Since its independence in 1965, the Singapore government has been giving priority to preserve racial harmony and social stability. A wide range of policy initiatives, including conscription for national defence, ethnic integration policy for public housing, and the National Education (NE) programme in tandem with a strong emphasis on local history education, have been implemented to strengthen the sense of national belonging and national identity among younger Singaporeans most of whom are not familiar with the early nation-building process of Singapore becoming an independent nation. This article reviews the development of history education in Singapore since 1965, and examines the significance of history education as a core component of the NE programme, which was launched in 1997, in cultivating a sense of national belonging and strengthening the national identity of Singaporeans. It argues that history education is treated by the government as a vital policy tool for propelling socio-political development in Singapore. There is a belief that the history of nation-building provides a common ground, regardless of age, race, language or religion, for cultivating in Singaporeans a sense of national belonging, loyalty and political consciousness, and encouraging constructive criticisms towards the incumbent governance structures in order to enable self-improvement.