Desmond Lee
Singapore
“The Leadership, Enrichment, Achievement, Participation and Service (LEAPS) 2.0 is a framework for recognising student participation and achievement in secondary school co-curricular programmes.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) is mindful of the impact that rising temperatures may have on our students, teachers and officials taking part in the National School Games. Matches are scheduled only after students have had the time to train and become progressively more heat acclimatised.”
“As shared in Parliament in March 2026, the proportion of students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools has remained stable, at around 7% of the overall student population. This stability is observed across both primary and secondary schools.”
“The Ministry recruits and assesses applicants based on merit and suitability for the teaching profession, regardless of gender. We look for individuals with a passion for teaching, a belief in the potential of every child, and who possess the values and character to make a positive difference in students' lives.”
“Over the past five years, an average of 750 teachers resigned from the Education Service annually, representing a resignation rate of around 2%.”
“MOE has also progressively strengthened open access within the Primary 1 Registration Framework through Phase 2C, which is open to students regardless of whether they have prior connections to the school. MOE had increased the number of reserved Phase 2C places from zero to 20 in 2014; and from 20 to 40 in 2022.”
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“Some Members advocate for earlier intervention or child removal; while others caution against overreach, which may cause distress to otherwise reasonably well-functioning families. The approach to child protection occurs on a continuum. When concerns arise, the community can offer informal support: the neighbour can check in; family members can ask if help is needed, lend a listening ear, and so on. But as concerns escalate, the child protection system progressively steps in. From social workers educating parents on child management strategies and caregiver stress responses, to state intervention in serious cases of child abuse. Generally, the existing thresholds are appropriate. However, we will make clear that while we respect the role of parents in disciplining their children, excessive physical discipline will be considered and reported as abuse. I would also like to address a concern about reporting thresholds. Members can be assured that the role of those making a report is simply to flag concerns. It is the job of our social workers to support parents who may be struggling with caregiving; and the job of the Police and Child Protection Specialist to ascertain if abuse has occurred. The second set of issues raised by Members touch on how we will strengthen our systems and our oversight. One area is to regularly audit agencies managing child abuse cases, including the Protective Service, so as to ensure accountability and transparency and to foster continuous improvement. The Protective Service has been working with child protection case management agencies to surface cases where they assess that the risk level exceeds what the agencies were designed to handle.”
“For example, ECDA's regulations require preschools to report suspected child abuse and failure to do so is an offence. Section 424 of the Criminal Procedure Code also mandates the reporting of certain serious offences, such as grievous hurt and sexual offences, and this includes offences against children. If professionals and members of the public report child abuse in good faith, the Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA) protects them from civil or criminal liability. That said, professionals may find themselves in a difficult position to report abuse, not only for legal reasons but for fear of having the families cut them off, resulting in them not having sight of the vulnerable person. They may also be concerned about undermining the trust that they have painstakingly built-up with the families that has enabled them to keep the child safe. MSF will, therefore, look into how we can better foster a safe environment for professionals to report suspected child abuse cases. To better identify child abuse, we are also studying analytic tools to help us connect the dots and see trends across agencies. This allows us to target our efforts on higher-risk cases. But having said that, we have to carefully validate these tools to avoid excessive false positives, which could overwhelm the system, and to avoid reinforcing stereotypes. Some Members asked us about intervention thresholds and highlighted the need for balanced decision making. Determining when and how to intervene requires difficult judgement calls, balancing child safety with preservation of the family. Members' questions reflect a range of views.”
“In particular, we will continue to manage practitioner workload and ensure social workers are adequately resourced. The risk of burnout is real, and it is difficult to attract and retain people in child protection work. Over the past three years, the average caseload ratio for the sector has been fairly stable at around 18 to 21 cases per worker, but the variation across centres is significant, ranging from 12 to 30 cases per worker. For the Child Protective Service, now known as PSV or Protective Service, we have doubled our child protection officers from around 45 in 2019 to more than 90 in 2040, and we are continuing to expand. [Please refer to clarification made under "Measures for Prompt Police Case Resolution and Mandating Assignment of Police Officers with Child Protection Training in Child-related Cases", Official Report, 5 November 2025, Vol 96, Issue 10, Oral Answers to Questions section.] The additional resources have helped bring down the average caseload per officer, down from around 40 to 35 today. We have also redesigned the job to reduce the workload on our protection officers. Support staff were brought in, and services were outsourced to handle ancillary tasks and augment resourcing for critical work. This enables our protection officers to focus on social investigations as well as supervision. We will continue to step up training and competency development to give our practitioners the skill and the confidence to detect child abuse and make sound decisions that keep children safe. Some Members raised concerns about early and accurate identification of child abuse and the liability issues that may arise when making a report. There are already laws mandating reporting of child abuse.”
