BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

TWENTY-NINE students from two government schools yesterday left the sultanate to join the six-day twinning programme in Singapore.

Syahira Hj DSS Awang Yussof, the Special Duties Officer Grade II of the Academic Unit under the Department of Schools, said in an interview at the Brunei International Airport that the visit aimed to learn the different education system between the two nations.

She explained that the delegation from Tutong Sixth Form Centre (PTET) and Dato Othman Primary School will take part of the programme introduced by the Ministry of Education (MoE) in 2006 to exchange knowledge and culture between Singapore and Brunei.

“Each selected schools will partake in the exchange programme for four cycles to share and gain knowledge of the countries’ education system and culture,” she said.

The first cycle is a visit to the selected schools in Singapore, the second is for the Singaporean participants to visit Brunei, the third which is the current cycle and fourth cycle will be same as the first two cycles, which takes place within four years, Syahira explained.

The participating Bruneian and Singaporean schools will be interacting with one another for the next four years or during the programme’s four cycles.

Hjh Hafizah Hj Salat, the Dato Othman Primary School leader, said that the 14 students from year four, five and six would visit the Haig Girls’ School to gain new experience.

“It is important for the youth to gain new education experience and culture at a young age because they will be more exposed to foreign culture to help them for their development,” she said.

Hjh Hafizah explained that the students were expected to write in their given journal every day, after which they would present a report to their school and MoE after the visit.

The deputy principal of PTET Almasri Hj Sulaiman said that the 15 lower six students will visit Tampines Junior College in Singapore as an opportunity for the students to learn about the country’s education system. “We want to expose our students to international studies, to learn about the different education culture in Singapore,” he said.

He explained that the students would become more open-minded after the experience because they will gain new knowledge and understanding of the different culture.

Nur Afrina Joffre @Hj Rozaini, a PTET student said that she hopes to understand the foreign education system, in which she plans to share her experience to PTET.

“Singapore has a powerful education system, which is why I believe that their system can be applied in Brunei to strengthen the local education system,” she said.

Matt Dennis Matrantis, another PTET student said similar statements as he hopes to assist the sultanate by sharing the new experience to his friends and family.

“This experience will assist me to develop myself, the students and Brunei’s education because Singapore has one of the globally high educations, in which I hope Brunei will continue to develop to a global level,” he said.

The Brunei Times