3 applicants for every job

Recruitment of Teachers
Dr Ng gives update on efforts and schemes to retain, attract teachers

Teo Xuanwei
xuanwei@mediacorp.com.sg

THE Ministry of Education (MOE) has received close to 10,000 applications in the first four months of this year alone for the 3,000 teaching positions available.

So far, some 1,500 have already been recruited, said Education Minister Ng Eng Hen at his ministry’s promotion ceremony yesterday, which saw over 7,000 MOE officers rise up the ranks.

The MOE has also hired some 380 allied educators and is on track to hit its target of 680 this year, Dr Ng noted. Allied educators support teachers in areas like counselling and teaching.

Since it announced in December plans to add 7,500 employees to it payroll this year, the MOE has been stepping up its recruitment efforts, including participating in job fairs and holding its own recruitment drives.

It is among a host of government agencies that aims to increase hiring this year in a bid to give the slowing economy a fillip.

Giving an update on the various measures to attract and retain teachers, Dr Ng said about 1,000 teachers are using new schemes like the Professional Development Packages, Masters and Doctoral Study Leave, and Teachers’ Work Attachment to pursue higher education.

To partially ease the load on the regular teaching force, MOE has re-employed more than 1,500 retired teachers as adjunct teachers to tap on their “vast experience and knowledge”.

Schools have also introduced flexible working arrangements and enhanced maternity and childcare leave schemes to help teachers achieve work-life balance, said Dr Ng.

For instance, the number of part-time teachers rose from 300 in 2007 to 440 last year, he added.

Even as more than three-quarters of the 29,300 teachers here are graduates, Dr Ng urged teachers to be “self-directed learners and take ownership of their professional growth” to develop a culture of professional excellence in the teaching force.


From TODAY, News – Friday, 10-April-2009