Singapore has taken various steps to promote Tamil, which enjoys official language status there, a senior minister of that country said in the south
Indian city Thursday.
"The main challenge and aim of the Singapore government is to ensure the better future of Tamil in the country... Today, 60 per cent of students are from English-speaking (Tamil) families. With the influence of English also high in the Internet, it is our challenge and aim to ensure that Tamil
youths are well-versed with their mother tongue," Singapore Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Education S Iswaran said at a Tamil Internet Conference here.
Changes have been brought in schools with teaching methods designed to achieve this purpose. Efforts are on to integrate Tamil in technology and Internet since the new generation is tech-savvy, he said.
"For instance, the Education department has introduced Tamil software in schools, allowing students to do Internet operations. Besides being taught in schools, Tamil is also used in public broadcast," Iswaran said.
Teachers are also integrating Tamil into technology and adopting various innovative teaching methods to popularise Tamil among the community members, he said.