“Families encountering the child protection system often find the experience stressful. They may be questioned by teachers, healthcare professionals, social workers and the Police, which can feel intrusive and accusatory, especially if eventually no abuse is found. Social workers aim for a collaborative relationship with the families they work with. They support parents to care for their children, intervening only when the child is at risk. When there are reasonable grounds to believe that a child is in need of care and protection, the law empowers child protection officers to step in, to implement safety plans or even remove the child from the home and from the family. Protecting children requires society’s collective effort. We depend on neighbours, friends and relatives to offer help to parents facing caregiver stress, and to report suspected abuse by calling the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline (NAVH). Alongside them, preschools, schools, hospitals, healthcare institutions and social service agencies also play critical roles in identifying abuse. Over the years, MSF and our partners have worked to strengthen the child protection ecosystem. Megan’s death five years ago had already prompted further enhancements to protocols. The system has evolved since then. But there is still much more that can be done. My response to Members’ questions will be in three parts: first, enhancing frontline capability; second, strengthening systems and oversight; and third, responding to the Review Panel’s recommendations. Mr Speaker, let me start with frontline capability. We will enhance frontline capability and empower professionals who are our first line of defence.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Sir, this House would be familiar with the tragic case of Megan Khung. She died in February 2020, after months of abuse by her mother and her mother’s boyfriend. All the agencies concerned – the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) Child Protective Service, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), the Singapore Police Force (SPF), Beyond Social Services and HEART@Fei Yue Child Protection Specialist Centre – accept the Panel’s findings in full. There were opportunities to pick up on the abuse, which might have prevented Megan’s death. Our responses clearly fell short. As Minister Masagos and I had said on 23 October, MSF is the lead for the national child protection ecosystem. On behalf of all the agencies and organisations concerned, we are deeply sorry for the outcome and for the lapses at the Child Protective Service and SPF, as well as the missed opportunities at ECDA. We should have done much better. Mr Speaker, our social workers confront the pain of child abuse cases every day. Their emotional burden of separating parents and children, and managing cases resulting in tragic outcomes is a heavy one, which they have chosen to bear. To our social workers, thank you for your commitment to protecting vulnerable children. Let us carry this burden together, as a sector and as a society. Before I answer Members’ questions, I would like to set out how the child protection system works, and I might add, it is quite similar for vulnerable adults as well. For child protection, it rests on the foundational principle that parents are primarily responsible for their children. And in most families, parents do their best for their children. We do not and should not intervene unnecessarily.”
“Sir, my reply will also cover related questions filed by Members for subsequent Sittings. Members who had filed those questions may wish to withdraw their questions after this session. Thereafter, Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming will, with your permission, Sir, address Questions Nos 26 and 27 in today's Order Paper.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am answering in my capacity as Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration. May I have your permission to answer Question Nos 3 to 25 in today's Order Paper together?”
“We care for our teachers. In the unfortunate event that teachers are injured in the course of their work, they can decide whether to be covered under (a) the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA); or (b) the Civil Service's work injury provisions, which provides coverage for work injury-related medical expenses in public medical institutions for as long as they remain in service. For those who choose to be covered under WICA for work-injury related medical expenses, if they have longer-term treatments beyond the WICA claim limits or duration, they can utilise their yearly medical benefits to cover these expenses. Regardless of whether teachers choose to cover their medical expenses under WICA or the Civil Service's work injury provisions, they will be eligible for additional paid injury leave up to one year from the incident as provided for under WICA. Beyond this, they can utilise their yearly medical leave entitlement to cover any further work absence arising from the injury. In addition, in the event of permanent incapacity from the work injury, teachers can claim for lump sum compensation under WICA. The compensation limits for total permanent incapacity, that is, 100%, have been revised to range from $116,000 to $346,000 for accidents occurring on or after 1 November 2025. If there is partial permanent incapacity, that is, less than 100%, the actual compensation will be prorated based on the income and age of the teacher.”
“The Ministry of Education will provide an answer to this Parliamentary Question, together with other Parliamentary Questions which have been filed by Members on this topic, at the next available opportunity. [Please refer to "Considerations and Efforts Taken to Increase Usage of $500 SkillsFuture Credits Before Its Expiry End-2025", Official Report, 5 November 2025, Vol 96, Issue 10, Written Answers to Questions section.]”
“The SkillsFuture Mid-Career Training Allowance is computed using the latest 12 months of available earned income data from Government records, such as Central Provident Fund contributions and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore income records. Income earned from short-term or part-time work that is reflected in Government records will be taken into account for the computation of Training Allowance.”
“SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) regularly reviews courses that receive SSG funding, including SkillsFuture Career Transition Programmes (SCTPs). Courses which have been discontinued, or assessed to be not industry-relevant, will be removed. Some courses on MySkillsFuture portal do not have scheduled course runs, because training providers make these course runs available only when there is a critical mass of learners. We are working with these providers to avail scheduled course runs earlier. Meanwhile, SSG has recently improved the portal to allow learners to filter courses by course run availability. SSG also works with approved training providers to launch SCTPs for job roles and sectors with strong hiring demand, in consultation with sector agencies and the industry. For example, over 100 SCTPs were launched this year in high-demand areas, such as artificial intelligence, digital analytics and sustainability. This allows us to continually refresh our course offerings to meet industry needs.”
