Indranee Rajah
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, I would like to make a clarification in relation to two written answers on childcare leave issued by the Prime Minister's Office on 25 September 2025 and 3 February 2026 in response to Parliamentary Questions filed by Members of Parliament Ms Cassandra Lee and Ms Valerie Lee respectively.”
“Based on Year of Assessment (YA) 2025 data, about 9,500 working mothers claimed a lower amount of Working Mother's Child Relief (WCMR) under the fixed-dollar basis than they would have under the previous percentage-based basis, for children born or adopted on or after 1 January 2024.”
“We regularly receive feedback on enhancing child-related leave provisions, including the Member's suggestion. In recent years, parental leave provisions have been significantly enhanced, such that parents now have 30 weeks of paid leave, including 10 weeks of Shared Parental Leave.”
“The Government does not have data on the number of transactions involving multiple units on a single residential title that have not been subdivided. Such properties are treated as a single property for Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) purposes when it is bought, so no ABSD is foregone.”
“The Government publishes data on personal income tax, which is publicly available on www.data.gov.sg. This includes data on the number of course fees relief claimants and the amount of the relief granted. The Member may refer to the website to access the data for the first three questions.”
“In considering the duration of leave, we will look at the need. In this case, as I have explained, there is a difference between those who give birth physically to a child and those who adopt.”
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“This power to reduce or withhold INVEST Plan benefits is already subject to concurrence by the Public Service Commission under Article 113 of the Constitution. The amendment will ensure that the Public Service Commission does not have to perform the dual role of deciding whether to reduce or withhold INVEST Plan benefits under the Home Affairs Uniformed Services Superannuation Act; and also concur with its own decision under the Constitution. Next, amendments to the Trade Marks Act, Patents Act and Registered Designs Act – Clause 7 of the Bill amends the Patents Act to allow the Schedule of the Patents Act to be amended by way of a Ministerial order, so that amendments of a consequential or procedural nature can be made more efficiently in the future. We propose to extend the definition of "related national phase application" so as to allow additional instances in which Singapore patent applications can rely on the search and examination results of such "related national phase applications". This gives the patent applicants the benefit of more options. To facilitate the implementation of the Positive Grant System, the amendments also provide for a set of administrative conditions that must be complied with before patents are granted. Consequential amendments to the Schedule of the Patents Act are required to align certain definitions, such as "traditional medicine" and "Chinese proprietary medicine", to those in the Medicines (Traditional Medicines, Homeopathic Medicines and other Substances) (Exemption) Order. Clauses 7, 8 and 13 of the Bill amend the Trade Marks Act, Patents Act and Registered Designs Act to allow the Registrar to appoint a panel of IP Adjudicators at the Registries of Trade Marks, Patents and Registered Designs.”
“Mdm Speaker, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Madam, this Bill contains a number of amendments to several Acts which are mainly technical in nature. Let me highlight the key ones. The amendments to the Casino Control Act – clause 3 of the Bill amends the Casino Control Act to insert a new provision at section 139 to require a casino operator to take customer due diligence measures, under certain circumstances, in order to detect or prevent money laundering and terrorism financing. The casino operators will also be required to keep records and any analysis obtained from such measures for minimally five years, and to do so in a manner that permits a reconstruction of each transaction so that they can serve as evidence should there be a prosecution for an offence. These requirements are not new. They are already substantially set out in the Casino Control (Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing) Regulations 2009 promulgated by the Casino Regulatory Authority. MHA has decided to expressly provide for them in the main Casino Control Act to align our legislation with the revised standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), of which Singapore is a member. Next, there are the amendments to the Home Affairs Uniformed Services Superannuation Act – clause 6 of the Bill amends the Home Affairs Uniformed Services Superannuation Act. The Permanent Secretary (Home Affairs) will replace the Public Service Commission as the authority to reduce or withhold the benefits from the INVEST Plan for any member who is a civil defence officer, a narcotics officer, a prisons officer or senior police officer, where the member has been found Page: 70 guilty of some misconduct.”
