Chan Chun Sing
Singapore
“Since 2002, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) has worked with the autonomous universities (AUs) to establish arrangements that minimise disruption to National Servicemen (NSmen) who are pursuing full-time studies up to the undergraduate level, while meeting the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF's) operational and training needs.”
“Secondments help to build up the range of competencies and work experiences of public officers to strengthen their longer-term employment relevance and resilience. The Public Service Division's guideline to agencies is to support public officers even while they are on secondment.”
“The priority of our National Servicemen must be their military duties and operational training, to meet the Singapore Armed Forces's (SAF's) operational requirements.”
“In January 2026, I had informed this House that the Government had convened an independent committee to conduct a review of the political salary framework that was laid out in 2012. The Committee has completed the review and submitted its recommendations to the Government in April.”
“All countries seek to develop mutually beneficial partnerships, and the United States-Indonesia Major Defence Cooperation Partnership is one such example.”
“Since the Singapore Armed Forces Volunteer Corps (SAFVC) was established in 2014, over 1,500 men and women have completed training and served as SAFVC Volunteers (SVs). Presently, there are about 1,100 in-service SVs, comprising 52% male and 48% female. About seven in 10 of our in-service SVs are new Citizens or Permanent Residents.”
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“I understand that there is much public interest in this matter. I want to give my assurance that this case will be put through the due legal process. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau has completed a robust and thorough investigation and the matter is currently being reviewed by the Attorney-General's Chambers. It would therefore not be appropriate to comment on the matter at this juncture.”
“As at 1 December 2023, there were 314,599 Singaporeans aged 21 years and above who were not in the Registers of Electors. This is about 10% of Singaporeans aged 21 years and above and comprises non-voters from previous elections who have yet to restore themselves to the Registers and those who turned 21 after the last revision of the Registers in July 2023. Based on the latest data from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, there were some 30,000 overseas Singaporeans who had an overseas address on their National Registration Identity Cards but whose names were not in the Registers of Electors because they did not furnish a valid local contact address. A proportion of those whose names are not in the Registers are likely to be Singaporeans overseas who, while they still have a local address, have not voted at an election and have not applied to restore their names to the Registers. The Elections Department does not track how many of those not in the Registers of Electors are former convicts.”
“Since launching the SkillsFuture movement, the training participation rate of individuals, including employer-sponsored training, has risen from 35% in 2015 to around 50% in 2022. This is in part supported by the SkillsFuture Credit (SFC) that encourages Singapore Citizens to take ownership of their learning and skills development. In 2022, 192,000 Singaporeans used their SFC. This is an annual increase of around 12,000 per year, from 156,000 in 2019. This growth is a result of efforts by SkillsFuture Singapore to promote a culture of lifelong learning and help individuals make informed choices based on their training needs. Given that mature workers require more support to pursue substantive reskilling and upskilling to stay employable, the Government is looking into providing a further substantial SFC top-up for mature, mid-career Singaporeans. More details will be announced later this year.”
“The answer is yes, we are working closely with MCI and other Ministries to do this. But I must say that this is an ongoing challenge not just for MOE or MCI; but it is a whole-of-society challenge. At the crux of it is whether we can have trusted sources of information, which goes to the core of our democratic system. We cannot have reasoned debate, elections and so forth, if we cannot trust the information that we are accessing. So, I think this requires a whole-of-nation effort and, definitely, MOE and MCI will be working closely with all our stakeholders to develop the framework that the Member suggested.”