“The National Institute of Education (NIE) incorporates brain-based learning principles and teaching approaches in the teacher preparation curriculum for pre-service teachers, and in professional development courses for in-service teachers. The Science of Learning in Education Centre at NIE conducts research in neuroscience and cognitive science to understand how learning occurs and translates these insights into effective pedagogical practices that promote student learning and development. The Ministry of Education and NIE will continue to work together so that teachers learn and apply developmentally appropriate pedagogies informed by neuroscience and educational psychology.”
“There are ongoing education research collaborations involving entities, such as the National Institute of Education, the National Institute of Early Childhood Development, the Early Childhood Development Agency, the Ministry of Education (MOE) and other key partners. MOE grounds its curriculum design and pedagogies in educational theories which draws from various research fields, including neuroscience and educational psychology and incorporates expert views as appropriate.”
“The Taskforce has recommended measures to improve attraction and retention of talent, including extending outreach efforts to improve the sector's image, enhancing internships, counting the internship duration towards professional registration requirements, offering higher starting salaries for interns who join the same company after graduation and improving human resource practices for better career development. More generally, to help students make informed decisions about careers in engineering-related fields, IHLs organise career fairs, industry talks and networking events to raise students' awareness of engineering- and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related job opportunities and industries. Students can also access monthly salary ranges of specific jobs on the MySkillsFuture portal. The Public Service has been actively recruiting science, technology and engineering (STE) officers across a broad range of technology domains to build an engineering talent pool that meets our needs in nation building. Between 2019 and 2024, the number of STE officers in the Public Service grew by 3.4%. The Public Service has also been developing a pipeline of engineering talent through the Public Service Commission Scholarship (Engineering), introduced in 2017, and various scholarships offered by public agencies. Over the past five years, the Public Service has collectively given out 50 to 60 undergraduate scholarships annually for students to pursue engineering disciplines. At the pre-university level, MOE gives out about 200 scholarships each year to pre-university students who have strong foundations in mathematics and science to bolster their interest in engineering and STEM courses and careers.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) works closely with economic agencies to ensure that the supply of places in the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), including in engineering, is aligned with industry demand for manpower. Over the past five years, close to three in 10 graduates from IHLs were from engineering courses. IHLs regularly review and update their course curriculum and offerings, including in emerging fields, like applied and inter-disciplinary engineering. For example, the Singapore University of Technology and Design offers programmes in Engineering Product Development and Engineering Systems and Design. Nanyang Polytechnic's Diploma in Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Data Engineering also incorporates applied engineering with AI, data analytics and Internet of Things applications into its curriculum. However, students do not just choose a course of study. Their choices are also influenced by the future careers associated with the course of study. Specific to the Built Environment sector, there has been declining interest in Architecture and Civil Engineering programmes in the past few years. The Taskforce of Architectural and Engineering Consultants co-chaired by Ms Indranee Rajah, Second Minister for National Development and Mr Chaly Mah, Chairman of Surbana Jurong Group, identified the following challenges: persistent talent shortage, challenging work experiences, insufficient investments in workforce capabilities and firms' difficulties in offering competitive salaries due to unsustainable price competition in the industry.”
“Internships play an integral part in providing relevant work experience for students in our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), as they transit into the workforce. Based on the Graduate Employment Survey, the average number of internships undertaken by students from the autonomous universities (AUs), polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) have remained largely stable in the past three years. On average, AU students complete two internships during their course of study, while polytechnic and ITE students complete one internship. Junior colleges offer a variety of programmes, such as career fairs and industry talks, to help students explore potential career pathways. Internships are not compulsory and are one of the modalities available for students to explore their career interests. There is no requirement for secondary school students to undertake internships. While it may not be practical to set guidelines on the number of internships students should complete given the diverse needs of different industries, students are encouraged to prioritise having meaningful internship experiences, rather than maximising the number of internships. The Ministry of Education, our schools and IHLs remain committed to supporting the well-being of students, including when they are on internships.”
“The Ministry of Education's (MOE's) appointed operators for the central kitchen meal model are expected to comply with the Singapore Food Agency's (SFA's) food safety requirements. These operators must ensure that the food is prepared by certified food handlers and put in place temperature-controlled transport and storage conditions. In addition, they must implement accurate food labelling with time-stamps and appoint Food Hygiene Officers to oversee and implement food safety measures. Beyond regulatory requirements, schools will continue to remind students about personal hygiene, including proper handwashing before meals. SFA adopts a risk-based inspection approach where food premises of higher regulatory concern are subjected to targeted and stepped-up surveillance. These include central kitchens, due to their high volumes of food preparation for consumption by large numbers of people. The three central kitchen operators are also required to maintain comprehensive contingency plans for supply disruptions that are due to food safety or other reasons. These include rapid notification protocols to schools and authorities and backup meal arrangements through the operators' other licensed central kitchens. In addition, MOE monitors student health closely and will promptly notify the Ministry of Health and SFA if there are indications of possible food poisoning incidents.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) does not track the household income distribution of students admitted via the Direct School Admission (DSA) scheme. MOE does not track students' participation in private preparatory programmes for DSA. There is no need for students to receive private preparatory programmes to be considered for DSA. Our primary schools help students discover and develop their talents and interests through multiple avenues, including through Co-Curricular Activities, the Art, Music and PE curriculum as well as the various Applied Learning and Learning for Life Programmes. MOE also runs the Junior Sports Academy, for primary school students who show sporting potential, with no prior training needed. Our secondary schools adopt a holistic approach to DSA selection and consider factors, such as the student's commitment, strengths, potential and personal qualities, beyond their past achievements and performance. We will continue to refine the DSA scheme so that it remains accessible for students from all backgrounds.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) track and report the employment outcomes of SkillsFuture-funded programmes through administrative data, programme-specific surveys and econometric studies. In addition, SSG administers the Training Quality and Outcomes Measure (TRAQOM) survey to capture participants' assessment of the quality and outcomes of SkillsFuture-funded programmes. These results are published on the MySkillsFuture portal to guide learners in making informed training decisions. Singaporeans can use their SkillsFuture Credit (SFC) base tier, comprising the opening credit of $500 and a one-off top-up of $500 in 2020, to offset the fees of examination-only certifications. These certifications must be recognised and supported by the relevant sector agencies to ensure prudent use of SFC. Currently, about 360 such certifications are published on the MySkillsFuture Portal. International certifications whose certification body is based overseas or has not registered with SSG, are not found in this approved list. Individuals who have completed industry-relevant international certifications can write in to SSG to ask to use their SFC base tier for a reimbursement of their examination fees.”
