SINGAPORE - Two members of the teaching fraternity were honoured on Friday (Oct 20) for their exemplary approach to inciting passion for economics in their classrooms.

The annual awards were launched by the Economic Society of Singapore last year, and 2017's Outstanding Economics Teacher Award went to Mr Haniss B Ali, senior teacher for economics at Nanyang Junior College, and Mr Khoo Gee Hwee, lead teacher of economics at Pioneer Junior College. They are both aged 51 years.

Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran, who graced the event, congratulated the winners: "Economics has been described, sometimes unfairly, as a dismal science. But good teachers can excite our curiosity and passion, and show us the tremendous value of economic tools in making sense of the world around us and solving real problems."

Mr Haniss, who has been an economics teacher for 24 years, said: "Good is relative but every teacher aspires to do the best for their students. Economics can seem detached from the classroom, so we need to bring real world examples to our students so they can have a feel for it. For example, how Uber and Grab have changed the transport system. Students are familiar with Uber and Grab so they feel that's relevant."

The results were presented at the annual Singapore Economic Policy Forum at the Regent Hotel.

At the day-long forum, economists will discuss the new challenges faced by the Singapore economy.