NGEE ANN TECHNICAL COLLEGE (AMENDMENT) BILL

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Order for Second Reading read.

The Minister of State of Education (Dr Tay Eng Soon): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Ngee Ann Technical College was originally known as Ngee Ann College. Ngee Ann College was established in 1963 by the Ngee Ann Kongsi and functioned as a private College which offered 4-year degree courses in arts, science and commerce. In 1966 the role of the College in the Singapore educational system was reviewed. The main recommendation was that the College should become a public institution of higher learning offering diploma courses in engineering and commerce similar to that of the Singapore Polytechnic.

This recommendation was accepted and the first important change was implemented in early 1967 when the College stopped enroling new students for the degree courses as a first step in the phasing-out programme. This programme was completed at the end of 1969 when the last batch of degree-course students left the College on graduation. In September, 1967, with the passage in Parliament of the Ngee Ann College Act, the status of the College was changed from a private to a public educational institution. Subsequently in August, 1968, this Act was amended to become the Ngee Ann Technical College Act and the College formally assumed its present name, the Ngee Ann Technical College (NATC). Since then, it has functioned as a polytechnic offering diploma-level courses.

The Ngee Ann Technical College Act spells out the objects and functions of the College and the composition, functions and powers of the Council which is the governing body of the College. In acknowledgement of the role of the Ngee Ann Kongsi, the Act provides for the three representatives of the Kongsi to serve in the Council. The Kongsi continues to provide financial assistance to the College, its annual contribution being 75% of its net annual revenue. Concurrently with these changes, NATC was moved from its borrowed premises in the Ngee Ann Kongsi buildings in Tank Road in 1968 to its present campus in Clementi Road.

As a polytechnic, the College had a humble beginning. In 1968, it started with 116 students in its only course, Mechanical Engineering. But its growth has been impressive. By 1981, the student enrolment reached 3,200 in five departments, namely, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Ship-building & Repair Technology, Building and Business Studies. This was made possible by the continuous development which, with Government support, the College has carried out over the years. As early as in 1971, the College embarked on its first 5-year expansion programme at a total cost of more than $14 million, including a US$3 million loan from the Asian Development Bank. This project provided for the building of new laboratories, workshops, offices and lecture theatres. Towards the end of the project period, the College carried out two other development projects to establish the Department of Shipbuilding & Repair Technology in April 1975 and the Department of Building in November 1975.

Throughout the years, the College has worked closely with the Education Ministry, other government and public bodies and the private sector towards providing full-time training for school leavers to meet the increasing demand for suitably trained manpower. The full-time programme includes 3-year courses for 'O' level holders and 2-year courses for those with 'A' level qualifications, the latter being introduced only in 1980.

With the recent greater emphasis on the need for continuing education among working people, the College has extended its role to provide a Continuing Education Programme. The programme, which was started in 1978 on a regular basis has introduced a variety of part-time evening diploma courses.

The latest development is the College's second 5-year (1981 - 85) Expansion Project which, when completed, will provide the College with facilities to cater for a full-time enrolment of 8,000 students. Physical facilities will be increased and enhanced; additional support and recreational facilities including a sports complex will be built. The expanded campus will cover over 26 hectares. There are also plans to build residential accommodation for foreign staff and students. The total cost of this Project as proposed will be around $200 million. The existing courses of study are subjected to continuous review and modification in accordance with the changing needs of industry and commerce. In this respect, it has been decided that the practical content of the technical courses should be increased. New courses of study relevant to the needs of the country will also be introduced. The first amongst these will be the Diploma in Computer Studies course which will train students to become programmers and systems analysts at the junior level.

Parallel to the expansion in enrolment is the need for more and better qualified teaching staff. A staff development scheme is being implemented under which serving staff are given opportunities to obtain locally as well as overseas relevant experience and qualifications. Major recruitment exercises are being carried out, both locally and overseas, to attract suitably qualified professionals to join the College. The College will continue with recruitment vigorously so that it will have the 500 teaching staff required to cater for the 8,000 students in 1985. This will be a major task.

How do the graduates of the College perform? Feedback on their performance and the usefulness of their training have been obtained through many surveys. These show that they are easily absorbed in the public and private sectors. Regular graduate employment surveys show that more than 90% of the job seekers had found their first job within the first three months after graduation. A survey on NATC graduates of 1971 to 1979 showed that not only the occupational experience of NATC technical graduates is in many ways similar to that of their Singapore Polytechnic counterparts, they are just as strongly in demand. Like Singapore Polytechnic graduates, most NATC technical graduates are engaged directly in technical or engineering work and almost all hold jobs for which their College training is relevant.

The College has the same aims and objectives as the Singapore Polytechnic; its courses are comparable and its graduates are accepted as equals to those of Singapore Polytechnic. NATC has come of age. At the threshold of its next phase of expansion, it is timely to rename it as the Ngee Ann Polytechnic, or NP for short.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.- [Dr Tay Eng Soon].

Bill considered in Committee. 5.00 p.m.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Clause 1 -

The Chairman: The citation year will be changed from "1981" to "1982".

Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 2 to 5 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.