Singapore, 10 June 2010 -- Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, NCS, today announced that NCS has been appointed the ICT partner in the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) S$850 million Standard ICT Operating Environment for Schools programme.

Under the programme, NCS will provide all schools in Singapore with central infrastructure and computing services. The eight-year programme will combine the best of technologies and efficient business and support processes to offer a superior infocomm technology (ICT) experience for school leaders, teachers and administrative staff. This will improve the ICT environment in the education industry and enable school leaders and teachers to harness the power of ICT without the need to manage complex equipment and technology.

"At Singtel, we believe that education is the key to the future of our country and we are honoured to have been appointed the programme’s ICT service provider and play our small part in educating our young. As Einstein said, it is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. Through best-in-breed technology we aim to help teachers achieve this by allowing them to focus and maximise their time spent helping students learn, and not to install technology for its own sake," said Allen Lew, Singtel’s CEO Singapore and Chairman of the NCS Group.

"Feedback from current and former educators told us that a simple and effective user experience is what teachers want and we will put in the right technology solutions and people to make it happen. Singtel and NCS have participated very actively in the education sector and have supported two Schools of the Future. This win reinforces NCS’ commitment to the education sector and our focus on desktop management services required to support Singapore’s long-term education goals. NCS wishes to thank MOE for their confidence in our ability to deliver and we look forward to an even closer working relationship in the future.”

Lim Eng, CEO of the NCS Group, said, “The Standard ICT Operating Environment for Schools programme will transform the Singapore education landscape through the innovative use of ICT. Through this programme, we seek to allow MOE to offer students a superior learning experience that will equip them to make meaningful contributions to society."