SECOND TEACHER TRAINING INSTITUTION

SECOND TEACHER TRAINING INSTITUTION:

(Setting up): 21.

Mr Gautam Banerjee asked the Minister for Education given that the current and projected shortage of trained teachers is one of the reasons why international schools operating in Singapore are not able to expand to meet rising applications, whether the Ministry will consider setting up a second teacher training institution which will produce teachers with internationally recognised teaching qualifications.

Mr Gan Kim Yong (for the Minister for Education): Mr Speaker, MOE engages the international schools on education and professional matters from time to time. Based on their feedback, the international schools have been able to recruit international teachers with the requisite qualifications to meet their needs. The feedback from some of them is that they generally have a good stream of applications for their teaching positions and they do not foresee a shortage of teachers in the next few years.

There is therefore no immediate need for the Government to set up a second teacher training institute. However, if the Member is aware of any particular international school having specific difficulties in teacher recruitment, he can ask the school to approach my Ministry or the Ministry of Trade and Industry and we will explore ways to help them.