INDONESIA AND SINGAPORE ESTABLISH STRONGER LINKS IN EDUCATION

Home > Media Centre > Press Releases

24 June 2005

INDONESIA AND SINGAPORE ESTABLISH STRONGER LINKS IN EDUCATION

1 Indonesia and Singapore have forged stronger links in education by signing a first government-to-government Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on education cooperation between the two countries. Covering school to university level collaborations, the MOU included school twinning programmes, teacher training and university linkages.

2 Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education, and Prof Dr Bambang Sudibyo, Indonesian Minister for National Education, signed the MOU during Minister Bambang Sudibyo’s visit to Singapore on 24 June 2005. The proposals leading to the MOU first surfaced during discussions between the two Ministers in Indonesia in February 2005.

3 The MOU covers school to university level collaborations. At the school level, there will be twinning of 15 primary and secondary schools under the school twinning programme. The partner schools will conduct joint activities such as camps, projects and exchange of visits. In addition, students from both countries will engage in friendly sports competitions and adventure camps. An Indonesian school, SMAN 1 Padang, will perform at the Singapore Youth Festival for the first time this year.

4 The MOU also covers teacher training, including training for Indonesian teachers at the International Leaders in Education Programme and Train-the-Trainers Programme in English language.

5 At the university level, there will be closer linkages between National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University with top universities in Indonesia. NUS and NTU will also offer up to 10 research scholarships each to Indonesian academics to pursue doctorate degrees in various disciplines.

6 A Joint Working Group, to be co-chaired by Ministry of National Education, Indonesia and Ministry of Education, Singapore, will be set up to review and monitor the progress of the collaborations under the MOU. The Joint Working Group will meet at least once a year.