“Recently, I put up a video to illustrate this because a Secondary 3 student, Kairos, demonstrated to me how he took charge of his own learning during the school holidays by accessing the modules on SLS – these are all free of charge, by the way – to learn at his own pace. So, this is one way we democratise the access to all the best materials available across our own system. It helps our people to save time; it also allows everyone to have the access to similar materials. Another example of how we have done this to democratise the access is that we make sure that even students from poorer family backgrounds do not get left out. It is the vivid example of how we have overcome a potential learning loss among such students during COVID-19. When schools were closed during COVID-19, we did two things. First, we made sure that even if the students do not come to school, they have access to laptops, tablets and computers so that they can learn at home and we even made sure that they have access to the bandwidth necessary to support the working of this laptop. And, of course, on top of that, for students who are unable to do such things at home, we even opened up the schools to allow them to continue their learning in schools. So, our teachers actually run two systems in parallel whereby we have online access and also offline, back-in-the-school access. This is MOE's commitment to make sure that, through the use of technology, we do not end up with a digital divide but, instead, we use technology to democratise the access to the best material available to all students.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, let me take the second supplementary question first. The short answer is yes. We are concerned about the issue of misinformation – including deepfakes – and this is an ongoing topic of conversation in all our schools and IHLs. I think it is not just about schools and IHLs. Actually, across our whole society, we should be equally concerned about this: how to distinguish truth from fake news, right from wrong. So, this is a concerted effort and MOE cannot do this alone. We will certainly partner all the stakeholders to make sure that we can share the right information – appropriate information – with our students and also the community, so that we all become more informed in the process without being misinformed by others or being proxies for other people's misinformation. That is important. On the first supplementary question on inequality of access, it is precisely what we have been trying to do, which is to democratise the access. We are very keenly aware that some families may not have access to some of the materials in the past. But let me just give two examples of how we have done this and continue to do this. First, is the SLS. In the past, some parents might have more resources and then they go and buy more resource materials for their children to read and worksheets to work on and so forth. But today, I encourage everyone to check the SLS. If you have children who are in the school-going ages, you will find that within the SLS, there is an entire repository of all kinds of materials. The best teaching resources are available in the SLS. And your child does not need to just log on to do the homework that is being assigned by his or her teacher. He or she can also log on and do many other things that the teachers did not assign them.”
“That is where the discovery comes in and that ties in with the emphasis on self-initiated learning so that you take control of the mastery of the content that we want our students to have. So, these are important skills for us to prepare our students for the AI-enabled world and we are working closely with MCI on the technical part to build up the repository of courses and knowledge for our students.”
“That is a bit more sophisticated. For that, our belief is that there are certain fundamentals that are important to equip our students across the board for them to get into careers in this track. For example, the importance of mathematics, logical thinking, computational skills – these are very important. So, we may not teach AI or we may not teach coding specifically. But behind coding, there are certain foundational skills that are very important. Even in the recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, we are glad that our students have done well in terms of their ability to think logically and to exhibit traits of computational thinking. Because ultimately, in this AI-enabled world where there is an overflow of information, three words come to mind when we encourage our students to use AI. First, the ability to distil, discern and to discover. Why these three? Distil: because the world will be flooded with information. How to distil the information into what is relevant and useful to us, is the first important step. Discern: because, having done that, it must come with value. Discernment comes with value. So, it is important to distil and discern. But, very importantly, our students and our workers, in time to come, must be able to discover, which means to create new value propositions. In today and tomorrow's world, none of us will be rewarded by regurgitating old knowledge or what I usually say, "No point answering yesterday's questions with yesterday's answers". What we need, is to prepare our students to answer tomorrow's questions and challenges with tomorrow's solutions ahead of time.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, let me make a few points in response to Ms Jean See's comments. First, we certainly agree that learning to use AI is important, but learning to use AI ethically is even more important. For us, from MOE's position, we will always couple the learning of the technical use of AI with the ethical use of AI. To us, that is very important. This goes beyond just about giving credit to or informing people that you have used these tools. But more importantly, to know the downsides that the program or the AI algorithm – after all, it is an algorithm – may bring and some of the biases that may happen in the course of using that. This is something that we are very careful about. We do not start this at the IHL level. For example, in one of my visits to the schools, the teachers encouraged their students to use an AI tool to help them craft an essay. But it is not about the essay that is most important. After they crafted the essay, the teachers wanted the students to: first, know the sources of information that the AI draws upon; then, the teachers encouraged the students to critique the AI product so that they can understand the upside and the downside of the product and also, the potential biases that that algorithm has generated. So, it is through such examples that we allow our students to learn to use AI ethically. My second part of the comments relates to how we are preparing our students for an AI-enabled world. There are two sub-parts to this. First, at the broader level, it is making sure that our people are smart users – they know how to use this. That is easier done – how to use it, how to use it ethically and how to use it intelligently. The other part is how to prepare our people to be the coders, the people to work on such algorithms.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the short answer is that it depends on which level of exposure we give to the students. In the various examples I have highlighted just now, for example, at the primary school level, many of the things that we do are for exposure purposes, for the students to learn how to be a smart user. We do not necessarily use it for assessment at all levels. But if I may give an example, at a higher level, the module at Temasek Polytechnic which they demonstrated to me, the students used generative AI as part of their coursework. When they use the generative AI coupled with the interior design course, what they figure out very quickly are two things. First, with AI, they can refine the designs very quickly – using, perhaps, half the time that they used to, using the previous method. But the second thing that they have also learnt and very importantly, is how to sharpen – as the Member said – the prompt required in order to start the whole process. If the prompts are not well-crafted, then, you could be doing things very fast, but not necessarily down the correct path. This is what we mean by age-appropriate lessons. At a certain level, you can apply AI and sharpen the skills necessary at that level. Different students at different levels learn to use AI at different levels of competencies and sophistication.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we thank Mr Ong for the suggestion. I would like to share with Members of the House that in the SLS, there are different types of modules. There are modules that are part of the core curriculum – or part of the school curriculum – which the students can access and help them to pace their own learning. Within the SLS, there are also modules that are outside the school curriculum or available in other schools, which the students can access at their own time to learn about things beyond the curriculum. We encourage the students to do so because we would like our students to develop the habit of initiating their own learning and taking charge of their own learning. Hopefully, these habits apply to them not just within the school premises, but also, throughout their lives. We will take into account Mr Ong's suggestion.”
