Page 11 - Education Change and Economic Development: The Case of Singapore Dr. Goh Chor Boon National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University

Education Change and Economic Development: The Case of Singaporec71

9
living”. Unlike in South Korea and Germany where vocational and technical
training is held in high esteem, the Singapore’s system, prior to the 1990s, failed
to project the same image. Vocational institutes became “dumping grounds”
or “catch-nets” for those who failed to meet up with academic rigour. The

development and transformation of the Institute of Technical Education (formed
in 1992) and the polytechnics in the provision of technical and professional
education is one of the most successful features of the Singapore’s education

system and attracts the attention of many of the policy makers from developing
countries in the area of vocational and technical education or VTEC. 10

Future-Ready Education for the Future Economy

As the world races towards the mid-21st century and beyond, the

application of the Internet, robotics and the power of artificial intelligence (AI)
is revolutionizing the way people work, play and communicate. Technological
progress is now at the center of the growth process. The digital economy also
presents opportunities to transform industries, while new technologies can help

to raise productivity in sectors like advanced manufacturing, popularly termed
as Industry 4.0.

Beginning from the new millennium, Singapore has made the successful

9 Straits Times, 14 June 1994.
10 For an understanding of the evolution of technical and vocational education in
Singapore, see Law Song Seng, “Vocational Technical Education and Economic
Development: The Singapore Experience” in Lee Sing Kong, Goh Chor Boon,
Birger Fredriksen and Tan Jee Peng (eds.) Toward a Better Future: Education and
Training for Economic Development in Singapore since 1965 (Washington, D. C.:
The World Bank, 2008), Chapter 5.