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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“Over the past five years, 3,900 students were admitted into the Integrated Programme (IP) on average each year. Around 200 students, or 5% of each cohort, left the programme before completing Year 4. The majority of these students chose the "O" Level pathway while a large proportion of the remaining students relocated overseas. As most IP schools also offer "O" Level classes, students moving out of IP can choose to remain in the same school. For those transferring to other Secondary schools, transfers are, typically, completed before the end of Year 3, to give students sufficient time to prepare for the "O" Level examinations in the new school environment. The receiving schools provide academic bridging and socio-emotional support to help the student cope with the changes and adjust to the new school environment.”
“MOE is committed to help Returning Singaporean (RS) students to smoothly enrol in our mainstream schools. For RS who were previously enrolled in a mainstream school and granted Leave of Absence (LOA), they can return to the same school upon return to Singapore. For those not on the LOA or where the LOA no longer applies, we encourage RS to apply through the Assured School Placement (ASP) service, which is available throughout the year. The ASP guarantees RS a place in a school with vacancies near the child's home. The school may conduct a placement test and interview, and review the child's school records, to determine a suitable and age-appropriate level for the child to be placed in. Alternatively, RS can choose to participate in the centralised merit-based School Placement Exercise for Returning Singaporeans (SPERS), which is conducted twice a year. The RS will be posted to a school with vacancies, based on the child's SPERS test performance and indicated choices. If the indicated choices are not available, the child will be offered a school with vacancies near the child's home.”
“In 2021, around 50 out of every 1,000 students on average, across the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) received counselling support provided by their institutions. In addition, students also have access to peer support networks and community counselling resources. MOE will continue to work with the IHLs to regularly review the resourcing required to support students' counselling needs.”
“Beyond the provision of mental well-being resources, support from leaders and managers was key to caring for public officers' mental health. To encourage a culture of openness and emphasise the role that leaders and supervisors play, PSD actively enlists our leaders to de-stigmatise mental health issues and support the well-being of their teams. For instance, PSD launched a week-long campaign in 2021, called "Care4U" Week, which encouraged leaders and supervisors to adopt WOG well-being initiatives and policies in their workplaces, and equipped leaders with skills to identify signs of mental stress so that they can support officers and their peers. As we transit to the new normal, we will continue to adapt this suite of initiatives to meet the needs of public officers.”
“The prolonged COVID-19 fight disrupted many aspects of the Public Service's work and added significantly to the demands and stress on public officers. The Public Service has launched a suite of initiatives to better support public officers. The Public Service Division (PSD) launched a single WOG hotline for confidential counselling services to provide all public officers a safe channel to speak to trained counsellors who can help them cope with work stressors. An average of 350 unique officers have utilised the hotline every month since its launch in March 2021. PSD organised a range of complementary wellness activities regularly that cover topics relating to mental well-being, physical health, and nutrition. More than 28,000 officers from across agencies have attended close to 130 sessions since April 2020. A wide variety of courses related to mental well-being are also offered by the Civil Service College to public officers. PSD worked with the Ministry of Health Office for Healthcare Transformation (MOHT) to develop mindline@work, a one-stop repository of self-help resources, to support their mental well-being. Since its launch in September 2021, more than 18,000 unique visits to the site have been recorded. In addition, PSD has built a community of Wellness Ambassadors (WAs) across the public sector agencies, to serve as added support at the workplace. They reach out to peers and officers who feel they need a listening ear can also approach these ambassadors. The wellness ambassadors provide basic emotional support to fellow colleagues and act as ambassadors for mental well-being. There are currently about 2,000 WAs across job levels and agencies.”
“If these centres indeed prove to be well utilised and helpful to citizens, we will plan for more centres in tandem with demand, prioritising areas where there is a higher concentration of citizens (for example, seniors) who have greater need for support with multiple digital transactions. As of now, we are planning for two more centres located at Keat Hong CC and Bukit Canberra.”
“In 2022, the Public Service set up a total of four ServiceSG Centres, bringing the total number of centres to five. These centres are at Our Tampines Hub, One Punggol, Heartbeat@Bedok, Nee Soon Central Community Club, and The Frontier Community Club. The Public Service seeks to digitalise its services to serve Singaporeans better and more efficiently. However, we appreciate that there will be citizens who need some help to transact with the Government digitally, or need help to navigate multiple government services. Therefore, we set up these ServiceSG centres to serve as one-stop physical touchpoints where officers can guide citizens through digital transactions and offer integrated services across different public agencies for citizens. The centres at Our Tampines Hub (OTH) and One Punggol (OP) provide over 400 services and the other centres in Community Clubs (CCs) provide over 200 services. From January to November 2022, ServiceSG centres completed over 180,000 transactions. A high percentage of the citizens served at these centres are the elderly. The commonly requested services at the ServiceSG centres are assistance with Singpass, enquiry on government schemes, Community Club related enquiries and course bookings, assistance with CPF matters and assistance with tax matters. The citizen satisfaction rate across these centres is at over 90%, on average. We have also received positive feedback from citizens, for the efforts to offer multiple, integrated services to them. The ServiceSG centre is still a service transformation pilot by the Public Service Division. While the initial feedback is encouraging, we will continue to seek feedback and improve the service delivery, and conduct a proper evaluation of this pilot.”
