Speech by Minister Chan Chun Sing at Launch of Teach Singapore and Appreciation Event for Ho Bee Land on 16 April 2022 at University Cultural Centre, NUS

Dr Chua Thian Poh
Professor Tan Eng Chye
Ladies and gentlemen

A very good morning to all of you, and thank you for taking your time from the long weekend to be with us for this important occasion.

1. It is my pleasure to join all of you today for the launch of NUS' Teach Singapore, or Teach SG, and extend our appreciation to Dr Chua and Ho Bee Land for their contributions.

2. For all of us in Government, tackling the issues of social inequality and social mobility has always been forefront on the minds of our nation's leaders, and it is an ongoing endeavour. It is always a work in progress.

1. As the Government, we can and have been rolling out policies and initiatives to uplift those from less privileged backgrounds.
2. However, having served in MSF and now in MOE, I have come to realise that these policies can have a lasting impact only if they are coupled with robust last mile delivery.
3. For instance, when setting up UPLIFT, or the Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Taskforce, we made sure that it is a collaborative effort with our community. This is because they are best placed to do the outreach to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds to reach their fullest potential.
4. As such, I am thankful for all the partners that have stepped forward to join hands and hearts with us in this effort.

3. I have always believed that in order to help those who are going through difficulties and hardships, we will need to commit the three "T"s – time, talent and treasures.

4. Amongst the three, treasures, or monetary and in-kind support are, in my opinion, perhaps the most straightforward.

1. Donations to worthwhile programmes or assistance schemes are a welcomed added resource to enable us to do many more things for our children and families in need.

5. Talent and time, on the other hand, are invaluable. We need people with the right skillsets to do justice to their blessings and effectively help those in need to address the issues that they face, particularly to protect and uplift our children from disadvantaged backgrounds. We must always endeavour to do what we can to give our children the hope and aspiration for a better life.

1. To engage children from less privileged backgrounds, we will need to connect with and inspire them.
2. It heartens me to know that Teach SG equips the undergraduate volunteers with the skills to be effective mentors.
3. But in education, we know that the real learning takes place when you put it to practice and reflect on the experience. So, to all the mentors in this hall right now, I hope you will continually hone these skills in your interaction with our children so that you would grow to be even more effective mentors and make a lasting difference to their lives.

6. Time, by far, is the most precious amongst the contributions of treasures, talent and time.

1. Children with high needs may require longer term commitment and guidance to bring greater stability to their lives. Transient relationships, while beneficial, would be limited in their impact.
2. To develop these children and to nurture in them the resilience, confidence, and aspiration to broaden their worldview to take steps towards a better future, consistent effort from trusted adults is of utmost importance.
3. Through the strong bonds forged over time, mentors can make a positive impact on the lives of their younger charges.

7. I have always had this aspiration that one day, we can have every undergraduate in Singapore mentor a child from a disadvantaged family and be a positive role model to help them navigate their formative years, and even into adulthood.

1. That this mentoring journey by all our undergraduates would last for months or even years. That they would be giving back to the society and learning the importance of not leaving those who are less privileged behind.
2. That we can have many more undergraduates than we have children who need support. I think this vision is achievable, and this is why I am so thankful for this programme.
3. For the less privileged families, what they need most, perhaps much more than the donations and monetary support that we can give them, is a positive role model.
4. And for all of us who have the privilege to enjoy a university education, who are successful in life in our own ways, it is incumbent on all of us to reach out to those in need.
5. To close the last mile, it just takes each one of us to reach out and touch the lives of one family, or even one child at a time.
6. From my time in MSF and now in MOE, we all know our measure of success is not how many families we can help now. Our measure of success is how many families we need not help in the future. That every child and family that we have helped will one day be independent and standing tall, and contributing back to our society in their own ways, to uplift yet another generation.

8. So, I am very glad that NUS is taking a step in this direction with Teach SG to encourage our undergraduates to step up. I hope that other universities will also join this effort.

1. I hope that mentors, like those of you here, will make good use of this opportunity to engage our children, and that you will build bonds with and be a positive role model for them throughout their lives. That through your own journeys and effort, you will inspire them to follow in your footsteps, to perhaps go further and achieve even more.
2. So, continue to leverage on this strong relationship to support our children and walk the journey with them.

9. In MOE, we all understand that if we do not help our children resolve the obstacles that they are facing outside school and support their social emotional development, then we have no foundation on which we can build their learning. What the NUS mentors and, I hope in time to come, the rest of the undergraduate mentors will help us do is exactly this.

1. Help us to strengthen that very vital social emotional foundation for our children, especially those from less privileged families. Establish that foundation for them to build the rest of their learning upon. If we can do that, we can look forward to a Singapore where every generation will continue to do better than the last and continue to lend their shoulders to the next, to enable them to stand taller.

10. And I will conclude with what I said sometime back in Parliament, when I was asked how I would define success for NUS and NUS students. For me, it is to be expected for NUS students to achieve success in their careers, because you are part of our very best in every cohort, and you have been given the very best opportunities. But, for us to be truly successful in NUS, and as Singapore, our definition of success for our undergraduates must go beyond themselves. Success must be when our undergraduates can take care of not only themselves and their families, but when they have that innate desire to want to do more and to do good for our society, not just in this generation, but for every generation.

1. I look forward to many more cohorts of NUS students aspiring to this higher goal of defining success over and beyond what they can achieve for themselves. Teach SG is a powerful movement that we are embarking on together, and one that will plant the seeds in each and every undergraduate in NUS and beyond, to define success based on what they can do for our society, country, and our people's future.

11. Thank you NUS. Thank you Dr Chua and Ho Bee Land. Thank you to all the mentors for playing a part in our onward journey to bring about a better Singapore for generations to come.

12. Thank you very much.