - A call to schools to keep rabbits for food. Plus Labour proposes leaving age of 15, multilateral schools, free lunches, and nurseries for under-fives. Paper shortages force The TES to discontinue publication of School Certificate results.
• 1943 - The Norwood Report supports tripartite division of secondary education into grammar, technical and modern schools.
• 1944 - The Butler Education Act creates a Ministry of Education; ends fee- paying in maintained schools; organises public education into primary, secondary and further; and introduces the tripartite system.
• 1945 - The Minister of Agriculture calls for 100,000 older schoolboys and girls to help in the fields.
• 1946 - Free school milk is introduced, and free school dinners postponed. 90 per cent of university places reserved for men of HM Forces.
• 1947 - The leaving age raised to 15 in England and Scotland. Secondary Schools Examination Council recommends General Certificate of Education at O, A and S-level.
• 1948 - A five-year plan is launched to train 96,000 teachers, 60,000 of them women, to reduce secondary classes to 30 and primary to 40 by 1951.
• 1949 - The Conservative Teachers’ Association asks the government to act on teachers alleged to be spreading communist propaganda.
• 1950 - A Schools Code (for Scotland) reduces maximum primary class to 45 from 50.
• 1951 - O and A-levels are introduced.
• The TES goes up to 4d, its first price increase since 1923.
• 1952 - The BBC launches pilot schools television scheme.
• 1953 - The Labour manifesto, “Challenges to Britain”, proposes abolition of selection at 11. Middlesex education committee bans known communists and fascists from headship.
• 1954 - The 11-plus is said to be wrongly allocating one in three pupils.
• 1955 - The last gas lamps are removed from London schools by the London County Council.
• 1956 - Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme for boys launched (girls begin in 1958).
• 1957 - Britain’s first school TV programmes are broadcast by Associated Rediffusion in May, with the BBC following in September.
• 1958 - The first aided comprehensive for Jewish pupils opens in London. Brighton probation officers blame coffee bars for an “unprecedented rise” in juvenile delinquency.
• 1959 - The Crowther Report on 15-18s recommends leaving age of 16 by 1968, and a target of half of children in full-time education to 18 by 1980 (by 1980/81, 29 per cent were).
• 1960 - The Beloe Report proposes Certificate of Secondary Education.
• Berkshire primary survey reveals 46 schools still with earth closets; 35 without mains water; six lit by gas; eight lit by oil; 22 with open fires.
• 1961 - A campaign to persuade 50,000 married women back into teaching is launched. The TES publishes a complete Billy Bunter story. In Latin.
• 1962 - Leeds experiments with primary French.
• A S Neill’s Summerhill published.
• 1963 - London and Manchester end 11-plus.
• 1964 - The Ministry of Education becomes the Department of Education and Science (DES).
• TES Scotland launches.
• 1965 - Circular 10/65 requires LEAs to propose schemes for comprehensive reorganisation on lines laid down by the DES. The General Teaching Council for Scotland is established.
• 1966 - The Schools Council calls for 16-plus exam to replace CSE and GCE. A disaster in British education: landslide engulfs Aberfan schools, killing 144. The TES and sister papers are taken over by Lord Thomson.
• 1967 - The Plowden Report advocates expansion of nursery schooling and introduction of educational priority areas.
• 1968 - The Newsom Report on public schools calls for integration with state schools and an assisted places system.
• 1969 - The first of the “Black Papers” published, which criticises what the authors believed was excessive progressivism in education.
• 1970 - Margaret Thatcher is appointed education secretary.
• The Conservative government replaces Circular 10/65 with Circular 10/70, leaving LEAs to decide future of secondary education in their areas.
• 1971 - The Times Higher Education Supplement launches, a spin-off of The TES.
• Controversy over the sex education film Growing Up and The Little Red School Book. Mrs Thatcher abolishes milk for the over-sevens.
• 1972 - The school-leaving age is raised to 16. Pupil governors are appointed in Hounslow, Brighton and Wolverhampton. UK schools have 570 video recorders.
• 1973 - The NUT strikes for a better London allowance.
• Roy Hattersley reveals Labour plans to abolish public schools.
• 1974 - Coronation Street’s Ken Barlow quits teaching for a better-paid job as a warehouse administrator. The Houghton Report increases teachers’ pay by 30 per cent.
• 1975 - A black paper proposes exams at seven, 11 and 14.
• William Tyndale School in north London taken over by inspectors. Chancellor Denis Healey cuts 76 million from the education budget.
• The TES sponsors the first Schools Prom.
• 1976 - Prime minister James Callaghan’s Ruskin College speech launches the “Great Debate” on education.
• 1977 - HMI criticises teaching of maths, science and languages and calls for political education for all 11 to 16-year-olds. A TES poll finds most teachers in favour of caning, tests at eight, 11 and 15, and grammar schools.
• 1978 - The Warnock Report on special education gives rise to the 1981 Education Act requiring local authorities to assess pupils and identify the provision they require.
• The TES and other Times newspapers suspend publication during strike action.
• 1979 - Strikes during the “winter of discontent” cause some school closures and 280 million is cut from education.
• The TES resumes publication in November.
• 1980 - Assisted places at independent schools are introduced.
• Anti-corporal punishment group STOPP criticises The Beano for its preoccupation with caning. Rupert Murdoch buys Times newspapers, including The TES.
• 1981 - The Government launches a programme to put a computer in every school. The Rampton Report blames teachers for ethnic underachievement and calls for more black teachers.
• 1982 - Sir Keith Joseph, education secretary under Margaret Thatcher, demands that “ineffective” teachers are sacked.
• 1983 - The Schools Council is replaced by the Secondary Examinations Council and School Curriculum Development Committee.
• 1984 - A race row breaks over the views of Bradford headmaster Ray Honeyford, who outlined concerns about multiculturalism in The TES and the Salisbury Review. He is sacked and reinstated.
• 1985 - Schools are disrupted by a teachers’ pay dispute.
