Chan Soo Sen
Singapore
“In this way, we could generate, nurture and grow the sparks of creativity. But all these ideas will still need to have things like incubators and the various start-up support schemes in order to make them into reality. All these would need funding support.”
“The fact that children give parents some money to have a good time in casino shows how complacent we can be. Mr Chairman, I want to propose that we must be more aggressive in publicising the ills of gambling. Let us take the example of smoking. Real pictures of health hazards are shown on the boxes to deter people.”
“Thank you, Madam. I just want to say that the Minister did not quite answer my question about having a special Chinese language programme or, if necessary, set up a special Chinese language centre for those who are gifted in Chinese. Perhaps I did not make myself quite clear.”
“Hence, I propose that the Ministry of Education consider implementing a Special Chinese Elite programme. If necessary, establish a Special Chinese Language Centre and peg the standard to the highest level.”
“As the public sector is a major employer in Singapore, may I ask whether the public sector as an employer is willing to recognise the medical certificates issued by TCM practitioners and allow medical benefit claims for TCM treatment? If not now, then how about some time in the future when professional standards of TCM further improve?”
“I hope that in the next few years, more emphasis will be given to the care and support for the caregivers – how to offer them emotional support, how to give them counselling support, how to organise programmes to give them some relief from the daily chore of giving care so that at least they may have, say, two or three hours a day t…”
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“We do have data on students who missed pre-school. I do not have it with me because the Member did not ask the question. But I would say that the Ministry of Education does have various early intervention programmes in primary schools. For example, we have the Learning Support Programme where, at Primary 1, we identify pupils who are weak in language and Mathematics and we give them an enhanced programme. What happens is that we take these children out of the class and put them in a smaller group to give them special coaching. The experience of this programme has been very good. By the end of Primary 1, more than two-thirds would have reached the required standard and can catch up when they reach Primary 2. By the end of Primary 2, virtually all would have caught up. PROGRAMME TO GROOM STUDENTS AS BICULTURAL ELITES (Implementation) The following Question stood in the name of Mdm Ho Geok Choo - 6. To ask the Minister for Education (a) how the new programme to groom the identified students as bicultural elites will be implemented using the space created by the integrated programme; (b) why are we confining the new programme to only two schools which are supposed to be able to get things ready in a short time; (c) how will non-scholars be assisted to embrace the new programme; and (d) what will be the desired outcomes for these non-scholars.”
“This booklet helps teachers and principals explain to parents what it means to prepare their children for lifelong learning. We have very good feedback on this booklet. Many kindergartens have purchased extra copies and have indicated that they will be using them for their orientation programmes at the end of this year or when giving talks to parents. For children in child care centres, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) encourages strong centre-family partnerships in the holistic development of young children. This is achieved through a sense of shared responsibility and common vision amongst staff and families. In the case of parents whose children are not in pre-schools, MCYS also partners community organisations such as maternity hospitals, libraries, family service centres, Voluntary Welfare Organisations and corporate Family Life Ambassadors as well as community self-help groups in the delivery of parenting programmes. These programmes empower and guide parents to take a proactive role in the proper upbringing and development of their children.”
“This wide range of professional development opportunities promotes continuous learning among pre-school professionals and, we believe, is an important part of the Ministry's effort to enhance the quality of kindergartens. Besides the quality of the teachers, MOE recognises that the extent of individualised attention given to the children also has an impact on the quality of the pre-school experience. Hence, the Ministry has recommended the following teacher-pupil ratio: Nursery: 1 teacher and 1 teacher-aide to 15 pupils Kindergarten 1: 1 teacher to 20 pupils Kindergarten 2: 1 teacher to 25 pupils These recommended teacher-pupil ratios are stated in the Kindergarten Manual that has been distributed to all kindergartens. Presently, 83.2% of kindergartens have met these teacher-pupil ratios. Kindergartens in new housing estates tend to have teacher-pupil ratios that are higher than the recommended guidelines. These kindergartens have been advised by the Ministry to work towards meeting these ratios. What happens in kindergartens, though important, is just one aspect of a child's development. What happens at home is equally important; in fact, some would say more important. Parents have a critical role to play in the upbringing of their children, and it is therefore important that they actively take up this challenge and raise their children well. We agree that it is necessary to help some parents understand the importance of developing children in a holistic manner. The best people who can explain this to the parents are the teachers and principals who come into contact with the parents regularly. To support pre-school educators in their efforts to persuade parents, the Ministry has published and distributed a booklet called "Nurturing Early Learners".”
“Thank you, Sir. Sir, the Ministry of Education (MOE) registers kindergartens if they meet the basic requirements in safety, land-use, hygiene, curriculum and teacher qualifications. Since 2001, the minimum qualifications for kindergarten teachers have been three 'O' level credits or equivalent and a Certificate in Pre-school Teaching. And the three 'O' level credits must include English Language or Mother Tongue Language for Mother Tongue teachers. To raise the quality of pre-school professionals, MOE, in December 2000, announced that all kindergarten principals would be required to obtain a Diploma in Pre-school Education - Leadership by January 2006. In October 2001, MOE further announced that all teachers would be required to have Certificate in Pre-school Teaching by January 2008 and one in four teachers would be required to obtain the Diploma in Pre-school Education - Teaching. Pre-school operators are responding to these MOE's requirements by sending their staff for training. Progress in the last three years has been encouraging. In January 2004, out of the total number of 3,438 pre-school teachers, 2,216 (64.5%) have received certificate or diploma training. With 1,160 teachers currently undergoing training, by the end of this year, 84% of pre-school teachers will have been trained at certificate or diploma level. These new standards, when fully in place from January 2008 onwards, will have a positive impact on the quality of education in the kindergartens. To further expand teachers' capability to bring about quality learning outcomes, the Ministry has been conducting workshops, seminars and sharing of best practices for kindergarten teachers and principals.”
