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.”
The complete record
Every one of 2,624 lines we hold for Chan Chun Sing, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 22 of 53.
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 8 and 9 together?”
“So, whether educators have Masters, PhD or basic degree or diploma, I think we need to look at them, but we also need to look beyond that and look at the kind of skillsets that people have and the kind of contributions that people have made. I would not say that just because someone has a Masters, therefore, they will obviously be paid more than someone who might be very experienced in the sector itself. We look at it holistically. We look at some of the prior training that our people have, the contributions that they are making in the sector and the kind of experiences that they have. I think these are all the factors that will help us to make a remuneration package that is both fair and competitive.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, to Mr Leong's first comment, yes, indeed, first of all, we try to get a fair share of talent into the Public Service. Within the Public Service, we will spread the talent across different agencies and different professional areas to make sure that all sectors have a fair share of talent. So, that we have done. Specific to Mr Leong Mun Wai's question, Mr Leong might want to know or may already know that actually when I was in the Ministry of Social and Family Development, we have a talent development scheme working with the SSAs. In fact, one of the schemes that we started many years ago was the Sun Ray Scheme where we develop top talent or capable people and rotate them across agencies to give them exposure beyond the agencies because my personal belief is that we do not develop people within each agency alone in a stovepipe. Our aim is to make sure that they get a broader exposure so that the good ideas can spread around faster and the whole sector itself can benefit. So, we have been doing that and we will continue to do that. On Mr Leong Mun Wai's second point about the salary structure, indeed, that is also what we have always been doing to make sure that every sector is compensated competitively. Of course, we do not take compensation as the only reason to help people stay in the sector. It is also about career development, their route of advancement, the working environment and so forth. But I would just like to raise one nuanced point. I think we should be very careful about remunerating people based on credentials. In fact, in the whole economy, we are encouraging people to remunerate people based on their skills, capabilities and not just based on their credentials.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, to the first comment by Ms Denise Phua, yes, indeed, Public Service Division and MOE, as part of the wider service, regularly review the salary scales for different professions. I would say that, in general, we do this progressively, systematically and continuously. The reason that we do not announce everything at one go is because we do the work in stages. But every time we announce a change in one particular profession, we will certainly take into account the other professions to make sure that the relativities are maintained, both within the sector and also beyond the sector, with other professions. On the second comment, we will continue to share our methodologies of how this is done in the public sector with the people sector. The methodology of how we compute the salaries and the remuneration packages – all this is not a secret. We do it openly and there is an open methodology of how we do it. We will be very happy to share this with the rest of the SSAs.”
“This Journeys package contains several complementary initiatives to raise the quality and professionalism of the SPED teaching profession by strengthening their competencies, expertise and career progression. Additional funding is provided for manpower costs in two tranches – the first has been implemented in 2021 and the second is planned for 2024. MOE will continue to work with SSAs so that our SPED teachers have good career progression and updated salary guidelines. For non-teaching SPED school staff such as psychologists, the SSAs take reference from the NCSS sector salary guidelines for different professions. The guidelines are updated annually.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, MOE periodically reviews the salaries of officers in MOE schemes of service and, in consultation with the Public Service Division, considers making appropriate adjustments to ensure that their overall salary packages remain market competitive. Salary adjustments take into consideration the size of the salary gaps compared to market benchmarks. Generally, larger adjustments are made when the gap with the market benchmarks is wider. This is in line with the principle that Civil Service salaries should keep pace with but not lead the market. MOE recently announced salary adjustments for all eligible Education Officers (EOs), Allied Educators (AEDs) and MOE Kindergarten Educators (MKEs), which took effect on 1 October 2022. These adjustments also apply to MOE staff seconded to other agencies. ECDA is separately conducting a salary review for Early Childhood educators in government-supported preschools to ensure that their salaries are commensurate with their contributions and professional skills. The salary review is expected to be completed by end 2022 and ECDA will work with government-supported operators to implement the changes from 2023 onwards. Special Education (SPED) schools are run by Social Service Agencies (SSAs). While SPED schools receive full funding, SSAs retain substantial autonomy in HR practices, including how they compensate SPED school staff. Nevertheless, MOE, in our role in overseeing the SPED sector, works closely with and supports the SSAs to ensure that salaries for SPED teachers remain competitive through periodic compensation reviews. In 2018, salaries were reviewed together with the National Council of Social Service. In 2020, salaries were again reviewed with the introduction of the Journeys of Excellence Package.”