“Applications for admission to the Bar are put on the court website and the purpose of that is to give notice to everybody that this particular person has applied to be admitted to the Bar and, by the same token, anybody who intends to object can put in a notice of objection. Certainly, whilst this can be promulgated publicly, I would urge the law schools to look at the Rules and also, in the course of their discipline for the students, to encourage the students to remember that this issue of character relates not just to the time they make the application, but also before and even after they are called to the Bar. Page: 36”
“Madam, I thank the Member for his comments. Indeed, in order to become an advocate and solicitor and be called to the Bar, it is important that the applicant is of good character and the right suitability. Good character and right suitability do not start from the time you begin your training at a law practice. It is something which pertains to the essential individual character of that person and could be affected by matters which have occurred even before the applicant has made the application to be admitted to the Bar. This issue of character is not constrained in terms of time. What is important is that at the time that the application is made and heard, the Court has the opportunity to determine that the person is of the appropriate suitability to be admitted. After all, that person is going to have in his or her hands the practice of the law that affects the rights of individuals and the public at large. That is the first point. The second point that the Member made was whether or not the law schools were aware of their ability to communicate their knowledge of any misconduct or ethical breaches. Members of the law school would also be lawyers and they should be acquainted with the law. In case they are not, I would direct their attention to Rule 28(1) of the Legal Profession (Admission) Rules. These are the Rules which provide that any person – this includes a member of the public – may file a notice of objection to the application for admission to the Bar. Indeed, that is the purpose of the fact of the application being made public.”
“That is a matter that the MAS will have to decide whether or not it will accede to. Currently, for historical reasons, moneylenders fall under the Ministry of Law. The Ministry of Law would be more than happy to explore with the MAS if the MAS would like to take over this.”
“Mdm Speaker, as indicated earlier, that is something that we are currently reviewing.”
“Mdm Speaker, I can certainly assure Ms Foo that we will look into these matters in our review.”
“Can you prevent them from borrowing by preventing them from going to licensed moneylenders? I would like to assure Members that we are monitoring the moneylending industry closely, and where necessary, we will introduce further safeguards to protect borrowers. Aside from the issue of fees, my Ministry is considering measures to complement the Monetary Authority of Singapore's recently-introduced cap on unsecured borrowing from financial institutions and ensure that borrowers do not over-extend themselves. We are also reviewing whether interest rate caps should be extended to loans for higher income earners. At present, we have not imposed any limits on the number of moneylenders in any geographical location; Singapore is not such a big country that travelling cost will effectively deter borrowing from moneylenders. However, we will also review this position.”
“Second, moneylenders are required to explain the terms of a loan to borrowers before granting the loan. These include the Effective Interest Rate or "EIR", which makes clear the true cost of the loan. Third, for borrowers with an annual income below $30,000, the EIR is capped at 13% for secured loans and 20% for unsecured loans. These correspond to the previous nominal interest rate caps of 12% and 18% respectively. There are also caps on the unsecured loan amounts for borrowers with annual income below $120,000. Page: 51 Fourth, moneylenders are required to explain all the contingent charges in the loan, such as late interest or late fees that are levied when a borrower is late in repayment. For borrowers with annual income below $30,000, moneylenders are prohibited from charging a late interest rate beyond the actual interest rate charged for the loan. As for late fees, these are currently not capped. However, moneylenders are required to disclose such fees before granting the loan so that any borrower who finds a particular fee objectionable can choose not to take up the loan. It ensures that the borrower will have the full facts before he decides to borrow. Nonetheless, fees charged on the loan is an issue which my Ministry is looking at, as the cost of borrowing is significantly affected by such fees. Finally, there are also in place stringent advertising rules which prohibit moneylenders from advertising and promoting their business through unsolicited communications. Given these rules, borrowers will generally only see advertisements when they are actively searching for moneylenders. In essence, the issue is this: you have borrowers who want to borrow. They cannot borrow from banks.”
“The Members' concerns can be categorised into two broad themes. The first is a concern over the number of moneylenders in the Page: 50 heartlands. The second is whether the Government can do more to protect borrowers. Let me set the context for our reply. Overall, the amount of loans disbursed by licensed moneylenders constitutes less than 1% of the consumer credit market. The number of licensed moneylenders increased from 173 in 2008 to 249 in 2011. In 2012, the Ministry imposed a moratorium on new licences, and no new licences have been granted since. The number of licensed moneylenders has since decreased to 209 in 2012. The Government agrees with the concern about excessive borrowing and credit being too accessible to borrowers. However, if legal access to credit is completely cut off, the consequences will be worse. Borrowers will be driven to seek loans from unlicensed moneylenders or other illegal sources. If people need money, they will try and find a way to borrow. We are all aware of the exploitation and harassment that these borrowers are subject to once unlicensed moneylenders enter the picture. Consequently, the Government's approach is to maintain a balance in allowing borrowers reasonable access to credit from licensed moneylenders, and providing them, especially those of lower income, with adequate protection. We have enacted various safeguards that are aimed at achieving this balance. First, moneylenders must meet several criteria before their licences are granted. These include ensuring that they are of good character to manage the business and the placement of a security deposit to ensure the proper conduct of the business. Moneylenders found to have committed offences will have their licences suspended, not renewed or revoked.”
