PAK TEE NG
Pak Tee NG [National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University (NTU)] is a Singaporean educator who is deeply involved in the development of school and teacher leaders. He considers it a privilege to be able to educate a fraternity of students who are educators themselves and who build others through their leadership, work and lives. He encourages educators to walk a path not easily travelled, with love, courage and resilience.
Pak Tee began his career as a Mathematics teacher after reading the discipline in Cambridge University under a scholarship he gratefully received from his country. He served a stint as a Ministry of Education (MOE) officer before joining the NIE as an academic. At the NIE, he has previously served as Associate Dean Leadership Learning and Head of the Policy and Leadership Studies Academic Group. His main work is in education change and leadership.
Pak Tee has authored/co-authored over a hundred publications. International media often seek his views on education change. He has served as the executive editor/co-editor/editorial adviser of a few international refereed journals and is currently an editorial board member of more than ten journals. He is the co-editor of the Routledge Leading Change book series. One of his books, “Learning from Singapore: The Power of Paradoxes”, is a Routledge best-seller.
Pak Tee has been invited to speak at many events around the world, for example, Scottish Learning Festival, Google Global Education Symposium, Yidan Prize Summit, International Baccalaureate Global Conference, and Harvard University Graduate School of Education’s Global Education Innovation Initiative Conference. He is currently a member of Scotland’s International Council of Education Advisers and a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University.
Pak Tee has been conferred awards such as the National Day Award of Public Administration Medal (Bronze) for merit and service to education; and the Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Asia Pacific Educational Research Association. He has also won various teaching awards and has been conferred a Fellow of NTU Teaching Excellence Academy. However, his greater reward is a fraternity of students who pay it forward through their contribution and commitment to education.
Singapore’s response to COVID-19 – timely change, timeless constants
COVID-19 has disrupted the world. The social, economic and political situation in the world have changed greatly since the pandemic struck. Many education systems were thrown into chaos. Referring to Pak Tee’s book “Learning from Singapore: The Power of Paradoxes”, he hopes to bring to the world, through this talk, the learning from Singapore, what we have learned as we navigate the realities of the pandemic and the challenges posed to our education system. COVID-19 is of course an unwelcome threat to our lives and lifestyles, but it also presents an opportunity for educational change. Pak Tee Ng will share his reflections regarding educational changes that are currently underway in Singapore, and the critical principles we adhere to as we implement those changes. In particular, shifting learning online actually makes good teachers more important than before. A key lesson from the Singapore story is “timely change, timeless constants” - boldly making timely changes require, paradoxically, keeping timeless constants to maintain our identity and mission.
Learning from Singapore
Learning from Singapore tells the inside story of the country’s journey in transforming its education system from a struggling one to one that is hailed internationally as effective and successful. It is a story not of the glory of international test results, but of the hard work and tenacity of a few generations of policy makers, practitioners and teacher trainers. Despite its success, Singapore continues to reform its education system, and is willing to deal with difficult issues and challenges of change.