Finally, another critical aspect of the human resource capacity of the Singapore system is the civil service. Lee
Kuan Yew’s philosophy of governance was to recruit very high quality people into public service. Singapore has an
extremely competent civil service, including in the ministry of Education. Top civil servants are carefully selected,
well-trained (many at the best universities in the world), pragmatic, hard-working and well-paid. They have a global
outlook, paying attention to education developments around the world, and are accustomed to using data and
evidence in decision making. They have clear responsibility for the efficiency and effectiveness of the Singapore
education system.