SINGAPORE - The National Institute of Education (NIE) launched a symposium and an award for practitioners in the pre-school and special needs education sector on Saturday.

NIE and the Association for Early Childhood Educators welcomed 300 participants at the Henry David Hochstadt Early Childhood Symposium, where Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing was guest of honour. Hochstadt's son Herman Ronald Hochstadt is a pro-chancellor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

The symposium is supported by the Henry David Hochstadt Early Childhood Endowment Fund. The fund was set up with a donation of $500,000 in September last year, with the Government matching this amount dollar for dollar. It is used for the development of quality practices in pre-school education.

Five practitioners also received the inaugural Leading Foundation Teacher Award for Early Childhood and Special Needs Education on Saturday. NTU received an endowment gift of $120,000 - also matched dollar for dollar by the Government - from the foundation in November last year. The foundation was set up by former civil service head Lim Siong Guan.