• 1986 - The GCSE is introduced for teaching, replacing O-levels and CSEs.
• Education Act (2) sets down rules on sex education, admissions and political indoctrination. It also abolishes corporal punishment and requires governors to publish annual reports and schools to hold parents’ meetings.
• 1987 - The Teacher Pay and Conditions Act marks the end of the Burnham committee, which negotiated teachers’ pay.
• 1988 - The Education Reform Act ushers in the national curriculum; national testing at seven, 11 and 14; Ofsted; local management of school budgets; grant maintained schools and city technology colleges.
• 1989 - The first teacher supply agency, Time Plan, is launched. Education secretary Kenneth Baker sets out plans for articled teachers who would train on the job after university rather than taking a PGCE.
• 1990 - The Inner London Education Authority is replaced by 13 new education authorities.
• 1991 - The New Schools Bill proposes privatisation of the local school inspection service.
• 1992 - General National Vocational qualifications are introduced.
• 1993 - The NASUWT teaching union achieves a landmark victory when the Appeal Court rules its boycott of national curriculum tests is a legitimate trade dispute. Education secretary John Patten announces that tests will be slimmed down.
• 1994 - Tony Blair is elected leader of the Labour Party and faces controversy over his and his wife Cherie’s decision to send their son Euan to the London Oratory School, a high-performing faith school a long way from Downing Street.
• 1995 - A mini-riot breaks out at the NUT conference, with shadow education secretary David Blunkett forced to retreat into a cupboard.
• 1996 - The Dunblane massacre: Thomas Hamilton shoots dead 16 pupils and their teacher at a Scottish primary school before turning the gun on himself. The BBC broadcasts controversial Panorama programme on the Ridings School in Halifax.
• 1997 - The New Labour government scraps assisted places. Education minister Stephen Byers “names and shames” 18 failing schools.
• 1998 - Introduction of Literacy Hour and the National Year of Reading. The first serving heads are knighted.
• 1999 - Former IRA leader Martin McGuinness appointed education minister for Ulster. First state-funded Sikh school opens in Hayes, north-west London.
• 2000 - The death of Victoria Climbie leads to an inquiry and changes to the running of schools and local authorities. The General Teaching Councils in England and Wales begin registering teachers.
• 2001 - New AS levels are introduced as a result of Curriculum 2000. Alastair Campbell, the prime minister’s press secretary, announces that the days of “the bog standard comprehensive” are over.
• 2002 - A row over grading of the A2 and AS levels leads to changes in results for 10,000 students. The first academies open their doors.
• 2003 - A teacher workload agreement is signed by employers, the government and teacher unions (except for NUT). Teach First teachers start to work in schools.
• 2004 - The Children Act - the legislative part of Every Child Matters - is designed to get education and social services working more closely together. In Wales, pupils take key stage 2 and 3 tests for the last time after the Assembly votes to scrap them - and TES Cymru is launched.
• 2005 - The Tomlinson proposals for overarching diplomas are rejected by Ruth Kelly, then education secretary, who proposes a separate work-based diploma instead. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver campaigns for better school dinners.
• The TES is sold by Rupert Murdoch’s News International to Exponent, a private equity group.
• 2006 - Des Smith, a former headteacher and member of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, is caught promising an undercover reporter that businessmen could gain a peerage by sponsoring an academy. A row over whether Muslim teachers should wear the veil is sparked by the sacking of a part-time teaching assistant, Aishah Azmi.
• 2007 - The Department for Education and Skills is split, with schools moved into the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The TES is sold to Charterhouse, another private equity company.
• 2008 - The TES reveals major problems with the marking of key stage 2 and 3 tests. Ed Balls, then schools secretary, later announces he is scrapping KS3 tests.
• 2009 - The Charity Commission issues first reports on independent schools, examining how well they meet tests for public benefit. City workers who have lost their jobs as result of the global financial downturn are targeted to become teachers.
• 2010 - The new Coalition government’s education secretary Michael Gove announces he is scrapping a range of educational schemes and quangos to save money, including the GTC for England, QCDA, Becta, and Building Schools for the Future.
• 2011 - The Academies Act becomes law signalling the way for the transformation of the landscape of English education.
• The TES is relaunched as a magazine
• 2012 - Michael Gove’s DfE reveals plans to rethink GCSEs, originally planning to rebrand them O-levels.
• 2013 - The new National Curriculim is published.
• 2014 - Michael Gove is reshuffled out of the DfE and replaced by Nicky Morgan.
• 2015 - The Education and Adoption Bill is published, signalling the introduction of the “coasting” category of school.

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £1 per month

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get:

• Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
• Exclusive subscriber-only stories
• Award-winning email newsletters

Format Types

Audio and videos.

• Magazines & Articles
• Physical Objects
• Records & Papers
• Communications
• Community and Social Services
• Geography and Travels
• Heritage and Culture
• Nature and Environment
• Organisations
• Personalities
• Politics and Government
• Religion and Philosophy
• Sports and Recreation
• Streets and Places
• Transportation

More Resources

• Archives Online

National Library Online

• Subscribed Databases
• NewspaperSG
• Archival Research Services
• Reference & Research Services
• NLB Book Catalogue
• NLB Overdrive
• Resource Glossary Page

As custodian of Singapore’s documentary heritage, the National Library, Singapore collects, preserves and makes accessible our digitised and born-digital content for present and future generations.

Books and Magazines

Documents and Manuscripts

Music Albums, Lyrics and Scores

National Library Datasets

BHL Singapore Biodiversity Heritage Library

Virtual Union Catalogue

ASEAN Digital Library