“National Education (NE) is a key component of our Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) curriculum for students from primary to pre-university levels. NE is also delivered through other subjects, such as Social Studies and History; and reinforced through various learning experiences, such as the NE Commemorative Days, Values in Action and learning journeys to sites of national significance. The CCE syllabus documents for primary, secondary and pre-university levels are on the Ministry of Education (MOE) website: Primary: https://www.moe.gov.sg/primary/curriculum/syllabus. Secondary: https://www.moe.gov.sg/secondary/courses/express/electives#subjects. Pre-University: https://www.moe.gov.sg/post-secondary/a-level-curriculum-and-subject-syllabuses General information on National Education is available at: https://www.moe.gov.sg/education-in-sg/our-programmes/national-education.”
“Schools provide a wide range of print and digital reading materials to cater to the different age groups and varied interests of students. The school library system is linked to the National Library Board's (NLB) catalogue, pointing students to curated e-books from NLB. Schools also work with NLB on reading programmes, such as kidsREAD, which provides younger students from lower-income families with books and taps on volunteers to read to them. For older students, the Ministry of Education (MOE) supports the habit of reading the news to cultivate their interest in current affairs. At the secondary level, MOE partners Ngee Ann Kongsi and SPH Media Trust to provide all students with access to Mother Tongue Language digital news resources. At the pre-university level, students have been given accounts to read The Straits Times online. Teachers guide students on how to select reading materials and how to access e-resources. Schools are also provided with the information and links on how to access NLB's reading apps. MOE will encourage schools to share these materials with their students to help them utilise the NLB Mobile and Libby reading apps to access more reading resources.”
“Students discuss contemporary issues in subjects like Social Studies, General Paper and Character and Citizenship Education (CCE). Through these subjects, they learn about Singapore's Constitution and the workings of Singapore's parliamentary democracy. In Social Studies, students inquire into contemporary issues by examining policies, the tradeoffs involved and their impact on society. For example, students explore Singapore's approach in managing sociocultural diversity and consider the role of citizens. In General Paper, teachers engage pre-University students in discussions on a broad range of societal issues, guiding them to consider different perspectives and to understand Singapore's context and position amidst global developments. As part of the refreshed CCE curriculum, secondary and pre-university teachers raise contemporary issues for their students' understanding and discussion. Examples include topics like the Russia-Ukraine conflict and racism. In Social Studies, students learn about Singapore's Constitution, the various organs of state and the decision-making process in a representative democracy. They explore the principles that shape governance in Singapore and consider the role of citizens. Through History at the pre-university level, students deepen their understanding of the establishment of Parliamentary democracy in Singapore and constitutional processes since Independence.”
“MOE adopts the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)'s definition of the student-teacher ratio, or in the context, the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR), which is calculated by dividing the total student enrolment by the total number of teachers at a given level of education. Our PTR has improved over the last decade, from 19 in 2011 to 15 in 2021 at the primary level, and from 15 to 12 at the secondary level. Our PTRs are comparable to OECD averages and countries, such as Japan, Switzerland and Germany. The PTR is a measure of the overall investment and allocation of teacher resources in an education system. It is neither feasible nor meaningful to calculate the PTR by different subjects, as many teachers teach more than one subject. More importantly, we regard both examinable and non-examinable subjects as important elements of a broad-based holistic education.”
“At the end of May 2022, more than eight in 10 Secondary schools and pre-University institutions have implemented Student-Initiated Learning (SIL) as part of regular Home-Based Learning (HBL) days. SIL is a component of HBL days where time is set aside for students to pursue their own interests and learn outside the curriculum. This is to encourage students to be more curious and self-directed in their learning. Schools have the flexibility to implement SIL in ways to better support their students' interests and needs. For example, some schools have facilitated the grouping of students with similar interests, so that they can explore their interests together. Some schools have provided students who needed more guidance with suggested activities or resources at the start and will reduce the scaffolds over time. Students have responded positively to SIL, pursuing interests such as learning foreign languages, learning to play musical instruments, programming, cooking or serving the community. Preliminary feedback indicates that SIL is valued by schools and students. We will evaluate the outcomes when the initiative is fully implemented.”
“The last Public Perception Survey conducted in 2020 cited strong political determination, along with effective anti-corruption law and heavy punishment, as the top three factors behind the low incidence of corruption in Singapore. Constant vigilance and a zero-tolerance attitude against corruption on the part of every Singaporean are also critical. The corruption situation in Singapore is firmly under control and we are well-regarded internationally for our anti-corruption efforts. However, there is no room for complacency as the corruption threat is persistent and ever evolving. CPIB understands this very well. It will spare no effort not just in carrying out its work without fear or favour, but also in improving its capabilities to stay ahead of the corrupt. We must continue to support CPIB and do our part to keep corruption at bay.”