“At St Hilda's Primary School, teachers guide students to use customised recommended resources for self-learning or embark on a different lesson if they wish to explore a different sub-topic. At Rosyth School, before using the ALS, students undergo an introductory module on how AI can be used and its ethical considerations to ensure students use AI safely and holistically. At Temasek Polytechnic's Diploma in Interior Architecture and Design, students are taught to use AI tools to aid them in the design process, such as using ChatGPT to generate design statements and Midjourney to generate reference images. Singapore University of Technology and Design's Design and Artificial Intelligence Programme equips our students with technical expertise in AI and design innovation skills. Core domains covered include algorithms, AI applications in design and applied deep learning. Through acquiring such competencies in the various domains, graduates can apply AI-driven designs to transform the economy and improve lives. Mr Speaker, Sir, these are various examples where we apply AI and teach AI in our schools according to the age-appropriate level.”
“Students build on this knowledge and further apply it in the Design and Technology subject to design products, such as a blockchain-inspired smart savings application that tracks spending habits and automates money deposits. Yet another example: at Peirce Secondary School, they use generative AI tools in coursework subjects like Design and Technology, and Nutrition and Food Science. Design and Technology teachers guide their students to use generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Vizcom to generate new ideas for their products, develop their ability to sketch, visualise and imagine solutions for their prototypes. At Yuan Ching Secondary School, students also use AI to generate ideas for their Nutrition and Food Science projects. In both schools, students are taught to evaluate the credibility of AI-generated content by corroborating it with other reliable information sources. Students are also taught to acknowledge the use of AI tools and other sources in their reports. This helps them to use AI ethically. At a higher level, Anderson Serangoon Junior College partnered AI Singapore to introduce students to foundational learning in AI. Through a jointly organised event, "Prepping for an AI career revolution", students learn about AI and its use cases and engage in a dialogue with industry leaders. Anderson Serangoon Junior College also developed the infocomms technology (ICT) Champions Programme to enhance digital literacy and skills amongst interested students. At another level, we also use an AI-enabled adaptive learning system (ALS) for mathematics that has been made available through our Singapore Student Learning Space (SLS) for Primary 5-level topics since 2023, with more topics to be progressively rolled out in the next two years.”
“In schools, students are taught cyber wellness skills, which include evaluating information and identifying fake news including those transmitted through AI systems, understanding data security, privacy and responsible online behaviours. Teachers also guide students to use AI to support their learning, emphasising ethics related to the use of data and AI, such as the importance of integrity and proper data handling. The IHLs also incorporate the use of AI tools in specific domains to ensure students understand the risks that AI poses, such as the potential to perpetuate misinformation. They also have governance frameworks to ensure the ethical and responsible use of AI. Beyond our schools and IHLs, working adults can take up AI-related SkillsFuture courses to become smart and secure users of AI in their respective industries. Mr Speaker, Sir, if I have your permission, let me illustrate this with some real examples of what is happening in our schools and IHLs. Teachers at Temasek Primary School taught students to use an AI tool called Stable Diffusion, which is a generative AI image-generator, when learning about sustainability concepts as part of the school's science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) ALP. Guided by their teachers, students learn how to write prompts, evaluate the effectiveness of their prompts and adjust them to improve the quality of the generated images as they create an e-book to advocate sustainability. Another example: students at Montfort Secondary School learn AI through their STEM ALP. Students learn the basic AI applications, such as image recognition, chatbots and smart assistants that use natural language processing.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, Members have asked how the Ministry of Education (MOE) plans to prepare our students, teachers and the workforce on the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) and address potential risks, such as data breaches, misuse and fake news spread through AI systems. MOE recognises that AI will become increasingly pervasive in the workplace and in our daily lives. To prepare our students and workforce, MOE develops students’ foundational knowledge of AI and promotes its safe and responsible use in schools and at the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs). Educators in schools and IHLs are provided with guidance, resources and training to effectively harness it to enhance learning. Students acquire relevant digital literacies, such as understanding AI, its uses and limitations, and ethical considerations in the course of learning different subjects. Students also have opportunities to further their learning through school-based programmes, such as co-curricular activities, Applied Learning Programmes (ALPs) and enrichment programmes, which may be taught by teachers, industry partners and service providers. One example is the AI Student Outreach Programme conducted by AI Singapore. In 2023, close to 17,000 students applied to join the programme, with the breakdown of applicants as follows: (a) 11% from the polytechnics; (b) 52% from the secondary schools; (c) 11% from the IP schools; and (d) 3% from the junior colleges. Students from the autonomous universities and the Institute of Technical Education make up the remaining 23% of applicants. Besides knowledge of AI, schools and IHLs have measures to guard against the risks of AI.”
“Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 3 and 4 on today’s Order Paper by Mr Ong Hua Han, together with the Parliamentary Questions from Mr Patrick Tay1 and Assoc Prof Razwana Begum2 scheduled for a subsequent Sitting?”
“The racial and gender proportions of the Civil Service as a whole are broadly aligned to that of the national population. Racial and gender diversity are but two of the many dimensions of diversity we look for. Other equally if not more important dimensions include the wide range of experiences and capabilities needed to deliver our national outcomes. Given the diversity of roles in the Civil Service, we do not and should not expect every sub-sector or grade to mirror the national profile. What is also important is for the Civil Service to establish engagement structures and processes to ensure that the necessary breadth and depth of perspectives and interests are taken into consideration. Ultimately, what matters most to our Public Service work are not necessarily the input indicators of race or gender, but the outcome indicators of efficiency, effectiveness and resilience. The Member may wish to refer to our reply to Parliamentary Question No 44 at the 5 April 2022 Parliament Sitting on our approach in building diversity in the Public Service leadership. [Please refer to "Diversity in Gender, Ethnicity and Background at Top Levels of Civil Service", Official Report, 5 April 2022, Vol 95, Issue 61, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer not Answered by End of Question Time section.]”
“In the last five years, on average, less than 20% of officers in the Civil Service fully utilise their dental benefits of $120 per year. We regularly review compensation and benefits to ensure that the overall package remains suitable for our needs.”
“All schools are resourced with one to two School Counsellors, while each polytechnic and ITE college currently has an average of six counsellors. The autonomous universities similarly employ a varying number of counsellors depending on their enrolment and students' needs. Beyond relying on counsellors to address students' mental health issues, schools and Institutes of Higher Learning also tap on an ecosystem of support comprising student peer-support networks, teachers, flexi adjunct and para-counsellors for support, as well as mental health resources in the community, such as the Response, Early Intervention and Assessment in Community Mental Health (REACH) teams for further assessment and intervention. Students are also equipped with resilience-building skills, such as emotional regulation, help-seeking and problem solving to strengthen their sense of wellbeing. These provisions are regularly reviewed to ensure they are responsive to students' needs.”
“The post-retirement medical benefits for Government pensioners have been designed to cover direct reimbursement for acute care in restructured hospitals and post-discharge sub-acute and rehabilitative care in community hospitals, in accordance with the pensioner's medical benefits scheme and subject to prevailing guidelines. The post-retirement medical benefits for Government pensioners also include provision for MediShield Life premiums or additional MediSave contributions. Most pensioners are also eligible for support under the Pioneer or Merdeka Generation Packages, which include lifelong MediSave top-ups from the Government. Through the coverage provided for by MediShield Life and MediSave, pensioners can receive support for inpatient treatments in community hospitals, nursing homes and hospices, without referrals from restructured hospitals.”
“Students in Government, Government-aided, independent and specialised schools are not allowed to register for the GCE O-Level examinations as private candidates, as they will already register as school candidates. However, schools have the discretion to register students as school candidates for the O-Level examinations in subjects not offered by the school. Schools exercise this option judiciously and consider the overall curriculum and assessment load, aspirations and well-being of their students. For students in the Integrated Programme (IP), we encourage them to pursue broader learning experiences using the time freed up from preparing for the O-Level examinations. They are allowed to take the O-Level examination as school candidates in some instances, such as to fulfil the national policy on mother tongue language, if they are in the Third Language Programme or in the Art/Music Elective Programmes. Beyond this, allowing IP students to take the O-Level examinations as private candidates would go against the intent of the Integrated Programme.”
