Established on 1 March 1950, the Teachers’ Training College (TTC) was Singapore’s first permanent, fulltime training college for English-medium primary school teachers. Training classes for Chinese-medium teachers were subsequently started at the college in 1955, ...

Ruth Wong Hie King (b. 10 June 1918, Singapore–d. 1 February 1982, Singapore) is widely regarded as a pioneer educator who transformed teacher training in Singapore. Wong was the first female principal of the Teachers’ Training College (TTC) and the founding director ...

Suratman Markasan (b. 29 December 1930, Singapore– ) is a prolific poet, novelist and respected literary pioneer in Singapore. His literary career spans from the early 1950s to the present. The numerous awards he has received include: the Southeast Asian Writers ...

The Education Ordinance, which applied to all schools in Singapore, was enacted on 13 December 1957. The ordinance (replaced by the Education Act in 1965) made provisions for the registration of schools, managers and teachers, as well as for the roles and responsibilities ...

Catherine Lim Poh Imm (b. 21 March 1942, Penang, Malaysia–) is the doyenne of Singapore stories. Lim is an accomplished and critically acclaimed author who has published a dozen collections of short stories, five novels, two volumes of poems and even a play. She ...

Sophia Cooke (b. 27 February 1814, Hilsborough, Norfolk, England–d. 14 September 1895, Singapore) was an Anglican missionary and teacher who made significant contributions to the Chinese Girls’ School (CGS) – now known as St Margaret’s School. She also started ...

The National Institute of Education (NIE) is Singapore’s only teacher training institution. In addition to engaging in initial teacher preparation, the NIE also provides continuing education and life-long learning to teachers, and conducts extensive, cutting-edge ...

Goh Lay Kuan (b. 1939, Sumatra, Indonesia–) is a pioneer dancer, choreographer and dance teacher. She has nurtured generations of young artists, and is an advocate of arts education for the young and the physically handicapped. She co-founded the Singapore Performance ...

Constance Mary Turnbull (Professor) (b. 9 February 1927, Northumberland, England–d. 5 September 2008, Oxford, England), also known as Mary Turnbull or C. M. Turnbull, was most recognised for her publication, A History of Singapore, which was first published in ...

Anthony Then (b. 16 June 1944, Singapore–d. 16 December 1995, Singapore), also known as Tony, was a dancer, choreographer and dance teacher who was instrumental in the professionalisation of dance in Singapore. Together with Goh Soo Khim, he founded the Singapore ...

Mohamed Latiff Mohamed (b. 20 March 1950, Singapore– ) is a prolific poet and writer in Singapore’s Malay literary scene. A teacher by training, he is best known for his works about the struggles of the Malay community in post-independence Singapore. A three-time ...

On 8 December 1953, the colonial government in Singapore issued a white paper titled Chinese Schools Bilingual Education and Increased Aid. The white paper proposed the introduction of bilingual education in Chinese schools in exchange for increased financial aid ...

Vivien Goh (born 1948, Singapore) is the daughter of the late Goh Soon Tioe, a pioneering violinist, music teacher and impresario who played a key role in the development of classical music in Singapore. Like her father, Goh is an accomplished violinist whose musical ...

Thirunalan Sasitharan (b. 1958, Singapore–), also known as Sasi, is an actor, art critic, arts educator, activist, former journalist and former philosophy teacher. Besides being an outstanding actor, Sasitharan is one of the foremost thinkers in the local arts ...

Choo Hwee Lim (b. 28 September 1931, Singapore–d. 12 May 2008, Singapore) was an important figure in the development of choral music and opera in Singapore. An accomplished baritone singer and music teacher, Choo spotted, encouraged and nurtured once-unknown music ...

Lou Mee Wah (b. 30 March 1951, Singapore–) is a Cantonese opera singer well known for her role as a male impersonator. She has received many glowing reviews for playing sheng, or male roles, ranging from gentle scholars to fearsome warriors. Her teacher, mentor ...

Goh Sin Tub (b. 2 December 1927, Singapore–d. 16 November 2004, Singapore) was a “first generation” Singaporean writer, teacher, civil servant, banker, and long-time chairman of St Joseph’s Institution’s board of governors. He authored more than a dozen novels ...

Joan Hon (b. 1943, Penang, Malaya –) is a writer and former teacher. She wrote and published a fiction book, Star Sapphire, under the pen name Han May in 1985. She is also the author of a number of non-fiction books, including Relatively Speaking – a biography ...

Chen Jen Hao (b. 1908, Fuzhou, Fujian, China–d. 28 October 1976, Singapore) was a pioneer artist and art educator. Best known for his Chinese calligraphy, Chen was also one of the early art teachers at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), and helped to lay ...

Chen Wen Hsi (b. 9 September 1906, Guangdong, China–d. 17 December 1991, Singapore) was one of Singapore’s pioneer artists. A prolific painter who worked in a range of styles, Chen won acclaim for combining Western art with Chinese brush strokes in his paintings. ...