He’s back in the student seat at 61

If any of his students at Temasek Primary says that they cannot succeed in their studies, Jagjeet only has to point to himself to tell them why they should not give up. After all, he sat for his ‘A’ levels only at 35.

The head of the school’s English Department has had an illustrious 41 year career as a teacher, during which he makes it a point to stay on top of the latest pedagogical approaches.

With his training, he has been able to lead his team to develop innovative teaching programmes such as the Genie’s Lamp reading programme that other schools have adopted.

And at a time when his peers are retiring, this grandfather of two is still learning – this time to start a second career in counselling. He is currently taking up a degree in psychology at SIM University to rejoin Temasek Primary as a counsellor after his retirement next year.

After having interacted with children for more than four decades, does he really need to take a degree? ‘Yes’, came the enthusiastic reply. It will help him understand what drives the students better so that he can tailor his counselling strategies accordingly.