MOE to hire 7,500 next year

MORE than 7,000 teachers and support staff will be hired next year despite the slowing economy.

The Ministry of Education (MOE), which will aim to add 7,500 employees to its payroll next year, also plans to give the economy a fillip by speeding up its scheme to equip every school with an indoor sports hall by 2014 and to look into building centralised facilities for arts, music and sporting activities.

In addition, it will go ahead with plans to build six schools, which had been put on hold earlier because of spiralling construction costs.

These announcements, made by Education Minister Ng Eng Hen at the appointment ceremony for school principals yesterday, make the MOE the latest government department to launch a major recruitment drive or projects to stir the economy.

Earlier this month, the Home Affairs Ministry said it would hire about 1,000 people and, last month, the National Development Ministry said it would push ahead with key building projects.

Dr Ng said: 'In these difficult times, where we can afford it, what we spend may actually achieve more. This is the stance MOE will adopt in the coming year... across all levels - in schools, ITEs, polytechnics and the universities.'

Of the 7,500 new hires next year, 3,500 teachers and teaching support staff will be placed in the schools, up from the 2,200 teachers now being recruited every year; another 4,000 posts will open up in tertiary institutions and kindergartens.

The MOE had planned to have 2,800 teaching support staff - such as counsellors and special- needs officers - in schools by 2015, up from 600 now, but that time frame has been advanced.

The ministry has been recruiting teachers aggressively of late so class sizes can be smaller, and also because more schools will be going single-session.

Dr Ng said that besides recruiting fresh graduates, the MOE is hoping that retrenched professionals or those looking for a stabler career might switch to teaching.

This group has already registered its interest. A recent MOE recruitment drive at Raffles Place drew 1,200 applications in four days.

To ease mid-career applicants into jobs in kindergartens, for example, the MOE plans to sponsor their training fees and accelerate their training programmes.

Mid-career entrants can also become vice-principals of administration and education policy analysts in schools or the MOE's headquarters.

Although the recession is a good time to make investments, the ministry should trim unnecessary spending and help needy students, Dr Ng said.

To make savings, the MOE has been running its building projects in batches and timing schools' upgrading projects with the building of their sports halls.

The MOE will also be more flexible in giving aid to students whose families may have hit a temporary rough patch, such as when their parents are laid off.

Dr Ng said the economic crisis had brought 'unique opportunities' for the MOE and its institutes of learning to take advantage of, 'which will put us in an even better position when the economy recovers'.

Headhunter Foo Chuan Yong, 40, who has seen business in his company shrink by half this year, is thinking of becoming a teacher for the job stability.

He said: 'I've also always been interested in shaping the minds of young people. However, taking a pay cut will be a point I will consider seriously.'