Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre to move to new home in Jalan Besar in 2027
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- Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre will move to 1 Victoria Lane in January 2027, following its tenancy expiry at 2 Beatty Road.
- The new campus will offer larger spaces, upgraded facilities and better public transport connectivity.
- The move places the centre closer to partners like the Indian Heritage Centre.
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SINGAPORE - The Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre will be moving to Jalan Besar in 2027, after its current tenancy expires.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Aug 23 that the centre, which is currently located at 2 Beatty Road, will be moving to the former location of Stamford Primary School at 1 Victoria Lane from January 2027.
It will share the premises with an “appropriate user”, which will be identified at a later date, said the ministry in a statement.
The centre is an MOE language centre offering Tamil at the G1, G2 and G3 levels, Higher Tamil and literature to secondary school students. It also serves as the National Tamil Language Resource Centre, working together with the community to promote the teaching and learning of the language at the national level.
Apart from a temporary relocation between 2009 and 2011 to allow for building works, it has been based at its current location at 2 Beatty Road since 1982, when it was known as St George’s Road Tamil Language Centre. The centre’s current tenancy will expire in December 2026.
Said MOE: “The campus at the new site will provide students with larger learning spaces and upgraded facilities, including a sheltered court which can be used for various activities such as kabaddi, as well as larger classrooms.”
The new site will have upgraded facilities, including a sheltered court for activities such as kabaddi.
PHOTO: MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
It added that students and teachers will have better public transport connectivity at the new site, which was vacated by Stamford Primary School when it merged with Farrer Park Primary School in 2023. The location is within walking distance of Bugis and Jalan Besar MRT stations and well-served by bus routes.
Speaking at the centre’s 48th annual speech and prize presentation ceremony on Aug 23, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Dinesh Vasu Dash said the move is an important milestone.
Mr Dinesh, one of two political office-holders leading a committee set up to take the Indian community forward, said: “For generations, UPTLC at Beatty has been far more than just an address – it has been a cultural icon and a heartbeat of our community.
“And while we bid farewell to our beloved home, let me assure you that this move will not be a step backwards but indeed a step forward and a step upwards for our community,” he added, citing the new location’s proximity to partners such as the Indian Heritage Centre and the Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association.
Noting the bigger classrooms on the new premises designed for hands-on and tech-enabled teaching, Mr Dinesh, who is also Minister of State for Manpower, said the centre’s move to the new premises will be an opportunity for it to use more artificial intelligence in its teaching.
Madam Santhi Sellappan, who is the centre director, told The Straits Times that it has about 350 students from about 70 secondary schools currently enrolled.
With the move, it would be able to accommodate more students if needed, she said, as the new premises is bigger than the current one.
She added that the centre can try out creative ideas in the teaching and learning of the Tamil language, such as virtual reality edutainment resources.
Madam Santhi said the space can also host outdoor group activities for primary to junior college students from mainstream schools who visit Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre for learning journeys.
“It could also be used effectively when we engage the SAP schools that we are currently in collaboration with in nurturing cross-cultural literacy,” she added. Schools under the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) are for children academically strong in both Chinese and English.
MOE said the new premises will be near educational institutions such as the future Singapore University of Social Sciences campus, NorthLight School and Hong Wen School, creating more avenues to collaborate.
Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre also offers Indian performing arts as a co-curricular activity and conducts enrichment classes and cultural activities for students from MOE’s pre-schools to junior colleges. It runs the National Elective Tamil Language Programme – a two-year programme conducted at the pre-university level.
The centre also has Tamil language principal master teachers and master teachers who conduct
professional development for Tamil teachers on its premises.
