The programmes and initiatives announced at the Education Ministry's (MOE) annual workplan seminar were "thoroughly considered and carefully planned" to benefit students, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat.

"These are not light decisions. They are thoroughly considered and carefully planned, and we are taking them because they will benefit our children. We shall devote ourselves to the full time it will take to make these plans work," Mr Heng wrote in a blog post on Thursday.

At the ministry's workplan seminar on Wednesday, he announced that every secondary school will develop two distinctive programmes by 2017 to support applied learning and lifelong learning. The programmes will give students more opportunities to learn about things they are interested in.

The ministry will support all schools to form student development teams by 2016, to focus on the quality of student experience in all schools. It will also expand and build an integrated online learning space for all primary and secondary schools by 2016.

In the Facebook post, Mr Heng said that the initiatives aim to give all students a "broad and deep educational foundation that readies them for a lifelong journey of life and learning".

He added that to provide students with a broad education, the system must be inclusive and provide opportunities and multiple pathways for every child. A deep education will impart values and character to the students, so that they are committed to the country and their family. He added that education must be a lifelong journey. Learning does not stop at passing exams or getting jobs, but is a process that continues for life.

"I want our education system to unleash the best of the human spirit in our children, in a way that lasts them for their whole lives," said Mr Heng.