SENIOR Minister Goh Chok Tong said schools have to produce students who are ready to cope with a new post-crisis world.

He was speaking at the 70th anniversary of Chung Cheng High School.

He said schools should prepare students to compete against their peers in Shanghai, Stockholm and San Francisco and also prepare them for economic opportunities in China and India.

SM Goh said: 'We need to produce students who are world-ready, students who are informed about local and global affairs; students who are able to navigate in an emerging Asia and yet understand Western thought and management systems; and students who are capable of leading overseas businesses.'

He also said the students should be imbued with entrepreneurial spirit to push boundaries, try new ideas, adapt to change and seize new opportunities.

If Singapore is to successfully tap into the growth in emerging economies like China, Vietnam, Russia and the Middle East, its students will need the confidence and sense of adventure to step outside their comfort zone and to operate in environments which are not as structured and orderly as Singapore's, he said.

While the schools prepare them, they are also growing wings on them, he said. Already, some 180,000 Singaporeans are currently working, living or studying overseas. This number will grow.

SM Goh said: 'We must accept the reality that this is a new generation and their opportunities are truly global. 'Rather than shrink back from giving them the best education, we should applaud our youth who wish to live and work abroad to gain new knowledge and experience and to understand other cultures.'

As more Singaporeans go overseas for prolonged periods, some may choose to settle abroad.

What they must try to achieve is to retain their emotional bonds to Singapore, so that they think of Singapore as the home which nurtured them, and want to contribute in some ways, he said.

This is best done in schools, while they are young, he added.

This article was first published in The New Paper.