Heng Swee Keat
Singapore
“In a world heading towards greater contest and fragmentation, amid rapid advances in science, technology and innovation, Singaporeans can play a valuable part as bridge-builders and connectors, and Singapore can be a trusted and neutral Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise.”
“The National Quantum Office has identified specific goals under the National Quantum Strategy (NQS), with resources and efforts directed towards specific quantum areas and technologies accordingly.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank Member Ms Denise Phua for her comments because her comments reminded me of the tagline that I always said when I was in MOE – that you can learn from anyone, anytime, anywhere. In fact, peer learning is a very important aspect of that learning.”
“But I have laid out the strong basis for my optimism that a small and open economy like Singapore can continue to thrive and secure our next bound of growth. By serving as a trusted node and connector, we can create value by facilitating connections and building new linkages in today's fractured global landscape.”
“Secondly, one other very important thing the Member must bear in mind is that AI is a very rapidly developing field and it is something which our researchers are working hard on, to look at the different techniques of AI – it is not just GenAI, but the whole range of different AI systems that are being used – and how that can be used in c…”
“Assoc Prof Jamus Lim, you do not need an invitation. You are free to provide your suggestion. After all, are you not from WP? And by the way, let me make it clear that I have heard MPs on both aisles speaking about workers, and we have a very strong presence of our union MPs here and they will be speaking even more on this.”
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“Mdm Speaker, we do rotate our teachers for the same reason. Rotating teachers across schools is one way for experiences and ideas to be shared. That is one of the ways. The other very important way is for our teachers to come together to share in their professional community their experience and their ideas. Indeed, there are many such forums for doing so. For instance, we have a MOE ExCel Festival where innovations within schools are shared across schools. We also have teachers coming together at the cluster level to share ideas and experiences. There are many different ways in which experiences can be shared, including rotation of teachers across schools.”
“Mdm Speaker, when deploying teachers to schools, MOE seeks to achieve a good mix of new and experienced teachers with the right subject specialisations that best meet the needs of students in our schools. In all our schools, we enable our teachers to contribute their best for our students, regardless of their years of experience. New teachers in schools are mentored by Senior Teachers, Heads of Department (HODs) and school leaders in their initial years. Schools also have Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) where teachers come together regularly to share and learn from one another. Teachers also receive continual training at the Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST), which was set up, together with the other teacher academies, to spearhead the professional development of teachers and enhance the quality of the teaching force.”
“Mdm Speaker, I think the Member's question is specifically on whether the testing is appropriate. I think this is a separate subject which has been discussed at length and I think that this has been answered before and I do not think that this is the appropriate occasion. Page: 41”
“Mdm Speaker, each subject has a syllabus which specifies the content and learning goals. The syllabus provides a common reference point for teaching and learning, and for assessment. Based on the syllabus, teachers plan lessons or enrichment activities, depending on the profile of their students. To help students apply concepts that they have learnt, a teacher may use contexts outside the syllabus. However, when setting tests and examinations, concepts beyond the syllabus should not be assessed in test or examination questions. MOE does not recommend the testing of content and skills beyond what is specified in the syllabus. National examinations are set within the scope of the syllabus and we advise schools to set their tests and examinations within the scope as well.”
“Nevertheless, we will continue to monitor the administrative workload of our teachers and ensure that our schools are adequately resourced to meet the needs of our students.”
“Our efforts to grow our teaching workforce have seen our pupil-teacher ratios (PTRs) improve from 26 in 2000 to 18 in 2012 for Primary schools, and from 19 in 2000 to 14 in 2012 for Secondary schools. This means that we now have one teacher for every 18 students in our Primary schools, and one teacher for every 14 students in our Secondary schools. Our PTRs are comparable to the OECD average of 15 and 14 for Primary and Secondary schools respectively. Page: 181 We have been recruiting and training on average about 2,500 new teachers per year over the past decade. Having invested significantly in the recruitment and training of some of our best talents as teachers, we are now focused on developing each teacher to be better at what he or she does. We have also adopted a needs-based approach to resourcing, by deploying more teachers in schools and areas where they can contribute most to the learning of our students. For example, rather than to use the recent increase in teachers to reduce the class size for all students, we are deploying more teachers to support levelling-up programmes for low progress learners, with class sizes of 10 or less students. To enable our teachers to pay more attention to the teaching and learning of our students, schools are also provided with Allied Educators (AEDs) and a school administrative team. We now have 2,500 AEDs to assist our teachers. The AEDs support teachers in teaching and learning, and provide behavioural, social and emotional support to students while the school administrative team assists teachers in administrative duties. We have also been exploring the use of technology to reduce the administrative duties on our teachers, for example, in attendance taking or fees collection.”
“With effect from 2014, Edusave Contributions (EC) will be extended to all children who are Singapore Citizens (SC) aged seven to 16. This expansion will benefit around 300 SC children per cohort enrolled in the madrasahs, around 50 SC home-schooled children per cohort, and around 1,500 SC children per cohort residing overseas.”
