International Education Roundtable at Singapore

Updated on: Monday, June 29, 2009

An International Education Roundtable (IER), to be held in Singapore from July 6 to 8, will bring together education ministers and senior government officials from Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and the US for an open dialogue. India was invited to the IER but was unable to attend.

'With greater attention being paid to the results of international benchmarking tests and reports like the 2007 McKinsey Report, education reform has moved from the domestic agenda to international platforms. The IER, therefore, presents a good opportunity for education ministers and officials to come together for discussion on a topic that is high on everyone's agenda,' says Jennifer Chan, director, corporate communications, ministry of education, Singapore. Conceived in 2008, the IER is a joint project by Singapore's ministry of education and McKinsey and Company.

The roundtable will be co-chaired by Sir Michael Barber, partner at McKinsey & Company, together with Singapore's minister for education and second minister for defence, Ng Eng Hen.

'The discussions will centre on themes pertinent to education systems worldwide, such as preparing educated citizens of the future, attracting and recruiting good teachers and grooming school leaders, and the impact of ICT on education,' informs Chan. These are key issues, she says, that many education systems are faced with. 'It would be helpful to exchange ideas and learn from one another, so that innovations that have been successfully scaled across one system could be adapted for use in others.'

'Most of the participating ministers have indicated that education remains an important investment for the future and they would continue to seek improvements for their school systems, in spite of the economic downturn,' says Chan.

International Education Roundtable at Singapore

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