“I am afraid I do not have these figures with me. But I just want to say that investigatingcomplaintsis a routine affair. Investigations leading to the schools being deregistered is quite rare.Most of the schools act on public feedback andcomplaints byadjusting the procedures and improving on things. EMPLOYABILITY OF OLDER WORKERS (Plans and programmes to enhance) The following Question stood in the name of Mdm Ho Geok Choo - 11.To ask the Minister for Manpower in view of the stronger economy (a) whether the wage restructuring efforts and CPF cuts have enhanced employability of older workers; (b) whether there are plans to tackle the long-term unemployment of the older people, and if so what are they; (c) whether there is any focused programme to promote the idea of self-employment, and if so, what is it and its result; (d) how is the Government reaching out to help the unemployed old and working poor aside from the efforts of the Workforce Development Agency; and (e) how can the Government's effort be made more visible and to leverage jointly with the efforts of other non-government agencies.”
“I believe CaseTrust is taking care of all students, whether foreign or local. Mr Ang Mong Seng (Hong Kah): May I ask the Minister of Statehow many licences had been issued by the Ministry of Education to the private schools? And, so far, has any actionbeen taken against those schools that had not complied with the standards set by MOE?”
“We definitely would check on this before they are allowed to be registered. When it comes to the business aspect,as I have said, we have the Singapore Quality Class standard (SQC) which is done by SPRING. Of course, as businesses, the private schoolswould also have to submit the regular audit reports to the relevant agencies. If there should be complaints by students or by members of the public on things that are going wrong, we would definitely investigate.”
“Sir, we do admit that there are areas that we could improve on. That is why, as I have explained in the answer, we are putting in schemes to improve things. You look at the situation, say, next year, when all the schemes are in place, we would actually have four levels of accrediting and standards assurance. At the basic level, there is the operationalstandards regulated bythe Ministry of Education through regulation through the Education Act. At the next level, we have CaseTrust which is done by CASE. This ensures that student welfare is taken care of. Then, at the next higher level, it is the current Singapore Quality Class (SQC). This is to ensure that there is a certain degree of business excellence. At the highest level, there is accreditation of academic standards andexcellence by SPRING. So, by next year, the schools would be monitored with four levels of regulation and we hope things would improve.”
“Sir, the teaching method using Hanyu Pinyin at Primary 1 is in the first 10-12 weeks of the students' study. The whole idea is to help them to develop correct pronunciation. But as I have said, the teaching method of Chinese Language is now undergoing review under the committee that was set up by the Ministry of Education recently. So we will allow the Review Committee time to look into all these matters related to CL teaching.”
“Mr Ang Mong Seng asked for institutions to be set up to cater to the needs of autistic children. In fact, in 2001, MOE, together with NCSS, addressed the issue of the increasing number of children with autism who needed placement in special education (SPED) schools. As a result, 11 more SPED schools came on stream to offer classes for autistic children. In addition, in January 2004, the Pathlight School was set up to cater to students with severe autism. This is run by the Autism Resource Centre and have a capacity of 400. In other words, whatever the Member has suggested has already been done.”
“Sir, the two questions on CLB have been addressed very substantially in the last two days. I also want to thank Mr Ang Mong Seng for helping me to answer a lot of Dr Chong Weng Chiew's questions about the writing aspect. If there is enough interest, there is no reason why CLB students should not go beyond what is taught. The whole idea of having CLB is to allow them to learn at a level that they can manage so that they would not lose interest in the Chinese language totally. Dr Chong Weng Chiew mentioned 2.6% taking CLB. I would like to say that this particular percentage is based on the old criteria, before the recent revision. We do not have a target on how many per cent should study CLB. Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon talked about the setting up of a national early childhood institute as well as giving more help to early childhood curriculum development. I think we have also covered this very extensively earlier when we were discussing this subject under the $100 cut. I shall not go through it again. We, basically, feel that the current framework, whereby MOE defines the requirements and let the private and the community sector run the pre-school programme, to be a satisfactory one. Therefore, we do not feel that there is a need for us to enter into it and to set up that particular institute. Since Mr Zainudin is here, I think I owe him one clarification. Just now, he asked what we were doing to cater for students who benefit from vocational training. The two vocational institutes that he mentioned - Assumption Vocational Institute and the Geylang Serai Vocational Institute - are both under the ITE umbrella. I have just confirmed this. Therefore, whatever I said about ITE actually applies to them.”
“Maybe, in due course, we will be in agreement a little bit. Education Hub”
“Was that what Ms Braema meant? Mdm Cynthia Phua is helping her to clarify.”
“Sir, to bring the students in before primary school starts will be to extend the compulsory education period backwards for some. The question is how to implement it. Is there any demand for this? As most of our students at that point of time will be with the various kindergartens, I wonder whether there is demand for this. On her second question, the running of these establishments and the schools lies with the voluntary organisations. Some of the funding comes from the Ministry of Education as well as the Ministry of Community Development and Sports. For career planning, recruitment, motivation and things like that, all these staff matters are really done by the respective voluntary organisations. As I have explained, the Ministry of Education prefers that this many-helping-hands approach continues. And if there are specific difficulties in recruitment and so on, they do raise them with us and we do whatever we can to help them.”
“I want to invite Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon to put forward her proposals on what to include in sexuality education. MOE will be very happy to listen. She also talked about making our environment more pro-family and, hopefully, many of our staff who are single lady teachers would have the opportunities. We will certainly see what we can do about that, but bear in mind that we still have the important objective of ensuring our educational programmes are properly delivered. From the debate in the House in the last 1-2 days, Members can see the kind of expectation that we have of our teachers.”
“The Committee identified that the central issue here was whether children with special needs are being adequately supported with education opportunities. Therefore, the Committee examined the existing measures to support special education, many of which I have just described earlier, and found these to be satisfactory and robust. Today, students in mainstream schools also do have opportunities to interact with students from SPED schools through their Community Involvement Programmes. Through these experiences, mainstream students become more aware of the issues facing students in SPED schools. Yesterday, Mr Zainudin Nordin asked about what MOE is doing to help all learners across the spectrum of ability, for example, in upgrading the facilities of SPED schools as well as ITEs. I have just described what MOE does, in regard to SPED schools. So I will just say a few words about ITEs. I think MPs have visited our ITEs and they have been impressed by the infrastructure investment that we have put in. MOE is spending about $800 million to develop the new ITE regional campuses. This is no less than what we have invested in our JCs, which cater to students of the same age group. ITE students also enjoy subsidies that are, in fact, slightly higher than that of a junior college student. ITE subsidy, at the moment, is about $8,574 per student; JC is $8,513 per student. So, we do place equal emphasis on investing in ITE students. Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon asked a few questions about, for example, the right to play. I am not aware of any educational system in the world that prescribes right to play, but we do emphasise a lot on character development as well as moral education. As for sexuality education, this is a subject that has been discussed on many occasions.”