“The Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) is a key instrument in our fight against corruption. We must ensure that PCA remains effective to combat and deter corruption and that it enables us to fulfil our international obligations. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), in close consultation with the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC), has reviewed PCA in this spirit. We would like to thank Members of the House for their suggestions relating to the review, which included those relating to corporate liability for corruption offences. CPIB took these suggestions into consideration in the review. The review has concluded that PCA, as it stands, provides effective deterrence and adequately empowers CPIB to carry out its duties. There is, therefore, no need to amend or enhance the existing provisions. Besides providing for tough enforcement action against corrupt individuals, PCA offers sufficient basis for the prosecution of corporate bodies in Court if the facts of the case call for it. This extends to instances where corporate entities are found to be complicit in the corrupt conduct of their employees. CPIB has successfully taken corporate bodies to task in the past and will not hesitate to do so. The Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act complements PCA by enabling the disgorgement of benefits obtained by a corporate body through the giving of bribes. Our legislative framework is, therefore, sufficiently robust to ensure that errant corporate bodies will have to bear the full brunt of the law and will not be able to enjoy any ill-gotten gains through corrupt means. A robust anti-corruption framework goes beyond legislative instruments.”
“In the past five years, less than one in 20 of our teachers who had resigned cited job-related stress or workload as their reason for leaving service. The Ministry of Education (MOE) values our teachers and will continue to work with school leaders and stakeholders to support our teachers' well-being, so that they can, in turn, continue to give their best to the education of our students.”
“The proportion of defaulters has been about 4% over the past decade. We have only approved exemptions for a very small number of cases, as they were unable to serve their bonds due to very serious medical conditions or death. The rest are serving or have served their bonds, and some have applied for deferment for their postgraduate studies.”
“To help teachers better support students with greater needs, we have doubled the number of Special Educational Needs (SEN) Officers in the last decade. In 2015, we also introduced student welfare officers to work with at-risk students, which helps to reduce the load on teachers. We have also invested significantly over the last 10 years in teacher resourcing for schools. From 2011 to 2021, our pupil-teacher ratios have improved from 19 to 15 at the primary level and from 15 to 12 at the secondary level. We are now on par with average pupil-teacher ratios in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Given the tight labour market, there are limits to how much we can expand the teaching force, without a trade-off in quality. MOE will continue to streamline work in schools and see how to manage the overall demands on our teachers' time. But we cannot do this alone. We need the support of all stakeholders, including parents and the community, which I have spoken about extensively in the Adjournment Motion on teachers' well-being last month.”
“Our teachers play many roles in school. Beyond teaching specific subjects, they nurture the whole child. This includes developing socioemotional competencies, life skills, attitudes and values through learning experiences, such as camps, co-curricular activities and other student programmes. Our teachers also provide student guidance and work in partnership with parents to support students. For these reasons, it is difficult to demarcate teaching versus non-teaching duties and administrative duties. Based on our surveys, on average, less than 10% of the weekly work hours of our teachers are spent on general administrative work. Over the years, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has streamlined processes and used technology, where feasible, to reduce administrative work. For example, teachers now use Parents' Gateway, an IT platform, to obtain consent from, and to disseminate information to parents. To better support the work of our teachers, we have provided more administrative staff and certain types of allied educators to schools. Each school has, on average, eight to nine administrative staff today, which include the school administration manager, information and communications technology (ICT) manager, operations manager and administration executives, who assist teachers with general administrative matters, procurement and financial operations as well as logistics support. We have also given schools more flexibility to hire supplementary administrative manpower, who can be hired as adjunct or casual staff. This is about 33% to 50% more, compared to about six administrative staff per school about a decade ago. Schools are also given funding to hire external vendors to meet administrative needs and support student programmes.”
“Starting from the 2022 Primary 1 Registration Exercise, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has doubled the number of Phase 2C reserved places from 20 to 40, so that more children can be enrolled in a school near their homes. This is in the educational interest of the child and for the convenience of the family. The posting outcomes for this year's exercise are in line with this policy intent and we will continue to monitor the outcomes of future Primary 1 Registration Exercises closely. For primary schools that were oversubscribed in Phase 2A, 2B or 2C in both the 2021 and 2022 Primary 1 Registration Exercises, more students who reside nearer to these schools were admitted. Within one kilometre of these schools, about 1,300 more students were admitted in 2022 than in 2021. Within two kilometres of these schools, about 1,100 more students were admitted in 2022 compared to 2021. In terms of proportion, this translates to 7% more students who obtained a place within one kilometre, and 6% more students who obtained a place within two kilometres. About 98% of Primary 1 registrants were able to obtain a place in a primary school of their choice or within two kilometres of their residence in 2021 and 2022.”