“When Cedar Girls' Secondary School was relocated to its current site in 1995, it asked to make use of the old 400-metre running track adjacent to its compounds as a temporary sports facility. Permission was granted since there was no immediate use for the land on which the old 400-metre running track was on. With the plans to develop Bidadari Estate confirmed, the school was informed that this temporary arrangement would cease in 2017. Secondary schools are provided with a standard set of sports facilities that include an indoor sports hall, school field, outdoor fitness areas and courts for basketball and volleyball. These facilities are sufficient to meet the curriculum Page: 180 for physical education and sports. For additional sporting needs, schools will usually make use of sporting facilities in the community. In this case, the school can make use of the 400-metre running tracks in the nearby Singapore Sports Council's stadiums in Toa Payoh and Serangoon.”
“The Government invests significantly in education to provide every child the opportunity to develop to his fullest potential. Expenditure on education has increased over the past five years by 40% – from $7.5 billion in FY2007 to $10.5 billion in FY2012, equivalent to 3.1% of our GDP, and accounting for more than 20% of Government expenditure. Page: 179 While OECD countries and other top performing education systems, as measured by PISA, spend between 4%-7% of GDP on education, but because their governments tax and spend more as a percentage of GDP, expenditure on education makes up, on average, only about 13% of their government expenditure – significantly less than Singapore. Beyond input factors, we also need to focus on educational outcomes. Recent OECD findings show that higher expenditure does not guarantee better student performance. The key to good outcomes for our students lies in the quality of teachers and the effective deployment of resources across the system. For example, Singapore students were ranked fifth in Reading, second in Mathematics and fourth in Science in the most recently published PISA results (2009), performing better than the OECD average, despite Singapore spending a lower percentage of GDP on education. More importantly, more than 95% of our students progress on to post-Secondary education institutes (PSEIs), building on the strong foundations acquired in 10 years of good quality basic education.”
“MOE does not track the household income of students admitted via the Direct School Admission (DSA) scheme. Around 60% of the students who were admitted via DSA over the last five years live in HDB flats. This proportion has increased by around five percentage points over the last five years.”
“MOE aims to enable students to learn the Mother Tongue Languages (MTL) to as high a level as they could. For students with the ability, aptitude and interest in MTL, MOE's approach is to help them achieve higher levels of language proficiency and cultural knowledge. Over the last 10 years, there has been an increase in the percentage of students offering Higher Mother Tongue Languages (HMTL) at PSLE and "O" Level. In 2003, 17.6% and 16.3% offered Higher Mother Tongue at PSLE and "O" Level respectively. In 2012, the percentage increased to 23.1% at PSLE and 26.9% at "O" Level. Page: 178 For Higher Chinese at PSLE and "O" Level, the percentage of students offering this subject has increased from 21.6% to 27.4% and 18.2% to 30.1% respectively. For Higher Malay at PSLE and "O" Level, the percentage has increased from 5.7% to 7.1% and 8.3% to 10.7% respectively. For Higher Tamil at PSLE and "O" Level, the percentage has increased from 15.1% to 21.4% and 11.5% to 24.7% respectively.”
“Since the implementation of the Compulsory Education (CE) Act in 2003, an average of around 450 children were exempted each year because of their special education needs; an average of around 50 each year because they were home-schooled; and an average of around 300 children each year because they were enrolled in a designated school. Students enrolled in designated schools or receiving home-schooling are required to sit the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and meet their Page: 177 respective benchmarks. This is to ensure that these designated schools and home-schooling parents have been able to provide a baseline foundation in their academic education that allows these students to access further and lifelong learning. The first CE-exempted cohort sat for their PSLE in 2008. The PSLE benchmark for designated schools is defined for the school, rather than for each student – one designated school has to-date been affected by not meeting the benchmark set for them. Each year, one in three home-schoolers who sat for the PSLE did not meet their benchmark. All children who enrol in a designated school, or whose parents provide documentary proof of their child's special needs, are exempted from CE. Parents who want to home-school their children are required to provide information on the curriculum of their home-schooling programme and demonstrate that they have the requisite resources and educational qualifications to adequately take on the role of educating their child full-time. The average percentage of unsuccessful home-schooling applications has been below 1%.”
“Our schools and Post-Secondary Education Institutions (PSEIs) work with industry partners to ensure that internships are meaningful for our student interns, and that companies are also clear about their responsibilities. Page: 151 Prior to their internships, students are briefed on matters of professional conduct and safety during their internships. At our schools, students are given the contact numbers of school personnel, such as teachers, the Vice-Principal and school administrative staff, whom they may contact regarding any matters during their internships. At our PSEIs, every internship student is assigned a liaison officer whom they can call to report any form of mistreatment, including bullying and excessive internship hours. If issues cannot be resolved immediately, our schools and PSEIs may transfer the students to another company to continue their internships. The liaison officer also makes periodic visits to the company while students are on their internships to check on the students' welfare and learning development. At the end of each internship or attachment, students have to submit a report to our schools and PSEIs detailing their experiences. This provides additional feedback on how interns have been treated by respective companies. Based on these reports, our schools and PSEIs work with companies to improve the internship experiences for future students.”