“Our schools provide a range of CCA, that is, clubs and societies, physical sports, uniformed groups, and visual and performing arts, to provide holistic education and cater to diverse student interests. Beyond school teams, students keen to participate in Physical Sports CCA may join recreational or development teams. Most students are allocated one of their CCA choices. Some popular CCA may not be able to accommodate all interested students due to constraints with facilities, coaches or scheduling. To support interested students beyond CCA, schools also offer Sports Education Programmes where students can take up sports programme as an enrichment.”
“All teachers are responsible for imparting values and developing socioemotional competencies in their students and may be deployed to teach Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) lessons. Having said that, less than 1% of our teachers are neither Singapore Citizens nor Permanent Residents. In deploying teachers to teach the CCE curriculum, which also covers cyber wellness, mental health and education and career guidance, schools will identify those with the requisite skills and dispositions, and provide them with the necessary professional development and guidance.”
“A*STAR is not aware of scholars who have subsequently renounced their Singapore Citizenship. Beyond building a strong local core, A*STAR recognises that a diversity of talent is needed to strengthen Singapore's R&D ecosystem. A*STAR also provides awards/attachments to international PhD and pre-PhD students. These students contribute to a diverse graduate student community in Singapore and help to strengthen A*STAR and Singapore's network of international linkages. The National Research Foundation Fellowship provides research funding to outstanding early-career researchers to carry out research in Singapore's Autonomous Universities and research institutions. To allow Singapore to benefit from the global research talent pool, early-career researchers of all nationalities can submit their applications through an annual open competitive call. There is no requirement for these Fellows to take on Singapore Citizenship.”
“The Public Service Commission (PSC) Scholarships, A*STAR Scholarships and Fellowships and the National Research Foundation Fellowships are established to serve different purposes. PSC Scholarships are targeted at outstanding young Singaporeans who are committed to a career in the Public Service to serve Singapore and Singaporeans. Hence, the current policy is that only Singaporeans are eligible to apply for the PSC Scholarships. The A*STAR Scholarships are aimed at nurturing a pipeline of locally-based scientific talent who can contribute towards Singapore's future economy, society and science. Considering only those who are Singaporeans at the time of application would limit our selection pool, given the size of Singapore's population. The majority of A*STAR scholars are Singaporeans. Foreign-born scholars, including Singapore Permanent Residents (SPRs), who take up the overseas scholarships, such as the National Science Scholarship (NSS), are required, under the terms of their scholarship award, to take up Singapore Citizenship no later than the third year of their studies, and for the A*STAR International Fellowship (AIF), prior to embarking on their fellowship. Non-Singapore Citizens (SCs)/non-SPRs who take up the local PhD scholarships under A*STAR are contractually obliged to work in a Singapore-based entity for three years upon completion of their PhD studies if they have not obtained SC/SPR. A*STAR has awarded scholarships to over 1,700 individuals. Of this, approximately 300 individuals were SPRs/foreign nationals at the point of scholarship award, making up approximately 18% of A*STAR's scholar population. To date, about 90% of these scholars have applied for and have been granted SC, and about 10% are in various stages of applying for Singapore Citizenship.”
“The Direct School Admission exercise for Secondary Schools (DSA-Sec) provides a pathway for students to enrol in Secondary schools based on their diverse talents and potential, beyond their academic performance demonstrated at PSLE. The number of DSA applications has increased over the years, in line with MOE’s efforts to broaden the definition of merit beyond academic results and increase the accessibility of DSA. Since 2018, we have increased the number of DSA places, allowing Secondary schools to admit up to 20% of their Secondary 1 intake. In the 2022 DSA-Sec exercise, around 3,900 students or 10% of the 2022 Primary 6 cohort received offers. As such, there remains sufficient DSA places for eligible students to enrol in schools, and MOE currently has no plans to expand the number of places. At the same time, MOE will continue to ensure multiple avenues for students to discover and develop their diverse talents and interests. These include Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs); art, music and PE curriculum; and Applied Learning Programmes and Learning for Life Programmes. These enable every student to access opportunities to support their development, regardless of whether they participate in DSA.”
“And my final response is that on the spread of good practices, you can be assured that it goes from the board level, all the way down to every level. Today, our six AUs, the Presidents and the Chairs of their boards, meet regularly to share the best practices. And not just to share the best practices but on how they can work as an integrated team to compete as one Team Singapore, rather than competing amongst themselves. So, Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank Mr Leon Perera for his various suggestions and will take them to heart seriously. But I will emphasise this: accountability means the understanding of diverse stakeholders' interests, not just in the current ecosystem but also across generations. And I expect the leadership of the IHLs to exercise their leadership responsibilities to make sensible decisions on what are the things to consult and what are the things that they cannot consult everyone on, but have to take on that leadership responsibility to decide and subsequently, explain those decisions clearly to their people. That is leadership. Leadership is not just about saying the nice things to people to make them happy, without telling them the consequences. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn." (proc text)] Adjourned accordingly at 7.22 pm.”
