Woe to Teachers eh...no more long holidays...no more paid leave...but i honestly tink they might not make it in the working world leh...coz everyday used to shouting at students and the like...hahahahaha


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FROM December, teachers will be able to go for work attachments with the business sector and community organisations, or teach in schools abroad.

This is part of the Education Ministry's plan for them to gain experience outside the classroom so that they return with skills to share, said Acting Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

Teachers who have a chance to gain fresh perspectives will also create a spirit of innovation and enterprise in schools, said Mr Tharman, who spoke to reporters during the ministry's work-plan seminar at Ngee Ann Polytechnic yesterday.

He explained: 'These outside encounters will allow them to... transmit lessons to their students that cannot be readily conveyed through books.'

Mr Andrew Tan, 31, who heads Jurong Junior College's research and development department, was one of several teachers who told The Straits Times how invaluable they found such experiences.

Two years ago, he spent eight weeks with a biotechnology company in the United States. 'It made me more sensitive to what is required in the workforce,' he said.

For one thing, he realised he could not focus on teaching content alone because it would be obsolete by the time his students joined the workforce. 'Instead, I started teaching them how to conduct independent research so that they can learn on their own, even after they have graduated,' he said.

His colleague, corporate services head Victor Owyong, 33, spent two days with the Jurong Central and Boon Lay citizens' consultative committees in the last two weeks.

He said: 'I watched how they function and learnt the importance of networking because grassroots organisations cannot function alone.

'It's useful because part of my job is to find opportunities for the JC to collaborate with other organisations and to market the JC to secondary schools.'

A professional development leave scheme lets teachers earn a month of half-pay leave for every year they serve.

They can also take up to a year of unpaid leave after three years' service.

Those who go on attachment during the school holidays can get up to four weeks off on full pay.

They can decide how long they want to be away, up to a maximum of one year.

Citibank, Creative Technology, IBM, Shell, PSA Corp, ornamental fish company Qian Hu and ST Engineering have already said they are interested in offering such attachments.

**Taken of ST-online**