The Singapore Teachers’ Union (STU) has a new president and general secretary following its recent National Delegates Conference held on 22 July 2017. 60 delegates attended the conference.
STU veteran Mike Thiruman has been elected as the new general secretary after serving as its president for 13 years, while Nigel Tan, a head of department at De La Salle School takes over from him as the new president.
Leadership Renewal
The youngest person elected was 30-year-old junior college teacher Goh Huishan.
Mr Thiruman hopes the union can interest more young people to come forward and serve in the years ahead.
“You can send emails and letters but it is not going to happen. We must be visible in the school scene, and the principals who are the key must see us as partners,” he explained.
Teacher-Wellness
Mr Thiruman said another key focus for STU in the coming months is firming up teacher-wellness talks in schools.
STU has already engaged a teacher wellness consultant who will be conducting talks from September.
“Teacher-wellness is student-wellness, and if you really care about the students’ well-being, you must take care of the teachers first. You don’t want a teacher to be stressed out or unwell when going into the classroom. His or her performance will not be there and the kids lose out,” explained Mr Thiruman.
STU plans to approach schools at the end of the year so that the talks can be scheduled for 2018.
Source: NTUC This Week