“An issue that has many people chiming in to say that that is a good thing, does not necessarily make it the most urgent issue. On the other hand, an issue with very few or much fewer people chiming in also does not mean that that is a not an important issue. What we need to do is not to go on in a mechanistic way and say whether this is or is not an important issue. Listen to every feedback seriously, give it due consideration and ask ourselves: how do we make the best decision, not just for the individuals who say so, but for the diverse stakeholders in the university compound and ecosystem, and the diverse stakeholders across different generations? That is the burden of leadership. Next, the new student interest groups – I think this is an easy one. We can all agree. We try to help people set up new interest groups and I like this, because I want students to take on leadership responsibilities. Having said that, when you set up a group, just like the debate prior to the Adjournment Motion, we must have some rules on what should be supported and what should not be supported. Just as the debate has said, this must be a safe space for students to interact, to debate. But it cannot be a space whereby you set up any interest group that impinges on the interests of other groups. So, there are some basic rules. But in general, we agree with the spirit that we should have more students taking leadership because this is how they grow.”
“But I want to make a distinction – to not say that just because of these isolated incidents, which in his words may not be representative of our IHLs, that therefore, they have not been accountable. So, I have to make that point. We thank Mr Leon Perera also for his various suggestions on how our IHLs can improve. Empowering the rank-and-file – we agree on that and in fact, indeed, many of our IHLs have mechanisms to consult their rank-and-file and make them participate in various decision bodies and decision mechanisms. That does not mean that just because they are not on the board, therefore, there is no such mechanism. I will give an example. In Nanyang Polytechnic, they have a Student Senate. They do not sit on the board but they give their feedback and there are different channels of feedback for different issues, for different levels of accountability. One example, if we are setting school fees, the responsibility of the management and the leadership must not just be to a certain group of students but to the diverse stakeholders, including the people who fund them and also, across the different generations. There are issues where we can have more student participation, but there will also be issues which I do not think will be appropriate for student participation. And I think we can agree on that. Second thing – petitions to be taken seriously set above a certain number. I would have a slightly nuanced position. I do not think setting a number is necessarily the correct thing. In fact, the correct thing for us to do, and as what we have been doing, is that we take every issue, every feedback seriously, regardless of whether it has reached a certain threshold of numbers.”
“Accountability must mean a fair consideration of the holistic demands across the diversity of students, not only in this generation, not only a select group of stakeholders, but for this generation, across diverse student groups and across different generations. That is accountability. That is the concept of stewardship. The fact that some students or some groups of students at some point in time did not get what they want, does not equate to a failure in accountability. It may be a failure to share, as the Member has suggested, the considerations. But to suggest that just because some people did not get what they want or have their needs fulfilled is a failure of accountability – that, I think, would not be how you and I would characterise the situation. I think we can agree on that. But I want to come back to this concept: very importantly, participation and consultation must not just be with select stakeholders. In any large organisation, be it in the Government or even in your Town Council or in our Town Councils or in any institutions, we must consider the stakeholder needs of the entire stakeholder group that we are dealing with. Make a considered decision and take leadership, responsibility to explain those decisions. Leadership accountability is not about just making nice speeches to try to make some groups of people happy and finding out that either it is inconsistent across time or inconsistent across groups. That is the true spirit of accountability. So, for many of the points that Mr Leon Perera mentioned, I would agree that there is room for our IHLs to improve.”
“But I always remind myself and my team that we should look at all surveys holistically and understand the purpose behind each survey, the scope of the survey and what it really tells us and does not tell us. So, I would suggest that we take all these statistics and surveys very carefully. On the ranking of our IHLs: some of the rankings rank us very well, some of the rankings do not rank us so well. And the difference is because they all measure different things. For us, as a portfolio of institutions, we must have the responsibility and the confidence to know what we are looking for in our IHLs beyond a narrow set of metrics – be it publications in selected journals and so forth. It must also encompass student development, faculty development, how they use their resources well and so forth. So, that is my point on cautioning us to be careful about using surveys that measure partial statistics to reflect a wider point. But I would like to come back to what Mr Leon Perera led off with, which is the issue of accountability and participation by faculty and students. What we certainly agree with is that we have and we will continue to enhance the accountability and also the participation of faculty and staff in all our institutions – from Government to the IHLs. I think we can all agree on that. But where we are a bit more nuanced than Mr Leon Perera's presentation is this – accountability by the leadership must mean the following; not just accountability to a certain group of students to meet what they desire or want.