“Over the past five years, on average, about one in three Singaporeans pursuing postgraduate by coursework full qualification programmes at the autonomous universities received Ministry of Education (MOE) subsidies. Regardless of whether they receive MOE subsidies, Singaporeans may utilise SkillsFuture Credit to offset fees for these postgraduate programmes. One in three have done so over the past five years. Singaporeans who previously received Government subsidy or sponsorship for their undergraduate degree remain eligible for postgraduate subsidies.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) has established reporting structures for school counsellors that ensure clear professional practice, accountability and coordinated student support. School counsellors abide by MOE's ethical counselling standards to maintain confidentiality of any information shared by students. They also receive regular consultations with Master and Lead school counsellors at MOE headquarters on counselling and case management practices. School leaders are kept informed of individual student cases to the extent necessary to provide in-school support, or for referral to external agencies. Like school counsellors, school leaders are guided to maintain the confidentiality of student cases where information is shared on a need-to-know basis. Besides school counsellors and flexi-adjunct counsellors in our schools, severe cases are referred to external professionals including to the Response, Early intervention and Assessment in Community Mental Health teams. For schools with higher caseloads and complexities, MOE deploys additional counsellors to help them to maintain manageable workloads that support effective professional practice and quality care for students.”
“The question on guidance to schools and institutes of higher learning on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) has been addressed in written answer to Question Nos 41 and 42, taken on 24 September 2025. [Please refer to "Guidelines Encouraging Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence in Schools", Official Report, 24 September 2025, Vol 96, Issue 4, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer not Answered by End of Question Time section.] The Ministry of Education (MOE) has provided schools with guidance on age-appropriate AI use in education in the Guide to Digital Literacy and Technological Skills. MOE has also provided parents with resources, such as "A Parent's Guide to Generative AI tools for Learning", which can be found on Parents Gateway.”
“Today, individuals can use their SkillsFuture Credit to sign up for artificial intelligence (AI)-related courses. Where relevant to the training, these courses may provide access to suitable AI tools, including premium versions. This approach helps learners to acquire relevant AI skills by applying practical tools to real-world examples or problems in a structured and guided learning environment. Given that the AI landscape is still rapidly evolving, we will continue to monitor developments and support workers and enterprises in harnessing AI more effectively.”
“These questions have been addressed as part of the oral reply to Questions Nos 2 to 5 on 4 November 2025. [Please refer to "Addressing Teachers' Stress Levels and Supporting Their Mental Well-being", Official Report, 4 November 2025, Vol 96, Issue 9, Oral Answers to Questions section.]”
“Since 2007, partnerships between mainstream and SPED schools have fostered meaningful and sustained interactions between students. The Ministry of Education has worked with schools to establish these partnerships based on shared educational outcomes, complementary interests and geographical proximity, while considering school readiness and staff capacity. All SPED schools – except two new schools, one which began operations in 2024 and another which will commence operations next year – have at least one mainstream partner school, and we are working towards each SPED school having two to three mainstream partner schools for greater impact and sustainability. We will work on strengthening these partnerships through more sustained student learning experiences and staff professional exchange. These include teacher work attachments, language programmes and joint community service.”
“Singapore Sign Language (SgSL) is currently used in practice by our local deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) community. The Ministry of Education facilitates its use for communication and in-class instruction in designated mainstream schools that support students diagnosed with hearing loss, who require signing. These schools have been specially equipped with resources and trained staff to support our DHH students, allowing them to learn alongside their hearing peers in an inclusive environment. At the designated schools, Mayflower Primary School and Beatty Secondary School, efforts have also been made to implement initiatives to introduce SgSL to the whole school, such as providing signing interpretation during morning assemblies. At Beatty Secondary School, hearing students who are interested also have opportunities to learn SgSL to facilitate communication with their DHH peers. Students in other schools who are interested to learn SgSL can approach providers, such as the Singapore Association for the Deaf.”