“There was also a question on the possibility of integrating special schools with mainstream schools. On this issue, I think our starting point must be to see how we can work together to ensure that our children with special needs have access to the opportunities they need to participate fully in the economy and the society. Pupils with learning or physical disabilities, and who are able to follow the mainstream curriculum, are provided places in mainstream schools. In certain designated schools, special facilities and additional resources are provided to these pupils to facilitate their learning. Advances in assistive technologies have made it possible, for example, for more of visual impaired students to access Braille notebooks, talking dictionaries and specialised software. Currently, there are 460 pupils with hearing impairment and 52 with visual impairment in our mainstream schools. If possible, we will see how we can increase that further. Children with disabilities who do not attend mainstream schools are better served in our 20 SPED schools, with specially trained teachers supported by para-medical personnel. At all these SPED schools, these children can learn at their own pace through a curriculum and environment specially tailored to their needs. Ms Braema also pointed out that children at SPED schools are not included under compulsory education. Compulsory education currently is defined as education in our national schools. In reaching this conclusion, the Compulsory Education Committee recognised that if compulsory education were to include education in SPED schools, the enforcement of compulsory education may be unduly harsh on some of the parents of such children.”
“We have completed the redevelopment of five of our 20 SPED schools, and have plans to redevelop 13 more. MOE covers 90% of the construction cost of purpose-built SPED school buildings, as well as five-year refurbishment and repair works for existing buildings. Through MOE and NCSS, SPED schools receive up to four times, not 2.5 times, the funding of a pupil in a mainstream primary school, with MOE funding the per capita cost of mainstream primary education plus 50% of the additional cost up to a cap of 2.5 times for primary education. The other 1.5 times comes from NCSS. This followed from a 1997 revision to the equal cost-sharing principle between MOE and NCSS. SPED pupils also receive a yearly Edusave contribution of $160, like their counterparts in primary school. Each SPED school receives an annual Edusave grant for enrichment programmes and purchase of equipment and resource materials. Granted that some Members might feel that this is not enough, but compared to 10 years ago, we have already given much more. Finally, on teacher resources. Ms Braema has commented that there is a high teacher attrition rate at SPED schools, and asked what MOE is doing to increase retention. First of all, these staff come under the purview of NCSS, not MOE. MOE assists by providing opportunities for SPED school teachers to acquire skills, knowledge, and networking that will give them a sense of confidence as educators of children with special needs. NIE provides both Certificate and Diploma level training to teachers at SPED schools. SPED schools are also invited to participate in MOE's Annual Posting Exercise should they require MOE seconded teachers. There are currently 18 MOE seconded teachers teaching in SPED schools.”
“This is where the "Many Helping Hands" approach, a key recommendation of the Advisory Council on the Disabled in 1988, remains sound and relevant. Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) have a strong sense of mission, and are able to respond quickly to new needs and demands. They also have their networks to seek community support. The passion and commitment shown by parents, volunteers and VWOs are also strengths that should be preserved. If the Ministry were to take over everything, all these will be lost. To address Dr Ong's suggestion on who should take the lead in special education, the tripartite partnership of Government, family and community remains complementary and effective in meeting the needs of our special needs children. Together with the National Council of Social Services (NCSS), MOE assists VWOs in setting up SPED schools. Today, there are 20 SPED schools, which provide education for about 4,400 pupils with special needs, more than a two-fold increase from 11 in 1989. The newest SPED School, which is Pathlight School, opened in January 2004, and this caters to the wait list of children with severe autism. MOE assists VWOs in acquiring suitable sites for development. To address Ms Braema's point on co-location of SPED schools with normal schools, it is the VWOs that ultimately decide on the location of their schools based on factors such as accessibility by public transport and the geographical distribution of their students. If they are really interested in co-relocating with some of our normal schools, we can look into their request if they were to put it forward. MOE is also working towards housing all our SPED schools in permanent purpose-built buildings.”
“Ms Braema asked about pre-school class size, the need to identify children with no pre-primary education and how to help them in Primary 1. To address the question of pre-school class size, the kindergarten manual, that MOE distributed to all registered kindergartens, recommends one teacher and one teacher aid to 15 pupils at the nursery level, one teacher to 20/25 pupils at K1 and K2 level respectively. On identifying children with no pre-primary education and help them at Primary 1, it is to be expected that our children enter Primary 1 at differing levels of development. Such differences are the result of many factors, including differing attitudes and abilities, as well as varying home backgrounds. Rather than using pre-school education as a criterion, our schools screen all incoming Primary 1 children to identify those who are weak in language and literacy skills. These children are provided additional support in Primary 1 and 2 through the Learning Support Programme (LSP) for English. Often, these are students who start P1 with limited reading skills, equivalent to children of less than five years of age. According to the needs of the school, MOE provides schools with one or two additional dedicated posts for learning support coordinators. In other words, these are additional posts to run the programme. Students in LSP are pulled out of class for half an hour each day and learn in small groups of 8-10. They rejoin regular classes when they have made adequate progress. Each year, 12-14% of Primary 1 and 2 children enter the LSP. At the end of P1, about 60% have made enough progress to rejoin regular classes. Dr Amy Khor has asked about the level of resources and facilities that MOE provides to Special Schools, or SPED schools.”
“This is where MOE dedicates continuous efforts to help prepare the pre-school teachers with the skills and knowledge to effectively deliver the pre-school curriculum. Our provisions today, we believe, are adequate and well-placed. MOE has articulated also academic and professional qualifications that pre-school teachers must have. Kindergartens are making good progress in this area. By the end of this year, about 84 of pre-school teachers in MOE-registered kindergartens would have received their certificate or diploma in pre-school training. By 2008, we expect one in four teachers should have obtained their Diploma, in Pre-school Education (Teaching). MOE does provide grants to eligible non-profit kindergartens that meet the professional requirements set by MOE. In addition, all these training courses are supported by Skills Development Fund up to 80%. As of February 2004, the pre-school teacher accreditation committee, set up by MOE and MCDS has also accredited 86 pre-school teacher training courses for 24 agencies, and this includes NIE as well as Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Finally, on research. To guide MOE in policy planning and to help determine where and how our resources are best invested in the pre-school sector, MOE has undertaken a pilot research project to understand the impact of the new curriculum on pupils learning and development. Findings from the first phase of the study indicated that the new curriculum, with its focus on interactivity, experimentation and discovery, provided richer learning environment that particularly benefited pupils from low social education status and non English-speaking backgrounds. MOE expects to complete the second phase of this study by the end of 2006.”