“The decision to take up citizenship may occur from the time they are in school till much later in life. Our experience suggests that many do so progressively. As illustrated, among those who graduated from university from 2014 to 2016, around 75% of scholarship holders and 60% of tuition grant recipients became Permanent Residents within five years of graduation. Around 10% to 15% converted to Singapore citizenship within the same time. These figures include scholars who studied in our secondary schools, as the majority of them progressed to our autonomous universities. For those who eventually choose to leave Singapore, they continue to be part of our valuable global network, through the friendships and links forged during their studies. The Ministry of Education (MOE) does not track whether they perform National Service. National Service eligibility will be in accordance with our national policies.”
“All schools are resourced with at least 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 student profile. Beyond counsellors, schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) also offer a support network of teacher- and para-counsellors as well as access to community resources to students with counselling needs. Schools and IHLs will continue to enhance their peer support networks.”
“In Special Education (SPED) schools, allied staff such as Teacher Aides (TA), Allied Professionals (AP) and Vocational Education (VE) personnel serve alongside SPED teachers. TAs support SPED teachers in the classroom to manage students' learning and behavioural needs while APs take care of the students' therapy, psychological and well-being needs. VE personnel such as instructors and Job Coaches provide training in hard skills and soft skills to enable SPED students to gain access to different forms of work. Social Service Agencies (SSAs) recruit allied staff to join their schools or buy specialised services from other organisations, such as therapy hubs. There are around 1,000 such staff in the 22 SPED schools, who complement the 1,600 SPED teachers. Besides recruiting direct staff, SPED schools also buy specialised services, for example, speech and language therapists from therapy hubs. As more SPED schools will be starting in the coming years, the Ministry of Education (MOE) together with the National Council of Social Services and SG Enable will work with the SSAs to hire more SPED teachers and allied staff. Together, we will attract talent to join and stay in the SPED sector through (a) strong professional development opportunities, (b) career progression roadmaps; and (c) structures to support the well-being of SPED staff.”
“To develop positive reading habits in our students and ensure access to reading materials, schools provide a wide range of print and digital reading resources. The school library collections are complemented by digital reading materials hosted on the Singapore Student Learning Space (SLS) and those from the National Library Board (NLB). In addition, at the primary level, schools are provided with selections of story books for each class. For older students, the Ministry of Education (MOE) also facilitates their access to the news, including digital resources, to cultivate their interest in current affairs. Schools have reading programmes within and outside of curriculum time. To support the development of students' reading habit from young, time is set aside in the primary English Language curriculum for extensive reading. Other activities organised by schools include reading festivals and library week. Schools also work with partners like the NLB to promote reading, such as through kidsREAD, where volunteers read to children from lower income families. All secondary students are equipped with Personal Learning Devices (PLDs) under the National Digital Literacy Programme, allowing students easier access to online reading materials. For secondary students on the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS), MOE will ensure that they are able to have a PLD with zero cash payments required. In addition, students on the MOE FAS can take advantage of Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)'s Home Access programme or NEU PC Plus programme, which enable lower-income households to have affordable Internet access.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) engages the four NTUC-affiliated Teachers' Unions – The Singapore Teachers' Union (STU), The Singapore Chinese Teachers' Union (SCTU), The Singapore Malay Teachers' Union (SMTU) and The Singapore Tamil Teachers' Union (STTU) –regularly to allow for mutual sharing of staff-related issues and for the unions to provide ground sensing and feedback on staff policies to MOE. MOE receives about 60 cases a year referred by the unions to represent members on various issues. Some are related to workplace grievances such as perceived unfairness in appraisal or workplace relations, whereas others may involve requests such as those related to posting or leave matters. Besides these individual cases, unions also surface enquiries from members, to seek clarification on general HR policies. MOE follows up on all cases referred from the unions and then closes the loop with the individual member as well as the union.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) aims to provide financial support to Singaporean students from low-income households, at around the bottom 20% by household income. MOE reviews the income eligibility criteria for MOE FAS periodically. This was last revised in 2018. MOE is currently conducting a review and any changes will be announced in due course.”
