Background
Ong is an alumnus of Raffles Institution and graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science (with honours) in chemistry. He went on to earn his Doctor of Philosophy in clinical biochemistry at the University of Oxford in 1975 under a Rhodes Scholarship. On his subsequent return to Singapore, he became a physiology lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine of the National University of Singapore (NUS) until 1991. While lecturing in the NUS, he concurrently held the position of Vice-Principal in ACS(I) from 1988 until 1994, when he was appointed Principal.
Ong has also published papers in international journals on exercise physiology, sports ergonomics and fitness assessments as well as research papers on education. During his reservist days in the Singapore Armed Forces, he received a Merit Award for his essay Discipline and Control in the Military, submitted for the 1989 Chief of General Staff Annual Essay Competition.
In addition, Ong was the chairman of the now-defunct Broadcast, Publications & Arts Appeal Advisory Committee (BPAAC), one of the committees that advised the Government of Singapore on censorship issues. He was also an executive committee member of the now-defunct Singapore Centre for Teaching Thinking, established in 1998 at the National Institute of Education, as part of the Thinking Schools Learning Nation initiative launched by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong in 1997. Ong is recognised as a Solemniser of Marriages by the Registry of Marriages, Singapore.
Ong has also been the recipient of many awards, including:
- The SAF Sword-of-Honour
- The Outstanding Young Person of Singapore (Silver) Jaycees International Award in 1975
- The National Day Commendation Medal (Military) in 1994 in recognition of his contributions to the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)
- The National Institute of Education Dr Ruth Wong Gold Medal for the Diploma in Education Administration(Secondary)
- The Public Administration Medal (Silver), awarded during National Day 1997
Ong is an executive elder and member of the Bethesda Frankel Estate Church in Siglap, an area in the southeast of Singapore.
Read more about this topic: Ong Teck Chin
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