Institute of Education Bill

Bill No. 35/1970

Read the first time on 2nd September 1970.
An Act to provide for the establishment of the Institute of Education and for matters connected therewith.
Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows: —
Short title and commencement
1.  This Act may be cited as the Institute of Education Act, 1970, and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.
Interpretation
2.  In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —
“Board” means the Board of Studies established under section 9 of this Act;
“Director” means the Director appointed under section 8 of this Act;
“Chairman” means the Chairman of the Council appointed under section 5 of this Act;
“Council” means the Council constituted under section 5 of this Act;
“financial year” means a period of twelve months beginning on the 1st day of April in any year except that for the year 1970, the financial year shall mean the period between the date of the establishment of the Institute and the 31st day of March 1971;
“Institute” means the Institute of Education established under section 3 of this Act.
Establishment of the Institute
3.—(1)  There shall be established a body to be known as the “Institute of Education” which shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to sue and be sued in its corporate name, and to perform such other acts as bodies corporate may by law perform, and to exercise such other powers as are conferred under or by virtue of this Act.
(2)  The Institute shall consist of a Council and a Board of Studies.
Objects of the Institute
4.—(1)  The objects of the Institute shall be —
(a)the provision of courses of study for the training of teachers in the various fields of education at all levels;
(b)the establishment of such facilities as the Institute considers desirable for the provision of such courses of study in Singapore; and
(c)the promotion of research in the various fields of education for teachers.
(2)  For the purpose of carrying out the objects set out in subsection (1) of this section, the Institute may —
(a)provide for the examination, from time to time, of students or other persons and to confer degrees and diplomas and grant certificates to successful candidates, and provide for the registration of the holders of such certificates;
(b)provide for the delivery and holding of lectures, and the holding of exhibitions, public meetings, classes and conferences calculated, directly or indirectly, to serve the cause of education whether general, professional, scientific or technical;
(c)institute chairs, professorships, lectureships and other posts and offices and make appointments thereto;
(d)establish, equip and maintain libraries, laboratories, museums, lecture halls, reading and writing rooms, halls of residence and all other buildings which may be required for the purposes of the Institute;
(e)institute and award fellowships, exhibitions, bursaries, medals, prizes and other titles and distinctions, awards and forms of assistance towards the advancement and dissemination of knowledge;
(f)administer the property vested in the Institute by section 20 of this Act and carry on, build and maintain the Institute with all necessary buildings and equipment;
(g)with the approval of the Minister, acquire, purchase, lease, take, hold and enjoy movable and immovable property of every description and sell, convey, assign, surrender and yield up, mortgage, demise, re-assign, transfer or otherwise dispose of any movable or immovable property vested in the Institute upon such terms as the Institute may think fit;
(h)develop any immovable property acquired by the Institute or in which it is interested, and in particular lay out and prepare land for building purposes, construct, alter, pull down, decorate, maintain, fit up, and improve buildings and plant, pave, drain, farm, cultivate land and let it on building lease or building agreement and advance money to and enter into contracts and arrangements of all kinds with builders and other persons;
(i)establish or assist in the establishment and support of associations, institutions, pension schemes or superannuation or provident fund schemes and trusts calculated to benefit officials, teachers, staff and students and former teachers or staff of the Institute, or the dependents of such persons, and grant pensions and allowances, and make payments towards insurance, and to subscribe or guarantee money for charitable or benevolent objects, or for any exhibition or for any public, general or useful object;
(j)solicit and accept and receive subscriptions, donations, devises and bequests (whether of movable or immovable property and whether absolute or conditional) for the general purposes of the Institute or for any special purpose of the Institute or subject to any trust;
(k)enter into contracts and appoint such staff as may be required for the purposes of the Institute;
(l)regulate and provide for the residence of officials, teachers, staff and students of the Institute and the welfare and discipline of officials, teachers, staff and students;
(m)demand and receive such fees as may from time to time be prescribed;
(n)raise money for any of the above purposes or other purposes of the Institute by mortgaging any or all of the property of the Institute; and
(o)do all such other things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of its objects.
Constitution of the Council
5.—(1)  The management of the Institute and of its properties and affairs shall be vested in the Council consisting of —
(a)a Chairman to be appointed by the Minister;
(b)the Director;
(c)two members, who are on the full-time staff of the Institute, to be appointed by the Board;
(d)four members to be appointed by the Minister to represent the Government;
(e)one member to be appointed by the Minister to represent the University of Singapore;
(f)one member to be appointed by the Minister to represent the Nanyang University;
(g)one member to be appointed by the Minister to represent the Ngee Ann Technical College; and
(h)three members to be appointed by the Minister to represent professional bodies and organisations.
(2)  The members of the Council, other than the Chairman, shall, unless their appointment is revoked under the provisions of subsection (5) or (6) of this section, or unless they resign during their period of office, hold office for a period of three years.
(3)  Any member of the Council may resign from the Council by giving notice in writing to that effect addressed to the Chairman and as from the date of receipt by the Chairman of such notice such member shall cease to be a member of the Council.
(4)  Upon any vacancy in the Council occurring by reason of the resignation or death of any member or of any other event, the authority by whom such member was appointed shall fill such vacancy for the remainder of the period of membership of the member whose office has been so vacated.
(5)  The Minister may at any time revoke the appointment of the Chairman or any member of the Council whose appointment was made by him.