“The school requires the parents of a child to provide supporting documents, including the birth certificate of the child and the identity cards of both parents, to register a child for a Primary school during the Primary 1 (P1) Registration Exercise. These documents prove the parents' Page: 143 relationship, and show that both parents have jointly decided to register the child in that school. Single parents can register with the one parent's identity card, provided they can provide other relevant documents to confirm their marital situation. This measure reduces the risk of the other parent, in divorced or separation cases, disputing the parent's right to register the child in a specific school. As part of the Ministry's efforts to find new ways to improve our service delivery, the Primary 1 Internet System (P1-IS) was started in 2011, as an alternative channel for the convenience of parents who are registering their child in one of the schools where it is being tried out. The P1-IS similarly needs to verify that the adults submitting the registration online are the parents of the child, and this is done by both parents keying in their individual SingPass. However, if only one SingPass is keyed in, as in the case of a single parent, the system cannot verify the actual circumstances. This is why single parents would need to register at their chosen school, with the relevant supporting documents.”
“As part of overall efforts to uplift the quality of Special Education (SPED), MOE is committed to enhancing professional development opportunities for teachers in SPED schools. SPED educators have access to and have been participating in courses organised by the Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST). The full listing of Page: 136 AST's courses is made available to all SPED schools. An application process has been put in place to facilitate course registration. Since 2012, AST has made available Teacher Work Attachment opportunities for SPED teachers to broaden their perspectives and to enable them to learn good practices from other organisations, which they can apply in the SPED context. Moving ahead, SPED teachers will be invited to attend professional learning programmes led by teachers. These include workshops and subject teachers' professional meetings. This will strengthen the development of professional learning teams in SPED schools and help build a culture of professional learning and sharing in the SPED community. The Academy of Principals, Singapore (APS) will also make course information available to SPED schools.”
“SIM University (UniSIM) offers a range of part-time degree programmes catered primarily to working professionals and other adult learners. It is one of two entities owned by the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), the other being SIM Global Education, which is a separate private education institution offering programmes leading to degrees awarded Page: 135 by overseas universities. SIM Global Education, like most other private education institutions, is self-funded and does not receive Government funding. For UniSIM, however, MOE has provided subsidies for its part-time undergraduate degree programmes since 2008. These subsidies are similar to those provided by MOE to the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) for their part-time degree programmes. Singapore Citizen (SC) students can also utilise the funds in their Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) accounts for the payment of fees at UniSIM. To provide further assistance to those who may need additional aid for their part-time degree study at UniSIM, MOE has also extended the MOE Bursary Scheme to UniSIM this year. This scheme is open to part-time SC undergraduate students with monthly per capita household income of $1,700 and below. From July, part-time SC undergraduate students at UniSIM can also apply for the Tuition Fee Loan, which covers up to 90% of the subsidised fees payable. Students with monthly per capita household income of $2,400 and below will also be eligible for the means-tested Study Loan, which covers the remaining 10% of the subsidised fees not covered by the Tuition Fee Loan. Both loans are interest-free during the period of study.”
“Hence, despite our class sizes being larger than those of many education systems, our students consistently attain high standards in international studies such as the Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Our schools also offer a wide range of Co-Curricular Activities that develop our students holistically – unmatched by few, if any, educational systems worldwide. We are also glad that support and engagement levels among parents remain high, and that we have many dedicated teachers. To enable teachers to focus on the teaching and learning of their students, schools are also provided with Allied Educators (AEDs) and a school administrative team. The AEDs support teachers in teaching and learning, and provide behavioural, social and emotional support to students while the school Page: 120 administrative team assists teachers in administrative duties. The annual resignation rate for teachers has remained low at around 3% over the past five years. In our exit interviews and surveys, workload has not been cited as a major reason for leaving the Education Service. Nonetheless, we will continue to monitor the workload of teachers through internal employee feedback channels to ensure that workload is maintained within reasonable levels.”
“Page: 119 The Learning Support Programme (LSP), for Primary 1 and Primary 2 students with weak literacy skills, is another example, as it is typically conducted in smaller groups of eight to 10 students to ensure greater personalised attention and support to each student. Many Primary schools also organise their Primary 6 students taking subjects at the foundation level for PSLE into smaller class sizes. Some schools may also deploy two teachers in a class of 40 students – one teacher brings the class through the curriculum, while the other teacher assists specific students who may have difficulty understanding the materials being covered. Ultimately, our goal is to help every student to learn and develop holistically and we give school leaders the flexibility to deploy teachers to achieve this. I should add that on a system-wide basis, that is, taking the entire education system and not just the results of specific practices in one or two schools, the empirical evidence on the benefits of smaller class sizes has been inconclusive. Indeed, studies by the OECD suggest that what is important is the quality of teachers. The quality of teachers has been shown to have more important effects, by OECD and in other international studies, than smaller class sizes in ensuring good educational outcomes. This has been our experience too. Hence, our focus is thus on recruiting and training sufficient teachers of a high quality, to ensure a good quality of teaching and learning in every classroom, to benefit every student.”