“Mdm Speaker, with regard to the first question, the Member would like to know whether a school with an SCC can facilitate to look after students from a school without SCC. One of the primary conveniences about an SCC is that it is located in the school which the students attend. If a student is from another school which is a great distance away, then it could be quite inconvenient for the travelling. If the school is nearby, possibly it is something that can be considered. But we would have to look at it and to review, bearing in mind that each school has its own demand for its students. I think that the school would want to give priority to its own students before it could give places to students from another school. Ideally, one would hope that, where there is appropriate demand, the particular school in question would be able to provide an SCC for its own students. But that depends, as I have indicated, on the capacity of the school, the demand, as well as the operator's ability to ramp up. The second question was whether MOE would regulate student care services. As I have indicated, MOE looks after the education part of it. It works with MSF where childcare and student care are concerned. In that respect, MOE will continue to work closely with MSF. Page: 45”
“As I mentioned in my earlier reply, the interactions and opportunities for interactions given are numerous. If the students are in the same school, they will have the opportunity to interact with each other. If they are not in the same school, then there are events in which they have the opportunity to meet and interact. The local students also have the opportunity to travel overseas where they can experience different cultures and exchanges with students in their own countries.”
“With respect to the first question, whether it is a core subject for either one, the answer is no, not for either one. In the Member's original question, she asked whether it was a core module. A module, as we understand it or as it is applied in the curriculum, is a self-contained area of learning that is covered over a few lessons. So, neither animal welfare nor special needs are modules. Both however are individual lessons within life themes. Insofar as the Member is concerned that either one – whether the animal welfare or special needs – is taught to students, they are both covered and they are both given due weight. With respect to the second question on pedagogy and whether we can work with special needs communities, the answer is that MOE would be very willing and open to have input from these communities. On the third question for online learning, the answer is yes, and that is not limited just to CCE. MOE is looking at online learning across the board to see how we can more effectively teach, leveraging on online resources but also recognising that technology alone cannot replace the role that teachers play.”
“There cannot be an approach of unlimited funding nor funding for unmeritorious cases. We have to structure some acceptable way of identifying cases where assistance needs to be given. We will announce more details when we are ready. Page: 18”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank Mr Lim Biow Chuan for his support. The Member's query on criminal legal aid was also raised earlier this year by Mr Hri Kumar at the Committee of Supply debates. At that time, I had replied to Mr Kumar to say that we will consider the position and I believe I had also mentioned this when we were discussing the amendments to the Legal Aid and Advice Act. And I said at that time that we were considering how to expand our funding to the Law Society's Criminal Aid Scheme to enable them to support more cases that are deserving. Members will know that for capital cases, legal assistance is already funded by the State, and we have been reviewing the position for non-capital cases for some time. We have decided that the Government should do more in the provision of criminal legal aid compared with the position hitherto and the details are still being worked out with the stakeholders, such as the Singapore Academy of Law and the Law Society. While we make this move, though, we need to be careful about how we do this as the monies come from a finite pool of taxpayer money. The experience of other countries is salutary. Countries have found the cost to be prohibitive and the outcomes not entirely satisfactory. For example, in the United Kingdom, the government spent some £2 billion on legal aid every year with criminal defence making up for more than half of the bill and there have been scandals involving wealthy criminals who receive legal aid from the State because their assets were frozen. The United Kingdom has now been forced to cut back on criminal legal aid funding. We want to learn from the experience from these other countries and to develop a system that is sustainable.”
