Speech by Mr Wee Heng Tin, DGE, on 1 Oct 97
Colleagues,
I am pleased to see all of you at this launch of the Community Involvement Programme. In particular, I would like to thank our primary school colleagues for sacrificing their holiday in order to be with us. Before I go on to talk about the features of this programme and what we hope to achieve through it, I would like to point out that community service is not a new or alien concept for our schools . Most schools have clubs such as the Community Service Club, the Leo Club or the Interact Club, all of which are actively involved in providing service to the community. In addition, community service is performed by students through their involvement in other ECA such as the uniformed groups.
As you can see, our students already provide service to their community through a wide variety of activities. However, much of this is carried out on a rotational basis involving a different group of students each time and, except in rare cases, students do not usually have the opportunity to provide this service on a regular basis over a sustained period of time.
Although the National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) Scheme and the Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) provide avenues for more sustained involvement in community service, they do not reach all our students. It is thus important for us to create more opportunities for each of our students to play an active part in the life of the nation.
As we prepare our students for the 21st century, our schools must go beyond just equipping them with knowledge and skills. We need to nurture them into good citizens, conscious of their responsibilities to family, society and country. Community Involvement is an important and integral part of the total educational package which each child in school will receive.
The Community Involvement Programme we are launching today focuses on citizenship building and provides a platform for our students to play their part in nation-building. Active involvement in the life of the community helps them to develop a strong social conscience and a sense of belonging and commitment to the community in which they live, to society at large and to the country which nurtures them, and which they call home.
Community Involvement forms an important part of citizenship education. It goes beyond those good deeds that we perform which are motivated by an emotional response to the needs of those less fortunate than ourselves; it is a call to every responsible citizen to play his or her part in the life of the community. Such participation is not a "one-off" encounter but a long-term involvement and commitment to service intended to build social cohesion and civic responsibility among our students.
From January 1998, every pupil from primary school to junior college will be involved in a minimum of 6 hours of service each year under this programme. On a long term basis, a pupil with 10 years of schooling would have completed at least 60 hours of community service under this programme by the time he leaves school. At the primary school level, the programme could be conducted mainly within the school community through activities such as peer group tutoring, taking care of the eco-garden, maintaining the school environment or making handicrafts to raise funds for the needy. At the secondary level , the programme will be extended to the wider community where students may perform duties in public libraries as well as welfare homes, teach computer skills to senior citizens, participate as tutors in educational programmes run by the various self-help groups, and enhance the environment through adopting a beach or a park which they will maintain and beautify.
For the JC/CI students the scope of activities is even wider. The activities could include taking on leadership roles in youth groups and Residents’ Committees, planning and celebrating important events in collaboration with Citizens Consultative Committees (CCCs), Community Club Management Committees (CCMCs) and Town Councils, and playing leadership roles in running camps for primary and secondary school students.
Our students, the future citizens of Singapore, need to cultivate the habit of serving the community from the very start. It is important to emphasise that every one has a part to play in the community. For instance, when a school adopts a park, its students will be actively engaged in maintaining it and beautifying it. They will draw up rosters to sweep the park, clear it of litter, weed the flower beds, water the plants and plan new floral displays for the enjoyment of the residents. Through these activities, they will develop a sense of responsibility, learn what it means to be committed to an undertaking and experience the satisfaction which comes from doing a job well.
Their parents and other adults in the neighbourhood will also begin to look at the park in a new light. They will take greater pride in its floral displays, help keep it clean and litter-free and enjoy and appreciate it all the more because it is maintained by the sons and daughters of the community. Such positive attitudes lead to the development of a community spirit which fosters a greater sense of ownership of public amenities and a greater desire to look after them.
The Ministry will work with the various external organisations to implement the Community Involvement Programme. A booklet giving general guidelines on the programme has been prepared for our schools. Schools will also be provided with a list of establishments with which they can collaborate in offering service to the community. We will work closely with the these organisations to nurture in each student the spirit of service so essential to the development of a caring member of the community and a concerned citizen of our country.