“Canteens and stall licensees in schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) are required to comply with the Singapore Food Agency's (SFA) regulatory requirements to uphold strict hygiene protocols and food safety standards. For example, all food handlers are required to have the necessary certifications and maintain the cleanliness of canteen premises. Premises with track records of past infringements and feedback on food safety-related issues are subject to stepped-up surveillance by SFA. Food safety incidents in school and IHL canteens have been isolated and well contained. When an incident occurs, swift interventions are taken. This includes ensuring affected students receive medical support where necessary, notifying SFA and the Ministry of Health for investigations, and seeking the help of parents and guardians to monitor their children's health and well-being.”
“The Ministry of Education tracks the ability of graduates to secure employment six months after graduation through the annual Graduate Employment Surveys (GES). Based on the Institute of Technical Education's (ITE's) GES results, the employment rates of fresh ITE graduates have remained broadly stable over the past five years, with some year-to-year fluctuations due to cyclical changes. Apart from 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, about eight in 10 ITE graduates with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in the labour force were employed as at six months after graduation. This was similar to ITE graduates without SEN. About seven in 10 of those in full-time permanent employment reported that their job was related to their course of study, for both graduates with SEN and those without. To further support students with SEN in their transition to employment, ITE has expanded the ITE-SG Enable Internship and Employment Support Programme to provide more students with SEN with training in workplace skills, suitable job placements and job coaching. The Government will continue to closely monitor the employment outcomes of each graduating cohort and provide further support where needed.”
“The Master of Arts (Applied Psychology) by the National Institute of Education (NIE) is presently the only programme in our Autonomous Universities that trains Educational Psychologists (EPs). NIE can increase intake numbers if there is additional demand. The Ministry of Education (MOE) regularly reviews the deployment and training needs of EPs to provide sufficient support for our schools. EPs work with Special Educational Needs Officers and teachers, as well as case management teams in schools to help students with special educational needs develop and learn. MOE continually monitors system capacity to support evolving student and school needs.”
“Students who attend Special Education (SPED) schools have moderate-to-severe Special Educational Needs. Their needs are diverse as are their strengths, interests and preferences. In the last five years, there were around 480 SPED graduates each year. Among them, around 90 had accessed the national curriculum. An average of around 70 each year, or around 80% of the SPED graduates from this group, completed the GCE "N" or "O" levels and progressed to Private Schools for Education and Inclusion, such as Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and polytechnics. Other SPED students with higher support needs access the customised SPED curriculum. For those who complete vocational certification in SPED, a small group of around 10 graduates each year also progress to ITE while the majority from this group eventually become employed directly. For those with more diverse needs, we will work with partners under the MOE-SG Enable School-to-Work Transition Programme to facilitate transitions from school to the workplace for them.”
“We recognise that the work of Special Education (SPED) teachers is challenging and are thankful for their dedication in working with students with special educational needs. The Ministry of Education (MOE) works with Social Service Agencies (SSAs) operating SPED schools to support the well-being of their teachers. We had shared our initiatives in response to Parliamentary Question 6459 in September 2024. [Please refer to "Improving Well-being-related Resources for Special Education Teachers", Official Report, 10 September 2024, Vol 95, Issue 141, Oral Answers to Questions section.] Let me provide some updates. Teacher well-being is strengthened through a positive culture of peer support and professional collaboration. MOE had facilitated the set-up of two SPED Communities of Practice across the schools. To ensure that workload remains sustainable, MOE works with SSAs and SPED schools to support teacher recruitment and retention. We also set up recruitment booths at seven job fairs to promote teaching opportunities across the sector. MOE is working with the SPED schools to study the possibility of introducing common digital solutions that the SPED schools can use to reduce administrative workload. At the school level, many SPED schools have dedicated staff well-being committees that equip their teachers with practical support to manage stress and to learn how to care for their own well-being. Collectively, these efforts create a purposeful and sustainable work environment that supports SPED teachers.”
“The caseloads refer to students engaged by the school counsellors. The mental well-being of school personnel is supported through dedicated programmes separate from school counselling services and hence does not affect school counsellor allocation. Schools use a number of indicators to assess the counselling needs of students. Besides referrals from students and teachers, they also monitor their students' social-emotional and mental well-being through termly check-ins to identify those requiring support. These indicators are not dependent on the extent of access to school counsellors. When schools detect increased counselling needs, they can augment their counselling capacity by engaging additional flexi-adjunct school counsellors. Beyond schools, the Ministry of Education also taps on whole-of-Government efforts to support youth mental health, with students having access to community resources such as Response, Early intervention and Assessment in Community mental Health teams, in-person services like CHAT - Centre of Excellence for Youth Mental Health, CREST-Youth and community helplines such as the national mindline 1771, Samaritans of Singapore and Tinkle Friend. As part of the Character and Citizenship curriculum, students learn about these avenues of support for their mental well-being.”
“The review of the Direct School Admission scheme is ongoing and we will share more details when ready.”
“The topics of animal welfare and the prevention of animal cruelty are covered in subjects, such as Character and Citizenship Education, Social Studies (Primary) and Science. The contexts used to discuss such issues are regularly refreshed to include contemporary examples. These lessons are available in the Student Learning Space for students to revisit on their own after learning it in class. We will continue to review this as part of our curriculum review and refresh.”