“Ms Janice Koh asked about class size and student-teacher ratio – essentially, these measure, in some ways, the resource inputs. Let me first touch on the student-teacher ratio – or what is known internationally as the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) – as this is a very relevant statistic. We have recruited, on average, around 2,500 new teachers per year over the past decade, and our PTR has improved from 26 in 2000 to 18 in 2012 for Primary schools, and from 19 in 2000 to 14 in 2012 for Secondary schools. This is now comparable to the OECD average of 15 and 14 for Primary and Secondary schools respectively. But a PTR of 18 in our Primary schools does not mean that our class sizes are 18 in our Primary schools – it simply means that we have one teacher for every 18 students, or two teachers for every 36 students, and so on. The same PTR can result in different class sizes – as it depends on how we deploy our teachers. To illustrate, if we choose to deploy our teachers in classes of 18 students each, it would imply that all our teachers would have to be teaching a class all the time. This is clearly not tenable. Our teachers would need time to prepare for classes, to mark assignments, to guide students who need help. Ms Koh is right to ask about student outcomes, rather than to focus only on input factors and to ask about holistic outcomes, and not just limit this to examination scores. Indeed, our approach to improving student outcomes has been to deploy teachers to where they can contribute most to the learning of our students. For example, Primary schools may assign one teacher to take a class of 40 students able to learn at a good pace, while the other teacher takes a class of 8 students needing more support, rather than having two classes of 24 students each.”
“Indeed, many of our educators are already internationally-recognised as highly professional and competent, but we are dedicated to constantly improving our teaching methods. This includes, for example, the use of STELLAR and iMTL portals for languages, the inquiry approach in the sciences, and the problem-solving approach in mathematics. Our educators are engaged in action research to improve classroom pedagogy customised to different learning styles. Our schools are also spreading best practices via our ExCEL fest, and other sharing platforms at the cluster and school levels. We have also adopted a needs-based approach when we deploy teachers to improve learning outcomes. For example, some schools may deploy two teachers in a class of 40 students – one teacher brings the class through the curriculum, while the other teacher assists specific students in the class who may have difficulty understanding the material being covered. Another case in point is the Learning Support Programme (LSP), for Primary 1 and Primary 2 students with weak literacy skills, which is typically conducted in smaller groups of eight to 10 students for greater personalised attention and support to each student. Many Primary schools also organise their Primary 6 students taking subjects at the foundation level for PSLE into smaller class sizes. Ultimately, our goal is to help every student to learn, in ways which are most appropriate.”
“Those who progress faster are provided with enrichment programmes to extend their learning, just as late bloomers are provided with more support, some in smaller classes, to help them learn better and catch up with their peers. I am glad that our intent and efforts has borne fruit. Not only do our students perform well overall in international benchmarks, these studies also show that our students from less-advantaged family backgrounds do much better than their counterparts from other more developed countries. But there can always be room for improvement. We have recruited on average around 2,500 new teachers per year over the past decade, to resource our schools with more teachers. Our pupil-teacher ratios (PTR) have improved from 26 in 2000 to 18 in 2012 for Primary schools, and from 19 in 2000 to 14 in 2012 for Secondary schools. Having invested significantly in the recruitment and training of some of our best talents as teachers, we are now focused on the professional development of each teacher, to empower them to be better at what they do. (a) Our teachers are deepening their skills through in-service professional development led by the Academy of Singapore Teachers and other teacher academies, and through learning communities in schools and school clusters. (b) They are given opportunities to pursue further studies to deepen their craft, participate in action research in schools, and participate in work attachments to broaden their exposure. (c) Across all subjects, teachers are also being trained in a wider range of teaching methods and different modes of assessment to meet the learning Page: 110 needs of different students.”
“Parents want the best for their children, and will understandably invest in the education of their children, including spending on tuition. This is a global phenomenon and is not unique to Singapore. I thank Ms Tan for her concern that all children should be given equal and good opportunities in education. Indeed, this is also MOE's concern. That is why MOE is committed to providing a high quality of education in our schools for all our students, and ensuring that all our students are supported to learn in the best possible way, in order to help all our students achieve their full potential in their areas of interests and strengths. Some will be better at abstract thinking, but others may excel in applied use of knowledge, or hands-on learning by doing, and we will do our best to cater to different learning styles and needs. Furthermore, as I announced at this year's Committee of Supply debate, MOE is rolling out comprehensive levelling-up programmes that provide support to all students – throughout their Primary and Secondary years, as and when they need it. This is on top of the existing Learning Support Programmes for Primary 1 and Primary 2 students who require additional attention to support them in Page: 109 learning English and Mathematics. It is on top of the remedial and supplementary classes that our teachers already provide for our students who need help. We should also not forget about the existing academic support provided by volunteers, organised by our self-help groups for less-advantaged students. MOE has also introduced multiple pathways that enable students to develop at their own pace, by building on their strengths and supporting them in their weaker areas.”