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, if I may respond to Mr Leon Perera's Adjournment Motion. Mr Leon Perera has said many things, many of which we can all agree. But I would say that we would also take a very nuanced position on some of the points that he has made. First, Mr Leon Perera's speech can be summarised into one of accountability. And I agree we should promote accountability and I will elaborate on this. But before I go into that, I was a bit intrigued by Mr Leon Perera's many examples and yet he prefaced all his comments, that what he highlighted may not be representative of our IHLs' state. So, I was not very sure if Mr Leon Perera meant what he said, or he accepts that what he said is not representative of our IHLs, and that certainly our IHLs have room to improve. So, I will take it in the spirit that Mr Leon Perera is trying to help us improve our IHLs' administration and what he says is not representative of the state of our IHLs. And I take this in good spirit. I, for one, would be the first to agree with Mr Leon Perera, that all our institutions, IHLs included, have room to improve and we will certainly take into account many of the comments that he said. My next point has to do with, and let me clear the deck first, on some of the statistics and survey that Mr Leon Perera cited on academic freedom. I believe my Second Minister Dr Maliki Osman, had previously replied to this in a Parliamentary Question. And I would be one to say that I will take all surveys very carefully. When surveys say that we have done well, I remind my people to never let this get to their head. When surveys say that we have not done as well, we do not take it to heart personally, but we always remind ourselves that there is room to improve.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, to answer to the first supplementary question, as I have said, the salary increases arising from the recent salary reviews, plus annual salary increments, plus the AVC payments will more than exceed the inflation rate this year, for all the civil servants who meet the criteria. There might be a very, very small number of people who do not meet the performance criteria and they might be short of that 5% that the Member mentioned. But that is a very, very small number of people who do not meet the performance criteria. On top of that, the Government has all the other packages for all the Singaporean households, which we think will be able to meet the requirement to help those who are most in need. On the second supplementary question, MOM together with the National Wages Council (NWC) has laid out its own recommendations for the rest of the economy to do what we can and especially do more, if possible, for those households and individuals who need more help.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Civil Service periodically reviews salaries and adjusts them when necessary to keep pace with, but not lead, the market. The recent salary adjustments for various groups of civil servants were determined based on salary gaps with market benchmarks. Beyond these adjustments, eligible officers also receive Annual Variable Component (AVC) payments and annual salary increments that take into consideration their performance, prevailing economic and labour market conditions and the National Wages Council’s recommendations on progressive wage growth. In total, the salary increases arising from the recent salary reviews and annual salary increments, coupled with annual AVC payments, will more than exceed the inflation rate seen this year for all the civil servants who meet the criteria. The Government has also rolled out a series of support measures this year, such as the recently announced Cost-of-Living Special Payment and additional CDC Vouchers. These support measures together will help to cushion the impact of sharp inflation changes and provide further relief for Singaporean households, with more support for lower- to middle-income groups.”
“The Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Taskforce (UPLIFT) Enhanced School Resourcing provides schools with additional teacher posts to put in place structures, processes and customised programmes to support disadvantaged and at-risk students. The pilot phase of UPLIFT Enhanced School Resourcing in 23 schools supported around 2,600 students each year in the past three years. Attendance has improved. The percentage of students absent for more than 10% of school days per year decreased from 3.2% in 2019 to 2.8% in 2021 in the pilot schools. Improved student learning outcomes will take more time to be achieved.”
“The National Wages Council (NWC) has formulated its guidelines for 2022/2023, which are scheduled for release on 14 November 2022. The Public Service Division (PSD) is the agency that oversees wages of civil servants and is a member of the NWC. When determining salary adjustments and payments for the Civil Service, PSD takes reference from prevailing economic and labour market conditions and NWC’s guidelines. In line with the NWC’s recommendations, annual variable payments for civil servants have been progressive, with officers in more junior grades, generally, receiving a higher payment as a proportion of their salaries. PSD and the relevant agencies have also been working with the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees (AUPE) on other strategies to uplift their wages sustainably, such as through job redesign and improving their skills.”
“UPLIFT (Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Taskforce) is a multi-agency initiative led by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to enhance upstream wraparound support for underperforming students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The UPLIFT Community Network programme was piloted from 2020 and has expanded to cover about 900 students in 2022. This includes 45 Primary 6 students who took their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) in 2020 and 2021. While 85% took at least one Foundation subject, 11% qualified for the Express Course, 20% for the Normal Academic course, 63% for the Normal Technical course and 6% repeated Primary 6.”
“As at May 2022, over 90% of students diagnosed by hospitals to have hearing loss, including those with moderate-to-severe hearing loss, are enrolled in our mainstream schools and learn alongside their peers. The students' learning in mainstream schools is enabled by Frequency Modulation systems provided by the Ministry of Education (MOE) where needed. Students may also receive itinerant school-based educational support services provided by The Singapore Association for the Deaf to help them adapt to and access learning better. Students may also learn alongside their peers in designated mainstream schools, which are resourced with staff trained to support them. Students who use the oracy approach can attend St Anthony's Canossian Secondary School or Outram Secondary School. Students who use Singapore Sign Language (SgSL) can attend the MOE Kindergarten @ Mayflower Primary School (MK@MF), Mayflower Primary School and Beatty Secondary School where they learn SgSL, as well as English Language and are supported by teachers and instructors who use SgSL. A small number of students who require additional support are enrolled in Special Education schools, either at Lighthouse School, or at Canossian School, where students take most of their lessons together with peers at Canossa Catholic Primary School.”