“Today, 6.9% of students in mainstream primary and secondary schools, or around 27,000 students, are reported to have Special Educational Needs (SEN). Depending on the severity of needs, students with SEN may be granted Access Arrangements (AA) when they sit for examinations. The provisions help to reduce barriers for students with SEN to demonstrate their knowledge and skills, so that they can be fairly assessed. Examples of AA include the provision of extra time, use of assistive technology, and exemption from specific components of an examination. The Ministry of Education and the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board work closely with schools, parents, medical and/or allied health professionals to monitor and review the students' needs. Schools also use school-based assessments to check if the AA are appropriate in addressing specific barriers faced by students. Schools observe that students with SEN are able to make use of these provisions to better access their examinations.”
“Our education system offers multiple pathways to cater to our students' diverse strengths, interests and learning needs. At the post-Secondary level, junior colleges and the Millenia Institute equip students with the necessary academic skills and knowledge through the A-Level syllabus as required for further education, particularly at the universities. On the other hand, polytechnics and Institute of Technical Education provide more industry-based and applied learning that prepares students for the workforce. These different pathways continue to be relevant today. We will continue to offer multiple post-Secondary pathways, even as we enhance porosity between the pathways. For example, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has increased the opportunities for polytechnic graduates to further their studies at the universities, especially with more applied university programmes. Since 2020, A-Level graduates have also been able to take polytechnic diploma courses with exemptions of up to two semesters. We regularly review and make adjustments across all our pathways to ensure that our students receive a holistic education beyond academic preparation, and that our education system prepares them well for the future. For example, to keep pace with technological and global developments, MOE has announced that we will be enhancing the 21st Century Competencies (21CC) framework, with a greater emphasis on adaptive and inventive thinking, communication and civic literacy.”
“Students with mental health concerns in all schools can be referred to the Response, Early Intervention and Assessment in Community Mental Health (REACH) teams for further assessment and intervention. In the past five years, the REACH teams received an average of some 1,500 referrals from Ministry of Education schools per year.”
“Jointly offered by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Strategic Partnership Co-Curricular Activity (SP-CCA) allows secondary students from different schools to come together to pursue their interest in sports and arts beyond what is offered at their schools. There are over 150 students from 68 schools in the three SP-CCAs, namely, Athletics, Water Polo and Ethnic Dance. This year, students in SP-CCA Athletics and Water Polo participated at the National School Games and other sports events, while those in SP-CCA Ethnic Dance performed at the Singapore Youth Festival. MOE will continue to work closely with our partners to monitor student interest and consider offering SP-CCA in more areas in the next few years.”
“Most schools, including those in Zhenghua, have canteen stalls providing healthy and affordable meals for students. From time to time, some schools do face challenges finding stallholders, for example, when stallholders retire. Some schools already use a pre-order meal service model. The Ministry of Education will continue to support schools in providing healthy and affordable meals for students, including through alternative service models.”
“Parents play a crucial role in guiding their children to be discerning in their use of devices and online interactions. Schools work closely with parents by sharing resources, expert insights and strategies on managing a range of cyber issues. Through Parent Support Groups and community partners, schools also reach out to parents to equip them with the necessary digital knowledge and skills. As part of the Interagency Taskforce for Mental Health and Well-being, the Ministry of Education is also working with the Ministry of Social and Family Development and Ministry of Communications and Information to develop a Parents’ Toolbox to support parents to manage their children’s device use, so that they can navigate and thrive in the digital world safely.”
“Yes, under our medical benefits schemes, public officers can seek reimbursement for medical treatments for mental health conditions prescribed by doctors registered with the Singapore Medical Council and carried out at hospitals/clinics licensed under the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act, subject to the prevailing guidelines. The Public Service has been and will continue to enhance its efforts to care for and look after the mental health of officers. Public officers can access free counselling through a mental health hotline which provides a safe channel to speak to trained counsellors. A wide range of mental health programmes has been curated to support public officers, such as mindline@work, which is a one-stop repository of self-help resources, and wellness activities that cover topics relating to mental well-being, physical health and nutrition. The Public Service also has a network of over 2,000 mental health ambassadors who are trained to look out for and support officers who may appear stressed or need to talk to someone.”