“The objective of Knowledge and Inquiry (KI) is to provide students with a better understanding of the nature of knowledge, how knowledge is constructed and to apply this understanding to the different areas of knowledge they may be engaged in. Feedback from teachers and students has indicated that students found the skills acquired in KI a valuable asset to their University studies. In particular, KI students are known to have demonstrated strong conceptual thinking and to have enriched classroom discussion through the depth of their contributions. Since the introduction of KI, enrolment has declined from about 360 students in 12 JCs to 141 students in seven JCs. The key challenge is the lack of trained teachers. Unlike other subjects drawn usually from a single discipline, KI cuts across a number of disciplines. This poses a demand on teachers who would typically have read particular disciplines during tertiary education. In addition, KI teachers are drawn from the same pool of teachers teaching well-established subjects with larger candidatures like the General Paper and Humanities subjects. MOE recognises the challenge and has taken steps to address the shortage of teachers by providing training and professional development. KI is, currently, under a full-term review as part of the review of the "A" level curriculum. Page: 143”
“On average, about 15,000 Direct School Admission (DSA) applications are received by our Secondary schools per year. This number includes students who may have applied to more than one Secondary school, so it does not represent the number of unique students who applied under DSA. The number of students eventually admitted via DSA to Secondary schools is around 2,800 per year. Around 15% of the students admitted to Secondary schools via DSA were from the Gifted Education Programme (GEP). They were selected on the basis of their strengths and achievements in academic or non-academic domains, like sports and arts, rather than simply because they were in the GEP. Page: 142 Overall, the proportions of students admitted via DSA based on their strengths, abilities and achievements in arts and sports were around 15% and 35% respectively.”
“The Direct School Admission (DSA) scheme seeks to promote holistic education by recognising a more diverse range of student strengths, abilities and achievements, other than performance at the national examinations, as criteria for school admission. A student's acceptance into the Gifted Education Programme (GEP) is not in and of itself a sufficient criterion for admission via DSA. They are still subject Page: 141 to merit-based admissions criteria set by the respective schools. Some schools consider student achievements in GEP, for example, their achievements in academic competitions and participation in special projects. This is no different from recognising students for their sports talent, demonstrated in their passion in training, their achievement in sports competitions, and/or their ability to be selected for and remain part of their respective national junior sports team.”
“MOE has also recently introduced the curriculum for Character and Citizenship Education (CCE), and introduced Values in Action (VIA) as a way to better develop the personal traits of our students. VIA are learning experiences that support students' development as socially responsible citizens who contribute meaningfully to the community, through learning and applying values, knowledge and skills. Students will be able to showcase their leadership ability, resilience in pursuing a cause and commitment to the community through the projects which they undertake. To support CCE in our schools, MOE has provided training to more than 700 CCE mentor teachers. To recognise holistic development in students, MOE will broaden the DSA scheme to take into account personal qualities and attributes. Details will be announced in due course.”
“The Direct School Admission (DSA) scheme seeks to promote holistic education by recognising a more diverse range of student strengths, abilities and achievements, beyond performance at the national examinations, as criteria for school admission. In recent years, MOE has progressively implemented the recommendations of the 2009 Primary Education Review to provide a more holistic education in primary schools. These include establishing the new Programme for Active Learning, strengthening the quality of Physical Education, Art and Music education, and implementing Holistic Assessment in all schools. To support teachers in these curricular and assessment innovations, MOE has adopted a systematic approach of prototyping in a few schools, followed by a phased rollout to all schools. This ensures that deep expertise and curriculum material are progressively developed in these new areas with close collaboration between school teachers and senior specialists in MOE. In 2009, 16 Primary schools were selected to plan and prototype Holistic Assessment approaches at Primary 1 and 2. One strategy was having co-form teachers – rather than only one form teacher per class, thus allowing the two co-form teachers to each know 15 to 20 students in their form class very well. These 16 schools had shared their experiences and resources with other schools and showcased their practices. Holistic Assessment has since been Page: 140 systematically phased in. As of 2013, all Primary schools have begun implementing Holistic Assessment. To provide further support, MOE launched the Holistic Assessment Website for teachers to exchange information, exemplars, resources, strategies and tools for the planning and implementation of Holistic Assessment.”
“The EduTrust Certification Scheme (EduTrust) is a voluntary quality assurance scheme for private education institutions (PEIs). CPE carries out an on-site assessment before awarding EduTrust certification, and carries out regular on-site assessments after certification to ensure the PEI's continued adherence to EduTrust guidelines. CPE may also direct a PEI to undergo an ad-hoc assessment at any point during its certification period if there are valid concerns. Since 2010, six EduTrust-certified PEIs have not been granted renewal of their EduTrust certification as they failed to meet the requirements. Another four PEIs have been issued warnings, and of these, two later had their EduTrust certification suspended. Page: 139”
“At both the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (YLLSOM) and Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School (Duke-NUS GMS), educators who reach the age of 65 may be re-appointed on either a full-time or part-time basis, or as adjunct staff. Between 2010 and 2012, only two out of 24 teaching staff retired upon reaching the retirement age of 65. The others continued to be re-employed at YLLSOM and Duke-NUS GMS.”
“Our Autonomous Universities offer a range of postgraduate degree programmes that are relevant to industry and cater to the learning needs of students. Some programmes offer part-time modes of study, especially for mid-career professionals, who need more scheduling flexibility when pursuing their postgraduate studies. Our Universities establish academic boards and committees comprising experienced academics and industry leaders to assess postgraduate degree programmes.”
“The Autonomous Universities (AUs) make their own decisions on tenure appointments. They have their own processes and evaluation panels in place to assess the suitability of faculty members to be granted tenure. The AUs keep MOE informed of tenure appointments so that MOE can better understand the broad trends and the development of the AUs.”