“For students with greater learning needs in primary school, learning support programmes are provided to strengthen their foundation in literacy and numeracy. These programmes include the Learning Support Programme and the Learning Support for Mathematics (LSM) Programme from Primary 1, the Reading Remediation Programme (RRP) for English and the Mother Tongue Support Programme from Primary 3. To enhance learning support for students who do not meet the milestone learning outcomes at the end of Primary 2, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has extended LSM to Primary 3 and 4 students since 2023. MOE has also enhanced the RRP at Primary 3 and 4 and extended it to Primary 5 students this year. At Primary 5 and 6, students who cope better with a less demanding curriculum can offer subjects at the Foundation level. On top of these, schools and teachers also provide targeted support for students in any subject as and when needed. Our academically weaker students had generally performed better than their international peers in English, Mathematics and Science in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD)'s international benchmarking studies. This suggests that the dedicated and customised support has been effective for many of these students. We will continue to review and refine our learning support programmes as necessary.”
“As with other Autonomous Universities, the National University of Singapore (NUS) has autonomy in human resource matters, including workplace arrangements. The Ministry of Education has received feedback from NUS staff on the work-from-office policy, which we have asked NUS to look into and provide appropriate support. NUS has stated that it still offers flexible work arrangements for specific job roles. Multiple factors affect talent attraction and retention. There is no one-size-fits-all approach as organisations adopt workplace policies that balance operational needs and staff requirements.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) does not track actual curriculum time spent specifically on PSLE preparation but provides guidance to schools on the curriculum time needed for completing the syllabus. This ensures appropriate pacing and sufficient time for revision and familiarisation of examination formats. Schools plan the revision schedule based on their students' learning needs. Since the progressive removal of the Mid-Year Examination for all primary levels, schools have used the freed-up time to provide more engaging learning experiences and for strengthening students' 21st Century Competencies. Schools are mindful not to conduct excessive preparation for the national examination, and this is aligned with efforts to reduce the over-emphasis on examination grades. MOE will continue to guide schools on the use of curriculum time, while allowing local adjustments to better meet their students' needs.”
“The Member asked three questions. For the second and third question, they are HR- and statistics-related. I would just encourage the Member to file a written Parliamentary Question and we will give her that data. The Member's first question is about safeguards to ensure that our MOE surveys capture accurate data. We have a large teaching workforce – primary, secondary, junior college, centralised institute – and the surveys have a very high response rate. Something like more than 90% of our teachers respond because they know that if they give us accurate information, it will enable our policy-makers to better roll out measures that support them. And so, to help do this, in our surveys, we have clear guidelines and instructions on how to itemise the workload for different kinds of work, both in classroom and outside classroom, pedagogical as well as administrative. We also provide worked examples that enable our teachers, particularly those who are doing surveys for the first time, to better understand what we are trying to capture. And of course, as with many surveys, there is also a catch-all – that means, anything else, please let us know so that we do not risk missing anything out. And of course, when you average it out, when you then look at it specifically, you then have a very good set of data that enable policy-makers to work.”
“I thank the Member for his concern about the anxiety of parents as well as the stressors on our teachers. Indeed, parents are the first teachers of our children, and our teachers really work closely and seek to have a close partnership with our parents in order to ensure more holistic education of our children. I mentioned earlier that we have an MOE Engagement Charter, together with the School-Home Partnership framework. It is not just an internal document, it is also shared, particularly with parents as well as with the public, so that we understand how to navigate that relationship. All of us are concerned about our children but we also need to enable our teachers to perform their tasks and to be able to support their children in the class. And therefore, apart from these two guidelines and frameworks, we also have parent support groups. We have regular communication. It may vary from school to school, between school leaders, level heads with parents, either en masse, face to face, person to person, in a group, or virtually as well. So, these are ways that enable a constant relationship, a constant communication between our schools and our parents.”
“I thank the Member for her three questions. The first, I think I have addressed that in a reply to one of the Members earlier that, based on the specific needs and the profile of each school, if there are additional resource requirements, they can raise them to their superintendents, zonal directors and to HQ, and we will see how to provide support to help them address those needs. The second is best practices. Certainly, through the Schools Division, our principals, school leaders and our superintendents share best practices, not just in terms of workload reducing measures, but also pedagogical and teaching methods as well. We have network communities of practice that enable our educators in different fields, as well as our administrators, to be able to share ideas and best practices with one another. So, collectively, we improve as a system. And lastly, the Member, I believe, asked how we ensure that these measures are properly implemented. Again, there are a range of supervisory measures, but ultimately, we give our school leaders autonomy and discretion to apply these measures to address needs and circumstances in their institutions.”
“In terms of the workload, I mentioned in response to another Member earlier that the stability of our working hours – not that we crow about it; certainly, those are long hours and we need to continue to work collectively at it and I think, on both sides of this House, we all recognise and appreciate our teachers putting in all this effort for the benefit of holistic education of our children – but there has been a whole series of education reforms and changes over the years. A number of measures I mentioned earlier have helped to moderate the increase in working hours. But we are at it, we keep at it and continue to roll out reviews and changes that will help to moderate our teachers' overall working hours and their work-life balance.”