“Third, we will need our teachers to learn throughout their life to make use of the latest technologies available – how to use technology to scale up the size of the classroom so that we can spend more time to attend to the high needs students. Such technologies include the adaptive learning technologies that allow us to stretch the abilities of the high performing students while allowing us to dedicate more time to the high-needs students. So, these are the new skillsets that we will require our teachers to constantly evolve. But having said that, we do not believe that we will be able to frontload all these new skillsets even or only when they are at NIE. What we need is a continuous professional development programme that allows our teachers to keep learning throughout life so that they can also inspire their students to do so. Having said that, I will pick up on the last point that Ms Denise Phua talked about. Indeed, today, we are focused not just on the quantity – the number of teachers that we have. More importantly is the quality of teachers that we must have, enabled and supported by technology. So, we will continue to put in efforts on this front to make sure that, given the finite number of teachers that we can have in our education system, how do we make sure that they are of the highest quality, supported by the best technology in order to stretch the abilities of our high performing students to their fullest while devoting more time to the high needs students and their families.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we thank Ms Denise Phua for her questions and also her comments. Indeed, the skillsets for both the learners and the teachers will have to evolve to meet the demands of the future. As I always share with my colleagues in MOE, teaching today is not just about the transmission of knowledge and learning is not just about the absorption of knowledge. A few things have changed and will continue to change. In today's world, knowledge is commoditised. Having knowledge alone is not sufficient; what is more important is the ability to make use of the knowledge to discern and to make clear decisions, good decisions, based on sound values. And, to this end, that is why the skillsets of our teachers must continue to evolve. Beyond just being a transmitter of knowledge, it is increasingly important for our teachers to be able to be a facilitator in the learning environment that our students are in, for our teachers to help our students make sense of the amount of information that they come across. Having said that, I would say this. Two things will never change in our preparation of the teachers: one, that of values inculcation; two, the basic pedagogical approach of how to teach and teach well. While these two things do not change, three things will need to change and evolve. First, as Ms Denise Phua said, we will need more of our teachers to pick up the basic skills to help the high needs students and the special needs students. Second, we will need our teachers to be able to work with partners beyond the school environment. These include families, the community and also the industry.”
“Teachers also learn how to make use of online tutorials, websites, artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbots to make learning more accessible to the diverse students anytime, anywhere, including those with special educational needs. Additionally, teachers would also learn how technology, such as learning analytics, can be used to support students to learn in teams, and to provide choices and customised feedback for students to become self-directed in learning. Last, but not least, to develop perspectives related to the community, society and the world, and to partner stakeholders like parents and the community, and industry leaders through courses, service learning, talks and seminars. For the four-year degree programme, the pre-service teachers also have the opportunities to go for industry internship and international practicum. NIE reviews the effectiveness of its programmes regularly. It gathers feedback from the pre-service teachers' portfolios, internal and external assessments and metric surveys. Annual survey feedback from beginning teachers and school leaders also enables NIE to refine its pre-service programme to ensure their relevance. Beyond pre-service training, teachers continue deepening their competencies throughout their careers. This is done through a range of in-service learning opportunities organised by MOE, NIE and the schools, including our Teacher Work Attachment Plus (TWA+) programme.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, for teachers to lead and inspire students to thrive in a complex and uncertain environment, they must all be lifelong learners who understand the diverse learning needs of our students, appreciate the intent behind education policies and practices, and facilitate meaningful learning experiences for the students through effective use of pedagogies. The National Institute of Education (NIE) works closely with the Ministry of Education (MOE) to deliver both pre-service preparation and in-service professional development to support teachers throughout their careers to become competent and caring teachers who are respected by their students and the public, and who can work well in teams with their peers and the community. NIE's pre-service curriculum focuses on training teachers to build character in students. The curriculum balances theory with practice, is backed by research and is supported by a robust partnership with MOE and schools. It prepares pre-service teachers to meet the changing demands of education by first, deepening professionalism through a focus on a deep understanding of their student learners, developing values and professional ethos, and ownership of learning. Second, strengthening practice through practicum in schools that hone their craft and develop their inquiry and reflective skills. Third, broadening the repertoire of pedagogies that can promote innovation, inquiry- and technology-based learning. Teachers learn to create lessons that harness technology, like augmented reality and virtual reality to enrich learning and help students explore beyond the confines of the physical classroom.”
“The Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) play an important role in preparing our youths and workforce to seize emerging opportunities, including in the green economy. They work closely with industry partners to identify emerging demand for green skills and develop and update training programmes to meet these manpower needs. Across IHLs, there are over 800 students in the 2022 intake for full-time Pre-Employment Training (PET) programmes that are related to environmental sustainability. The IHLs are also introducing new modules and second majors relating to sustainability in other PET programmes. More generally, IHL students have exposure to sustainability-related topics through their curricula and other learning activities. IHLs also offer more than 250 sustainability-related Continuing Education and Training (CET) courses. These courses prepare working adults for emerging green jobs or existing jobs that are going to be "greened". These include courses on transferable green skills, such as carbon footprint management, that support greening across multiple sectors, as well as courses that provide specialised skills training in specific areas, such as sustainable built environment, green engineering solutions, green finance and environmental sciences. These courses have more than 19,000 enrolments as of October 2022 since their launch. MOE will continue to support the IHLs to refresh and expand their sustainability-related PET and CET course offerings. This will ensure that we develop a strong pipeline of talent to meet the emerging demands of the green economy.”
“As a baseline provision, each Primary school has two SEN officers, and each Secondary school has one SEN officer. Additional SEN officers are deployed to schools with higher needs. MOE has increased the number of SEN officers from around 450 in 2017 to over 700 in 2021. MOE will continue to build the capacity of all our educators and monitor and review the provision of allied educators to better support students with SEN in our mainstream schools.”