“MOE will continue to take proactive steps to ensure our students are prepared for the future of work by continually refreshing the curriculum to infuse emerging technologies and skills and working closely with industry partners to keep abreast of their latest needs.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) regularly reviews the curriculum across all educational levels so that our students are equipped with the necessary competencies to start work. To provide our students with the necessary and foundational skills to navigate the workplace, our schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) have increased curricular focus on soft skills and core competencies. These include the revised 21st Century Competencies to be developed in schools and the revised LifeSkills curriculum in the IHLs. Through enhancements to our harnessing of technology in teaching and learning, our schools and IHLs also aim to equip our students with stronger digital literacy and technological skills. Our schools also work with industry partners to provide real-world experiences, authentic learning and industry exposure for our students. To strengthen these efforts, the new MOE Partnerships Engagement Office has been set up to serve as a central coordinating platform to connect schools with industry and community partners. To ensure industry relevance, the IHLs partner industry to validate their curriculum and refresh and align their curricula when skills frameworks and industry transformation maps are updated. In addition, components, such as internships and capstone projects with industry, are integrated into IHL programmes to provide students with industry exposure and enable them to apply what they have learnt in the working world. Keeping pace with the fast-changing nature of our economy and business needs is an important priority for the education system.”
“As Institutes of Higher Learning, our autonomous universities (AUs) are common spaces and should provide neutral ground for learning, open discussions and civil discourse. In carrying out their activities, they must be respectful of Singapore's wider social norms and exercise appropriate judgement and sensitivity when dealing with issues that may potentially be socially divisive. Within the bounds of these principles, as well as national guidelines and laws, the AUs have the autonomy to manage campus activities, including public performances.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) adopt a variety of methods to measure and monitor the outcomes of SkillsFuture-funded Continuing Education and Training (CET) programmes. Wage and employment outcomes are the most concrete and quantifiable way to measure the learning and industry relevance of skills training. We work with partners, such as the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), to monitor these outcomes through programme-specific surveys and econometric studies. For example, the annual Work-Study Programme Outcomes Survey (WSPOS) has consistently showed that more than 90% of the trainees were employed within six months of completing the programme. Their median salaries were also higher than what they received at the start of the programme. A 2018 study conducted by MTI also showed positive effects of the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) training on employment and wages. However, wage and employment outcomes do not always tell us the full picture. Reskilling may have helped workers, who were otherwise at risk of displacement, keep their jobs or take on new job roles. As such, MOE and SSG take a broader view of the impact of the SkillsFuture movement, including through monitoring whether workers find that training helps them to be more effective at their jobs. The Training Quality and Outcomes Measures (TRAQOM) survey, administered by SkillsFuture Singapore on courses that it funds, found that more than nine in 10 trainees said that they saw an improvement in work performance and were able to take on enhanced responsibilities at work.”
“Schools have established processes to help students at risk of self-harm or suicide. Teachers are trained to identify students experiencing distress and to provide timely support and guidance. Dedicated time has been set aside for teachers to check in regularly on their students’ well-being. Schools also have a system of peer support to enable students to highlight distressed peers to teachers. Students struggling with socio-emotional or mental health issues are referred to the School Counsellor. School Counsellors are trained to conduct a suicide risk assessment and to bring in parental and other support for the students' safety. They will address possible underlying issues and guide the students to develop effective coping strategies. Students with suicide risk will be referred urgently to the Response, Early intervention and Assessment in Community mental Health (REACH) teams or emergency services in hospitals for further intervention. Schools monitor these students closely and work directly with parents and caregivers to keep track of their mental health state, assess potential risks and adjust support as needed. Together with the healthcare institutions, schools work with parents to ensure there is adequate safety and support, including to help students access further mental health support when needed.”
“MOE will continue to take proactive steps to ensure our students are prepared for the future of work, by continually refreshing the curriculum to infuse emerging technologies and skills and working closely with industry partners to keep abreast of their latest needs.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) regularly reviews the curriculum across all educational levels so that our students are equipped with the necessary competencies to start work. To provide our students with the necessary and foundational skills to navigate the workplace, our schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) have increased curricular focus on soft skills and core competencies. These include the revised 21st Century Competencies to be developed in schools and the revised LifeSkills curriculum in IHLs. Through enhancements to our harnessing of technology in teaching and learning, our schools and IHLs also aim to equip our students with stronger digital literacy and technological skills. Our schools also work with industry partners to provide real-world experiences, authentic learning and industry exposure for our students. To strengthen these efforts, the new MOE Partnerships Engagement Office has been set up to serve as a central coordinating platform to connect schools with industry and community partners. To ensure industry relevance, the IHLs partner industry to validate their curriculum, and refresh and align their curricula when skills frameworks and industry transformation maps are updated. In addition, components, such as internships and capstone projects with industry, are integrated into IHL programmes to provide students with industry exposure and enable them to apply what they have learnt in the working world. Keeping pace with the fast-changing nature of our economy and business needs is an important priority for the education system.”
