INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION (REPEAL) BILL

Order for Second Reading read. 1.50 pm

The Minister for Education (Mr Lee Yock Suan): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The purpose of this Bill is to repeal the Institute of Education (IE) Act (Chapter 140 of the 1985 Revised Edition) as the IE is defunct and its functions have been taken over by the National Institute of Education (NIE), an institution established under the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Act.

The IE Act was passed in 1970 to provide for the establishment of the Institute of Education as a teacher training institute, replacing the former Teacher Training College. The IE offered two pre-service programmes, namely, the Certificate-in-Education for non-graduate trainees and the Diploma-in-Education for graduate trainees. It also conducted in-service training for teachers. In 1984, the College of Physical Education (CPE) was set up as an autonomous college of IE to train specialist Physical Education teachers.

In 1989, following a review of higher education and teacher education in Singapore, the Government decided to merge the IE and the CPE to form the National Institute of Education or the NIE, an institute under the Nanyang Technological University. This was a milestone in the development and upgrading of teacher training in Singapore.

The linkage of NIE to NTU provides a broader base of studies within NTU. The Certificate-in-Education programme was upgraded to the Diploma-in-Education and the former Diploma-in-Education was upgraded to the Postgraduate Diploma-in-Education. In addition, NIE introduced two new degree programmes, namely, the Bachelor degree in Arts with Diploma-in-Education and the Bachelor degree in Science with Diploma-in-Education.

On 1st July 1991, NIE took over all the functions, as well as assets and liabilities of IE. The NTU Act and its statutes provide the legislative framework for the regulation and management of NIE. The IE Act was, however, not repealed in 1991 as several outstanding matters relating to staff appointments and finance needed time to be resolved. As these matters have been resolved, the IE Act can now be repealed.

Section 2 of the Bill seeks to repeal the IE Act. Section 3 provides that all assets, rights, interest, privileges, liabilities and obligations of the IE will be transferred to NTU. This is to deal with contingent claims, if any, for or against the IE.

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. - [Mr Lee Yock Suan.] Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.