“The Ministry adopts a six-year curriculum cycle. Every subject is reviewed every six years to ensure that it remains relevant, is appropriately sized, and meets the needs of our students. During these reviews, the feedback of teachers and students is sought and taken into consideration. Since 1998, there have been two rounds of curriculum content reduction. The first saw content reduced by up to 30% in different subjects to provide room for the teaching of thinking skills and the use of Information & Communication Technology in the curriculum. The second reduction of up to 20% in the different subjects was undertaken in 2005. This was to give teachers more flexibility to customise their teaching to suit their students' learning needs. The Ministry will continue to review the curriculum periodically to ensure that our students are able to engage meaningfully with both content and the learning process, so that they can develop the competencies they need for work and life, and experience the joy of learning. The aim of the "Teach Less, Learn More" movement was to steer our educators towards adopting a range of effective teaching approaches to better engage students and enable them to develop enduring understanding and skills for life. More classroom time was given for student interaction and exploration, opportunities for expression and learning of lifelong skills. Based on the Page: 107 Ministry's internal studies, student engagement levels have risen since the implementation of "Teach Less, Learn More". The Ministry and schools will continue to provide for the holistic development of our students. At the same time, we will continue to consider their well-being, including the need for them to have adequate time for family and recreational pursuits.”
“At the Secondary level, students offer a range of subjects as part of a broad-based education. While schools are given the autonomy to decide on subjects to be offered at the upper Secondary level, MOE has actively encouraged schools to promote the teaching of the Humanities. To support schools, MOE has designed syllabuses that are relevant and forward-looking and the development of resources that support teachers in teaching the Humanities more effectively. MOE will continue to provide support to schools so that more students would offer the Humanities. MOE also offers the Humanities Scholarship Programme in some Junior Colleges to provide for students passionate about the Humanities to pursue it at a deeper level. The intent is also for such students to continue pursuing the Humanities at the tertiary level. Our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) similarly offer many options in the Humanities, some of which are new programmes and initiatives to attract students to the Humanities. One such initiative is the newly-established Yale-NUS College at NUS, which allows students to develop integrated competence in Social Sciences and the Humanities. It would not be necessary to set up an external academy as there is sufficient capacity for teaching Humanities in schools and in our IHLs. Page: 102”
“The Direct School Admission (DSA) scheme seeks to promote holistic education by recognising a more diverse range of student strengths, abilities and achievements, other than performance at the national examinations, as criteria for school admission. A student's acceptance into the Gifted Education Programme (GEP) is not in and of itself a sufficient criterion for admission via DSA. They are still subject to merit-based admissions criteria set by the respective schools. Some schools consider student achievements in the GEP, for example, their achievements in academic competitions and participation in special projects. This is no different from recognising students for their sports talent, demonstrated in their passion in training, their achievement in sports competitions, and/or their ability to be selected for and remain part of their respective national junior sports team. MOE will broaden the DSA scheme to take into account personal qualities and attributes, such as character and resilience. Details will be announced in due course.”
“The Council for Private Education (CPE) has jurisdiction over private education conducted in Singapore, but not developments in foreign jurisdictions involving the external partners of Singapore-based private education institutions (PEIs). In seeking external partners, PEIs should take into account the quality and reputation of the foreign institution. They are also expected to manage such partnerships to safeguard students' interests as far as possible. Nonetheless, there will be events that are beyond the control of PEIs and the CPE, such as the recent industrial action involving universities in Australia. For this case, the CPE has been closely monitoring the situation, to ensure that PEIs that collaborate with the affected universities do their best to assist affected students, while awaiting resolution of the issues in Australia. PEIs, as employers, are also expected to abide by the relevant employment laws and practices, including fair employment practices.”
“To achieve this goal, MOE has been resourcing all our schools with well-trained teachers, investing in suitable education facilities and ensuring adequate financial support for good school programmes.”
“Some prefer random balloting so that all children, regardless of where they stay, will have an opportunity to be admitted into their school of choice. For the various priority groups, there are similar complexities. Many schools count alumni support as a key strength. Many alumni parents want their children to experience the same ethos, values and school culture that they had as students and they feel strongly that alumni priority should remain. On the other hand, parents who are not alumni but who are keen to get their children into those schools argue that there should be more diversity within each school and, to realise this, we should give less priority or allocate fewer places to Page: 142 children of alumni. Similar arguments would be made in respect of other priority groups. We recognise that the current P1 registration framework has resulted in some popular schools having very few places left after the initial phases of registration. Parents, who wish to enrol their children in these schools but do not meet any of the priority criteria, feel that there are insufficient places for them in such schools. As such, reviewing the P1 Registration system is a complex exercise, given the competing and conflicting interests. MOE is currently giving this matter serious consideration to see what further refinements can be made. What is more important, however, is that every pupil receives a good quality and holistic education, regardless of the school which he or she attends. Many more parents are now investing time to learn more about the various programmes offered by Primary schools and how they can partner the schools in bringing out the best in their children. We will concentrate our efforts on making every school a good school.”
