The National Institute of Education (NIE) welcomed another 317 new teachers to the profession. This brings the teaching force to more than 33,000, exceeding the Ministry of Education's own projection of reaching this number by 2015.

The NIE teacher's investiture ceremony was held on Monday at the Nanyang Technological University. Speaking to the graduands, professor Lee Sing Kong, NIE's director, reminded them that "measures of success need not be limited to grades and ranking".

Given the impact teachers have on a student's life, Senior Parliamentary Secretary ( Education and Manpower) Mr Hawazi Daipi , said that it is important that teacher education prepares new hirees with the appropriate values, knowledge and skills.

He noted that NIE teacher education programmes are highly regarded internationally. In a recent report by the Queensland College of Teachers in Australia, NIE was listed as one of the teacher education institutes worldwide with the best practice for evidence-based assessment within pre-service teacher education programmes.