SPEECH BY MS INDRANEE RAJAH, MINISTER, PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, SECOND MINISTER FOR FINANCE AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND PRESIDENT, SINDA, AT THE BACK TO SCHOOL FESTIVAL 2022 ON SATURDAY, 12 NOVEMBER 2022 AT BROADRICK SECONDARY SCHOOL

1. Hello everyone! Welcome to SINDA’s Back To School Festival or BTSF. It is great to see all of you in-person and I’m very heartened that we could host you once more at this annual event.

The Back To School Festival

2. BTSF represents is our belief in you – our students. We want to give you extra support because we truly believe that you can do well. Each of you has so much potential, talents and skills – we want to unlock these so you can have a great future.

3. BTSF represents our long-standing commitment to students and families; it’s about support for our future generations in the form of book and shoe vouchers to get you ready for the new school year.

4. Today’s BTSF is also about ‘increases’ – an increase in the number of BTSF recipients this year, an expansion in SINDA’s efforts for our younger generations, as well as investing more funds towards improving their future.

Increase in BTSF Recipients

5. This year, we’re very pleased that we could help even more students and their families through BTSF. Compared to 4,200 recipients last year, we are providing BTSF kits to a total of 7,500 students this year – almost 80% more students!

6. This was made possible because of greater outreach, in partnership with our schools, community partners and grassroots bodies. They have all helped expand SINDA’s reach by identifying new beneficiaries previously unknown to us.

7. So, to all new recipients – this is your first interaction with SINDA and we hope that this will be the beginning of a meaningful journey for you, one in which you can be assured of support for your education journey.

8. Your SINDA journey does not stop at BTSF. SINDA has many other programmes to build your skills and help you become confident, aspiring young people. Please make full use of all the resources we have at your disposal.

Increased SINDA Support in 2023

9. The next increase is an expansion of SINDA support to the community – I’m happy to announce that SINDA will invest an additional 1.5-million-dollars in 2023, to support our students, children, and youths – by introducing new programmes and strengthening the impact of our current efforts.

10. Let me share a bit more.

Students – Education

11. Firstly, on student’s education, SINDA will invest more in education efforts for students in all levels. Indian students have shown overall improvement in their subjects, and this expanded support is intended to benefit even more students.

12. First, SINDA will boost its STEP tutorial programme so that these become even more beneficial to students.

13. Second, a new programme – Café Excel – would be launched to extend academic support. Students benefit more when they have access to a conducive learning environment after school hours. So, Café Excel will strengthen students’ study skills while also providing tutor support for their homework after school. Café Excel will be set up at 10 community venues island-wide in 2023, for easy access.

Children – Early Learning

14. Next, we will place greater focus on our early-learning efforts for young children. We know that an early start in learning is critical to a child’s holistic development and growth. We will re-double efforts to reach our families, to make them understand the importance of this and enrol their young children into relevant programmes.

15. SINDA will expand its Literacy and Numeracy programme, as well as other pre-school initiatives. All of this means that there would be increased upstream programmes and intervention to ensure parents’ active involvement in their child’s early learning.

Youths – Development

16. The third group to benefit would be youths. We have seen the impact of development and enrichment programmes on youth. In recent years, we have seen the positive impact of efforts such as career mentoring, and we would be expanding this to even more students in the coming year.

17. Additionally, we would also introduce overseas training opportunities and learning journeys, so that our youths gain good exposure – this will broaden their perspectives while also providing them with much-needed confidence, leadership and resilience abilities.

18. Altogether, 12.3-million-dollars would be spent on these and several other current initiatives for our younger generations. It is important that such support continue to be available to our students and children, so that they can have plentiful opportunities in the future.

19. The Government and organisations like SINDA remain focused on supporting each and every one of you. We want our families and students to do well – find your own strength while also lending strength to others and leaning on others at times of need.

20. For those of you who need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to SINDA, social agencies or government agencies. Because in Singapore, no one is left behind. There would always be support available to those who need it. When we support one another, we strengthen the Singaporean fabric. And this is at the heart of everything we want to achieve – a Singapore where we all work together to create a shared future, where every Singaporean thrives and achieves success.

21. With that, I wish each one of you a wonderful year-end and happy holidays. And the very best for the year ahead. Thank you.