“The strength of our pre-school curriculum thus lies in the diversity and breadth that parents can choose from. For this reason, MOE will not take over the pre-school sector. The provision of pre-school education will remain firmly with the various private sector and community organisations. MOE will concentrate on high leverage areas, such as defining outcomes, designing a curriculum framework, improving teacher quality, and conducting research. Mr Yeo Guat Kwang's suggestion on how to do additional professional support is also an area that we can look into. The curriculum framework that I described earlier was launched in January 2003. Since its launch, MOE has facilitated by offering training workshops to all interested pre-school teachers of registered kindergartens. MOE has been able to meet all requests for training so far, through a total of 62 workshops. These workshops cover various topics in the curriculum framework, such as how to plan an integrated and holistic curriculum and suggested teaching strategies. Through briefings and sharing sessions, MOE has also worked to empower pre-school leaders to guide their teachers in designing and monitoring their own progress. 2.30 pm To help kindergartens monitor their continuous self-improvement, MOE has developed a self-appraisal instrument called Pursuing Excellence at Kindergartens (PEAK). This tool guides kindergartens in evaluating their curriculum plans, resource management and learning environment. Since its launch in October 2003, about half of our kindergartens, 241 of them, have found this tool to be useful. Mr Zainudin asked about resources for pre-school education. A key leverage in raising the quality of pre-school education is teacher training.”
“Sir, a few Members have rightly pointed out the importance of the pre-school education sector. I appreciate in particular Mr Zainudin Nordin's and Mr Yeo Guat Kwang's reminders that as we undertake changes at various levels of the education system, we must not forget the pre-school education sector. We recognise that the pre-school years are a valuable opportunity to facilitate the development of a child socially, morally, cognitively, emotionally and physically. MOE has developed a pre-school curriculum framework, launched in January 2003, that emphasises a holistic approach and an enhanced quality of interaction. This framework outlines principles that will guide educators in designing their pre-school programmes. It is broad enough to accommodate the range of philosophies found in different pre-school programmes, yet it provides concrete examples of how these principles can be put into practice. The curriculum framework also describes the Desired Outcomes of Pre-School Education, which were first articulated in 2000. In a nutshell, this refers to the holistic development of every child. While literacy and numeracy skills are important and should not be overlooked, school-readiness must surely also include a love for learning and discovery, curiosity about how the world works, and the ability to communicate and interact well with others. It is important that we give our pre-school educators space to tailor their programmes, whether it is the content or the balance between open-ended play and more structured learning. Preserving the range of programmes offered by various community and private organisations is therefore appropriate, as there is just no single model for developing children at an early age.”
“LEAPS, which was introduced at secondary level in January 2003, award points for five categories - Leadership, Enrichment, Achievement, Participation and Service. LEAPS recognises both participation as well as achievement and, therefore, there are a lot of opportunities for students to just participate and score some points. On character development, active participation in CCAs certainly can play a large role in character building as it is often through trials and experiences that students build strength of character, gain confidence as well as learn to function as gracious members of the society. Mr Gan Kim Yong spoke on the need to strengthen the character building component of our education system, and asked how we can measure the effectiveness of the character building programmes. We agree with him and we will try our best. To complement our CCAs, we have implemented a Character Development Programme to formalise the enrichment activities of schools. Schools actively undertake National Education and Community Involvement Programmes. In the formal curriculum, Civics and Moral Education aims to develop our students to be people of integrity who act responsibly with the interests of others and the nation in mind. Character building is, in fact, central to our Desired Outcomes of Education. It is not something that the school can do alone. It is also not something that can be measured easily. It is again not something that we have a monopoly of ideas. In fact, we will welcome ideas from all quarters on how else we can do to improve on our character building efforts.”
“30 pm To complement CCA offerings, PE lessons are used to teach a variety of sports and games skills to all pupils. The House System in schools, which was re-introduced in 2000, is a useful platform to encourage broad participation of students in recreational sports, for example, through games carnivals as well as sports meets. To facilitate schools' efforts to further leverage on the House System, MOE will be launching two new courses, namely, the Students Sports Coach course and the Students Sports Official course. At the end of these courses, the students' sports coaches should be able to teach basic sports skills to beginners or students who are not in any sports CCA. They will become a valuable pool of leaders in the House System and who knows, some of them may become important leaders in our sports arena next time as they grow up. To further provide opportunities for interested students to pursue activities of their choice, MOE has set up Sports Development Committees through the zone schools sports councils to promote sports development programmes for students who do not represent their schools in sports. We are exploring with external partners, such as the Singapore Sports Council, various National Sports Associations, National Arts Council and the Uniformed Group Councils to see what else can be done, at both primary as well as secondary levels. Indeed, schools are already tapping on the Singapore Sports Council's "Sports U" programme. This used to be called "Learn to Play" programme. This is aimed at allowing more pupils to take part in recreational sports. This programme started in 2002, with 38 primary and secondary schools. This year, the number of participating schools has increased to 75. We look forward to further increases.”
“Student-initiated activities are one way of giving students greater scope to pursue their passions and interests, and will foster a greater sense of initiative and ownership in non-academic pursuits amongst them. So, let us see what ideas the students come up with. The existing CCA grading schemes - LEAPS and PEARLS - will also be adjusted to recognise student-initiated activities as well as to encourage broader student participation in rugged activities. Mr Zainudin, Mdm Cynthia Phua and Dr Amy Khor also expressed concern that some schools do not cater adequately to the sporting and CCA interests of their students. Let me say that MOE encourages schools to provide a wide range of CCAs to cater to the diverse interests and needs of the pupils. Every pupil should have the opportunity to pursue the CCA of his interest and choice. But this will have to be done within the school's manpower and physical resource constraints. These are not excuses, as resource constraints are real things. Our schools will do their best to balance between developing students who have demonstrated ability in particular CCAs and providing CCAs at a recreational level. A school's tradition and its niche areas usually influence its choices of CCAs and sports activities that it could cater and offer in its CCA programme as core sports. To answer Mdm Phua's question on selection processes, most schools, because of manpower and physical resource constraints, must invariably conduct some sort of selection process for pupils to participate in different CCAs. We are not like the United World College. We do not have that kind of resources. And, by the way, you see what kind of fees their students pay. 12.”
