The Ministry of Education announced on Wednesday the members in the committee reviewing polytechnic and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) programmes.

The Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review, or Aspire for short, will be led by a 35-member steering committee headed by Senior Minister of State for Law and Education Indranee Rajah. The members include the principals of all five local polytechnics, and chief executive officer of ITE Bruce Poh. The Education Ministry's permanent secretary, Ms Chan Lai Fung, and its director-general of education Ho Peng are also part of the committee, which also include prominent figures like Sakae Holdings chairman Douglas Foo and chief executive officer of Cathay Organisation Holdings Suhaimi Rafdi.

The committee, who will look at how the ITE and polytechnics can better connect classroom lessons to the working world, is expected to complete its work in the second half of this year.

Another 63 individuals will be part of three review committees and an engagement committee, which are led by members from the steering committee. These will look into various aspects, like improving career and academic progression for polytechnic and ITE graduates and strengthening links with industry. The members will be having meetings, study trips to institutions and industries in Singapore and abroad, and sessions to engage with various groups of stakeholders.