The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) was corporatised. Autonomy brings about increased flexibility and new opportunities, allowing NTU to draw on its strengths to enhance global education and research, and to soar to greater heights on the world stage.

NIE continues to adapt its overall corporate support system to create the necessary environment for it to deliver quality programmes, research and consultancy services to schools in Singapore as well as the region. To respond to global needs, a consultancy unit, Knowledge Horizon, was formed to provide NIE’s expertise in teaching and school management to organisations beyond Singapore. Knowledge Horizon, later evolved in 2005 and became a stand-alone department known as External Programmes Office within NIE.

The National Institute of Education (NIE) was formed in July 1991 with the merger of the IE and CPE. The NIE was also established as an institute of the Nanyang Technological University that same year. As part of the university, NIE now provides a new four-year degree course offered to matriculated students. As the sole teacher training institute in Singapore, the NIE provides foundation training for trainee teachers as well as professional upgrading and continual training for serving teachers.

The College of Physical of Education (CPE) was established at IE to cater to the need of training specialist teachers in Physical Education. CPE established itself as an autonomous college providing a two-year training for non-graduates and graduates leading to a Diploma in Physical Education.

The Institute of Education (IE) was established from TTC. In addition to the two-year full-time Certificate in Education programme for non-graduates, IE also offered a part-time teaching cadetship comprising a one-and-a-half-year Diploma in Education and a three-year Certificate in Education. Students in this programme juggled their time between studying and teaching in schools. This was finally replaced by the full-time teacher-in-training scheme in 1980.

Singapore’s Teachers’ Training College (TTC) was established to meet the need for a more structured teacher training programme arose from an ever increasing school enrollment after World War II (1939 - 1945). Teacher training in Singapore, prior to this period, was carried out only on an ad-hoc basis. TTC, then, provided a certificate course in education for non-graduates.