“Sir, I will address the issues on CCAs as well as character building. Dr Amy Khor, Mdm Cynthia Phua as well as Mr Zainudin have all spoken very passionately on the importance of CCAs, in particular sports, in a broad-based education. I agree with all their sentiments. I agree that we should do more to provide our students with richer learning experiences in the non-academic domain, so that they develop a resilient and robust outlook in life and become well-rounded and confident individuals. Rugged activities, eg, sports, adventure camps, expeditions, uniformed groups and so on, are naturally well-suited to develop qualities like perseverance, self-reliance, a sense of adventure, self-confidence and a "can-do", gung-ho spirit. All of them are important in the challenges that we are going to face in life. MOE is exploring ways to provide students, particularly those who are not involved in competitive sports, with more opportunities to participate in rugged activities. For example, we encourage schools to provide every secondary school student with two residential camp experiences. The Adventure Centres run by MOE and other organisations can provide at least one of these camp experiences. The other could be a "camp on campus" within the grounds of the school. Towards this end, MOE is developing two new campsites. Both will be operational by June 2005. MOE is also open-minded if the schools want to work with grassroots organisations, such as constituency sports clubs, to organise more activities for the students. MOE will allow Student-initiated Activities (SiA) to be pursued as official Co-curricular Activities (CCAs). Ms Braema spoke on the need to nurture interest among students.”
“Visiting schools nowadays, I do see students staging plays in the classroom as part of learning. In some of the schools, they also have speakers' corners which are quite well used, unlike our Speakers' Corner. Sir, I think I have addressed all the questions related to language studies.”
“But I would like to advise Members that speaking with the personal experience of a parent whose son has done Malay special programme, it is not easy to learn three languages. They spend two afternoons a week on classes, and they need a lot of support. At one stage, my son was about to give up. Then I told him about this treasure trove analogy. He was not moved. Then I said, "Son, can we say that you only need to get a P6 for your third language? That will be good enough for me." He said, "Really, ah! Just a P6 will satisfy you?" I said, "Sure." He said, "But I am not going to pass my oral." I said, "I have not seen somebody who is a non-Malay and attends the Malay oral exam, tries his best and still fails." Sure enough, he passed. So, do not put too much pressure. Treat this as an additional bonus and try your best. As Mrs Fang suggested, students can also benefit from non-examinable language learning experiences that are fun and engaging. I find it encouraging that four of our primary schools and 14 secondary schools have offered students non-native mother tongue language enrichment programmes. One example is Chinese High School which requires all Secondary 2 pupils to take a two-term course on conversational Malay and Malay customs and culture without the need for examination. This is good enrichment experience. Ms Braema spoke on the importance of English language skills for enhanced social interaction. We agree. In fact, even as we refine our Mother Tongue provisions, we will continue to strengthen our English Language teaching. Subjects, such as project work, also provide a useful platform to practise social interaction in both formal and informal settings, eg, in group communication and making presentations.”
“But the scholarship scheme has been discontinued from 2002, because the Ministry of Education was able to meet the demand for CL primary school teachers through local recruitment and targeted teacher recruitment in the PRC. I would like to assure Mr Steve Chia that all our Chinese Language teachers are properly trained in the National Institute of Education. Mdm Halimah asked whether we have similar plans for a review of ML and TL. I would like to say that the Ministry of Education is willing to see how the teaching and learning of our other mother tongue languages can be enhanced, and to see if changes are necessary. As for the specific question about sebutan baku, I will leave it to Mr Hawazi who is more qualified to answer. Mrs Fang Ai Lian called for further evolution of language education to prepare Singaporeans for greater regional and global roles. I agree with Mrs Fang that Singaporeans who are able to speak a language apart from English and their mother tongue will find it economically useful in accessing markets in the region and beyond. As I have said, an additional language is like an additional key to another treasure trove. Some opinion leaders have indeed said that the age of multi-lingualism has arrived. Currently, students can offer a foreign language such as French, Japanese and German or a non-native mother tongue as a third language. An example of the latter is the Malay special programme which, like our other non-native MTL programmes, is now offered to the top 30% of the PSLE cohort. We have 435 students in the Malay special programme. The Ministry of Education will look into how we can provide greater opportunities for students who have the capacity and interest to take up a non-native mother tongue language as a third language.”
“We have been talking to and encouraging the Chinese community organisations to do more. I know they will support us. The question now is not whether Chinese is good or English is good, or whether Chinese is strong or English is strong. We want to grab both with both our hands. As Mrs Fang Ai Lian has mentioned, we want to be like the Dutch people. They can speak all sorts of languages. They can speak German, French, Dutch and English. In Scandinavia, it is the same thing. As I have said, with one more key, you can open one more treasure trove. Even if the key is small, you can still have a small treasure, but it is still worth looking for it. As a former student from the Chinese stream, of course, I am very concerned with the future of Chinese. But I feel that under the present macro environment, we do not need to worry. What we need to worry is how to rally the teachers, students, the Chinese community, the parents and the people of all stations of life to put in a concerted effort, to seize the opportunity and to hold this very important key to open this very big treasure trove. At this juncture, I would like to thank all the Members for their suggestions in the teaching of the Chinese language. If they have other suggestions, please pass them to me and I will present them to the Review Committee so that they can do an even better job. (In English) Sir, there are other subjects which have been raised. Mr Steve Chia asked about the success of the MOE teaching scholarship programme for Chinese teachers. The PRC undergraduate teaching scholarship scheme was started in 1998 and has helped to widen the pool of Chinese language teachers in our local primary schools. The first batch of teachers was posted to schools in June 2003.”
