Singapore's 'far-sighted' bilingual policy - implemented for over four decades - has remained a cornerstone of our education system, said Minister for Education, Dr Ng Eng Hen.

He was speaking at a graduation ceremony at Tao Nan School for pioneer students of the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan Affiliated Schools Bi-Cultural Chinese Elective Programme (or BiCEP).

The benefits of the policy for Singapore students, Dr Ng continued, are 'self-evident'.

"It allowed them to ride the wave of globalisation as English became the lingua franca of the internet and
connectivity.

"This is why each year, large contingents of Singapore students enter into top overseas Universities. Proficiency in English has also enabled our students to perform well in international rankings in Maths, Science and reading literacy."

However, he highlighted the need to be mindful of the changing language environment at home as more students come from English-speaking homes.

"In 1982, only 1 in 10 of Primary 1 Chinese students came from homes that used English - the figure today is nearly 6 in 10.

"For Indians it has moved from 3 in 10 to 6 in 10; Malays - 0.5 in 10 to 3.5 in 10. Students are spending more time online where many platforms predominantly in English compete for their attention. "

He stated that the teaching of the Mother Tongue has to be reviewed periodically to ensure that it can engage students.

Dr Ng also applauded the efforts of the Hokkien Huay Kuan to create a conducive environment for the learning of Chinese.

He encouraged the young graduands present at the ceremony to "continue to cultivate and nurture" their passion for Chinese language and culture.