Speech by Mr Mah Bow Tan, Minister for National Development at the Scholarships Presentation Ceremony of SJI and SJI International on Saturday 18 August 07 at 10am at SJI Performing Arts Centre Malcolm Road


23 August 2007

 Brother Michael Broughton and all La Salle Brothers present here,
Chairmen, Board members, Principals and staff of SJI and SJI International

Parents

Scholarship recipients
Fellow Josephians
Ladies and gentlemen

Good morning. I am very happy to be here today to present letters of award to a total of 69 SJI and SJI International scholarship recipients. My heartiest congratulations to these students and their proud parents.

When Bro Michael invited me to officiate at this ceremony, I said yes immediately. Being my alma mater, SJI always has a special place in my heart. Till today, I still tell my friends with pride that I am a Josephian. SJI is where I spent my formation years, where dedicated teachers touched me and inspired me to learn and develop myself to the fullest; and where my friends and I developed deep friendships by working and helping each other.

I share and support the mission of the De La Salle Brothers, who founded SJI 155 years ago and are still overseeing SJI, SJI International and other Lasallian schools in Singapore today. The Brothers are firm believers of holistic education that is underpinned by faith, values and principles.

In this ever more competitive world, it is easy to think that success in life is solely measured by material success. Hence it is not a surprise that quite a few crooks are among some of the smartest people around us. I feel that the definition of success should be broader. In this regard, the Brothers’ goal of developing the young under their charge into “persons of integrity and persons for others” is apt. Specifically, success in life should be a virtuous life, underpinned by a solid core of values and morals, lived with integrity, helping our fellow men, nurturing our families, and contributing to society as useful citizens. And as it is during our formative years that values are imbibed and nurtured, it is important for schools to cultivate its students into well balanced adults with the right perspectives and values.

SJI prepares its students beyond just excelling in exams. It teaches its students to learn how to learn and how to live. While academic excellence is important, one should not just relentlessly pursue excellence in studies to the exclusion of everything else. One should pursue excellence because of passion for the subject and an abiding desire to be the best that one can be. Beyond just excellent grades, students should develop into leaders and team players – in this close-knit world of ours, there are very few endeavours that require only solo effort. Both SJI and SJI International are well placed to prepare students for the real world as they also offer a diverse environment, one with a healthy mix of students of very high and average abilities, both local and foreign. It is a rich and nurturing environment for our young to learn to work with people with different backgrounds, perspectives, interests, passions, cultures, beliefs and values.

A value-centric education that prepares our young people for life is even more important in today’s world of rapid change and social upheaval. Our young people will need the self-confidence and a strong moral compass to journey through the rough seas of our globalizing world. Hence I was very pleased to read in SJI’s recently released letter to the Josephian community that it will remain steadfast to its founding mission even as it responds to the challenges of the changing educational landscape in Singapore.

I also applaud this initiative to award scholarships to promising students for them to study in SJI and SJI International. For this first year, a total of 69 students have been selected through a stringent process and amidst stiff competition. 32 are Primary 6 students who will pursue their secondary education in SJI next year. Another 37 students, which comprise 24 Sec 4 Singapore students and 13 from Vietnam, Indonesia and India, will be admitted into SJI International for the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma programme, the authorization for which should soon be confirmed. The pioneer SJI International scholars will carry the substantial responsibility for establishing the culture and traditions of this new school and will surely experience tremendous excitement, camaraderie and personal growth.

Bro Michael tells me that the scholarship recipients have all distinguished themselves in terms of consistently high academic performance. They are also very active in non-academic activities, are of good character and positive attitude, and have shown leadership potential. They come from different socioeconomic backgrounds and schools and they possess different strengths and talents. I have no doubt that as a group they will enhance the diverse learning environment in both SJI and SJI International, making it richer and more vibrant.

For the scholarship recipients, I hope you will make full use of the opportunity offered by SJI to develop yourself to the fullest. My own life was changed because of my education in SJI and the opportunity afforded by the State scholarship I won to attend university in Australia. The scholarships you are receiving have been made possible through the generosity of many donors, including the Estate of the late Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat and Mr Anthoni Salim, both of whom were SJI students some years ago, as well as many other successful old boys, as well as corporations such as Keppel and KMP Group. You can return their generosity and kindness by doing your best, both in and outside the classroom, and do your parents and the school proud. Seize the opportunity to learn and develop, and make the best of your talents, so that one day, you too can make a difference to society.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful teachers of SJI and SJI International, both past and present. It is their dedication and commitment that has made the learning environment so caring and nurturing, and make SJI and SJI International, a different kind of school for our young.

On behalf of the Josephian community, congratulations to the scholarship recipients once again and I look forward to them joining SJI and SJI International.

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