Oon Seng Tan - Lee Kuan Yew’s Educational Legacy: The Challenges of Success

National Institute of Education, 1 Nanyang Walk, S637616 Singapore, Singapore

Fifty years ago, Singapore was a picture of poverty, with insufficient natural resources and fracturing ethnic fault-lines. After Singapore separated from Malaysia and gained independence in 1965, Singapores leaders were confronted with the task of nation-building in order to ensure its political and economic survival. Given the countrys absence of natural resources, the only hope lay in the development of its people. Key to people development was the establishment of a strong education system backed by a strong educational workforce.

In 1966, Singapores longest serving Prime Minister, the late Mr. Lee Kuan Yew (19232015), spoke to a gathering of school principals:

Lee Kuan Yew laid the foundations for the creation of a first-world education system with his visionary education policies and deep insights on the pragmatic issues pertaining to the powerful influence of the teacher and the learning environment of the school in shaping the future of the nation. He found it absolutely necessary to do so for Singapores survival. In the post-independence period, there were high levels of unemployment and the population was mostly unskilled with low literacy levels. The goal of education then was to ensure survival by creating mass education quickly in order to build a strong labour force for the country. By the late 1970s, education in Singapore moved into the efficiency-driven phase with the beginnings of high standards of curriculum and assessment. From 1997, Singapore moved into the era of ability-driven education with the emphasis on thinking schools and learning nation. Education was poised to prepare a workforce suited for a globalised market.

Today, Singapore is recognised as possessing one of the best performing education systems in the world. Singapores education system has received worldwide interest and attention because of its consistently high student performance in internationally benchmarked assessment. In the most recent release of the results of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) held in 2011, Singapore emerged top in fourth grade for both Mathematics and Science achievement while at the eighth grade, Singapore emerged top for Science and second for Mathematics achievement. In the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, of the 65 participating education systems in the paper-based assessment component, Singapore was ranked among the top five in Mathematics, Reading and Science Literacy skills. These are remarkable achievements in a span of 50 years. Yet, in contemporary times, it is well recognised that education must go beyond academic skills and new competencies are needed for the increasingly interdependent 21st century world fuelled by technology and new cyber social media. As Singapores nation-building project continues, educational development remains influenced by many of Lee Kuan Yews ideas, and systemic improvements seek to address hard questions such as: What can we learn about evolving education from mass education to one that is student-centric and anchored in values? What are the foundations for preparing a population to not only cope with but actively leverage upon technological affordances and globalisation? How can a system move from zero resources to one that is heavily driven by factual information, analytics and research?

This volume provides insights into Lee Kuan Yew and his education vision. Incorporated in these chapters are the implementation journeys and the overcoming of apparent philosophical paradoxes. Central questions are asked to help frame Lees educational ideas: How did Lees vision and educational policies result in a system that attracts the right and best people to become teachers, develop them into effective teachers, specialists and leaders, and ensure that the system is able to deliver the best possible learning for every child? What can the world learn from Lees educational policies particularly in relation to language policies, bilingualism, and mathematics and science education? At the end of the day, it is not slogans of alleviating poverty, peace and human rights that will turn societies around. It is the integrity, intelligence, innovation, inter-culturalisation, interconnectedness of the people regardless of racial, linguistic and religious differences, coherence of the different educational phases and initiatives implemented with great intentionality and temerity that brings about a nations progress at a meteoric rate. Such are the educational legacies of Lee Kuan Yew and this book aspires to share these learnings with the world.

This chapter begins with a biographical account of Lee Kuan Yews formative years and his educational trajectory, before describing Lees contribution to the success of Singapore through his education vision and ideas. Finally, an outline of the chapters in this volume is provided.

It is a little known fact that the late Mr. Lee Kuan Yew was the Minister of Education for four months, from July to October 1975 (Lee ). So important to Prime Minister Lee was education in general, and bilingual education in particular, that he took on the extra education ministerial portfolio. To understand why education was crucial to Lee, it is important to understand the social milieu that Lee was born into, and the educational trajectory he went through in his formative years.