Page 23 - 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 Singaporec83

excellent communication infrastructure) allows for efficient planning, cohesive

decision-making, channeling of information and deployment of personnel within
and between the government and private sectors.
With the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we now need to rethink

and revisit the nature of education – and the role of schools -that will allow
the young to face up with the demands of a technologically-driven and rapidly
changing world in the 21st century. The reality is that there is ever-widening

skill gaps between what schools and universities are teaching and what the
economy needs. Hence, we have countries where there is plenty of work
opportunities but, despite the investment in education, too few people have the
appropriate skills to do so. To nurture the development of the skill sets needed

to meet the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution requires us to take a
good look at how we can make our schools creative. Orthodox, unimaginative

and regimental way of running schools will do no good to the education of the
millennials or “Generation Y”.
One immediate challenge facing Singapore’s education is to change the
attitudes of parents, teachers and students towards examinations and grades. The

future economy requires students to develop soft skills and to apply what they
know to solving problems and creating innovations. Indeed, employers today

do not care how much one knows because knowledge is available everywhere
and anytime. What employers want to know is how much one can do with the
knowledge to add value, or even create value, to the organization. The time is
ripe for leaders of schools and universities to put on their thinking caps and

make teaching and learning innovative, relevant and exciting. In many countries,
educational initiatives often consist primarily of short-term efforts to solve

immediate problems or improve efficiency. However, Singapore’s educational
policy makers prefer to plan for the long-term. A “futures thinking” modality