“The Corporate Governance Advisory Committee (CGAC) has recommended that SGX considers making CEO and Board Director remuneration disclosures mandatory for listed companies. This recommendation was made as members of the public who are shareholders in these companies will have an interest in knowing the remuneration of the CEO and Board Director to assess if the pay is commensurate with business performance. Statutory Boards are set up by the Government and are governed by the Public Sector (Governance) Act. The remuneration of Statutory Board CEO and officers are subject to oversight of the supervising Ministry as well as the Public Service Division. Board Directors who serve on Statutory Boards receive an annual allowance commensurate with the size and complexity of the organisation. The allowance quanta are centrally determined by the Public Service Division. As for the Fifth Schedule entities which are not statutory boards (namely, GIC and Temasek), the Government, as shareholder, holds their boards accountable for instilling good corporate governance practices, including remuneration. GIC and Temasek currently disclose information on their compensation approaches in their annual reports. Both GIC and Temasek adopt remuneration frameworks that are based on performance and industry benchmarks to ensure that they can attract and retain talent. These frameworks tie a portion of remuneration to long-term performance, including for senior management, which reinforces prudent risk taking. Together, these measures and safeguards remain effective in ensuring that Statutory Boards and Government companies put in place proper governance systems, are held accountable and continue to deliver services for the benefit of all Singaporeans.”
“Our schools are places of learning and are kept free from partisan politics. Hence, schools do not participate in political activities organised by any Member of Parliament or political party. On community issues, schools may support programmes organised by People's Association and their network of organisations, if there is an educational objective and age-appropriate. The Ministry of Education (MOE) does not track students who participate in community activities in their own personal capacity.”
“Continuing Education and Training (CET) schemes and subsidies provided by the Government primarily benefit Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. These schemes seek to support our local workforce in upskilling and reskilling to improve their employability, as well as to meet the industry and enterprises' skills demand. Training subsidies for MOE/SSG-supported modular courses and Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) courses that Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents enjoy are extended only to Long-Term Visit Pass Plus (LTVP+) holders, who are eligible foreign spouses of Singapore Citizens, in recognition that they are likely to remain in Singapore, contribute to the financial support for their families and contribute to our economy. Since October 2021, the expenditure on CET subsidies for LTVP+ holders enrolled in modular courses and WSQ courses is less than 0.02% of the total CET subsidies that SSG provides for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents.”
“The five new Special Education (SPED) schools to be set up by 2030 will add some 1,400 places for students.”
“MOE regularly reviews the demand and supply trends for school places at the national and regional levels. Our school planning takes into account the current and projected population and planned housing development programmes. This ensures that there are sufficient school places to meet the needs of families with school-going children in each residential area. We have been monitoring the Primary 1 demand and supply situation in Yishun closely and make year-by-year intake adjustments for schools in these areas, where appropriate, to meet the projected demand arising from the new housing developments. There are sufficient places in Yishun to meet the demand from residents at this year’s Primary 1 Registration Exercise. At the end of Phase 2C (Supplementary), there were still 70 Primary 1 places remaining in a nearby school in Yishun. MOE will continue to closely monitor the demand and supply trends for the coming years and, if necessary, adjust the Primary 1 intake to meet the projected demand.”
“Schools work with alumni in different ways, depending on their needs. Some alumni serve on the School Advisory or Management Committee. Some mentor students in their Co-Curricular Activities and support various school programmes. Others share experiences or offer opportunities through the school’s education and career guidance programmes. Schools work with many community partners, including alumni groups, Parent Support Groups, and other community partners. Some of our Primary schools have Parent Support Groups which support the daily running of the school and school programmes. MOE has also been strengthening partnerships with the community. For instance, one of the key initiatives of UPLIFT (Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Taskforce) is to strengthen school-community partnerships to enhance support for vulnerable students. The support is provided through befriending, mentoring or interest-based programmes. MOE actively matches relevant community resources with schools whose students would benefit most from these programmes. MOE also links up schools with organisations that support the schools’ programmes, for example, in education and career guidance, Applied Learning and Learning for Life Programmes. We appreciate individuals and organisations coming forward to support our schools on a sustained basis and we welcome more to do so.”
“The Autonomous Universities provide information on the indicative grade profiles of the 10th and 90th percentiles of applicants offered places in the previous academic year on their websites, rather than cut-off points. This serves as a reference to enable prospective applicants to make informed choices, based on their aspirations, interests and strengths, rather than opting for the most competitive course that they can qualify for. MOE does not track whether applicants apply for courses with a lower indicative grade profile than their academic results.”