“I thank the Member for his questions on AI. I mentioned earlier that AI tools, once you introduce them, there is work created when you introduce AI tools. In fact, there is work created when you introduce any productivity tool. At the NIE70 conference, we also had AI experts from abroad who cautioned that when you introduce AI tools, there is hidden work that is created. Some of it is seasonal. Some of it may be secular. But if these are tools that are productive in nature that help save effort, reduce time spent on certain things in order for the teacher or the worker to be able to do more higher value-added things and divert the time to things that they feel are more important, then the necessary pre-condition is that one gets familiar, understands and then gradually masters and gets familiar with the tools, and then you start to reap the benefits. So, there is a learning curve. There is an implementation curve and an operationalisation curve before we can reap the benefits. And it is still early days. We are infusing AI into teaching, not just as a productivity tool, but in order for us as an Education Service to be able to teach our children what is AI, teach them how to use AI, teach them or enable them to learn with AI, and also to learn beyond AI. So, all this does requires change management, over and on top of the School Cockpit and suite of tools, AI and tech in nature that enable our teachers to do more with limited time.”
“I think I will address the Member's third question first. I did mention earlier that mentoring, on top of induction programmes and other professional development programmes, are in place for beginning teachers – or what she mentions as novice teachers. In response to her first question on appraisal, we do take into account the teachers' holistic work as well as performance – teaching, CCAs, projects and so on. In terms of whether we do surveys of teachers or engage teachers to better understand the relationship between them and parents, the answer is yes – through dialogues, through feedback from STU and other teachers' unions, through our well-being surveys, we get a better understanding of the changing demographic of parents today and their expectations of their children and teachers in school and out of school. Hence, as a result, you see changes such as the Parents Gateway, implemented a number of years ago, School-Home Partnership as well as MOE's Engagement Charter, which sets out clearer boundaries and expectations, and draws clearer lines between teachers and parents – so that we can have a good productive, holistic relationship and partnership for the benefit of our children.”
“Through TALIS, we have a very useful comprehensive teacher survey study across a large number of OECD countries and that is a very useful benchmarking tool. It is not just survey results, but they also go into some qualitative understanding of each jurisdiction. That, of course, complements our comparative study of other jurisdictions to continually improve. So, that is the response to her first question. To the Member's second question about beginning teachers' attrition, we support them through inductions, through mentoring in the first few years, through more supportive environments in school culture, focusing on professional development to enable our beginning teachers to be able to navigate, what will inevitably be a steep learning curve in teaching and in fact, in all professions. We also need to accommodate, adjust and respond to a changing demographic with different aspirations of work and life, and so, in that regard, having more flexible work arrangements, including part-time teaching, having various options for teachers to adjust their school day, specific to their own responsibilities and specific to the school environment. I mentioned quite a number of them earlier, for example, coming to school a little later, if there is nothing right up in the morning, leaving once their teaching and other duties are done, and so on. So, we will continue to find ways to make sure that our scheme of service continues to respond to a changing demographic.”
“We have been talking about AI in education as well, so that will of course, create additional workload in terms of briefing, understanding, tinkering, learning, workshopping, practising, mastering and then we start to reap the results. We made changes to the PSLE system. That, of course, creates additional work, but again for a purpose that supports the education system. We made changes to refresh our 21st Century Competencies and how it is infused into our lesson plans and in our curriculum and in holistic education. That, of course, also requires all our schools, all our teachers and all our departments, not just in the headquarters (HQ), but particularly in our schools, to make changes. And I can go on and on about all these things that have been done over the last few years that will increase the workload for a season, or some may also increase workload secularly. This is because education is more holistic and our teachers also have to contend with a changing demographic of parents and the different aspirations of our students. So, all in, being able to keep workload at that level, despite doing all these important things, I think is a reflection of how these measures have worked. But we need to do more in order to make further improvements to the workload and stress on our teachers. On beginning teachers, the Member asked why the proportion of beginning teachers has fallen through the TALIS report; he cites that. Well, in 2018 to 2024, with falling cohorts and a maturing workforce, we had reduced recruitment to some 650 to 700 teachers a year, in order to fill in the gaps in certain subjects and to replace retiring teachers. But in July this year, we announced that we will ramp up recruitment of teachers going forward to some 1,000 teachers or more per year.”
“I thank the Member for his questions and for his concern for our teachers. I said earlier in my speech that both TALIS, as well as our surveys show that while teachers' workload is high – it is indeed so and working hours are long – they have been stable over the past number of years, and we are working hard to focus our teachers' precious time on teaching holistically. Where possible, we help them to be more productive and effective, help them to shed some of the administrative tasks and what the Member calls, non-core teaching functions to allied educators and others. So, that work continues. So, why is it that the number of working hours remains at this level and remain stable over the past number of years? I think Members will also need to look at the context. Over the past few years, we have made a number of policy changes. Teaching, as I said today, is a lot more holistic. There is a lot more teaching beyond the classroom. There is CCA, through which we teach leadership, sportsmanship, empathy and so on, the 21st Century Competencies. And in short, we have made many education-related moves over the years to strengthen our education system. So, Full Subject-Based Banding only recently kicked in and there are a lot of things to be done in order to allow our students at secondary level to be able to learn at their pace. Indeed, it creates more work, but one which teachers recognise benefits our students. We implemented an EdTech Masterplan 2030 to help support our teachers and our students in learning using technology. Not just learning using technology, but learning with technology.”
