May 21, 2019

What are the complexities in planning for Singapore’s National Education modules?

On 17 May 1997, then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong launched the National Education programme, which aimed to foster national cohesion and cultivate a sense of belonging, pride, and patriotism among students and younger Singaporeans. Subsequently, Singapore’s universities were instructed to include National Education modules as part of their degree requirements.

Given that universities are granted more freedom to determine how they want to teach the subject, a lot of thought goes into the syllabus planning. In “Changing landscapes as text: Geography and national education in Singapore” (Area, 2018), Dr Kamalini Ramdas, A/P Elaine Ho, and A/P Woon Chih Yuan (NUS Department of Geography) mused over the obstacles they faced as editors of a book titled Changing Landscapes of Singapore: Old Tensions, New Discoveries (NUS Press, 2013). Considering that Changing Landscapes of Singapore was designated to be the primary reading material for a National Education module at NUS, they revealed the difficulties they faced when trying to balance a combination of institutional and personal expectations with the goals of National Education, while also ensuring students an interesting curriculum.

Read the article here.