“The current Primary 1 (P1) Registration Framework sets out the order of priority in which P1 places are allocated. This takes into account several considerations, including siblings already studying in the school, parental or clan ties to the school, parent volunteer work, community involvement and proximity to the school. MOE reviews the P1 Registration Framework regularly, and has refined the system over the years after taking into account feedback. For example, starting from the 2010 P1 Registration Exercise, Singapore Citizens were given two ballot slips per child, while Singapore Permanent Residents continued to get one ballot slip whenever balloting is conducted by any school during the P1 Registration Exercise. To further recognise citizenship privileges, starting from the 2012 P1 Registration Exercise, MOE gave Singapore Citizens absolute priority for admission over Singapore Permanent Residents whenever balloting is required in a specific phase. Given that the demand for places in some schools exceeds the number of available places, the issue of P1 Registration continues to be topical. Indeed, this issue was discussed extensively in the education-related Our Singapore Conversation (OSC) discussions. This is not a simple issue, as shown by the range of feedback and suggestions from the different stakeholder groups, which is diverse and, at times, conflicting. Let me share some examples so that Members can appreciate some of the complexities and challenges in any review of the P1 registration framework. One good example is distance. Those who live close to their choice schools prefer a strict distance-based criterion. However, others feel that this unfairly favours affluent families who can afford to live in properties near their school of choice.”
“The Universities' admission offices and Polytechnic student services centres help their students in accessing these schemes. The Ministry has, since 2011, increased the bursary quanta and also broadened the coverage of the CDC/CCC Bursary and the MOE Bursary to benefit Singapore Citizens up to the 66th percentile of household incomes. The Government has also partnered industries to offer Singaporeans more scholarships. The Singapore-Industry Scholarship (SgIS), for instance, was launched in 2012. This is a Government-supported, multi-industry initiative to identify and develop a strong Singapore Core across key economic and people sectors. Last year, 90 Singaporean students from diverse backgrounds received the scholarship. Page: 126”
“Education is a key enabler for Singaporeans to progress, and the Government has been and remains committed to maximising opportunities for Singaporeans through education. It is an important tenet of this Government's approach that no student who qualifies for admission to our local Autonomous Universities (AUs) and Polytechnics will be prevented from pursuing his studies because he cannot afford it. The Government assists all Singaporeans who qualify for such tertiary education in the following ways: (a) by subsidising a substantial portion of the tuition fee by way of a tuition grant. This is given to all Singaporeans who study in our publicly-funded Institutes of Higher Learning; Page: 125 (b) by providing a variety of financial assistance schemes to assist those who are unable to afford the remaining amount payable by the student after the provision of the tuition grant. This is given depending on need and individual circumstances. All Singaporeans who are admitted to the AUs and Polytechnics receive a tuition grant that covers about 75% and 85% respectively of their tuition fees. To ensure that no deserving student is denied a place in the Universities or Polytechnics due to financial difficulties, there is a range of financial assistance schemes – bursaries, loans and scholarships – to cover not only the remaining tuition fees payable but also to help students defray their costs of living. These include the CDC/CCC5 Bursary, MOE Bursary, Tuition Fee Loan Scheme and Study Loan Scheme offered by the Government. In addition, there are other scholarship and bursary schemes offered by the Universities, community organisations and Government agencies, as well as private and professional organisations.”
“We are making steady progress on this journey of helping every school to be a good school so that all students will be provided with a quality education.”
“A good school is one that understands the needs of its students well and is able to meet those needs effectively through suitable programmes and dedicated staff. MOE helps every school to become a good school by strengthening its capacity to provide quality education and Page: 116 supporting it to develop distinctive strengths. In terms of manpower capacity, MOE has ensured a good distribution of experienced principals and skilful teachers across schools. We have raised the number and quality of our teaching professionals. We now employ 30% more teachers than a decade ago. We are also investing more in the professional development of teachers and the sharing of good practices across schools. The setting up of the Academy of Singapore Teachers and other academies such as the Singapore Teachers' Academy for the Arts (STAR), PE and Sports Teachers' Academy (PESTA) and English Language Institute of Singapore (ELIS), as well as the appointment of Master Teachers and Principal Master Teachers, has enabled dedicated resources and efforts to be deployed for the levelling up of quality teaching practices across all the schools. Schools are also supported by MOE to develop their own distinctive strengths. They receive additional funding every year to provide development opportunities for all students in specific niche areas. Examples of niche areas established by schools are Design Thinking, Outdoor Education, Applied Learning and Aesthetics. Students are given rich learning experiences beyond the usual curriculum and classroom experiences. Currently, 73% of Secondary schools and 66% of Primary schools have already established a niche. MOE is working with the remaining schools to help them identify and develop their niche areas and programmes.”
