Pioneer educators lauded for shaping entire generation

They're trailblazers who laid S'pore's educational foundation, says minister
By Grace Chua, The Straits Times, 1 Aug 2014

THEY laid Singapore's educational foundation; were resourceful, responsible and resilient; and nurtured new generations of teachers.

Singapore's pioneer educators left these three legacies, and their words and work shaped an entire generation, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, as he paid homage to 700 retired principals, educational specialists from ministry headquarters, and administrative staff at a Pioneer Tribute Dinner last night.

Post by Heng Swee Keat.

Speaking at the dinner at the Fairmont Hotel, Mr Heng celebrated these trailblazers' "rich store of life lessons".

For instance, as a school principal, Mrs Mangalesvary Ambiavagar, 100, had to make sure the children had meat in their dishes and drank the powdered milk they were given as nutrition was a key school issue, he said.

Singapore laid its educational foundation by building more than 130 new schools and recruiting thousands of teachers.

This system then evolved as different streams were created to help different students, and today more flexibility and new specialised schools in science, sports, and the arts have been introduced, Mr Heng said.

Today, education takes up as much as 20 per cent of the Budget, at almost $11.5 billion, and is second only to defence.

"But for a young nation 50 years ago, that was unthinkable," he said. The pioneer educators' enterprising spirit in the face of limited resources, was another major contribution to the country.

Mr Heng singled out several for praise, including Ms Nanda Bandara, 76, who sank a bathtub into the Haig Girls' School garden to create an eco-pond.

Ms Bandara, who was at last night's dinner, recalled: "We were limited in resources. But the children were interested in science - what's the difference between the eggs of a frog and a toad, for instance?

"So when we had the pond there for them, they could remember. They saw the difference between different water plants."

Mr Heng said the ministry often recruited 16-year-olds straight after their exams to plug a shortage of teachers.

Some had to juggle teaching in the morning and training in the afternoon.

Others, like former Commonwealth Secondary principal A.N. Balagopal, 84, were once posted to remote Christmas Island, a 135 sq km speck in the Indian Ocean, south of Java, that was formerly administered by Singapore.

It took three to four days to sail there in choppy waters.

Because of these educators' resourcefulness and dedication, many of their students have been inspired to follow in their footsteps, said Mr Heng.

This is the third legacy of these pioneers: nurturing a generation of teachers who will continue their good work.

"We stand on the shoulders of giants and through our collective hands we hold the future of the nation, and build on the firm foundations you have laid.

"Those same values you stood for still hold true even if the tools to teach and the programmes we roll out may have changed," said the minister.

Last night's dinner was the first in a series of Ministry of Education (MOE) events to mark Singapore's first half-century and pay tribute to educators. There are some 14,000 retired pioneer educators in the ministry's books, Mr Heng said.

These events will continue into next year.

For a start, the MOE Heritage Centre will organise a series of weekly Friday tea sessions for pioneer and retired senior educators from Sept 5 to Oct 31.

To sign up, retired educators can call 6838-1614 or visit www.moeheritagecentre.sg

Pioneer educators lauded for their legacies
By Grace Chua, The Sunday Times, 3 Aug 2014

In Singapore's post-war and post-independence days, education was a tough business.

Teachers were posted to outlying islands, even as far as remote Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, then administered by Singapore. Principals abolished class rankings to get rid of unnecessary competition, despite strident opposition from teachers and parents.

Last Thursday night, some 700 of these pioneer principals, teachers, Education Ministry officials and staff attended a tribute dinner organised by the Ministry of Education at the Fairmont Hotel.

They were lauded for their legacies and for inspiring new generations of teachers.

"We stand on the shoulders of giants and through our collective hands we hold the future of the nation, and build on the firm foundations you have laid," said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat in his speech at the dinner.

Three of the retired principals and superintendents who attended the dinner told The Sunday Times their stories.

Rookie teacher on a remote island

In the 1950s, some teachers were posted to schools in Pulau Tekong, a trip that required a bumboat ride from the mainland followed by a bumpy car ride or a sweltering 2km trek.

