Kudos to our pioneer educators!

When Singapore needed a workforce with the ability to drive industrialisation in the 60s and 70s, Mr Jumaat Masdawood was one of the pioneer educators who took up the challenge of teaching technical skills to students. To prepare himself, he attended woodwork and metalwork training sessions in the evenings, after a full day of teaching in school.

“As demands change, we need to refocus our education system. We must answer the call to change,” said Mr Jumaat, now 68.

To honour pioneer educators like Mr Jumaat, the Ministry of Education organised a tribute dinner on 31 July 2014. Many walked down memory lane and recalled the good ol’ days. Times were tough and rough back then, and many had to summon grit and a “can-do” attitude from within.

The dinner was a “Back to School” experience for our pioneer educators. Kicking off with “assembly”, a “Principal’s address” was given by Minister Heng Swee Keat, followed by a “history lesson” on their contributions to Singapore’s journey in education.

The dinner was also a time for recognising the foundation laid by our pioneers.

Ms Nandavathy Bandara, who is almost 80 now, was one of the early advocates of removing the ranking system. As the principal of Haig Girls’ School in her days, Ms Bandara recognised the negative pressure on students when they failed to meet expectations because of a mark or two. By removing class rankings and mixing students of varying academic ability, Ms Bandara noticed that students became less selfish, and were more helpful towards one another.

During “recess time”, many moved around in search of ex-colleagues, with excited chatter heard across the ballroom as many could not hide their joy and tears in the waves of nostalgia.

A special moment that touched the hearts of everyone was the presentation of specially crafted letters from ex-colleagues and bosses. Some faces lit up with huge smiles, while others were teary-eyed.

“I’m deeply moved,” said Mrs Hardip Singh after reading her letter, “I loved my work. No regrets. I enjoyed going to work every day.”

Mrs Hardip started teaching when she was just 16 years old. Recruited after completing her ‘O’ level examinations, Mrs Hardip dedicated her whole life to education.

Ending on a high note, as the school bell rang to signal “class dismissal”, everyone stood to sing the National Anthem with much pride and gusto. The passion continues to burn strong in the hearts of our pioneers!

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MOE’s Pioneer Tribute Dinner kicks off a series of activities under the Educators@SG50 banner to celebrate and acknowledge the contributions of our pioneers, seniors and current educators.