“All trainee teachers take compulsory modules of up to 36 hours during their training at the National Institute of Education (NIE) to develop a foundational understanding of the needs of diverse learners, including students with Special Educational Needs (SEN), and how to support them. All in-service teachers can access up to six hours of bite-sized, online modules in SEN support, which they may take based on their areas of interest and need. Topics covered include perceptions and beliefs about SEN and the wider SEN landscape in Singapore, common SEN conditions, strategies on working with parents, building a positive classroom culture and leveraging peer support. There are also other SEN-related courses that in-service teachers can sign up for to grow their competencies in inclusive pedagogies. On top of this, about five to 10 teachers in each school would have attended a 130-hour certificate level course, conducted by NIE, and are designated as Teachers Trained in Special Needs (TSNs). Besides supporting other teachers who teach classes that include students with SEN, some TSNs are members of the school’s Case Management Team (CMT), which comprises Key Personnel and SEN Officers, formerly referred to as Allied Educators (Learning and Behavioural Support). CMT can provide additional help to teachers, in terms of transition support and intervention planning as well as coaching less-experienced colleagues. They also network with counterparts at the cluster, zonal and national levels to learn best practices from other schools, including Special Education (SPED) schools. MOE has strengthened the specialised support for SEN provided to schools and teachers in recent years.”
“SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) publishes the number of Singaporeans and Permanent Residents who benefited from SSG-supported programmes each year. In 2021, the number was about 660,000 individuals and, in 2020, the number was around 540,000. SSG-supported training goes towards fostering upskilling and reskilling for the broad swath of Singaporeans across ages and career stages. This includes workers who are in-employment and picking up skills that are relevant to their current jobs, as well as individuals who are looking to make career transitions and hence picking up skills for the job they aspire to move to. Individuals who were offered jobs are, typically, those who make career transitions. For this group, the SSG-supported Train-and-Place programmes are designed to equip individuals with industry-relevant skills coupled with employment facilitation. During the pandemic, these were ramped up as the SGUnited Skills (SGUS) and SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme – Company Training (SGUP-CT) to support jobseekers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 26,000 Singaporeans and Permanent Residents participated in the SGUS and SGUP-CT programmes as of end-March 2022, that is, FY2021. Around 64% of those below aged 40 and 56% of those aged 40 and above found employment within six months after course completion. The largest number of placements were in the Information & Communications, Healthcare, and Professional Services sectors. With the recovery of the economy, SSG has transited the SGUnited programmes to the steady state SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme which was officially launched in April 2022. These courses will continue to support mid-career workers in transitioning into in-demand sectors. As courses are ongoing, data on placements are not yet available.”
“Admission to Medicine programmes in the Autonomous Universities (AUs) is a rigorous process based on merit. Applicants are required to meet minimum academic prerequisites as stated on the AUs’ websites, and present personal portfolios with positive referee reports. Shortlisted candidates are required to undergo interviews, where they are assessed not only on academic ability, but also attributes, such as care for others and good communication skills. The medical schools at NUS and NTU attract applications from many highly-qualified Singaporean students. Of the Singapore Citizens who applied to Medicine in NUS and NTU in the last five years, about 2,400 applicants per year, on average, were rejected. About two-thirds of those rejected did not meet the admissions criteria as determined by the respective medical schools. The list of foreign medical schools whose qualifications are accepted for medical practice in Singapore is governed by the Medical Registration Act, which is publicly accessible. We do not track admissions criteria in overseas universities. To meet manpower needs in the medical sector, the Government has increased the pipeline of locally-trained doctors over the last 10 years by raising the combined intake in the medical schools by about 60% from around 320 in 2010 to 510 in 2019. We will continue to balance and cater to the manpower needs of the various sectors across the economy. To ensure a fair share of talent to meet the diverse needs of the various sectors, all manpower planning must be considered holistically as a system in totality and not in isolation.”
“The Civil Service’s childcare sick leave provisions have been in place since 1987, well before when childcare leave was legislated in 2004. It was introduced in support of the Government’s population policy at the time to encourage larger families. In line with this intent, a parent’s childcare sick leave eligibility increases with each child, up to three children.”
“Since the introduction of the SkillsFuture Credit (SFC) in 2015, more than 840,000 Singapore Citizens, or around 30% of eligible Singaporeans, have utilised their SFC. Among the various age groups, those is their 30s have the highest rate of using their SFC. The utilisation of SFC for those in their 30s is 36%, while the utilisation for those in their 40s and 50s is at 33% and 30% respectively. SFC can be used to offset the fees for a wide range of approved skills-related courses after Government course fee subsidies have been applied. Courses related to the Food and Beverage, Information and Communications, Security and Investigation sectors are the most popular amongst SFC users. Post-course feedback on the quality and training outcomes of courses funded by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) has been positive. In 2021, 96% of the trainees surveyed indicated that they were able to perform better at work after undergoing SSG-funded training and 90% of trainees also took on more or new job responsibilities. Amongst those who used the SFC for SGUS and SGUP-CT programmes that were introduced in the last two years, the employment outcomes were also, generally, positive. As at March 2022, 65% of the trainees (~6,700 trainees) have found employment after their programme.”
“In 2021, the Government spent nearly $1.2 billion in skills training for the workforce, around 40% more than $0.8 billion in 2019. This excluded spending on COVID-19-related programmes, which ramped up support for employers in affected sectors so that they could send workers for training during the downtime, as well as support to individuals who were displaced for career transitions through the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package. The amount of funding required to support every adult’s lifelong learning varies – depending on various factors, such as an individual’s aspiration, learning ability, nature of work and industry. Besides Government support, a successful Continuing Education and Training (CET) system requires strong involvement from industry and a mindset of continuous learning and adaptation among workers. We will continue to invest in CET and work closely with all stakeholders to ensure that our approach remains responsive to the needs of companies and workers.”
