Singapore must always give our people full opportunities to achieve their potential. Our pioneers showed that we can do anything, provided we set our minds to it. And we must build on their legacy and continue to give every Singaporean the confidence to shoot for the stars. Education is an important part of this and that is why every year, I speak on different aspects of education and this year, I will focus on ITE (Institute of Technical Education) and Poly(technic) students. Our ITEs and Polys are world-class. Foreign visitors are amazed by the facilities, better than many universities. Investors are impressed by the quality of the graduates – well-trained, can-do, productive. And our students themselves are great examples of resolve, strength and character.......
Or take William Tay. William lost his hearing to illness at four. He enrolled in ITE College Central here. He joined the Photography Club and the Deaf Dragons, which is a dragon boat racing team and he graduated last year with a NITEC in Info-Communications Technology with a perfect Grade Point Average (GPA) and won the Rotary-ITE Student Excellence Award. Welcome, William. Now, he is in the Poly, studying for a Diploma in Infocomm Security Management and benefiting from the Special Needs Education Fund, and working with his lecturers to come back to his alma mater to start a sign language Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) club here in ITE College Central.
So, we have done well by our students. But our students, having done well, naturally hope to climb even higher. And I give you an example of how they feel in this striking art work entitled “Aspirations” which has been put up by ITE students in their art show and if you go outside later, you will see it on the wall somewhere outside. And it shows their desire to improve themselves to reach the top and if you look carefully, you will see also it shows the right spirit because having reached the top, you reach down and help the next person to make it too.
Source: PM Speech in English (www.pmo.gov.sg)
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