“We value the contributions of all Polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) staff, including adjunct lecturers and project staff. The Polytechnics and ITE jointly review the salaries of staff periodically to ensure that salaries remain competitive against market benchmarks. Currently, a study on the competitiveness of the existing salary schemes for academic and non-academic staff, including adjuncts, is underway. The outcomes will be shared with staff when the review is completed.”
“As at 31 December 2021, about one in 430 public officers are persons with disabilities. As an inclusive employer, the Public Service is committed to supporting the employment of persons with disabilities to take on meaningful jobs in accordance with their abilities. The Public Service Division has established an arrangement with SG Enable such that suitable job opportunities in the Public Service are advertised on SG Enable’s job portal. In addition, since 2019, potential job seekers who are persons with disabilities are introduced to HR teams across the Public Service on a regular basis, to encourage public agencies to actively consider them for job placement.”
“I thank Dr Shahira. Yes, indeed, MOE agrees with what Dr Shahira says. We do encourage all our students to interact meaningfully across different backgrounds and, perhaps, especially across different backgrounds. That is what makes Singapore special – not just in terms of family backgrounds, occupations, where they stay, what race, language or religion they come from. That is part of our social fabric. Indeed, we also acknowledge the challenge that has been highlighted, not just in Singapore but across many societies, that, over time, there is always the danger that society will stratify by different backgrounds, different socioeconomic backgrounds, different race, language or religion. And it is always a work-in-progress that we have to consciously make sure that our children have the opportunities to interact with people beyond their own background and we do have some good efforts by some communities and we hope to see more. For example, there is one particularly popular school that has decided to have a combined sports team with another school that is not from the same background. And I thought it was a beautiful effort by the alumni of this school to reach out; not so much to benefit the students from this less popular school, but I think the students from this so-called more popular school also benefited by having the chance to interact with people from different backgrounds, understanding the challenges, the perspectives of people who are different from them. That is important when, ultimately, they come out to work, to be able to appreciate that the workforce, the people they work with are all very diverse. And the more we appreciate one another, the more we appreciate each other's strengths and weaknesses, the more we can bring out the best in the team.”
“Sorry, Mr Speaker, can I have Dr Shahira Abdullah to repeat the last three sentences?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, changes to the Primary 1 (P1) Registration Framework was introduced this year to enable more children to enrol in a school near where they live, even if they have no prior connection to the school. The changes benefit children living in all parts of Singapore, including those from lower-income and social brackets. If there are more registrants than vacancies in any phase, children will be admitted based on citizenship and home-school distance. This is in recognition of the convenience for a child to study in a nearby school as it reduces travelling time, allowing the child and family to spend time more meaningfully. We will continue to monitor the developments and review the need to change our P1 Registration Framework in the future.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the short answer is no. As what Ms Denise Phua has said, beyond the SPED educators, we have another group of people, which includes the allied educators, physiotherapists and so forth who form the entire community. And I can get the Member the number that he had asked for.”
“She is both the Permanent Secretary in MOE and MSF. And I have personally asked her to oversee the continuum to work out the models required to support our SPED community in terms of infrastructure and manpower. I would say that between infrastructure and manpower, infrastructure is the easier of the two. The more difficult of the two is for us to recruit the number and quality of people. Having said that, we are both working closely now to deal with the most difficult challenge which we want to take a crack at and which we think we need to do much better at as a society. That is the continuum of care from preschool to school and the post-18-year-olds' care and work arrangement for our SPED community. If anybody can do this well, it must be Singapore, because when the SPED children come to us in the preschools, we have the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC); we have the SPED schools for them. With the data that is available, it enables MOE to forward plan the school system requirement. And from MOE's data, we should be able to forward-plan the post-18 requirement and we really want to do this much better. Our current gap, the biggest gap, in my view, is not so much the preschool and the school system in which we have invested a lot of effort over the years; we can still do better. In our next lap, the biggest gap will be how we provide a continuum from the school system to the post-18 arrangement so that we can better support the SPED community, including the caregivers, who will always be worried about what will happen to their special needs children when they are no longer around.”