“The total remuneration package for each faculty member is negotiated and decided separately, taking into account the competitive situation, the seniority and standing of the faculty member and the specific circumstances for the hire. The specific amounts for housing and other allowances are not meaningful, as these are part of the total remuneration package. Many of the Autonomous Universities and Polytechnics grant relocation allowances and housing subsidies to non-Singaporean faculty and returning Singaporean faculty alike, although the exact terms differ across institutions. Non-Singaporean faculty are typically granted a gratuity payment, in lieu of Central Provident Fund contributions, which is payable for Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents. Some institutions grant children education allowances to non-Singaporean faculty to take into account the fact that school fees for non-Singaporean children are higher than that for Singaporean children in Singapore. These measures have been put in place to meet the different needs when hiring faculty. Page: 66”
“Our universities enrol a percentage of international students as they add diversity and vibrancy to university campuses. They also provide manpower support for key industries which are less popular with talented Singaporeans. The overall proportion of international students at our local universities is 16%. The Computing, Science and Engineering courses at NUS, NTU and SMU have more international students, at 26%, as there is currently less interest from Singapore students. We are working to attract more Singaporeans into these programmes, as there are places available for them and manpower needs in our key industries. Page: 155”
“Caps on the proportion of international students are imposed on all the Autonomous Universities, with some variance allowed for distinct entities. Yale-NUS College, for example, has been allowed to admit more international students to maintain the diversity needed for a good quality liberal arts education.”
“Under the Private Education Act, private education institutions (PEIs) are required to meet minimum standards in areas, such as corporate governance and administration, teacher qualifications and information disclosure, before they obtain registration from the CPE. The CPE will continue to review existing regulations to ensure their effectiveness in safeguarding the quality of education provision by PEIs. As of 31 December 2012, there were 332 registered PEIs, about the same number as a year ago. There is no optimal or target number of providers. The size of the private education industry is market-driven, and depends on several factors, including consumer demand for private education, and the PEIs' ability to meet stipulated standards. The PEIs make their own hiring decisions. The majority of administrative and teaching staff in the PEIs are Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. Page: 154”
“Phase 2B of the Primary 1 (P1) Registration Framework is open to children of active community leaders, parent volunteers and endorsed members of religious groups or clans that are directly connected with the school. The commitment and support from these various stakeholders help to build stronger bonds between the school and the community. To qualify for Phase 2B priority, community leaders in the Residents' Committee, Neighbourhood Committee, Citizen's Consultative Committee, Community Club Management Committee and the Community Development Council have to serve actively for at least one year prior to the P1 registration exercise. Most of the community leaders serve more than the minimum period, and they continue to serve even after their children had gained admission into the school. The number of children admitted in Phase 2B has remained fairly constant for the past two years at around 7% of the P1 cohort. The active community leaders scheme formed less than 1% out of the P1 cohort. The vast majority of Phase 2B places went to children of parent volunteers and endorsed members of religious groups or clans that are directly connected with the school. Page: 103”
“The average annual intake at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (YLLSOM) over the past three years was 280 students. An average of three foreign students was admitted each year, of which one to two were ASEAN scholars. This is less than 1% of total intake. Out of the applicants who applied to Medicine as their first choice in the past three years, about 1,000 applicants per year were rejected. Some of them did not meet all the necessary admission criteria. Others met the criteria but were not admitted as the number of applicants exceeded the number of places available. YLLSOM is a very popular choice and attracts applications from many highly-qualified Singaporean students. The admission process is based on merit and is highly selective. Decisions on admissions take into account an applicant's academic grade, personal portfolio, as well as his performance in a Focused Skills Assessment, a Situational Judgement Test and an interview. The admission assessment process is rigorous. Candidates are assessed not only on academic ability, but also other attributes, such as good communication skills, a positive work ethic and care and empathy for patients. MOE does not have data on the number of rejected Singaporean students who went overseas to study medicine. The Government also recognises the rising need for doctors due to the changes in Singapore's demography. In response to this projected increase in demand, we have thus increased the pipeline of locally trained doctors by expanding the intake of YLLSOM and setting up two additional medical schools the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School and the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine at Nanyang Technological University.”
“With technological advances and new career opportunities, the average student today can expect, in his life time, to change jobs several times. MOE places emphasis on Education and Career Guidance (ECG) to prepare our students and equip them with the mindsets, skills and competencies to contribute positively in such an increasingly complex work environment. In the revised ECG curriculum to be implemented in 2014, Secondary school students will be taught the various career sectors in Singapore and understand how jobs become obsolete and new ones emerge. They will also learn to seek opportunities for lifelong learning to improve productivity and employability. Career Coordinators are given updated labour market information to incorporate into their curriculum where appropriate. Besides ECG lessons, schools also organise career fairs, industry visits, visits to open-houses of post-Secondary institutions or tertiary institutions, work attachments and work shadowing opportunities for their students. School counsellors provide career counselling to support students in their education and career decision-making processes. The interactive online ECG portal implemented in schools since 2009 helps students to discover their strengths and interests, and guides them in education planning and career exploration. The occupational database, comprising jobs requiring different skills available in Singapore, exposes students to think about jobs that they may not have considered before.”
“MOE has been publishing the results of the Graduate Employment Survey (GES) for Autonomous Universities (AUs) since 2008. The GES provides: (a) Prospective students with timely and comparable data to assist them in making informed course decisions; and (b) Stakeholders, such as the AUs, Government agencies and employers with information to assess the industry demand for the AUs' graduates. The GES findings have helped our AUs to track their graduates' employment outcomes. MOE factually presents data, such as starting salaries and employment rates, based on the course of study. While the starting salaries of graduates from the various courses are a point of reference, they should not be the main or sole criterion for students in deciding what to study. Students should choose their desired courses holistically based on their interests, abilities and aspirations, aside from the immediate employment outcomes from the various courses of study.”