“That is not something that is presently being considered. Under the criteria for admission to the Bar, one of the things that is taken into account is whether a trainee lawyer receives instruction or has gained experience in every type of work normally undertaken by an advocate and solicitor. The ring-fenced areas, such as criminal law, family law, constitutional and administrative law, are all excluded. A QFLP would not therefore be able to give a trainee lawyer exposure to these areas of the law. It is open, of course, when a lawyer gets called to the Bar, to work with QFLPs and other foreign law firms and they will then be able to get the other type of exposure that they may not be able to get at the local law firms. Having said that, though, I feel impelled to say that local law firms do also have good regional practices and are able to provide very good training in the area of corporate and commercial practice.”
“So, the Public Trustee will continue to perform that oversight role and, if the amount of the compensation has been determined and it is not forthcoming, the Public Trustee will chase up in the normal way. For those who are represented, the victim still does have the protection of the lawyer because it is actually part of the lawyer's duty to then chase and ask for payment. That is the same for any other form of settlement under any other form of claim or contract. So, it is for the victim's lawyer to pursue or chase up with the owner or the insurer to make sure that payments are made in time. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)] [(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Ms Indranee Rajah]. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. (proc text)]”
“Sir, the Member has raised two issues: firstly, whether with relinquishing the oversight role, there will be an increased risk to the victims in terms of the compensation amount and, secondly, whether the Ministry intends to put in any safeguards with respect to the timing of the payment by the owner or the insurer. With respect to the first issue, as I indicated earlier, the relinquishment of the role will only be with respect to those who are represented. As the Member has pointed out, a lawyer is expected to safeguard the client's interest. As a general rule, because the lawyer's duty is to look after the client's interest and to ensure that the client gets an adequate settlement, we think that that role can be played adequately by a lawyer but, at the same time, also in recognition of what the Member had said about the linkage between the lawyer's fees, we have retained the oversight role on the reasonableness of the fees. We feel that these amendments actually strike the correct balance. We arrived at this conclusion after taking in industry feedback and it was felt that the way that the amendments were done would be sufficient to take care of the adequacy of the compensation. Page: 103 I would add that if there is concern as to whether the lawyer has performed the lawyer's role properly, the victim does have redress. So, when you balance these things and take them into account, we feel that what the amendments do is that they strike the correct balance. With respect to the second question as to whether the Ministry will put in place a specific framework, the answer is that we do not think it is necessary for these reasons: with respect to those who are unrepresented, there is no change.”
“This is to ensure that the lawyers' fees remain reasonable and do not encroach into compensation sums and, conversely, that the lawyers are fairly remunerated for services rendered. We have taken the feedback onboard and have decided to retain this role. I now move on to some other amendments. The Bill splits the administration of the motor accident framework between the Ministry of Law and MOT. The Ministry of Law shall assume responsibility for the parts of the Act which pertain to the administration of the motor accident compensation framework. Page: 101 Clause 4 of the Bill introduces a new section 5A pertaining to composite settlement agreements. Under section 5A, it provides that where two or more persons are entitled to compensation under a settlement agreement, the settlement agreement must state the amount of compensation and costs, where applicable, that each of the persons is entitled to. Clause 8 of the Bill introduces a new section 18A, which empowers the Public Trustee to obtain any document or information for the purposes of his duties, functions and powers under the Act. In conclusion, therefore, Madam, let me say that the aim of the amendments is to update the roles of the Public Trustee under the Act, so that these roles will be relevant in today's context; and so that the Public Trustee may better focus resources safeguarding the interests of those motor accident victims who require protection. Madam, I beg to move. [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)] [Deputy Speaker (Mr Charles Chong) in the Chair] 5.54 pm”
“Page: 100 Currently, under the Act, compensation monies above $5,000 are not paid directly to persons entitled to these monies. Instead, the Public Trustee receives and holds such monies on trust for the motor accident victims, before distributing them to entitled persons. This is to ensure that the victims actually receive the compensation. This role arose as a corollary to the Public Trustee's role in assessing the adequacy of out-of-court compensation and the reasonableness of fees charged by lawyers. This role of the Public Trustee holding on to the monies before the compensation is paid out has become unnecessary for the same reasons as those pertaining to the relinquishing of the oversight role of compensation. Accordingly, clauses 5 and 6 will relinquish the Public Trustee's role in this regard for most victims, save for victims who are unrepresented, unable to receive compensation monies at the time of payment, for example, victims in detention or subject to a quarantine order, or, in appropriate cases, minors; or persons lacking mental capacity under the Mental Capacity Act. In all other cases, compensation will be paid directly to persons entitled to compensation, by either the insurer or owner of the motor vehicle. Notwithstanding the amendments, therefore, the rights and interests of motor accident victims who are in need of protection will still be protected. In the course of the review, the Government considered whether the Public Trustee should continue assessing the reasonableness of fees charged by lawyers. The feedback from the industry stakeholders is that they would like the Public Trustee to have a continued oversight role in this regard.”
