Charity, MOE invite CEOs, high-net-worth individuals to join school committees

Local charity ImpactSG is working with the Ministry of Education (MOE) to have chief executives of companies and high-net-worth individuals from family offices join the committees of neighbourhood schools.

- Syarafana Shafeeq

The School Board Matching Programme will encourage such individuals to serve on the school committees to build social capital for students through their networks and experience. The aim is to start with five schools in 2025 and gradually expand in 2026.

More details will be announced in due course.

ImpactSG board chairman Ravi Menon said: “While the Government has taken pains to ensure that all our schools are well-supported, the distribution of social capital can never be equal.

“Students in some neighbourhood schools simply do not have the connections or networks that students elsewhere have through talks, learning journeys and work attachments.”

He was speaking on Nov 20 at GiveFest Asia, a festival hosted by ImpactSG.

The organisation also runs a Career Opportunity Programme that allows neighbourhood school students to interact with experienced corporate executives and get guidance from them on career paths and development opportunities.

Under this programme, more than 33 people have committed their time to help nearly 1,000 students and teachers across 15 schools.

ImpactSG will work with the MOE to expand the programme and partner networks like the Singapore Institute of Directors, which will offer these schools the expertise of more than 5,500 individuals.