NGEE ANN TECHNICAL COLLEGE (AMENDMENT NO. 2) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

6.15 p.m.

The Minister of State for Education (Dr Lee Chiaw Meng): Mr Govindasamy, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Ngee Ann Technical College was established in 1963 by the Ngee Ann Kongsi and was registered under the Education Ordinance as a private institution financed and administered by the Ngee Ann Kongsi. Since then, three teams of experts have been invited to make detailed studies on the functions and development of the College. All of them recommended drastic changes.

In 1967, following the acceptance by the Ngee Ann Kongsi of the recommendations contained in the Thong Saw Pak Report, Ngee Ann- College was reconstituted by statute (Number 28 of 1967) with its management vested in a Council, and the College was to concentrate on technical and commercial courses and phasing out the existing academic courses. The College officially became known as Ngee Ann Technical College following the passing of the Ngee Ann Amendment Act in 1970.

The Government recently negotiated a loan of $9 million with the Asian Development Bank for the development of the College.

The five-year expansion programme will provide educational facilities to serve the student population of about 3,000 compared with the present enrolment of 900.

If the rate of expansion in our economic development is sustained at the present level, there will be greater demand for skilled personnel as well as trained executives. It is therefore reasonable to assume that there will be continuous expansion of the College after the project period.

Difficulties were encountered in the negotiations with the Asian Development Bank for the loan on account of the peculiar position of the College in that it did not own the land on which development was to have taken place. The granting of the loan is conditional upon the alienation of the land at Clementi Road to the College within a period of 90 days from the date of the signing of the agreement.

Under the provisions of section 17 (b) of the Ngee Ann Technical College Act, the income and property of the College shall, inter alia, include such immovable property as the Ngee Ann Kongsi may, subject to the provisions of section 20 of the Ngee Ann Kongsi (Incorporation) Ordinance, alienate or donate to the College. Section 20 provides that the Ngee Ann Kongsi will have to apply for leave of the Supreme Court to alienate or donate land to the College and that no application for such leave shall be made without a resolution being first passed at a general meeting of the members held for this purpose. When the Ngee Ann Kongsi accepted the Thong Saw Pak Report which, inter alia, recommended that the properties at Clementi Road be endowed to the College, the Committee of Management of Ngee Ann Kongsi in the same year passed a resolution to rent out the property at Clementi Road to the College at a nominal sum of one dollar per annum and to donate to the College 50 per cent of its net income or $100,000 annually whichever is more. A few days ago the Ngee Ann Kongsi at an extraordinary general meeting passed a resolution to donate approximately 40 acres of land together with the property thereon to the College for development. It will now take some time for the legal process to be completed.

It is envisaged that further adjustment of the land may be necessary for future expansion plans of the College. To avoid this tedious and time-consuming process of alienation of land to Ngee Ann Technical College which was originally established by the Ngee Ann Kongsi themselves, it is necessary to amend section 17 of the Ngee Ann Technical College Act as proposed in the present Bill. This will enable the Ngee Ann Kongsi to alienate or donate immovable property to the College by the Management Committee of the Kongsi notwithstanding the procedures laid down in section 20 of the Ngee Ann Kongsi (Incorporation) Ordinance. The future development of the College will then not be unnecessarily hampered as has happened.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

6.25 p.m.

Mr Hwang Soo Jin (Jalan Kayu): Mr Govindasamy, Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to raise a question. I believe Ngee Ann Technical College is still without a permanent principal. En view of all the extensive projects coming up, surely it is important to see that the College finds itself a Principal instead of having the Minister of State for Education continuing to act as Principal of Ngee Ann Technical College. Can I have some clarification, please?

Dr Lee Chiaw Meng: Mr Govindasamy, Sir, first of all, a point of clarification. The Minister of State for Education does not act as the Principal of Ngee Ann Technical College. He is only the Chairman of the Executive Committee. In the absence of the Principal, he carries out his duties.

Sir, the College has advertised, not less than four times, both locally and internationally, for a suitable candidate to head the College but without much success. I am, however, pleased to report that certain headway has been made in getting the services of an expert, through the loan agreement, to serve during the project period as Principal of the College.

Mr Hwang Soo Jin: May I ask the Minister of State what accounts for the lack of success in getting a Principal? Is it because the salary is low or because we have not cast the net wide enough?

Dr Lee Chiaw Meng: The net has been cast as wide as possible. The post of Principal of the College has been advertised in all the international journals and in the newspapers of many leading cities as well as locally. The remuneration of the Principal must be comparable to that of the other institutes of higher learning. It cannot be artificially raised just to attract the right person. This would he a very shortsighted policy.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time.

Resolved,

"That the Bill be committed to a Select Committee consisting of Mr Speaker as Chairman and seven other Members to be nominated by the Committee of Selection." -[Dr Lee Chiaw Meng].