“And so, teaching being more holistic, is no longer just found in the classroom, but also in CCA and CCE, and in a whole range of other activities that enable our teachers to mould and nurture our students holistically – not just cognitively, but affectively, in terms of their emotional well-being, in terms of their skillsets, in terms of their executive functioning, in terms of their core values that help them to navigate society and the uncertain future world. That is one. And of course, by helping our teachers with tools to prepare their material – standardised material in SLS – so they do not always have to prepare their own material, they can use some of that and adjust. We also provide AI tools, not just administratively to help them with administrative workload, but also to help them augment their teaching, augment their marking, augment their ability to give feedback to their students. I just want to refer the Member back again to the various measures I articulated earlier. The Member asked whether we give our schools more resources based on needs. I think, absolutely. There was a Parliamentary Question sometime back where Members asked if schools can get more allied educators based on the profile of their students. For example, if they need more SEN officers or more counsellors, we are able to redeploy the existing pool and steer them towards schools that may have a greater need, whether secular or for a season.”
“I thank the Member for his series of questions, which reflects his deep engagement with the union, with educators and with members of the public on the state of teaching in Singapore. Indeed, as I said, we do not just rely on TALIS, which is an OECD study. We have our own internal reviews on a regular basis on a whole variety of issues, including teacher workload, and the various measures that were outlined earlier – and I would not repeat all of them – are in reality, a response to the identified areas of workload which we can moderate or adjust. So, some of it involves hiring more and we have announced in July this year that we are going to ramp up the recruitment of teachers. I mentioned that over the years we have moved some responsibilities away from teachers towards allied educators, like counsellors, special educational needs (SEN) officers, administrators, vendors and others. We have given schools resources to be able to bring in more vendors, if necessary, to help them to organise the activities. So, those are the measures that are in response to a deeper understanding of the issues that the teachers face. And we are committed to continue this work and continue to implement new measures to help to allow our teachers that space to teach. I would say that teaching today, if you ask any teacher, is a lot more holistic. It is not just about in-classroom teaching of a core subject or a hard subject. Even in the teaching of a hard subject, I think the Member will recognise that we are infusing 21st Century Competencies through the way that the teaching is carried out – through field trips, through studies, in subjects where appropriate, we infuse even values education, and Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) into some of these subjects.”
“Based on the results from MOE's staff engagement survey last year, teachers' perceptions of work-life balance support were comparable to those across the wider Public Service. I thank Members of this House as well as members of the public, for their concern for our educators. Indeed, our individual and collective attitude towards educators will determine whether we can continue to attract and retain good educators. Beyond MOE and our schools, parents and other stakeholders also play an important role in supporting our teachers' well-being. By working collaboratively with schools, respecting educators and maintaining realistic expectations about the responsibilities of teachers, parents can also help create an environment where our teachers can focus on what they do best – educating and nurturing our children. I would like to encourage parents and in fact, all of us to recognise and appreciate our educators who dedicate themselves daily to nurture young minds. As a society, let us cherish our educators' contributions each and every day. For when we honour those who teach our children, we strengthen the foundation upon which our nation's progress rests. Let me close by saying this: having highly professional and caring educators, who are deeply committed to shaping the lives of our children and youths, is one of Singapore's reservoirs of strength. I thank all our teachers and allied educators for the good work you have done – seen and unseen. And I thank all parents and members of the public for your support for our schools and our teachers. We appreciate our teachers and we are committed to working with you to nurture and guide our next generation.”
“Teachers who are unable to take on the full workload can apply for part-time working arrangements. Seventh, well-being support. All schools have Staff Well-being Committees that are resourced with Staff Welfare Funds. Teachers have access to a range of resources such as well-being workshops, talks, webinars and online self-care materials. If they have well-being concerns, they are encouraged to raise them with their supervisors, school leaders or superintendents. They also have access to peer support, such as their school's wellness ambassadors and to free professional counselling through MOE's in-house counsellors or the whole-of-Government Employee Wellness Programme. Members asked if the reduction of workload will be a key priority with key performance indicators set, and how well-being data informs staffing, performance evaluation and retention policies. MOE takes a holistic approach to monitoring teacher well-being rather than using singular metrics like work hours. We regularly track a range of indicators including job satisfaction, retention rates and stress levels and also, engage with MOE teachers' unions to get feedback and suggestions. This approach allows us to ensure timely interventions to support teacher well-being. Apart from broad-based measures to support the profession, when we receive school-specific feedback, we will also implement targeted measures to address these issues in those schools. We are encouraged by the commitment shown by our teachers over the years, in spite of the growing complexity of the role. The mean annual resignation rates of teachers have remained stable at around 2% to 3% over the past few decades. TALIS 2024 also found that many of our teachers felt valued by society and see teaching as an attractive career choice.”