(6)  The Board may at any time revoke the appointment of any member of the Council made under paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of this section.
(7)  The Council may act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership.
Management
6.  The Council shall have the entire superintendence and control of the Institute and of the property and affairs of the Institute, and shall govern, direct and decide all matters whatsoever connected with the administration of the affairs of the Institute and the accomplishment of the objects and purposes thereof, and shall have and may exercise all the powers conferred on and vested in the Institute by this Act; and may make, vary and revoke such rules as they may from time to time think fit in relation to any matters within the scope of their authority, including the conduct and transaction of their business:
Provided that no such rule shall be valid if it is inconsistent with any provision of this Act or any regulations made thereunder.
Meetings of the Council
7.—(1)  Every question before the Council at any meeting shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the members present.
(2)  Seven members present at any meeting shall form a quorum.
(3)  If the Chairman is absent from any meeting, such member of the Council, as the members may elect, shall act as Chairman at such meeting.
(4)  The Chairman, at any meeting, shall have an original vote and, in the event of an equality of votes, may exercise a second or casting vote.
Director
8.—(1)  There shall be a Director for the Institute who shall be appointed by the Council upon such terms and conditions as it may determine.
(2)  The Director shall —
(a)be the chief administrative and academic officer of the Institute;
(b)be responsible to the Council for the proper administration and management of the Institute in accordance with the policy laid down by the Council; and
(c)prepare the annual report on the working of the Institute, the annual estimates and the annual statement of accounts to be submitted for the approval of the Council.
Functions of the Board
9.—(1)  There shall be established a Board of Studies for the Institute which shall advise the Council on academic matters pertaining to the Institute.
(2)  The Council may, from time to time, assign to the Board such duties as the Council may think fit.
Composition of the Board
10.  The Board shall consist of —
(a)the Director who shall be Chairman;
(b)the Heads of all the Departments of the Institute; and
(c)such other persons as the Council may appoint to be members of the Board from time to time.
Appointment of Committees
11.—(1)  The Council and the Board may appoint such committees as the Council and the Board respectively may think fit.
(2)  Unless otherwise expressly provided in regulations made under this Act, any such committee may consist partly of persons who are not members of the Council or the Board, as the case may be.
Use of common seal
12.  The common seal of the Institute shall not be affixed to any instrument except in the presence of the Chairman, or a member of the Council designated by the Chairman, and the Director, and not until the Chairman, or the member of the Council, as the case may be, and the Director have signed their names to such instrument in token of their presence.
Grants
13.  For the purpose of enabling the Institute to carry out its functions under this Act, the Minister may, from time to time, make grants to the Institute of such sums of money as he may determine out of monies to be provided by Parliament.
Funds of the Institute
14.—(1)  All monies received or raised by the Institute shall be controlled and administered by the Council subject to the directions of the Minister.
(2)  Such monies shall be devoted solely for the following purposes: —
(a)the payment of the expenses of or connected with the administration of the Institute;
(b)the payment of all expenses necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
Annual report
15.  The Council shall as soon as possible after the close of each financial year submit to the Minister an annual report on the activities of the Institute during that financial year.
Accounts of the Institute
16.—(1)  The Council shall keep proper accounts and other records of the Institute and shall prepare in respect of each financial year a statement of the accounts of the Institute in the form approved by the Minister.
(2)  The accounts of the Institute shall be audited by a qualified auditor appointed by the Council with the approval of the Minister and such auditor shall make a report on the accounts examined by him.
(3)  As soon as the accounts of the Institute have been audited in accordance with subsection (2) of this section, a copy of the accounts together with the copy of the report made by the auditor shall be submitted to the Minister, who shall present to Parliament a copy of every such statement and report.
Annual estimates
17.  The Council shall obtain in advance the approval of the Minister for the annual estimate or expenditure for the Institute and any supplementary estimate of such expenditure.
Investment
18.  The monies held by the Institute may from time to time be invested in any of the securities in which trust funds may, by section 4 of the Trustees Act, 1967 (Act 17 of 1967), be invested.
Transfer to the Institute of Government assets and property of the Government
19.—(1)  The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, provide for the transfer to the Institute of any asset and property, movable and immovable, of the Government used for the purposes of the Teachers’ Training College and such asset and property shall be transferred to and vested in the Institute without further assurance.
(2)  In this section, “Teachers’ Training College” means the Teachers’ Training College situated in Paterson Hill, Singapore, and maintained by the Ministry of Education, Singapore, prior to the date of the coming into operation of this Act.
Gifts to the Institute to be granted tax relief
20.  The Institute shall be deemed to be an institution of a public character approved by the Minister for Finance for the purposes of paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section 37 of the Income Tax Ordinance (Cap. 166).
Regulations
21.—(1)  The Minister may make regulations for or in respect of every purpose which is deemed by him necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Act.
(2)  In addition to the powers conferred by subsection (1) of this section, the Minister may make regulations providing for —
(a)the convening of meetings of the Council and the procedure to be followed thereat;
(b)the exercise of the powers and functions by the Council of the powers of the Institute;
(c)the records to be kept of the accounts of the Institute and the procedure to be followed for the expenditure of the funds of the Institute;
(d)the preparation, audit and submission to the Minister of estimates, budgets, accounts and other information pertaining to the Institute; and
(e)the terms and conditions of transfer to the Institute of holders of pensionable appointments in the public service.