By Sumathi V. Selvaretnam

PRIMARY school principals see a plethora of roles for teacher aides - known as education associates - in classrooms, especially those with many students.

They could help teachers manage large classes by doing everything from setting up science experiments to mentoring weaker students, principals told The Straits Times.

'Within a class, there are students with varying abilities. They could help students complete tasks at the same pace as the rest,' said Mrs Brenda Tan, the principal of Yew Tee Primary School.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced yesterday that it plans to have 1,900 education associates in primary and secondary schools by 2015 - a 19-fold increase over today's number.

While they do not need a degree, the aides must have post-secondary qualifications, with credits in mathematics and English.

Earlier this year, the MOE introduced education associates in 87 secondary schools to help students in the Normal course.

With the new additions, primary schools will each have about five associates - now they have none - and secondary schools will have seven, up from one.

The ministry also plans to formalise the career path for education associates, full-time school counsellors and special needs officers, collectively known as allied educators. From January next year, they can look forward to better salaries and opportunities for career advancement.

Education associates who perform well may upgrade their educational qualifications and become full-fledged teachers.

At Hong Kah Secondary School, educational associate Wee Yijie, 28, helps teachers engage students who appear restless or uninterested. He often buys small prizes that he hands out to students when they perform well, and he conducts activities using computer programs.

'I help free up time for teachers to look into areas like curriculum development,' said Mr Wee.

Hong Kah Secondary's principal, Mrs Tan Wan Yu, said teachers often have great ideas but not enough time to implement them. 'Every extra pair of hands will help teachers realise more of their plans,' she said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Sept 26, 2008.

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