Opening Address by Ms. Gan Siow Huang, Minister of State for Education and Manpower, at the CDAC’s Tutors and School Partners Appreciation Dinner
GRASSROOTS CLUB
Good evening, friends of CDAC.
First of all, a very Happy Teachers' Day to all of you.
It is my honour to be among all of you, the tutors of CDAC, who dedicated your time and effort to teach our students. Your commitment to building relationships and fostering the joy of learning is very commendable.
You not only build confidence and motivate the students, but you also played a key role in helping them develop a growth mindset. By leveraging various methods such as play and educational technology, you create a supportive environment to facilitate revision and learning.
I would also like to express my thanks to our Centre Supervisors, Assistant Centre Supervisors and Caretakers, who have consistently ensured the Tuition Programme runs smoothly every week.
Importance of school partnerships with community partners
MOE and schools have been working hard to support the needs of our students, especially those who may come from more challenging backgrounds. Today, we also have school leaders and representatives with us here. We would like to give a special shout-out to all the schools for their strong partnership.
The Collaborative Tuition Programme, or otherwise known as C.T.P., is one such strong partnership we have between schools and CDAC. We have here with us today representatives from Yishun Secondary School, Rivervale Primary School, and Admiralty Primary School. These schools are CDAC’s long-time C.T.P. partners for many years.
These schools support the programme by offering venues within the school compounds for the tuition to take place, supported by school personnel who are in-charge of overseeing the tuition sessions at these venues. Thank you to all the schools and the contributions made to this cause.
I would also like to thank the new C.T.P. partners who have joined the programme recently, and they are Gongshang Primary School and Manjusri Secondary School. School partnerships have been growing over the years. This year, new forms of such school partnerships took shape to enhance the C.T.P.. A new collaboration with Nanyang Girls' High School and Hwa Chong Institution allowed students in these 2 schools to work with CDAC as part of their character development programme.
As part of their Value-In-Action (VIA) programme, the students work directly with CDAC to plan activities for CDAC’s tutees with the aim to educate the tutees through play. The students conducted experiments and engaged in activities for the Tuition Programme. The tutees enjoyed having an older sibling figure in the class to teach them through play and fun activities. Such collaboration is meaningful as it allows our students to be creative and execute their plans to contribute to the community, while the younger tutees benefit from being able to learn in a fun and innovative environment.
Beyond the academic support
Beyond supporting the students academically, CDAC aims to move towards fostering relationships and focusing on social-emotional learning (SEL). An example of this is the GEM (Go the Extra Mile) Mentoring Programme. Schools like Dazhong Primary School and Ang Mo Kio Primary School have been strong partners of CDAC. Providing long-term support for children from their primary to post-secondary years, the GEM mentoring programme incorporates activities for CDAC staff to befriend these children. With rapport established, mentors leverage mentoring sessions to help them develop confidence, and discover their strengths and interests. I am heartened to hear that these children have benefited from their participation in the GEM mentoring programme and that partner schools, have also noted positive changes in their students’ behaviours through such a holistic approach.
CDAC has also developed a Student and Parent Engagement Team, which consists of educational therapists, counsellors, and educators, that focuses on the social-emotional needs of our tutees. This team will work very closely with the CDAC tutors and school partners to identify students who require additional support and pull them out to form smaller groups. CDAC, with the support of MOE and the schools, is committed to support our students’ education journeys. The volunteers, corporate partners, and community partners are all instrumental in ensuring that our students are supported no matter their backgrounds. At the end of the day, it is not simply about individual programmes - there is so much more that can be done as part of this partnership and shared vision of uplifting our students.
Thank you all for staying true to your mission of supporting the students in need and contributing to the learning and growth journeys of Singapore’s next generation.