The Rationale for National Education

Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong introduced the need for National Education in his Teacher's Day Rally Speech on 8 Sept 1996 in the following way:

National Education must be a vital component of our education process. We will revise the contents of Social Studies, Civic and Moral Education and History to emphasise nation-building. But National Education goes beyond book knowledge. It is an exercise to develop instincts that become part of the psyche of every child. It must engender a shared sense of nationhood, an understanding of how our past is relevant to our present and future. It must appeal to both heart and mind. This is not easy. Today's pupils have not suffered wars, not lived through political struggles, racial tensions, unemployment and deprivation. They must learn not only in classes and lectures, but also by the example of teachers and elders, through the discipline and rituals of school life, through the habits and values inculcated over the years. It is critical that we succeed in National Education. Then when our pupils hear or read about the warring in Bosnia, about the conflict in Sri Lanka, about the problems in Northern Ireland, about the many disputes and fights all over the world on account of race, religion or language, they will appreciate that these events in places far away are not irrelevant to Singapore. Rather, they are lessons for Singapore, for Singapore itself can easily slip into such a state. We enjoy peace and stability in Singapore because we work at it. We recognise that we are many races, many religions, many languages, many cultures. And we work consciously to make room for each other, to afford everyone opportunity to learn and make good. National Education cannot be instilled in our students unless it is first instilled in the teachers. Teachers must feel passionately for the country before they can teach with conviction. Most of our school leaders -- our Principals and Vice-principals -– lived through the pre-independence period. They will remember those difficult times. But many of our teachers -- as many as 40% of them -- were either too young to remember those critical years or were born after 1965. They too must learn and acquire the sense of history and shared destiny that we have to inculcate in our students. We will make a massive effort to reach out to all our teachers. Our older teachers will themselves have to revive their memories of those tumultuous times and share them with their younger colleagues.