“The CONNECT Plan is a 30-year retention plan, with MOE depositing a certain quantum for every teacher each year, depending on his or her length of service. Payouts, comprising a portion of the accumulated amount, will be given every three to five years while the teacher remains in service. The CONNECT Plan is just one of MOE's strategies to attract and retain good teachers, along with other strategies, such as paying competitive salaries and providing opportunities for professional growth. While we cannot isolate the effectiveness of each individual strategy, we have been able to keep the average annual resignation rate of teachers low and stable at around 2% over the past several years, which is lower than other staff groups in the Civil Service. We also know from staff engagements with our teachers that they appreciate the CONNECT Plan and it is also helpful in our recruitment of teachers.”
“Civil servants are, generally, not allowed to take up concurrent employment with foreign governments. This is aligned to our policy on outside employment, where civil servants should not seek employment outside of the Public Service to avoid conflict of interest with their official duties. Some civil servants are invited to serve on advisory panels or provide consultancy or training services in other countries, under cooperation agreements, in view of their professional work and expertise. These arrangements are similar to how foreigners or foreign officials are invited to sit and serve on our advisory boards and councils. Officers have to seek prior permission from their Permanent Secretaries to ensure there is no conflict of interest before they embark on these activities. In addition, to mitigate the risk of foreign influence, there are measures in place where officers cannot receive gifts from foreign governments nor use any official resources or information in these external activities without the approval of their Permanent Secretaries. We do not have data on the number of such cases.”
“The pension of a retired pensionable officer is fixed and based on the officer's length of service and pensionable salary as of his eve of retirement, as provided by the Pensions Act. In 1974, the Government introduced an ex-gratia allowance called the Singapore Allowance (SA) to augment support for officers to cope with high inflation. The Singapore Allowance is over and above the pension paid to pensioners residing in Singapore, subject to a gross monthly pension ceiling. Since its introduction, SA has been periodically revised over the years. Most recently, it was increased in September 2022 by $30 to $350 and the gross monthly pension ceiling was correspondingly increased by $30 to $1,280. This was announced by MOF in June 2022 as part of the overall support measures to provide targeted and immediate relief for the lower-income and more vulnerable groups. The Government will continue to carry out regular reviews on SA and gross monthly pension ceiling and revise them when necessary. In addition to SA, like all other Singaporeans, eligible pensioners also receive other forms of support, such as Goods and Services Tax vouchers, Community Development Council vouchers, grocery vouchers, as well as service and conservancy charges rebates. Pensioners who meet the Pioneer and Merdeka Generation criteria are also eligible for MediSave top-ups, outpatient care subsidies and MediShield Life premium subsidies under the Pioneer Generation Package and Merdeka Generation Package.”
“In schools, the curriculum builds strong fundamentals in the subject disciplines to enable students to understand our world and pursue diverse courses in higher education. In science, students learn about gravity and the motion of satellites, as well as the medical and industrial applications of nuclear radiation. Students are also introduced to applications of emerging technologies and how they impact humanity. For students who wish to pursue a career or further their studies in space or nuclear technology, the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) enable them to gain the practical and research skills required via courses and modules in areas, such as physics, AI, robotics, materials science or engineering. For example, NUS offers a minor in Medical Physics, which provides students with a foundation in the application of nuclear technology in medicine and healthcare. The Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Initiative (SNRSI) in NUS also offers scholarships to Singapore students to pursue postgraduate studies at top international universities to build up Singapore’s expertise in fields related to nuclear technology and radiological safety.”
“The Government does not compare the annual total compensation of top earners against the lowest earners within the Civil Service nor do we set a target ratio for doing so. Such a comparison is not meaningful because the Civil Service employs officers in diverse job roles across many different sectors and we benchmark pay against comparable industries in the private sector. A comparison of the top and lowest earners within the Civil Service would not be reflective of the differences in benchmarks and level of talent competition across industries. The remuneration package of leaders and officers also reflect different job scopes and it is unclear what the ratio between a top earner and a lower earner would represent. At the leadership level, even though compensation is benchmarked against comparable top jobs in the private sector, we have chosen not to close salary gaps to the same extent. This reflects the ethos of public service that our leaders undertake. Nevertheless, the Civil Service continues to support progressive wage approaches. For example, we uplift the wages of our junior officers by according to them higher adjustments as part of the recent salary adjustments. When determining our Annual Variable Component (AVC) payments, officers in the junior grades have received a higher payment as a proportion of their salaries. Beyond wage changes, we also work closely with unions to redesign jobs and to identify and address training needs so that productivity gains are commensurate with wage increases.”
“Under the Progressive Wage Model (PWM), workers can move up along career pathways with wage-skill progression alongside productivity improvements. Most of the training courses for PWM come under the WSQ framework. Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents can log into their MySkillsFuture portal using Singpass to download their WSQ e-certificates. To assist our mature and elderly workers, SSG has also worked with all WSQ training providers to provide their trainees with assistance in downloading or printing their WSQ e-certificates. Employers and HR personnel can also access and authenticate employees’ or job applicants’ WSQ e-certificates through the Enterprise Portal for Jobs & Skills. SSG will explore ways to further simplify and enhance employers’ access to their employees’ WSQ training records. Beyond WSQ certifications, there is value in making records on training and skills attainment more easily accessible, so that individuals, together with their employers, can chart their skills progression, in tandem with their career development. Today, there is already a "Skills Passport" on the MySkillsFuture portal that records past achievements. SSG will build on the MySkillsFuture portal to develop a "journey planner" with signposting on curated courses from Institutes of Higher Learning and other training providers that informs individuals’ decisions on lifelong learning and career planning.”
