Singapores education policies are largely influenced by the need to compete :: Economics

Singapore's education policies are largely influenced by the need to compete in a global economy. Do you agree? Explain your answer. a) Singapore's education policies are largely influenced by the need to compete in a global economy. Do you agree? Explain your answer. [12m] I agree to a large extent. Ever since Singapore gained independence in 1965, Singapore's education policies has played a crucial role in the economic progress and social changes of the country, and more importantly, the raising of Singapore's standing on the global stage, in terms of both economic might and international recognition. During the early years of independence, Singapore's main priority was to deviate away from entrepot trade into manufacturing and industrialisation so as to improve the economy, and at the same time solve the problem of unemployment. As a result of this move towards industrialisation, the Singapore government had to prepare students for entry into the workforce by equipping them with the necessary skills. As such, technical education was introduced for the first time in secondary schools in 1969, where all boys and 50% of the girls had to take technical subjects such as woodwork and metalwork. In addition, technical schools and vocational institutes were set up to provide training in areas such as electricity, electronics and metalwork. Existing institutions such as Ngee Ann Technical College and Singapore Polytechnic were expanded to include courses in similar fields of study. The government also encouraged the study of English as a first language, as they realised that the English Language held the key to better jobs and a better economy as it allowed access to western knowledge and technology, which during that time was one of the most, if not the most, advanced in the world. From this, we can see that even in the 1960s and 1970s, Singapore's education policies were already tailored to allow Singapore to be able to compete in a global economy, by expanding the manufacturing industry through the equipping of the workforce with the necessary skills, and improving communication with the rest of the world through the introduction of English as a first language, allowing Singapore to take advantage of Western technology and knowledge and hence put her in a better position on the global stage. The advent of the 21st century has brought a whole new set of challenges to Singapore, and Singaporeans thus have to learn to be more resourceful and self-reliant in order to survive, live long and prosper in the more competitive global economy. In the past decade, the world has seen rapid growth of the Information Technology (IT) industry - this has resulted in widespread use of computers and the