Every year, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore not only bestows awards on their exceptional students, but also recognises the contributions of the teachers and lecturers behind the achievement of these top scorers.

This year, Mr Hariandra Muthu, Head of Department of the Cambridge A Level Programme at Taylor's College Sri Hartamas, was pleasantly surprised when he was called to receive the Certificate of Honour from the prestigious institution. He was nominated by his former student, Boon Chia Weng, who clinched four awards - the Lee Kuan Yew Gold Medal, the University Scholar Award (for Academic Performance), the Professional Engineers Board Gold Medal, and the Singapore Concrete Institute Book Prize - at NTU this year.


The prestigious award was presented by Mr S.R. Nathan, President of Singapore and Chancellor of NTU. It recognises the influence of inspirational pre-university teachers on their students who have gone on to become top scholars at NTU.

"Being recognised for my efforts is certainly a boost to my confidence. Teaching A Level Physics has been quite a challenge as it's not most students' favourite subject. Teaching in a highly competitive environment like Taylor's has also challenged me intellectually and made me strive to become a better teacher," said a beaming Mr Hariandra.

"I nominated Mr Hari for the award as he was the one who sparked my interest in Physics, which led me to pursue my degree in engineering. I remember very fondly that his classes were always very enjoyable. Not only did he make physics interesting, he also taught us how to reason using facts and evidence. It has certainly been my good fortune to be one of his students," shared Boon.

When asked how he made his classes more interesting, Mr Hariandra said, "Bringing hands-on learning experience into the classroom is not an easy task, but with the integration of ICT in the teaching and learning process, it is now more achievable."

However, he was quick to add that computers can never replace teachers, as the ‘human touch' is what matters most in teaching, "It is the ingenuity of the teacher to facilitate the learning process that makes it interesting for the student."

"Teachers should experiment with different teaching methods and select the one that best suits both teacher and students. It is important for teachers to put themselves in their students' shoes and imagine how the teaching is going to take place," advised Mr Hariandra.

NTU awarded Mr Hariandra with a grant of SGD $5,000 which will be awarded to a deserving student of Taylor's University College, who will be identified and selected by a committee led by Mr Hariandra.

Said Mr Lim Tou Boon, President of Taylor's College, "We are very proud that one of our own, Mr Hariandra, has been recognised with this prestigious award. This again reinforces our belief in the strong teaching faculty that we have at Taylor's. In fact, I think it would be a good idea to introduce similar awards in our own college to recognise school teachers who have inspired their students to do well. In this way we will be able to create a continuous virtuous cycle of excellence between our students and teachers."

"This kind of recognition will also help to change the general attitude that people have towards the teaching profession. Teaching has always been and still is a noble profession," concluded Mr Hariandra.