Education Minister Heng Swee Keat praised the Singapore Indian Development Association (Sinda) on Tuesday evening for its "holistic" approach to education.

He was visiting a Sinda tuition centre in Woodlands to observe classes and speak with parents.

"I'm very happy to see that the programme is not just about academics but also about holistic education," Mr Heng said.

"It is important to reach out to children...so that they learn to be resilient, to interact with others, and to be confident."

Sinda's two main education programmes are Step (Sinda Tutorials for Enhanced Performance) and Project Teach. The former is held in designated Sinda centres and caters to 2,273 students. The latter, which serves 926 students, is tailored to the needs of individual schools.

Special attention is paid to English and Mathematics, which Indian students are traditionally weaker in.

Programmes for parents, like motivational talks, are also organised under the Step framework.

"We conduct a needs analysis," said Mr Rudy Shahril, principal of the Step centre that Mr Heng visited. "We look for ways for parents to be effective, to continue to be good parents.'