“They could organise more activities or competitions and allow our young people to express their feelings in Chinese. I notice that in St. Andrew's Junior College, they had an inter-school Chinese songs composition contest. The students wrote the lyrics, composed the tunes and then performed. The Chinese that they used was, to me, a very conservative person, not exactly perfect. In some parts, the grammar was wrong. Sometimes they mixed in some English. But that does not matter. We look at the passion, the expressions, the feelings that manifested in their songs - they sang about their worry for the future, their passion for friends of the opposite sex and the dissatisfaction with the generation gap. This is the feeling of our young people. They want to express it in Chinese, and this is an affirmation for the Chinese language. If we can have more opportunities to express our hearts in Chinese, it will become a lively language. We will rediscover that Chinese language is passionate, dynamic, creative and also practical. If our Chinese newspapers can have a forum page for the young people to discuss matters which concern them like, for example, falling in love, their worries, their loneliness and their fear, with someone experienced in youth matters, that could be a best seller. Such exchanges would benefit the youth readers and their parents. Also expressing their feelings in Chinese, our young people would feel a sense of attachment to their mother tongue. If we can also have more Chinese toastmaster exercises in our schools and society, they could have more opportunities to use Chinese to express themselves, and I think it will raise the standard of Chinese. There can also be more activities like operas and musicals.”
“Just now, many of my colleagues suggested that the teaching of the Chinese language should be more interesting and more lively, with singing, comics and all sorts of methods, or even like what the Columbian used to learn Chinese. We will look into all these suggestions very carefully. If Members have any other suggestions, please do not hesitate to give them to me. You can write in English or Chinese, it does not matter. You can also criticise the present practice - no problem. I think it is better to have people showing concern and criticising than nobody showing any concern at all. Now the teaching of Chinese is something which everyone is concerned about, I think the Chinese community should feel empowered. I fully agree with Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, Dr Ong Seh Hong and even Mr Steve Chia that we have to have a holistic review of the teaching of Chinese. I hope that by August or September when this review committee completes its work, we will be able to share the results of this review with Members. Now, our situation is such that parents support the learning of Chinese. Our students also want to learn Chinese. The teachers are determined to teach Chinese and teach it well. Our parliamentary colleagues are all saying that mother tongue is important. We have to learn it with our heart and soul. Now I would like to call upon our Chinese community to make more efforts to cooperate with us. For Chinese to be a lively language, we have to create space for the use of Chinese. We have to use it in a creative way with feelings and be realistic. Only then can our Chinese be like a stream of living water. I believe that the Chinese community can contribute more in this respect.”
“Our students will just say, "If I don't learn Chinese, I cannot go further, so I will just hang on with it." Down in their hearts they are not happy. They hate Chinese. Some students are having this mentality; my own children included. The ancient Chinese classic said, zi bu jiao, fu zhi guo (子不教, 父之过) meaning "if a son is not properly taught, the father is at fault." To this, I agree and I plead guilty. My son told me, "I am learning this Chinese for you, for your sake, because you want me to learn, and so I learn. I will work hard to get a good grade. But, once I have cleared my hurdle of Higher Chinese, don't force me to learn Chinese again." Now he has cleared his Higher Chinese and he is not doing Chinese anymore in the junior college. His learning of Chinese was not motivated from the heart. I hope that maybe one day, he would be like Christopher Yap and rediscover the importance of the Chinese language. He should be able to build on the existing foundation that he has and go further. So now, the future of Chinese is settled. The Ministry of Education has set up a Chinese Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review, and for the first time it is going to be chaired by the Director-General of Education. In the past, whenever we wanted to review the standard of Chinese, we always had a Minister or some political leaders to lead the committee. But, on this occasion, we are getting the Director-General of Education to lead the committee which comprises senior school leaders, Chinese language subject heads and experts in the academic field. I am sure they will be able to come up with some holistic and multi-dimensional approach to review the curriculum design.”
“When the Lianhe Zaobao survey, which concluded that out of 10 students, at least eight of them were determined to learn Chinese well, the spirit was even higher. At that time, some even felt so confident about the prospects of Chinese Language that they commented that for those who did not want to learn Chinese, "So be it! Do not drag the cow up the tree and make life difficult for everybody." But then when we announced a small movement, that is, Chinese language is not compulsory for the computation of university admission score, the spirit sank. Mind you, students still have to secure a minimum CL score, and they could still use Chinese to compute university admission score if this makes his score higher. Hence CL score is still important. But then the spirit did not sink to the bottom. A friend of mine told me that he has been getting feedback from the Chinese community, and the score outside and the score now is 60-40. 60% are downhearted, while 40% are upbeat. I hope that after the assurance given by the Acting Minister that Chinese is still part of the national spirit that cannot be alienated, there will be a swing around to 40-60, or better still, 30-70 and even 20-80. We should see the big picture. Under our school system, mother tongue is still a very important factor in our examination aggregate results. This will not change. The economic value of Chinese is now beyond doubt. We do not have to force people by policy to learn Chinese Language. Indeed we have been talking about education programmes emphasising in creativity, innovation and more autonomy to empower people. If we need to have a policy to force people to learn the mother tongue, then I am afraid it will not be convincing.”
“Therefore, our JC Chinese teachers need not be despondent. The Singapore Chinese Teachers' Union recently issued an 8-point statement, as was mentioned by Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, and I am particularly encouraged and moved when I read the last few sentences which said: "A multi-language era has arrived. All the developed countries are attaching more importance to the learning of Chinese. Under such a climate, our mother tongue teachers should not be desperate or despondent. We have to mould the character of our next generation of Singaporeans. If we don't, who will?" It is upbeat, forthright, confident, even heroic, much like the expressions often used by the northern Chinese. The northern Chinese are normally more forthright and heroic in their style of expressions. Hence, "If we don't, who will?" They understand their mission and are determined to achieve. I would like to salute our Chinese teachers. With this dedicated spirit of our Chinese teachers, I am sure that the review on the teaching methods will bear good and plentiful fruits. Our Chinese teachers will put in their heart and soul, and lift the teaching and learning of Chinese language to a higher peak. If our Chinese teachers are not despondent, I hope our Chinese community would not feel too negative. I understand that, of late, the feelings of the Chinese community have been like a roller coaster, springing up and down. When the Mother Tongue B and Higher Chinese admission criteria were relaxed together, generally, the spirit was lifted especially when they heard that more students were applying to read Higher Chinese. In fact, there were many more students opting to do Higher Chinese than those going for Chinese B. So, their spirit was up.”
