MOE to recruit another 3,000 teachers this year

From Channel News Asia

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Education (MOE) is hoping to recruit another 3,000 teachers this year, but if this target could not be met “so be it”, said Education Minister Ng Eng Hen during the Committee of Supply Debate on Tuesday.

“We will... ensure that only those with the passion, aptitude and commitment to teaching are selected,” said Dr Ng. “We would rather hire less to get the type of teachers we want to maintain a quality teaching force.”

He was responding to concerns raised by some Members of Parliament about bumping up recruitment in the education sector in light of the recession.

Senior Minister of State for Education Grace Fu pointed out that only about half of those who had met MOE’s current academic criteria for teacher training passed the selection interviews.

And while the ministry is moving towards all-graduate recruitment for its teaching force, Ms Fu stressed that current non-graduate teachers need not feel “compelled” to upgrade their academic qualifications. “What is more important is how well they perform as educators,” she said.

The MOE is also looking into hiring 500 Allied Educators - who support teachers in areas like counselling and teaching - as well as professionals with strong language skills for a new Language Facilitator Scheme to boost language proficiency among students.

Mid-career professionals with leadership experience can consider applying to be vice-principals, while MOE also hoped to recruit “high-calibre young graduates” to join as education policy analysts, said Dr Ng.

To meet demand in the preschool sector, a new diploma developed by the Singapore Polytechnic will be introduced to provide shorter training duration for kindergarten teachers, at half the time taken to obtain a specialised diploma in early childhood care.

All this will make an estimated 7,500 teaching and teaching-support jobs available in the education sector this year.