“The Elections Department (ELD) is currently reviewing the two new initiatives, namely, overseas postal voting and special voting arrangements for nursing homes, introduced at Presidential Election 2023. For postal voting, the initial findings are similar to what ELD had observed in its trial before the election, which are that postal services in some countries may not postmark the business reply return envelopes and that the return envelopes should be mailed early. ELD had thus earlier emailed registered postal voters to advise them to affix postage stamps on their return envelopes, especially if they reside in certain regions/countries, and to mail their return envelopes early to ensure that they reach the Returning Officer within 10 days after Polling Day. On the pilot special voting arrangements at nursing homes, the initiative has enabled voters with mobility challenges to cast their votes without leaving the nursing home and, when necessary, to vote from their beds. However, election officials did face challenges, including managing voters who may lack the mental capacity to vote. ELD will consider the various findings and feedback and announce the next steps ahead of the next election.”
“The Elections Department (ELD) will notify overseas postal voters via email that their return envelopes have been received by the Returning Officer (RO). Voters may also check the status of their return envelope via ELD’s Voter Services. ELD does not currently inform voters if their postal ballot papers have been accepted for counting and will study if this can be implemented in future elections. An overseas voter who has successfully registered as a postal voter and has downloaded his or her postal ballot paper will not be considered as a non-voter. This remains the case even if the RO does not subsequently receive the return envelope. ELD’s preliminary analysis showed that the majority of postal ballot papers which reached the RO in time but could not be accepted for counting for Presidential Election 2023 was because the return envelopes had postmarks which were late, that is, later than 31 August 2023, or had faint, illegible or missing postmarks. While ELD will review whether other improvements to the postal voting process could be made, it remained important for overseas postal voters to mail their return envelopes early and to affix stamps if they are residing in certain regions/countries, so that the return envelopes have the best chance of reaching Singapore by the deadline to be accepted for counting.”
“Persons serving a sentence of less than 12 months in prison are unable to vote in elections as it is currently not feasible for voting facilities to be provided to persons detained in prisons due to safety, security and operational concerns.”
“About 95% of primary schools, 80% of secondary schools and 90% of junior colleges/centralised institutes have a lactation room, while the remaining schools have a suitable room for nursing mothers to use. For these remaining schools, the Ministry of Education is working with them to set up dedicated lactation rooms. All autonomous universities, polytechnics and the Institutes of Technical Education campuses are equipped with at least one lactation room.”
“Under the Public Service (Disciplinary Proceedings) Regulations, interdiction is not meant to be a disciplinary penalty in and of itself. In the Civil Service, when officers have to be interdicted from duty while undergoing investigations, they are put on half-pay, subject to a floor of $1,200 and a ceiling of $8,500 per month. Officers can be interdicted on no-pay from the point wrongdoing has been established by the relevant authorities, up to the conclusion of internal Civil Service disciplinary proceedings which may result in dismissal of the officers. Officers who have previously been interdicted on half-pay during investigations may also subsequently be put on no-pay interdiction after wrongdoing has been established by the relevant authorities. For instance, for cases involving Police and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau investigations, officers interdicted on half-pay initially will be interdicted on no-pay if the Court convicts them of the charges. Based on available interdiction records, about 300 civil servants were interdicted from duty over the last 10 years since 2013. Of which, 10% were interdicted directly on no-pay as wrongdoing had been established at the point of interdiction. Around 30% were interdicted on half-pay initially and subsequently interdicted on no-pay. The remaining 60% have only half-pay interdiction records for various reasons, such as ongoing internal investigations, pending Court cases, no wrongdoing established and resignation.”
“For Presidential Election 2023, overseas postal voters were able to download the postal ballot papers from 23 August 2023. For a voter's ballot paper to be accepted for counting, the return envelope containing the ballot paper should be postmarked on or before 31 August 2023 and reach the Returning Officer in Singapore no later than 11 September 2023, the 10th day after Polling Day in Singapore. There were 3,432 registered overseas postal voters. The Elections Department (ELD) received 2,263 return envelopes as at the deadline of 11 September 2023. As at 18 September 2023, that is, seven days after the deadline of 11 September 2023, an additional 267 return envelopes were received, of which, 83 were postmarked before 1 September 2023. ELD will study the Member's suggestion for the postal votes to be delivered to Singapore embassies or consulates and then couriered back to Singapore. However, this method will still be subject to the vagaries of postal delivery times in the respective countries, as well as the problem of faint, illegible or missing postmarks. This is why, in our various outreach to postal voters, we have encouraged them to mail their return envelopes early and directly back to Singapore so that the return envelopes have the best chance of reaching Singapore by the deadline to be accepted for counting.”
