22 schools to be recognised for their efforts in promoting well-rounded education

The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Monday (Sep 22) that 22 schools will be recognised for their efforts in giving students a well-rounded education at the Ministry's Work Plan Seminar, which takes place on Tuesday.Bukit Batok Seconday School, Si Ling Secondary School, and Yio Chu Kang Seconday School will receive the highest accolade - the Lee Hsien Loong Award for Innovations in the Normal Course.

This is because they demonstrated innovation in teaching and learning, school management and organisation as well as student development, the MOE said. This has led to significant benefits in the all-round development of their students in the Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) Courses.

For example, Yio Chu Kang Secondary School has incorporated dance, drama and robotics classes into its curriculum for the majority of normal stream students. 

According to Principal Janice Heng, the key motivation behind this initiative is to enrich the lives of the students beyond academic qualifications and cognitive development. "We actually hope for students to be able to have their interests sparked in some of these areas. And they are able to pursue it as their hobby, as a lifestyle when they grow up. Or even pursue it as their post-secondary education," she said.

The other 19 schools will be recognised for Best Practices in five key areas - Character and Citizenship Education, Teaching and Learning, Student All-Round Development, Staff Well-Being and Development, and Partnership. MOE said the schools' best practices have led to good education outcomes for their students.

One of these is Gan Eng Seng School, where technology-enabled learning is a way of life. Secondary Two students have their English lessons at the computer lab twice a week, and the school started using infocomm technology (ICT) in its curriculum in 1997. The school will be recognised for its Best Practice in Teaching and Learning.

According to Ms Serene Seetoh, Head of Department of Technology at Gan Eng Seng School, ICT has helped both teachers and students become more self-directed and collaborative in teaching and learning.

"Self-directed in the sense that teaching is no longer become inside the classroom but it goes beyond - anytime, anywhere. Collaborative in the sense that information exchange becomes so accessible and therefore students and teachers actually learn together, and are more active about learning," she said.

Said Nick Tan, a Secondary One student at the school: "Technology has taught me about copyright issues, as well as how to respect intellectual properties. And how we should use royalty-free music in our music projects to prevent any conflicts over copyright issues." - CNA/do