MORE than 16,000 people had applied to be teachers as at the end of last month, said Education Minister Ng Eng Hen yesterday.

This figure is 10 per cent more than the total number who applied for the whole of last year, he noted.

About 2,400 teachers have been hired so far this year, Dr Ng said, giving an update on teacher recruitment to 150 senior executives and unionists from The Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers' Union.

They were attending the Tripartite Initiative forum, organised by the union to encourage union leaders and bosses to exchange views on issues such as how to manage excess manpower.

The new hires make up 80 per cent of the targeted 3,000 teachers that the Ministry of Education (MOE) wants to add to its pool this year.

It hired 2,400 teachers last year. Dr Ng stressed that the extra hiring would not lead to a compromise in standards.

'I'm not changing the criteria or the checks that we have, to make sure that the people we hire have the aptitude to teach,' he said.

Beyond teachers, MOE also wants to hire 680 allied educators this year. Their role is to give teachers a hand in counselling and helping weaker students.

Dr Ng said that more than 75 per cent of this target had been reached. Schools are already enjoying the services of 600 such helpers, not including the new hires.

MOE wants to raise the total to 2,800 within six years. vIn his speech, Dr Ng also stressed that the Government would remain committed to investing in education.

It plans to spend $8.7 billion on education in the current financial year, and the figure is expected to hit $11 billion by 2013.

ZAKIR HUSSAIN

This article was first published in The Straits Times.