DESPITE having three co-curricular activities at Pioneer Junior College, Leon Lim still returns to his alma mater Clementi Town Secondary every week to help his juniors with their Scouts training and planning.

The 17-year-old who graduated last year, spends every Saturday at the school having meetings with his juniors to plan upcoming events and activities.

'I'm very close to my friends and teachers there so I miss the feeling of going to Clementi Town Secondary every day. At least now I get to meet them once a week,' he said.

Such alumni involvement in schools is what Compass, the national advisory council for strengthening home-school-community collaborations, is encouraging.

Compass, which stands for 'Community and Parents in support of Schools', celebrated its 10th anniversary last night at The Legends Country Club.

Its chairman, Senior Minister of State (Education) Ms Grace Fu who spoke at the event, said Compass has done well advising the Education Ministry on how home, school and community relations can be strengthened and promoted.

For instance, the number of Parent Support Groups and Parent-Teacher Associations have grown from only 60 in 1998 to 348 this year, making their presence felt in 96 per cent of the schools.

Speaking to a 450-strong crowd of mostly principals, parents, alumni and community on Friday night, she encouraged schools to next focus on tapping on the expertise of their former students.

'Alumni can be effective role models for our students and a great resource for our schools. The Alumni can be effective in supporting schools in the education of our children,' she said.

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.