“The purpose of education is to enable every child to learn values, skills and knowledge to develop into a healthy thriving person capable of contributing as a citizen. The school curriculum and programmes help students discover and learn, so as to reach their potential. Assessments serve as periodic points to gather information on students' learning progress and to support them in their next stage of learning, such as in helping to determine the subjects and subject levels most suitable for them. The removal of Mid-Year Examinations should be understood in the right spirit. It is not aimed at reducing stress per se, but at reducing the overemphasis on examinations and grades, and to free up time and space for teachers to provide more engaging learning experiences and pace learning. This will give students more opportunities to strengthen their 21st century competencies and develop as self-directed learners. Students will have sufficient feedback through a variety of ways, such as weighted assessments and classroom assignments, to improve their learning. Schools design a variety of assessments suited to the learning objectives. Schools have given feedback that students and parents appreciate that there are now more opportunities for students to discover their interests and strengths. Teachers also have more time to provide a variety of learning experiences to cater to students' learning needs and to give feedback on their learning. The Ministry of Education will continue to work closely with schools and stakeholders to ensure that our school assessments are appropriately positioned and designed to enable students' learning, while mindful of their well-being.”
“Based on Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's data, the suicide incidence rate for young persons aged 10 to 19 has fluctuated over the last five years. For every 100,000 young persons aged 10 to 19, the suicide incidence was 4.4 in 2018, 4.0 in 2019, 5.5 in 2020, 8.9 in 2021 and 6.6 in 2022. These figures are lower than the national suicide rate. There are no indications that certain schools and institutes of higher learning have a higher reported suicide rate.”
“Mr S Iswaran was granted leave of absence from Parliament Sittings as he was being formally investigated. Investigations are still ongoing and providing an update at this juncture as requested by Mr Pritam Singh may prejudice the investigations.”
“In the Civil Service, when officers have to be interdicted from duty during investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF), they will be put on half-pay, subject to a pay ceiling of $8,500 per month. If the officers are found innocent at the end of the investigation, they will be reinstated, and the half pay that has been withheld will be paid back to the officers. However, if they are found guilty and subsequently dismissed from service, they will lose the withheld pay. We do not recover or claw back the half pay that the officer was given during the period of interdiction. These rules apply to all civil servants regardless of seniority.”
“All overseas trips organised by Ministry of Education (MOE) schools, polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) have accompanying staff to oversee the safety and well-being of students. Our polytechnics and ITE also organise overseas exchange programmes and internships of longer duration, where students have accompanying staff or on-site staff from the host institutions or companies.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) is committed to providing a conducive workplace for nursing mothers. All MOE schools and tertiary education institutions have either at least one lactation room or suitable room for nursing mothers to use.”
“MOE seeks the partnership of parents and the community in creating an environment where young children and youths have opportunities to learn and use their mother tongue beyond the classroom setting. Ultimately, our students will enjoy learning mother tongue if they find the language interesting and useful in their daily lives.”
“Bilingualism is the cornerstone of our education system. We remain committed to supporting our students learn their mother tongue. Ministry of Education (MOE) schools offer differentiated Mother Tongue Language curriculum to cater to diverse learning needs and interests of the students. Our teachers use a variety of teaching methods and resources to help students become active learners and proficient users of their mother tongue. We will continue to improve the teaching and learning of Mother Tongue Languages, ensuring that it stays in step with evolving contexts. We do not track expenditure based on subjects, as teaching and learning of a subject involves many types of expenditure, and spending on different subjects and programmes is connected and interdependent. For instance, resources such as a digital learning device can be used for the learning of all subjects. At the launch of the 2024 Primary School Mother Tongue Languages curriculum last month, I shared that we will tap on multi-modal approaches for students to learn Mother Tongue Language through visual, auditory and kinesthetic means. Three other features of the new curriculum were also mentioned. One is the greater use of technology to engage students in learning Mother Tongue Language. The other is to make learning more authentic for students to see its relevance in their daily lives. Third is a greater emphasis on 21st-century competencies, such as cross-cultural literacy and communication skills, for students to be more future-ready. While we continue to review the teaching methods and resources, we recognise the challenges that our students face in grasping their mother tongue today, as many of them are using English to communicate with their family members at home.”
“Yes, indeed. So, 111,000 after the 32,000 – we will do the reconciliation again this time – exactly like what I said, we will send all those on the non-voters' list an individual reminder henceforth to remind them to make the check. So, we do not rule out that there could be a few more who may have voted but may have recorded wrongly. And going forward, we will always do this process. That means, all those on the non-voters' list, for whatever reason they are on the non-voters' list, we will send them an individual reminder, on top of the public service announcements that we have made.”