"I started my career as a mainstream secondary school teacher immediately after graduating from NIE's Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) programme in 1992. After a few years, I was appointed to become a school principal. It was a challenging role with tremendous responsibilities. That was when I started to consider pursuing a Master’s degree to gain deeper knowledge in a professional field. 

During those years, the combination of work and family was taking a heavy toll on my schedule and there was little time left for other pursuits. The thought for higher education had to be put on hold. It was not until much later in 2012 when I left my job 

to spend more time with my child that I was able to reconsider this aspiration for further study.

As an NIE-trained teacher, I have an affinity with my alma mater. So, when it came to the choosing of a suitable Master’s programme, my natural choice was to go for NIE’s Master of Education programme. After 20 years in the education services, I have also discovered my passion in Special Education, an area that is beginning to receive more attention in the education industry. NIE is one of few higher education institutions in Singapore that offers Master’s programmes in Special Education.

In August 2013, I embarked on my Master’s programme in Special Education. During the start of the programme, the NIE faculty staff had greatly facilitated my learning journey by helping me scope my learning objectives and outcomes. With their professional advice and valuable knowledge, I was able to put together an effective selection of courses targeted at deepening my knowledge and skills in Special Education. 

I must confess it was not easy returning to the books after 20 years away from school as a student. It was a tough challenge overcoming the steep learning curve to master a new discipline. I remember the difficulty in understanding the academic readings and journals for the first two courses of the Master’s programme. I persevered, helped along by my desire to learn and know more about Special Education, and it got easier after I had laid the foundation knowledge. 

After graduating from NIE’s Master of Education programme, I re-joined MOE in December 2015 and was seconded as the Principal of the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore School, a school for children with multiple disabilities. I found my new role exciting and fulfilling, and I was very pleased to find that I was able to put the knowledge I had acquired from my Master’s programme to good use. 

It gives me great comfort and assurance knowing that I now possess sound knowledge, backed by my 20 years of teaching experience, to provide the leadership, understanding and support my staff, students and parents would expect from me. 

The learning journey was understandably demanding, but the reward – the sense of fulfilment and the lives rekindled through education – was priceless."

Lim Ai Lay

Master of Education (Special Education) graduate