“In fact, I know some real cases amongst my friends and colleagues, who were from the English schools and had conveniently dropped Chinese during their school days, becoming lovers of Chinese language and culture today. I often find them going to Beijing operas, dialect operas, appreciating Chinese movies and singing songs in Chinese at karaoke sessions. Perhaps they have come to the age of 40 and 50, and hence have become wise and begin to know their destinations. So, they begin to search their souls, and feel that they have to go and find their roots. To know another language is like holding another key. You can open another treasure trove and enjoy all the good things in it. We know that Singaporeans are pragmatic and even kiasu. So, if we can provide them with a good environment to earn another key, why would they refuse? If Singaporeans realise that the target is important, they will work very hard towards it. Even if they have to suffer some hardship, they are prepared to do it. Now, we have a group of people who are steadfast in their role, and are prepared to make valuable contributions. These are our Chinese teachers. On 9th March, I spoke to a group of Heads of Chinese Department in Junior Colleges. I asked them about the feelings of our Chinese teachers in the junior colleges, now that Chinese Language results was no longer mandatory for the computation of university admission scores. Although, a little disappointed, the teachers are not despondent. In fact, they are determined to do their job well. During the meeting, they offered many, many suggestions on how to improve Chinese language teaching. Some of their suggestions were also raised by Members of this House. The Chinese Language Review Committee will look into all these suggestions.”
“Forty years ago, when I had just left school, if I were asked the economic value of the Chinese Language 30 years later, I am afraid I would not have been able to confidently say it would be brighter than present. But, today, if I were asked the same question, I would very confidently say Chinese Language would be more important and its prospects brighter 30 years from now, since we know China will be an even more important country politically and economically than what it is today. Singaporeans are very pragmatic. So I am sure this factor will be able to motivate our students to work hard in the learning of the Chinese language, and also to inspire the parents to persuade their children to learn Chinese well. I know that some parents have written to the newspapers, saying that Chinese is very difficult to learn. It has wasted a lot of the children's time and efforts, and they could not learn it well. I believe these parents are in the minority. Maybe, they are about my age, but studied in the English stream. During their younger days, they did not appreciate the importance of Chinese, and thought it had nothing to do with their future prospects. So, they did not put in much effort to master the language. Hence, they have this misconception that Chinese is not of value to them and is irrelevant to their future development. They feel that learning the Chinese language is a burden and an obstacle to their children's studies. Hence, it is not worth putting in all the efforts to master it. Having heard my parliamentary colleagues' speeches, I think we have come to a consensus that the Chinese language does have real economic value. It is something that is worthwhile for us to learn it well. I believe these parents will, one day, eventually come to this realisation too.”
“Had I not had the command of Chinese and English when I was in Suzhou Industrial Park, it would not be possible for me to negotiate with the Chinese people, using subtle and indirect style which communicate clearly in Chinese. When it comes to dealing with the local Chinese, certain things keyi yihui buke yuanchuan (可以意会不可言传), meaning can be understood but cannot be expressed or are beyond words. So, such informal manners of communications can carry you far and wide. At the same time, I was able to communicate with the westerners, urging them to come and invest in Suzhou. On the left, I could face the Chinese; on the right, I could face the westerners. This is what they say, zuoyou feng yuan (左右逢源), meaning to be successful both sides, or to have the best of both worlds. Zuoyou feng yuan is an advantage we have been leveraging on. It has been a key competitive edge in our economy. So, on the east we can face Asia, on the west we can face Europe and the United States. We can face east and face west, and we can bring the east and the west together, with us acting as a middleman or a bridge. This type of relationship has been a competitive edge in our economic development. Without our bilingual policy, it is not possible for us to have this competitive edge. So, under the present situation, particularly at the time when the competition is even more intense, it will be foolish of us to give up the bilingual policy and give away this competitive edge. We know that China is emerging and the economic value of Chinese language is entirely different from that of 40 years ago.”
“I forced myself to read the Straits Times. I forced myself to listen to radio broadcasts. If I could not understand the news in English, I would listen to the news in Chinese first, and then tune on to the English news later, because the contents of the Chinese and English news were more or less the same. After some time, I began to understand the English news better. When I read the Straits Times, I had to underline the words which I did not understand and check the dictionary. Sometimes, after checking the dictionary, I would forget the meaning of the words again. Then, I would have to recheck again. In the process, the number of words which I could not understand became fewer, and I have gradually built up a bigger vocabulary. It was not easy. Why am I sharing this story? There are a few important points in this story. The first important point is that learning a language is never easy. We cannot just give up the moment we encounter some difficulties. Secondly, the economic value of the language is a very important motivating factor, particularly to the students. We often say, if you want to learn a language, you cannot just look at the economic value. I agree. But as an ancient sage said, sanshi er li, sishi er buhuo, wushi er zhi tianming, meaning at 30, a man should be able to be independent; at 40, a man begins to be wise; and at 50, he begins to know his destiny in life. So, during school days, the students are not even 20, not to mention 30. They only want to be independent, and hence the motivating power of economic value. Having the command of another language is certainly a great asset.”
“Sir, what I propose to do is to supplement what my Minister has said with regard to the teaching of the Chinese Language. For this part, I will present in Mandarin. I will also address the other issues raised by the other Members and, for that part, I will address in English. I will not mix the languages in the respective parts. (In Mandarin): Sir, first of all, I would like to share with you a story on the learning of languages. This is my own story on how I learned the English language. It happened more than 40 years ago. I was learning English, frankly speaking, in quite a difficult way. In those days, among the subjects that I was learning, English posed the most difficulties to me. In fact, at that time, most families of my class spoke no English. Even our English teachers were sometimes forced to speak to us in Mandarin when they really could not communicate with us. However, a number of teachers in our school were Indian, so it was not possible for us to converse with them in Mandarin. Maybe they knew Chinese but they pretended not to know! Most importantly, we somehow managed to understand one another, and I improved my English in the process. The economic value of English was without doubt. That was 40 years ago. Although I was in a Chinese school, my future prospects would be discounted if I had not learnt English well. I wanted to apply for a scholarship to study overseas, so if my English was not good or if I had failed my Senior Cambridge Examinations, then my dream of an overseas scholarship would remain just a dream, never to be realized. I was taking my Senior Cambridge Examinations in the year when I was in Pre-U 1, and I realised that I had to brush up on my English if I wanted to have some meaningful results.”
