At the official opening ceremony of the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) Headquarters in November 2013, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong highlighted the need to strengthen the applied education pathways in the polytechnics and ITE to better provide graduates with good career and academic progression prospects. The Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review (ASPIRE) Committee, chaired by Senior Minister of State for Law and Education, Ms Indranee Rajah, was set up in January 2014 to study this. In his 2014 National Day Rally speech, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong broadly set out the government-accepted recommendations made by the ASPIRE Committee to further strengthen Singapore’s applied education pathways, provide more opportunities for Singaporeans to realise their full potential and aspirations, and to support better alignment of the supply of and demand for skills, so that Singapore will continue to prosper and be a land of hope and opportunity for everyone in the years ahead. Broadly, the recommendations are centred on:  Choices: Helping students make better education and career choices, both in school and beyond graduation;  Skills: Creating more opportunities for polytechnic and ITE students and graduates to grow the skills they need, to excel in the career they choose to pursue;  Paths: Building more paths that will allow polytechnic and ITE graduates to progress in their careers by developing their skills.COR160 Tutor-Marked Assignment SIM UNIVERSITY Tutor-Marked Assignment – Page 4 of 7 There has been much discussion in the media with regards to the ASPIRE recommendations. Many issues in relation to the ASPIRE recommendations have been debated in the discussions. The two articles provided reflect some of the discussions regarding this issue in Singapore. In about 750 words, develop a synthesis essay on the ASPIRE Recommendations. You will need to narrow this broad topic. You must formulate a thesis about this issue and cite sources that will support your thesis. You are not required to make a stand in this essay. Relevant information for you to evaluate and synthesise would be:  Issues (economic, social, educational and etc.) surrounding the ASPIRE Recommendations  Evidence for the ASPIRE Recommendations  Evidence against the ASPIRE Recommendations  Improvements to existing recommendations