Others, like Mr A.N. Balagopal, were sent even farther.

In 1954, Mr Bala, as he is popularly called, had to travel to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean as a 24-year-old rookie teacher. He had volunteered for the post, hoping to do a master's degree in Australia after that.

The remote 135 sq km island was administered by Singapore at the time. Some 2,000 people lived on it, mostly ethnic Chinese workers and ethnic Malays from the Cocos Islands.

"You had to cross the Sunda Strait into the Indian Ocean and it was very choppy," Mr Bala, now 84, said. "It took over three or four days."

Once there, there was no phoning home. Telegrams could be sent in an emergency and letters were posted home on a ship that arrived with supplies once a month.

The waters were shark-infested and, in the rainy season, the seas could be rough. "One day, I was in a sampan catching fish when I saw a triangular fin sticking up - it was a 6m shark! We threw away all the fish and cabut (Malay for ran away)," said Mr Bala.

There were just six teachers at the primary school there. There was no secondary school.

When he came back to Singapore in 1956, Mr Bala taught at several schools, including Bartley Secondary School and Victoria School, and was principal of Commonwealth Secondary School.

"I was very sad when Christmas Island was given up to Australia in 1957," he said. "Today, how many children know that Christmas Island was once part of Singapore?"

Leading the way in ending class rankings

Two years ago, the Ministry of Education decided to stop releasing the names of Primary School Leaving Examination top scorers to reduce stress and competition among pupils and their parents.

The move had a little-known precedent.

Nearly 40 years ago, then Haig Girls' School principal Nanda Bandara simply did away with class rankings so that pupils and parents would not compare their results with classmates'.

"It was very unhealthy," Ms Bandara, now 76, recalled. "Many of them came to fight for a mark or half a mark." One mother, she remembered, scolded her daughter for losing 11/2 marks because of careless mistakes.

"She took her umbrella and beat the child...That proved to me that it was not healthy. Even as a science teacher, I advocated, don't worry about the marks. Don't compare your results with somebody else's; just do better than you did yesterday."

But removing class rankings was unpopular with both teachers and parents, till they began to see its benefits. For instance, children strong in one subject began helping their weaker classmates.

Haig Girls' was, as far as Ms Bandara knows, the first school to abolish class rankings. The practice slowly spread, and today, few if any schools give class positions.

Ms Bandara, who retired as principal of Raffles Girls' Primary School in 1999, then helped set up the Singapore International School in Jakarta, and officially retired in 2007.

Of removing PSLE top scores, Ms Bandara said: "I think it's an excellent idea. You don't need to compare with what other people do."

A teacher never stops learning

For years, Mr Jumaat Masdawood was teacher, badminton coach and volleyball coach at the schools where he taught.

And for six intense months in 1968, he juggled those duties with training to get up to speed in basic electricity and woodworking.

Mr Jumaat, now 68, had answered a national call for teachers to be trained in technical education. "There was a demand for the country to shift its focus and economy. In its drive for industrialisation, the government realised that they needed more technical people, but there was a shortage of technical teachers," he said.

So twice a week for six months, he put in a full day of teaching and coaching, then sped to Paterson Road where training was held. Once the training was over, he was posted to a centralised workshop where all Secondary One and Two students learnt technical skills.

Teaching was a calling that Mr Jumaat, the fifth of eight siblings, had stumbled into at age 18. He and an older sister signed on to earn some money for the family after their father passed away.

In 1984 - 19 years into his teaching career - Mr Jumaat completed a bachelor's degree in English and sociology from the National University of Singapore.

He was subsequently made principal of Mattar East Primary School in Aljunied, raising the Primary School Leaving Examination pass rate of its pupils from mostly low-income homes by getting parents more involved in their children's education.

In 2007, Mr Jumaat retired as a school superintendent.

Post by Heng Swee Keat.

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Kudos to our pioneer educators!