“For many of us who have SPED children or have been involved in the SPED school sector, we would know that it is emotionally very demanding. It is not easy. So, I have given guidance to my staff that we cannot just plan on the basis of how many staff we need for how many children. We need to have a bit of a buffer, if you would like, for us to be able to roster our people to go for training and also, sometimes, for them to take a break. So, that is one part of how we try to address the pain points. The second part is that we would also like to have a wider group of people who understand the SPED community. Even within the MOE conventional schools, we have our fair share of some special needs children where we would need to "up" the skills level of many of our teachers to take care of the higher needs of these children in our conventional schools. That is why we have a system to roster some of our teachers to the SPED schools to cross-share experiences, so that we can take better care of the SPED children in our conventional schools and yet, at the same time, allow some of the SPED school teachers some time to go for their own training and perhaps to be rostered out for a break in their long journey with the SPED sector. So, these are, indeed, some of the things that we need to do. On the third point about the structure and organisations, rest assured that the two of us work closely together. We sit side-by-side on many committees. We have this model before and we started this model between MSF and MOE, not just for SPED, but we did this for early childhood education. ECDA is an agency that jointly reports to Minister Masagos and myself. And, of course, I have a secret weapon, to make sure that nothing falls between the cracks. That is my Permanent Secretary, Wan Yong.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, let me address the three sets of issues that Ms Carrie Tan asked. First, I think we have to deal with the quantity and quality of manpower; two, we have to deal with the pain points that the Member mentioned; and three, it has to do with the organisational structures that we have to deal with. On the first issue, on the quantity and quality of manpower, certainly, we would need to do much more to increase the number of SPED school educators and support staff. We have laid out the plan together with MSF. We intend to increase the number of SPED schools in our system. But I must share this with the House. In planning for a SPED school, the manpower needs are not as straightforward as a conventional school. Because in a conventional school, the needs are perhaps more homogeneous whereas, in a SPED school, different SPED children have different types of needs and different degrees of severity. This is why the planning is not as straightforward. We do have certain planning ratios, but we, certainly, will need and would like to recruit more Singaporeans to join the SPED sector. Today, we do rely quite a bit on some foreign manpower and, just like any other parts of our education and care sector, we would like a significant core of Singaporeans to be there, so that we can take care of our own people, especially the vulnerable, even amidst possible disruptions in the manpower supply. So, we will want to step up on this and we do have a roadmap worked out on how we progressively increase the number of SPED school teachers and caregivers as we build up the infrastructure in the next few years. The second issue is about the pain points.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we fully agree with Ms Denise Phua's comment that, indeed, the whole SPED sector includes both the people who take care of the education component as well as the care component and the therapy component. So, indeed, whenever we review any scheme of service or any benefits, we will certainly take into account all the stakeholders that are involved in taking care of our SPED children.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir. I shall not attempt to answer on behalf of NTUC, but as the ex-Secretary-General of NTUC, I will say that I will leave it to NTUC to decide which union best serves the interests of the SPED school teachers. MOE is agnostic, regardless of whether the SPED school teachers are with SMMWU, STU or any of the other teachers' unions. MOE will continue to work closely with them and also with their SSA organisations.”
“MOE is committed to partner closely the SSAs in this journey towards professionalism. Mr Speaker, Sir, Dr Shahira Abdullah has asked if we will consider enfolding all special education school teachers to come under the Ministry so that they will be able to receive the benefits of being an MOE teacher. My own personal views are as follows. First, I am prepared to work with my staff, SSAs and the community to explore different and new models. But I would set out five conditions for us to consider as to whether a new model is better and more appropriate. First, the new model, if it comes about, must deliver better outcomes for our SPED children. Second, the new model, if it comes about, must deliver better outcomes in terms of support for the SPED children's family. Third, the model must provide better training opportunities and professional development for our SPED teachers. Fourth, the model must be able to engage the community to participate and partake in the endeavour. Fifth, we must also have a model that allows a better continuum of care and support from preschool to school and the post-school environment. So, we are prepared to explore new models with SSAs and the community, so long as we bear in mind these five criteria that I have just laid out. I will be happy to have this conversation with the SSAs and our community partners on how we can take the SPED education sector forward as part of our Forward SG exercise.”
