Abu Dhabi, 1st Sept. 2009 (WAM): HH General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, attended on Monday evening a lecture on 'Education as the Driver of Economic Growth : The Singapore Experience'' delivered by a veteran Singaporean senior minister as part of his Ramadan Majlis.

The lecture was the third to be hosted by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Ramadan Majlis which is held every Ramadan and attracts a line up of prominent speakers and experts of different backgrounds who give insight presentations on diverse agenda related to religion, education, culture, economy, politics, science, technology and energy.

Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam, Chairman of the National Research Foundation and International Academic Advisory Panel, started his lecture with a summary of Singapore economic growth over the last 50 years, saying the country's GDP shot up US$ 181.9 billion in 2009 from just US$ 0.7 billion in 1960 while per capita rose to $37,597 from $427 for the same period.

''The economy passed through four phases : labour-intensive (1960-1975), skill-intensive (1976-1985), capital-intensive (1986-1995) and knowledge and innovation economy (beyond 1995),'' said Dr Yam who served as deputy prime minister and held the portfolios of education, finance, trade and industry, and defence.

The building of a knowledge and innovation driven economy, he said, had pushed Singapore's rank from the third to the first world.

He then dwelt on the evolution of Singapore's education system with particular reference to general education, technical and university education.

He explained that marked progress had been achieved in the general education (primary and secondary education) with primary level drop out rate down from 6% in 1970s to nearly zero in 1990s and secondary level drop out rate from 13% in 1970s to 1% in 1990s.

''IT is used pervasively in schools today and bilingualism is serving as the cornerstone of the education system,'' he added at the lecture which was attended by a number of Deputies Ruler, Crown Princes,Sheikhs, ministers, and senior officials.

On the technical education, Dr. Yam said the aim was the transformation of the vocational training system to meet demand of skilled manpower.

''Polytechnics aim to develop practice-oriented manpower with relevant knowledge and skills to meet the needs of the Singapore economy,''.

''We believe in the globalised economy, education is the key and 21st century education is tied to the economic health,'' he told the audience.

''Universities have to serve as the powerhouses of knowledge creation and facilitate efficient diffusion of the created knowledge for the benefit of the economy and society,''he continued.

He added that the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) was founded to serve as a bold experiment to attract world-class research universities and be a magnet for worldwide research talent and bring together top universities to work on major global challenges.

On research, innovation and education, the lecturer said Singapore had established universities with the aim to be world-class research intensive institutions and showedcommitment to provide resources for research and innovation.

In the knowledge and innovation driven economy, he noted, talent provides intellectual and innovation capacity to sustain technological edge and competitive advantage as high talent concentration attracts companies and investments.

''Singapore continues to seek to elevate it education system to position it well to serve the needs of its economy and aspirations of its young generations in the years to come,''he affirmed.

Turning to the UAE, the Singaporean expert paid tribute to President H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his unequivocal support for education and for his sincere desire to allow the UAE learn lessons from the successful experiences of advanced nations in the education sector.

He lauded efforts taken by the UAE, in general, and Abu Dhabi, in particular, to reform and modernise the educationsystem through introduction of up-to-date curricula andand advanced research methods.

He said Singapore would stand ready to help the UAE in its commendable endeavours to upgrade its education system.

He said the UAE could benefit from the Singaporean experience and huge potentials in areas as diverse as training of teachers and administrators, academic accreditationand teaching methodologies of sciences and maths.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2009.