Speaking to some 7000 educators at the Singapore Expo on Thursday, Aug 31, he addressed issues from giving more support to children with special needs to preventing students from dropping out.

Prime Minister Lee said as Singapore develops, education is one of the country's top priorities.

He cited three reasons for this.

One is that it is the most precious gift for our children.

Two, it is a critical investment in Singapore's future, and finally it is an effective strategy for Singapore to survive and thrive in this changing world.

And for the country to move forward, Mr Lee said the government will lift the standards for the whole education system across the board and help every child with different abilities and aptitude.

The Prime Minister added that the schools will also help the students strengthen their emotional connections with Singapore and develop a sense of rootedness.

Young Singaporeans will be the future of this country so the government is determined to give every child a top-quality education and develop every student's potential to the fullest.

To do this, Prime Minister Lee said schools will have different expertise and specialisation like the Sports School to cater to various needs.

The Education Ministry will also aim to get 100 of the schools here, including those in the neighbourhood, to develop strong niche programmes like in music and arts.

PM Lee said: "Our income distributions are stretching out. The higher income doing well, the lower income having more of a struggle. It's a problem around the world but it's a problem for us we must solve through education. How? By ensuring that all the students get a good system, get a good education, get their best chance to have the skills and end up on the upside of the income divide, end up able to look after themselves, able to do better than their parents.

"The long term solution is education. Ensure all children receive a first class education and give them the best possible start in life. Help children from poor families to move up and do better than their parents."

PM Lee also wants to reduce the number of students dropping out of school.

Compared to other countries, Singapore has a low rate but it is not good enough.

Now, about 3 percent of students do not complete their secondary education.

The aim is to halve this to 1.5 percent by 2011 and MOE's Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Masagos Zulkifli, will head a committee to study this.

Schools are also not just a place for education but for building characters and developing future leaders.

Mr Lee said top schools like those in the US and UK have already nurtured many capable students and Singapore schools can do likewise.

PM Lee said: "We should consider what more we can learn from the experience of the top overseas schools. How we can learn from them in order to develop our future leaders better. We don't want an elite system. But we want an open, inclusive, non-elitist approach, all students can come in, who have that talent and that ability, then we can develop not just character and leadership skills but also a sense of mission, a sense of readiness to serve."

Mr Lee said this will help develop committed and able leaders with a shared goal to take care of Singapore.

To achieve this, he recognised the need for good quality teachers, promising government support and backing.

Mr Lee added the government will also provide teachers with resources and better career advancement.

The Prime Minister said MOE will help the teachers learn and develop professionally throughout their careers.

This will be done, for example, via training courses.

The aim is to keep teaching as an attractive career.

MOE will give details of its plans to do this in a few days.

Mr Lee added that teachers should also work closely with parents in nurturing the young.

Parents today take a closer interest in the education of their children and have strong views about it.

So Mr Lee said it is good to get parents' help and build up a partnership with them to reinforce the good work of the schools.

- CNA/ch
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