“To receive the second funding tranche, SPED schools will need to implement more progressive HR practices and the corresponding increases in SPED teacher salaries. SPED schools will determine the salary adjustments for their teachers at different levels based on performance and current salary structures. Beyond funding and working with SSAs to provide competitive remuneration and meaningful career progression for the 1,600 SPED teachers, MOE funds SPED teachers’ pre-service training in the form of the Diploma in Special Education (DISE) offered by the National Institute of Education (NIE). Around seven in 10 SPED teachers have obtained DISE or joined the sector with other recognised teaching credentials. For the remaining 500 teachers, around half are either on the current course or will be enrolled in DISE in January 2023. MOE also funds in-service training for SPED teachers and invites SPED teachers teaching the national curriculum to attend in-service training alongside MOE teachers. In addition, MOE offers Masters Scholarships in Special Education tenable either overseas or locally. MOE also works with partners to recognise and profile the important work of SPED teachers. The Outstanding SPED Teacher Award and the soon-to-be-implemented Promising SPED Teacher Award by MOE and SG Enable seek to identify and honour exemplary SPED teachers who are impactful and good role models in the fraternity. In addition, MOE has seconded MOE educators who have the passion to serve as teachers and key personnel in SPED schools. This includes seconding experienced MOE educators to serve as SPED school principals and vice principals, upon the SSAs’ request. Currently, there are 14 principals and vice principals who are MOE-secondees out of a total of 47 SPED school leaders.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, let me, first, set out where we are today before I share more with Dr Shahira Abdullah about my views on the way forward. Today, in Singapore, Special Education (SPED) is supported by the Government, community funders and Social Service Agencies (SSAs). The SSAs have been delivering special education for children with moderate-to-severe special educational needs for decades. Today, we have 22 SPED schools led by 12 SSAs. While full funding is provided for SPED, SSAs today retain substantial autonomy, including the hiring of staff for their respective SPED schools. MOE has been working closely and supporting SSAs to enhance the career proposition and professionalism of SPED teachers. One major HR initiative, done in consultation and partnership with SSAs, was the Journeys of Excellence Package, in short, the Journeys Package, launched in 2020. The Journeys Package aims to strengthen the professionalism in SPED as well as recognise the years of experience and service of many SPED educators by placing them at the appropriate competency levels and raising the job size of senior SPED teachers to more closely align with those of equivalent MOE teachers. MOE has been working with SPED schools to put in place progressive HR frameworks to support teacher retention and career development, taking a leaf from MOE’s own frameworks. One example is increasing the number of key personnel positions in SPED schools to provide career advancement opportunities for good-performing SPED teachers. To support these efforts, SPED schools will receive additional funding for manpower costs in two tranches: one, which was implemented in 2021, and another planned for 2024.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to answer Question Nos 5 and 6 together, please?”
“Schools monitor canteen food quality, food portions, and prices based on guidelines provided by MOE, to ensure that canteen food meets the nutritional needs of our students, and that prices are affordable for students and sustainable for canteen vendors. We are aware that some canteen vendors may try to hold off price increases by shrinking portion sizes, and schools do step in and work with vendors as necessary. We regularly review the school meal subsidies for our primary and secondary students from low-income families so that they can afford school canteen meals, even as prices rise because of inflation. We have recently announced that the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) will be enhanced by 20% to 30%, from January 2023. Beyond the MOE FAS, schools are given additional funds so that they can provide further assistance to students from lower income households who need more help. Households who need additional support for school meals, including those who have exceeded the MOE FAS income eligibility criteria, can approach schools for school-based assistance.”
“The proportion of International Students (ISes) enrolled in the Autonomous Universities (AUs) at undergraduate level has remained at around 10% in recent years, while the proportion of Singapore Permanent Residents (SPRs) has been less than 5%. The proportion of ISes in the AUs who are paying full fees has been around 20%. The remainder are recipients of tuition grants, which require them to work in Singapore for at least three years upon graduation, as part of their service obligation. The proportion of international students and fees that they pay varies across other countries, and some may also administer financial aid. We do not track the data.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) studies the local demand and supply trends for primary school places carefully, taking into account current and projected changes in local demography, for example when significant new housing developments are added to existing estates. We are mindful not to create new schools too quickly, as they may end up cannibalising existing schools. Neither do we plan new schools on the basis of one or two existing schools with high levels of oversubscription, as school places have to be planned on a regional basis. For Bukit Batok specifically, there were about 200 Primary 1 (P1) places remaining in Lianhua Primary and Bukit View Primary (around 14% of total planned P1 places in Bukit Batok) at the end of Phase 2C (Supplementary) in this year's P1 Registration Exercise, which is slightly higher than the 130 P1 places (or 10%) remaining in last year's P1 Registration Exercise. Both schools are about 1.5 kilometres away from Princess Elizabeth Primary. There are hence sufficient primary school places in the region for now. Nonetheless, we would like to assure Mr Murali that we have been closely monitoring the trends, including the significant projected demand for P1 places from the planned housing developments in the coming years. We have factored this into our on-going planning process, and are close to finalising our plans and will provide details once ready.”
“This year’s changes to the Primary One Registration Framework were not intended to reduce balloting in our primary schools. Instead, by doubling the number of reserved places in Phase 2C from 20 to 40 places, more children with no prior connection were able to obtain a place in a school near where they live.”