Six Young Educators Receive National Award for Dedication Towards Nurturing Students

1. In recognition of their unwavering dedication to teaching, six young teachers received the Outstanding Youth in Education Award (OYEA) from Second Minister for Education, Dr Maliki Osman, at the National Institute of Education (NIE) Teachers' Investiture Ceremony held on Friday, 7 July 2023. The recipients are (not in order of merit):

• Mr Gan Tze Qiang Benjamin, 33, Gan Eng Seng Primary School;
• Ms Shobana D/O Sreetharan, 29, Holy Innocents' Primary School;
• Ms Khairunnisa Binte Ismail, 30, St. Gabriel's Secondary School.
• Ms Lim Bee Leng, 30, Kent Ridge Secondary School;
• Mr Seow Tzer Yeun, 34, Edgefield Secondary School;
• Ms Sum Kar Mun, 34, CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh).

2. The OYEA is a national award that recognises young teachers for their commendable enthusiasm, energy, and for being inspiring role models for the fraternity. Since its inception in 1999, 102 outstanding young educators have received the award to date.

3. The six OYEA recipients have demonstrated a strong belief that education is about developing students holistically and instilling in them a joy for lifelong learning. The recipients are also committed to nurturing future-ready students who are resilient, empathetic to others, and who possess strong problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

4. These young teachers have worked closely with other stakeholders in achieving these educational outcomes, employing innovative pedagogical approaches, and leveraging technology to engage their students in meaningful learning experiences. Some of these experiences include designing activities and programmes for their students to make relevant connections to real-life contexts, using games and apps to assess their students' learning, and creating opportunities for their students to have a deeper understanding of self and others, as well as to impart life skills in the process.

5. The OYEA recipients were selected from 10 finalists (Annex A) by a selection panel comprising representatives from MOE, NIE, the National Youth Council, and members of MOE's COMPASS (COMmunity and PArents in Support of Schools) group. In total, there were 2,932 nominations from schools and members of the public, for 1,488 teachers from 241 schools.

6. Beyond honouring the achievements of young educators, OYEA aims to inspire youths to take up teaching as a fulfilling profession. The OYEA recipients will each receive a trophy and a certificate. They will also be fully sponsored to attend an overseas professional development programme and will share their professional learning with the education fraternity. OYEA finalists will receive a professional development grant of $1,000 to attend either overseas or local conferences, seminars, or courses.