“The PA's management will ensure that in future, annual reports will be published within the norm of six months after the end of the financial year. We would like to thank Mr Charles Chong for reminding us.”
“Madam, of the $42.6 million or 17% increase over FY 2003 expenditure, $6.65 million isprovision for GST. $2.72 million is for subvention for land cost. Another $4.58 million is set aside for increase in thesocial assistance budget under the various schemes, such as the Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) scheme, Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS), which are administered by the five CDCs. PA is holding the budget for these schemes. The remaining $28.69 million will go into improving our outreach and increasing multi-participation among residents through improvement of infrastructure, training for grassroots leaders and staff as well as new programmes. Of this amount, about $6.45 million is to be spent on maintenance, upgrading and building of community facilities. In addition, PA will invest another $3.37 million on IT systems and infrastructure which will support the work of grassroots organisations. About $2.5 million is for the youth expedition programme administered by the Singapore Inter national Foundation. The rest of the $16.37 million will fund grassroots leadership and staff training, new programmes such as gearing up the emergency preparedness capabilities of the grassroots network as well as manpower costs for administering these courses. All these, we believe, will build up the capabilities and capacity of the People's Association and its grassroots network so that they can undertake more new challenges ahead. All PA operating units are targeted to improve results in FY 2004. Each has been given specific growth targets, typically ranging up to 10%. As for the Annual Report, we would like to apologise to the House that FY 2002 Annual Report indeed has been delayed. However, it will be ready in late March this year, just after this sitting.”
“I think getting to know people through the websites, in itself, can be acontroversial idea. There are people who got to know other peoplethrough the website but later got into trouble. So, I would advocate some caution on this. But I do agree that there is a need for us to encourage the setting up of credible establishments, both the people sector as well as the private sector, to provide this kind of services to help to connect people. This part, I would agree. Whether website is an answer, I think we need to explorefurther. I would also disagree this time with Dr Lily Neo who appeared to implythat we are all talk and no action. I think we have done quite a bit. But I would agree that, yes, we shoulddo more.”
“Maybe we can invite her to participate in the many task forces that we have.”
“Madam, once again, I would say that I find it very difficult to disagree with Dr Lily Neo. What she says is exactly what we have been doing. Every year, we have a Family Week. The aimof the Family Week is to promote family cohesion and family integration. We realise that in the society, all of us individually are just like sand.But if we get together toform afamily, we are likebricks. We know that if we want to build a wall usingsand, it would not be a solid block of wall. But if we use bricks, then things will be very different. When it comes to work-life and family values, my Minister has illustrated quite a bit in the last few hours. I do not propose to repeat what he has said. But I would emphasisethat we want to inculcate in Singaporeans, especially the young, a belief that setting up a family is one of the important life goals. At the moment, if we look at the various surveys, we find that the interest is there but somehow the will is not as strong. As a result, we findmany of our younger Singaporeans devotinga lot of time to work, not quite enough to setting up families. We cannot just blame the employers. Sometimes it is the employees who really want to work and, as a result, they have forgotten to set uptheir families. In the new economy era,everythingchanges. Work will change, technology will change, job will change, and workplace will change. We do need something that will not change, a kind of space that wecan feel safe in. Our family isone such institution. As I have said, I agree wholeheartedlywith Dr Lily Neo's statement that we should promote family values and redouble our efforts to achieve better work-life balance. As I have said, we can have a discussion onthe specific ideas that she may have.”
“They can approach any Family Service Centre or call the Family Service Centre's hotline at 1800-8380100. Alternatively, members of the public can call the Child Protection and Welfare Section toll-free line at 1800-2586378. We recognise that there are many areas that we can still improve upon and, in fact, we welcome Mr Wee Siew Kim if he hasany other ideas that we can work on.”
“Madam, MCDS agrees with Mr Wee that early prevention is the key strategy to protect children from abuse and that a multi-agency approach isthe wayto proceed. In fact, my Ministry has always been advocating the "many helping hands" approach involving various agencies, and that applies to children, whether it is pre-school, before pre-school orschool age. When it comes to protecting children, everyone can play a part, including parents, neighbours, teachers, medical professionals, social service providers, as well as Government agencies. MCDS has established a partnership with childcare and kindergarten operators for early detection of abuse. We conduct quarterly pre-operational briefings to childcare centres on the management of child abuse. All childcare and pre-school professionals in both childcare centres and kindergartens are to attend a compulsory training module on recognising signs and symptoms of child abuse. Childcare professionals can also get access to information on child abuse via the Childcare Link. Operators of childcare centres who have reasonable cause to suspect child abuse are obliged by law to report them. On a regular basis, my Ministry also works with the Ministry of Education's pre-school unit to create awareness among the kindergarten professionals on childcare protection or vulnerable children. For early detection of abuse among babies and toddlers, my Ministry works with medical professionals who come into contact with very young children. General practitioners and doctors who give immunisation shots to babies have been alerted to our guidelines for detection and referral of childcare cases. Parents or family members who require assistance in parenting or child behaviour management must seek help early.”
“Madam, as I have mentioned, grassroots advisors are people whom the Executive Board of the People's Association considers to be people who are in support of the People's Association's objectives and who can facilitate its objectives. Whether the person is a candidate, or whether he is elected or not, is not really an issue. Islamic Education”
“Again, while CCCs and advisors serve as channels of communication, they are not responsible for estate maintenance. Of course, because of the role in facilitating Government-people communication, they do act as conduits for communication with the town councils. An election system for grassroots leaders will run counter to the objectives of the CCCs and the RCs, which areto promote social cohesion and racial harmony for all. Webelieve that having an election process for grassroots leaders will politicise the grassroots organisations and, in fact, lead to divisions on the ground. This will create tension and disharmony, which is contrary to the People's Association's objective of community bonding. However, we do involve the residents in selecting some grassroots leaders. Last year, the People's Association introduced the RC Nomination Scheme to enable residents to nominate their neighbours as RC members, if they feel they are suitable. Through this scheme, residents are able to nominate people who might otherwise not be known to the RCs to serve in the RCs. This is another channel for RCs to recruit their members, and it has been quite successful. As of now, 129 grassroots leaders have been appointed through this channel, serving 49 RCs.”