“MOE has not commissioned any formal studies on the impact of mask wearing on the social and emotional development of preschool children. The specific impact of mask wearing may be difficult to determine within this short timeframe. From child development theories and feedback from teachers and parents, we know that children benefit from being able to see their teachers’ and caregivers’ faces and the full range of expressions for their language and social and emotional development. While most children would have adapted to mask wearing, we would not be able to ascertain the efficacy of their coping strategies. Nonetheless, teachers will continue to monitor the children and support their holistic development.”
“In 2021, the mean form class size in both Primary and Secondary schools was 33. The median form class size in Primary and Secondary schools were 32 and 36 respectively. MOE adopts a needs-based resourcing approach, where additional resources are provided to schools which have more students with specific learning needs, so that the teaching for such students could be done in smaller groups based on learning needs or programme considerations. Some examples include the Learning Support Programme for lower Primary students which are conducted in pull-out classes of eight to 10, as well as the School-based Dyslexia Remediation programme conducted in classes of four to six students. Adopting a targeted and flexible approach in having some of the teaching to be done in smaller teaching classes would ensure prudent use of our limited financial and manpower resources.”
“The Autonomous Universities (AUs) provide opportunities for undergraduates to gain in-person overseas exposure through exchanges, internships, entrepreneurial attachments and short-term immersion programmes. From Academic Year (AY) 2017 to 2019, an average of around 20% of local undergraduates in the AUs participated in an in-person overseas exposure programme annually. In-person overseas programmes were mostly halted in AY2020 and AY2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the easing of international border restrictions, the AUs are resuming overseas programmes, taking into consideration prevailing travel advisories and guidelines.”
“Our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) recruit staff based on merit. In 2021, Employment Pass and S Pass holders made up around 11% and 4% respectively, as a proportion of all academic and non-academic staff in the Autonomous Universities, Polytechnics and Institute of Technical Education. Around 2% of staff in the IHLs were S Pass holders with PhD qualifications, who contribute mainly in junior research-related roles and are classified as non-academic staff.”
“As schools have different operating contexts, the Ministry of Education (MOE) gives School Leaders the autonomy to implement staggered working hours while maintaining duty of care for students and ensuring that educational outcomes are not compromised. Rather than mandating that all schools offer staggered working hours, schools offer different forms of flexible work arrangements for staff. These include allowing staff to (a) work part-time, (b) take time-off to attend to urgent personal/family needs, (c) work from home when they have no in-person classes or other duties requiring their presence in school, or (d) attend virtual meetings at their preferred venue. Staff who require flexibility in their work arrangements can discuss with their supervisor how best to meet the needs of both the school and the staff. MOE will continue to share good practices and work with School Leaders to support the well-being of our teachers.”
“All the more so for adult learners in the continuing education and training programmes, that they would have different needs, different courses would have different internship opportunities and we have to take all this into account. So, it would not be very possible nor very wise for us to work on the premise of one single consideration and, therefore, try to align all our school calendars from preschool, all the way to IHLs, according to only one consideration.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think we share the Member's concern for family time. But I should perhaps lay down the following considerations on how we determine when we should go for breaks for different parts of our society. I think different parts of our society will have different needs, be it Primary schools, Preschools, Secondary schools, post-Secondary schools, Universities and adult learners. It may also not necessarily be the best idea for all of us to say that all of them should take their breaks together and align it as such. Because I do believe that different parts of our society do have different requirements and it is quite difficult for us to, therefore, have one model that fits everything. I am quite sure that even if we do align it, there will be other challenges as well. Second, I think we have to consider the different learning needs of different segments of our population. For example, when we should have the term breaks for our IHLs is not just about what they learn in school. One of the very critical parts of the learning environment for our IHLs has to do with their internship opportunities. And in fact, in more recent times, I have also urged our IHLs to move away from what we rigidly think of as term time and break time, because that may not be necessarily the best way for us to fit the internship opportunities into the working environment that is required by the participating companies. Companies would like to have interns according to their business needs, rather than just the academic calendars. So, we need to take in to account all these differing needs.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the academic calendars of the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) are planned to support students' learning experiences. This includes ensuring sufficient time for both curriculum coverage and student life during term time. The Polytechnic calendar also takes into consideration when students enroll into their courses. There are currently no plans to align the Polytechnic academic calendars with Primary and Secondary schools. There are, however, overlaps between the term breaks of our schools and Polytechnics. The academic schedules in IHLs for Continuing Education and Training (CET) programmes leading to full qualifications, such as part-time diploma and degree programmes, are broadly aligned with Pre-Employment Training (PET) programmes. Short modular courses and Workforce Skills Qualifications, however, are designed with a more flexible programme schedule and do not necessarily align with the academic calendars for the longer programmes. This better meets the needs of adult learners, who have to juggle both work and learning.”