What issues need to be surfaced and discussed to forge common ground, teach us lessons from the past and help us to prepare for the future? In other words, what are the issues covered in National Education?
The following are six questions that carve out the six broad areas covered by National Education. National Education goes beyond communicating to the audience facts and figures about these six areas. The key purpose of any National Education programme is to get Singaporeans to think through their personal response to such issues. Through this process, National Education would have achieved its ultimate goal of building common ground, connecting the past, present and future and preparing us for the future.
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1. What does it mean to be a citizen of Singapore?
What are the privileges and responsibilities that come with citizenship? What does it mean to call Singapore home? In this age of globalisation and mobility, National Education is a platform for Singaporeans to discuss and think about what it means to be Singaporean and what identifying with Singapore means in terms of their personal attitude, commitment and action.
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2. What values are important to us as a nation?
Singapore has won much praise for being a stable and well-governed country. Our progress has often been seen as a miracle, especially for a small, poorly-endowed country with people as its only resource. Our success and ability to overcome challenges and maximise opportunities are due in part to the system we have in place, our approach to problem-solving and the principles by which the country is governed.
What are these values and principles that have stood the test of time? What can we learn from our history about the values that we must continue to cherish? National Education is about understanding what these values are and why they are important: racial and religious harmony, meritocracy, incorruptibility, pragmatism and the ‘dare-to-dream’, ‘can do’ spirit.
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3. What challenges arise from our history and geography?
Through National Education, people are made more aware of our unique circumstances as a nation. In terms of geography, we are small. We lack natural resources. We are located at the crossroads of sea-lanes running between the east and west, surrounded by countries many times larger and in a region that has seen its share of ups and downs. In terms of history, we are a land of immigrants, made up of many different languages, cultures, races and religions.
What are the implications of these factors on our relations with our countries and in the policy decisions that are made? National Education helps us to understand why we do what we do as a nation.
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4. In times of conflict and war, to whom can we turn?
"No one, but ourselves." Security is the foundation upon which everything else is built. Our economic prosperity and social harmony are based on having security as a nation. Therefore, ensuring our defence and security is vital. In time of conflict and war, we can depend only on ourselves. So, it is important for all Singaporeans to think through some questions: Is the Singapore Armed Forces capable of winning the war? Why is National Service necessary? Do we have the psychological commitment to fight and win the war? What are the unconventional threats that Singapore faces? National Education is an opportunity to discuss these matters and think through the personal commitment each of us should have towards the defence and security of our nation. At the same time, it would serve as a platform to discuss Singapore’s need to be engaged in associations such as the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Five Powers Defence Arrangement.
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5. How can we ensure Singapore’s economic competitiveness?
We are living in a world of intense global competition, rapidly advancing technology and knowledge-driven wealth. We face keen competition from China and India, two emerging economic powerhouses that have lower land and labour costs. As foreign investments are diverted to cheaper locations, jobs in Singapore may be lost, never to return. In addition, competition from the region is hotting up as our neighbours develop their ports, airports and other infrastructure to compete with us.
No one owes Singapore a living. In this new environment of intense economic competition, we need to fend for ourselves. What is needed for us to stay ahead? What are some of the fundamentals that have enabled Singapore to prosper which we need to hold on to? These include a clean and transparent system, the rule of law, good financial discipline, good corporate governance and sound macroeconomic management. In considering the new challenges ahead, we cannot afford to be complacent. While we stick to the fundamentals, it is essential we innovate and adopt new strategies to stay ahead and remain economically competitive.
National Education is an opportunity to discuss the economic challenges facing Singapore and to get Singaporeans to consider what they can do as individuals to contribute to the economic success of the whole nation.
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6. How do we ensure a cohesive society?
The challenge of national cohesion is greater for a small country like Singapore, where a single incident could spark off repercussions nationwide.
Since independence, a fundamental challenge has been to build a nation out of the different races that made Singapore their home and to preserve racial and religious harmony. The violence and bloodshed of the racial riots in the 1960s have taught us how racial tension and conflict can disrupt peace and stability and damage the social fabric of a society. With people of different races and religions living close together, it is vital to keep a tight lid on racial and religious provocations. Racial and religious issues have the potential to arouse strong feelings. National Education is an opportunity to remind Singaporeans how precious and fragile racial harmony is and how important it is to play a part in maintaining it.
Today, there are debates that need to be addressed such as the cosmopolitan-heartlander issue and the role of foreign talent. Singapore’s population is also rapidly ageing while the younger generation is more internationally mobile. The challenge is to meet the aspirations of these different groups while keeping the nation united. National Education provides the platform to raise awareness on all these issues.
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Last updated on 10 Aug 2007
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