Singapore News - Minister Ng maps out Spore's strategy on higher education.

SINGAPORE : Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said Singapore's strategy to deliver quality higher education to its people is to ensure that every publicly funded institution strives to be the best in the class.

Addressing the Australian Universities International Alumni Convention in Singapore, Dr Ng noted that nearly 180,000 international students were enrolled in Australia's higher education sector last year, contributing significantly to a S$16 billion education services industry that has become the country's third largest export income earner. And each year, nearly 10,000 Singapore students join their ranks.

Turning to the challenges facing his ministry in the area of higher education, Dr Ng said educational institutions in Singapore must provide learning that is current and relevant. It must also make a difference to their students, the industry and the overall economy.

"Our higher education system is also unapologetically closely attuned to the need to make education relevant, to help Singaporeans find a job and remain employable. This gives them the confidence that the education they have received is meaningful," said Dr Ng.

But he also cautioned against equating more education with better economic growth and jobs.

"But how we intend to do this... is just as important, if not more, because you can get it wrong if the fixation is just on numbers and not on quality or relevancy," said Dr Ng.

This explains the need for local universities to create and sustain an ecosystem made up of top researchers, and for the schools to differentiate themselves from others.

Whatever strategies universities employ and differentiate themselves in the international market, Dr Ng noted that most have come to realise that they can't do this alone. This is why most universities are going into collaborations and partnerships with other top universities in the world, so that both their students and faculty have more expanded opportunities in learning and research.

The Ministry of Education also wants up to half of all local tertiary students to take part in an overseas programme. These could be through overseas immersion, twinning activities with schools abroad or overseas community projects with funding support from the ministry. Dr Ng said this will help Singapore's undergraduates to be "world ready".

- By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | 11 June 2008 1605 hrs