Ministry of Education (Singapore)

The Ministry of Education (MOE; ; ; ) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies related to the education in Singapore.

Organisational structure The ministry currently oversees 10 statutory boards which includes 5 polytechnics and 2 institutes: SkillsFuture Singapore, Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board, ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, Institute of Technical Education, Singapore Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic and Science Centre, Singapore.

In 2016, a new statutory board under the Ministry of Education (MOE), SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), was formed to drive and coordinate the implementation of SkillsFuture. It took over some of the functions currently performed by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and absorbed the Committee for Private Education (CPE).

Unions Civil servants employed by the Ministry of Education are organised into several Unions, including the Singapore Teachers' Union, Singapore Chinese Teachers' Union, Singapore Malay Teachers' Union and Singapore Tamil Teachers' Union for Education Officers; and the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees for the non-Education Officers. All these unions are affiliates of the National Trades Union Congress.

Statutory boards

SkillsFuture Singapore Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute Institute of Technical Education Singapore Polytechnic Ngee Ann Polytechnic Temasek Polytechnic Nanyang Polytechnic Republic Polytechnic Science Centre, Singapore

Impact The Government of Singapore invests heavily in education to equip citizens with the necessary knowledge and skills to compete in the global marketplace. Singapore currently spends around a fifth of its national budget on education. To boost its economic standing, the Government of Singapore created a mandate that most Singaporeans learn English. It is the language of governance and administration in Singapore and English is also the medium of instruction in most, if not all, schools in Singapore. As a result, the country rose from one of the most impoverished Asian countries to one with the strongest economies and highest standards of living.

SkillsFuture The SkillsFuture initiative was introduced in 2015 to support Singapore's next stage of economic advancement by providing lifelong learning and skills development opportunities for Singaporeans. SkillsFuture aims at unlocking the full potential of all Singaporeans, regardless of background and industry. The program contains several key initiatives, such as SkillsFuture Credit and SkillsFuture Earn and Learn. SkillsFuture caters to many stakeholders, with initiatives centred on students, adult learners, employers, and training providers. In general, SkillsFuture involves a broad array of policy instruments targeting a wider range of beneficiaries over a longer-term horizon – schooling years, early career, mid-career or silver years – with a variety of resources available to help them attain mastery of skills.

Every Singapore citizen from the age of 25 is given S$500 (approximately $370) by the Singapore government for the SkillsFuture Credit to invest in their personal learning. This sum can be used for continuing education courses in local tertiary institutions, as well as short courses provided by MOOC providers such as Udemy, Coursera, and edX.

By the end of 2017, the SkillsFuture Credit has been utilised by over 285,000 Singaporeans. There were more than 18,000 SkillsFuture credit-approved courses available at that time. As of 2016, there were also a total of 40 Earn and Learn Programmes.

SkillsFuture has established a multi-level training system with dozens of initiatives and programs targeting the different skill-training needs of different social groups, such as students and employees in different career stages. Moreover, SkillsFuture also invests in forms of industry collaboration to uplift the broad base of private companies, and strengthen collaboration between training institutions, unions, trade associations, and employers to develop the skills of the Singaporean workforce. In terms of funding, according to the Singaporean government budget report, a provision of $220 million has been made for SSG in the fiscal year 2018 to implement plans, policies and strategies to support skills development programs under SkillsFuture.

Ministers With the expanding scope of education in Singapore and the implementation of SkillsFuture in 2016, the Ministry was led by two ministers; Minister for Education (Schools), who oversees the pre-school, primary, secondary, and junior college education; and Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills), who oversees the ITE, polytechnic, university and SkillsFuture education. In 2018, the Ministry returned to being headed by one minister.

The Ministry is headed by the Minister for Education, who is appointed as part of the Cabinet of Singapore.

Minister for Education (1955–2015) Minister Took office Left office Party Cabinet Chew Swee KeeMP for Whampoa(1918–1985)6 April19554 March1959LFMarshallLimLim Yew HockMP for Havelock(1914–1984)5 March19593 June1959SPAYong Nyuk LinMP for Geylang West(1918–2012)5 June195918 October1963PAPLee K. IOng Pang BoonMP for Telok Ayer(born 1929)19 October196310 August1970PAPLee K. IILee K. IIILim Kim SanMP for Cairnhill(1916–2006)11 August197015 September1972PAPLee Chiaw MengMP for Farrer Park(1937–2001)16 September19721 June1975PAPLee K. IVToh Chin ChyeMP for Rochore(1921–2012)2 June197514 June1975PAPLee Kuan YewMP for Tanjong Pagar(1923–2015)15 June197519 October1975PAPChua Sian ChinMP for MacPherson(1933–2014)20 October197511 February1979PAPLee K. VGoh Keng SweeMP for Kreta Ayer(1918–2010)12 February197931 May1980PAPTony TanMP for Sembawang(born 1940)1 June198031 May1981PAPLee K. VIGoh Keng SweeMP for Kreta Ayer(1918–2010)1 June19811 January1985PAPTony TanMP for Sembawang (until 1988) and Sembawang GRC (from 1988)(born 1940)2 January19851 January1992PAPLee K. VIILee K. VIIIGoh IGoh IILee Yock SuanMP for Cheng San GRC(born 1946)2 January199224 January1997PAPTeo Chee HeanMP for Pasir Ris GRC (until 2001) and Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC (from 2001)(born 1954)25 January199731 July2003PAPGoh IIIGoh IVTharman ShanmugaratnamMP for Jurong GRC(born 1957)1 August200311 August2004PAP12 August200431 March2008Lee H. ILee H. IINg Eng HenMP for Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC(born 1958)1 April200820 May2011PAP Heng Swee KeatMP for Tampines GRC(born 1961)21 May201130 September2015PAPLee H. III

Minister for Education (Schools) (2015–2018) Minister Took office Left office Party Cabinet Ng Chee MengMP for Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC(born 1968)1 October201531 October2016PAPLee H. IV1 November201630 April2018

Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) (2015–2018) Minister Took office Left office Party Cabinet Ong Ye KungMP for Sembawang GRC(born 1969)1 October201531 October2016PAPLee H. IV1 November201630 April2018

Minister for Education (2018–present) Minister Took office Left office Party Cabinet Ong Ye KungMP for Sembawang GRC(born 1969)1 May201826 July2020PAPLee H. IVLawrence WongMP for Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC(born 1972)27 July202014 May2021PAPLee H. V Chan Chun SingMP for Tanjong Pagar GRC(born 1969)15 May202122 May2025PAPLee H. VWong IDesmond Lee MP for West Coast–Jurong West GRC(born 1976) 23 May2025 Incumbent PAPWong II

Ministry of Education (Singapore)

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