Transforming vocational and technical education: From zero class to world class

LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND

Overhaul of vocational and technical education with carefully planned and comprehensive five-year strategic road maps to take care of the 25% of less academically-inclined students in each cohort by providing them with opportunities.

The PAP government embarked on this in 1995.

The journey began with the first road map to establish ITE as a post-secondary technical education institute that is a student's CHOICE OF SCHOOL.

Next it was to turn it into a world-class technical institute where students are knowledge-applicators, then it was to establish it as a global player whose students can hold their own against their counterparts anywhere in the world and then to be a global leader in innovations.

The first challenge for the government was to overcome the negative image and societal bias (both of parents and students) of a vocational and technical education.

To this end there was much creative rebranding and transformation of the hardware (the physical environment), software (the courses) and heartware (the people).

Today, more than 80 per cent of Normal (Technical) students who have completed their secondary schooling join the ITE. The number says it all. ITE is now a popular choice among secondary school leavers.