“This includes ensuring that the compensation amount received by the victim is commensurate with the injuries sustained from the motor accident and that it is adequate. The Public Trustee is not involved at any stage of the compensation process. So, where parties are represented, therefore, the Public Trustee's oversight role would be superfluous. Victims who are dissatisfied with the conduct of lawyers may lodge a complaint with the Law Society, so, the victims will have redress. The percentage of unrepresented victims is also relatively low today. In 2008, 23% of 2,798 compensation cases were out-of-court settlements. By 2012, only 16% of the 3,221 compensation cases were out-of-court settlements. In the same five-year period, the percentage of unrepresented motor accident victims per year hovered between 1% and 2%. Victims who cannot afford legal representation can also obtain assistance from the Legal Aid Bureau if they pass the means test. Where the victim has no legal representation, however, the Public Trustee will continue the oversight role to ensure that the rights and interests of unrepresented victims continue to be protected. Accordingly, under clause 5, where victim is unrepresented, motor vehicle owners or insurers must first obtain approval for the compensation amount from the Public Trustee or the Court, if the Public Trustee considers the compensation to be manifestly inadequate. Only after the approval is obtained will the motor vehicle owner or insurer pay the compensation monies to the Public Trustee, who will then ensure that these monies are paid to the victim. I move on now to the role of the Public Trustee in holding compensation monies in trust for the victims.”
“These safeguard against "ambulance chasers". In view of the significant changes in the social and economic landscape as well as the legal profession in Singapore since the 1960s, it is timely to review the roles of the Public Trustee under the Act. We considered, in particular, whether the three roles ought to be relinquished and we took feedback from industry stakeholders, including the Law Society of Singapore, the General Insurance Association (GIA) and the Courts. We concluded that updates to the Public Trustee's existing roles under the Act are necessary. The Bill seeks to update the roles in respect of two main things. First, it relinquishes the Public Trustee's role of reviewing adequacy of compensation settlements under certain circumstances. And second, it relinquishes the Public Trustee's role of holding compensation monies in trust for victims of motor accidents except under certain circumstances. The Bill, however, leaves in place Public Trustee's role of reviewing the reasonableness of the fees charged by solicitors acting for the victims. So, no changes will be made in this respect. Page: 99 I will now take the House through the main amendments of the Bill. First, reviewing the adequacy of compensation settlements. Currently, the Public Trustee assesses the adequacy of compensation agreed upon between parties to a claim where the compensation sum exceeds $5,000. Under clause 5 of the Bill, the Public Trustee will relinquish the role of reviewing the adequacy of compensation where the motor accident victims are represented by lawyers. A lawyer is under a legal duty to act in his or her client's best interests.”
“Mdm Speaker, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time". The Public Trustee presently administers motor accident compensation monies in respect of accidents causing death or bodily injury under the Motor Vehicles (Third-Party Risks and Compensation) Act. Under the current Act, the Public Trustee performs three main roles. First, reviewing adequacy of out-of-court compensation settlements in all cases of motor accidents involving death or injury. Second, receiving and holding compensation monies arising from motor accidents on trust for all victims Page: 98 before distributing these monies to entitled persons. And third, reviewing reasonableness of fees charged by solicitors acting for the victims. These roles were introduced in 1960. The aim was to protect uneducated or lowly-educated motor accident victims from rogue or "ambulance-chasing" lawyers, who would exploit such victims for their gain. These lawyers often engaged in touting practices to solicit and obtain accident claims cases and retained excessive portions of compensation received as legal fees for themselves, thus depriving innocent victims of their rightful share of the compensation monies. The situation is somewhat different today. In general, the population, including victims, therefore, also have higher levels of education and better access to information and are better informed of their legal rights. There is a developed body of case law with established precedents on compensation amounts that are commensurate with the injury sustained. The standards of the legal profession have also improved over the years. And the Legal Professional Conduct Rules expressly prohibit lawyers from soliciting and touting motor accident cases. The Act contains a similar prohibition.”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member for her clarification. It is fair to say that there is not any one single measure which, on its own, is a magic or silver bullet that will resolve online piracy. So, there will have to be a multi-pronged approach of public education, legitimate content and appropriate regulatory measures. On site blocking, that is certainly one measure and, as mentioned earlier, that is something that we are studying. The preliminary view is that site blocking can help to address the ease of accessing copyright infringing material on the Internet. The International Federation of Phonographic Industry (IFPI)'s Digital Music Report 2013 reported that within a year of five European countries imposing blocks on Pirate Bay, usage levels of the Pirate Bay site fell by about 69%. Site blocking is simple to administer and it targets the infringing sites instead of the end users. The nature of online piracy is such that it is difficult to police and I do not think that even with site blocking it would be a 100% solution. But from what we have seen in the preliminary review, it is certainly one way that can reduce the online piracy.”
