SINGAPORE - The Ministry of Education (MOE) has announced that Director-General of Education Ho Peng, 60, will be retiring from the Education Service on March 31.
Ms Ho, who joined the Education Service in 1979, started as a teacher in National Junior College. She was appointed Director-General of Education in April 2009.
Ms Ho was instrumental in anchoring MOE's focus on values and character development, as well as placing greater emphasis on Physical, Art and Music Education.
An advocate of bilingualism, Ms Ho was also instrumental in securing the Stellar Programme to provide all primary school pupils a strong foundation in the English Language. She also led the Mother Tongue Language Review Committee in 2010.
More recently, Ms Ho provided guidance in pre-school education, and oversaw the opening of pilot MOE kindergartens in 2014.
In a Facebook post, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat wrote: "In my many discussions with Ms Ho, I find her thoughtful and forward-looking, and most of all, caring. She cares deeply about our children's education."
Acknowledging Ms Ho's contributions, Permanent Secretary for Education Chan Lai Fung said: "Ms Ho Peng will be remembered for her commitment, sound professional judgement, action-orientation and people centeredness. Under her strong leadership, she has led a quiet transformation of what and how we need to teach our children, to ready them for the future. The Ministry is deeply appreciative of Ms Ho's dedication to the education service."
Reflecting on her 36 years of service, Ms Ho said: "I have been fortunate to have found my calling in education. This has led to a deeply fulfilling life. It has been a great honour and privilege to serve with dedicated and professional colleagues, both in schools and HQ. Our education system has come a long way in the last 50 years. I am proud of the people we have serving in the education system."
Ms Ho will continue to contribute to MOE in the capacity of an advisor with effect from April 1.
Mr Wong Siew Hoong, 55, will succeed as Director-General of Education and will concurrently hold his position of Deputy Director-General (Curriculum).
Mr Wong joined the Education Service in 1984 as a teacher at Victoria Junior College. Since then, he has held a number of principal-ships and senior appointments in MOE HQ. Mr Wong was appointed as Director of Schools in 2004, and to his current appointment as Deputy Director-General of Education (Curriculum) at the end of 2011.
