A top-rate education - regardless of which school you attend or which background you come from.

In his National Day Rally speech tonight, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong listed providing a first-class education to all as the government's fundamental approach. Talents will be developed to the fullest - through the many "ladders" which will help people to climb as high as they can.

This will be achieved through a continued emphasis on quality in all schools, including the neighbourhood ones, a high-quality teaching force, and a fourth local university, PM Lee said during his televised address at the University Cultural Centre (UCC).

The last initiative, which will be studied by a committee, is part of the government's aim to put 30 per cent of the Singaporean cohort in publicly-funded universities by 2015 - an increase of 2,400 places every year.

PM Lee also stressed the need for younger non-Malays to pick up the Malay language, through the improved Malay Special Programme (MSP), and the introduction of a Regional Studies Programme.

Turning to the neighbourhood schools, PM Lee said each should develop its own special area of expertise, and the Ministry of Education (MOE) will continue to work at providing resources and giving freedom to principals and teachers in experimenting with pedagogical methods.

He said the "Teach Less Learn More" approach has generated tremendous energy and enthusiasm, from what he saw from his visits to Jurong Secondary School in Taman Jurong and Mayflower Primary School in Ang Mo Kio.

During his trip to Jurong Secondary School, PM Lee saw at first hand students participating in a special DVD or Digitial Video and Drama programme. Students in a Chinese language class acted out an original script based on a novel, filmed it on video and discussed what they had learnt after reviewing the film.

At the Mayflower Primary School, he was shown an education system which focused not solely on grades, but on character building, moral values and social skills. Students worked in groups and sat in a cluster-like arrangement, and teachers were committed to teaching every child and were full of spirit and passion.

PM Lee said a first-rate education for all depends on a high-quality teaching force, and he commended the 28,000 teachers in Singapore by inviting the representatives present at the UCC to stand up.

Beyond schools, he said the government aims to get every student into post-secondary education, and as many into tertiary institutions. Heavy investments have been made in the Institutes of Technical Education (ITE), the polytechnics and universities to increase intakes.

With good schools, he foresees that more students will want to go to university. Universities have increased their enrolments proportionately but it is still insufficient, he said.

However, he is wary of expanding university places by compromising on good education and valuable skills, which he said many countries have fallen into and which led to unemployed graduates or underemployed ones.

Currently 23 per cent of every cohort receives subsidised education in the three universities - Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Management University (SMU).

The government will aim for 30 per cent of the Singaporean cohort in publicly-funded universities by 2015 - an increase of 2,400 places every year. This will mean a fourth university - a new institution with its own character and unique strengths, he said.

A committee chaired by Minister of State for Education, Rear Admiral (NS) Lui Tuck Yew will be set up to look further into the university sector. Dr Tony Tan will be advisor to the committee, which will make a decision within a year on the best course of action.

PM Lee said "more than one route" could be opened, and the government may not limit itself to just one new institution.