“Mdm Speaker, on the first question, the Member asked whether the Government feels that the message about copyright protection needs to be reinforced. The answer is "yes". The Government certainly does feel that this is a message that needs to be reinforced. As indicated earlier in my response, we agree with the Media Convergence Review report that public education is extremely important because it is important for people to know and understand the importance of honouring Intellectual Property, as well as respect the rights of the creators of the works. On the second question as to what the Government feels are the key drivers, as indicated, it is a combination. Clearly, consumers desire to have access to content. If legitimate content is accessible at a reasonable price, then I think most people would be willing to go for that. There would always be those who may be inclined to access pirated material if it is free, but, by and large, if you have appropriate public education, and there is a general sense of respecting copyright and Intellectual Property rights, then people would be encouraged to move towards legitimate content, if it is made accessible. And, as indicated earlier, that is something that the Government is working towards with the content providers. With respect to the last question, if I may clarify with the Member, she said that even if the content is provided, there are still illegal downloads. She had asked about some of the challenges. Could I clarify with the Member specifically what her question on that was?”
“We do not currently have the data to make such assessments of the impact. If you think about it, when the children go for tuition, they would not necessarily inform the Ministry: whether they are going for tuition, what their tuition is for and the impact that the tuition has had on them. At this stage, I think I would not be able to say definitively that we would be able to do such a study based on the data that we have. But it is something that we can certainly keep an eye out for. We will think about that to see whether or not there is something which has a significant impact. We have to think quite carefully how we are going to do it. Because the actual mechanics and logistics of doing something like that have to be thought through quite carefully and you have to think where you get the data, how you analyse the data and how you interpret such data. Page: 58”
“Mdm Speaker, insofar as the question is about good teachers leaving the Education Service to go into the private sector, as I indicated in the earlier answer, in general, the attrition rate is low. It is not to say that there will not be some who leave for whatever reasons and go into the Page: 57 private sector. Certainly, we would want to retain as many as we can in the Education Service. Just as a quick rundown. The types of reasons that have been given for teachers leaving the Education Service are a whole range. Some have given domestic or personal reasons, some list external competition, they want to do other things, some for health reasons, some because they are not happy with the job but that is actually a very low percentage and then others which did not divulge their reasons. That said, I think the key point made by Ms Denise Phua and Dr Intan is, if there are good teachers who would otherwise stay and if they can be kept within the Education Service, then that I feel we should certainly do so and our Ministry would look to the question of what these teachers feel would be a good reason for them to stay with the Education Service and if there are those who have left because of whatever reasons – they feel that they would get a better job or better opportunities in private sector – then we have to see whether those are people who can be persuaded to stay or for whatever reason they feel that no matter what, they would go out into the private sector. We can certainly look into that.”
“Insofar as the concern is that so many parents are sending their children for tuition, the key is really in whether or not, these parents believe that having that extra tuition is going to make the difference. And that is the point that I alluded to earlier, which is that within our school system, it is possible to pass the examinations without having to go for additional tuition where the child is doing reasonably well. It is a different thing if the child is having difficulty in coping with the lessons. We can understand from the parent's point of view that every parent wants their child to have the best possible shot and, for many of them, for whatever reason, some of them believe that having tuition would give their children that additional edge, which we do not think is necessarily the case. So, the key to that really is in the parents' mindsets and belief. And we hope that the message will get out to parents not to pile on unnecessary tuition onto students.”
“Can I clarify with the Member, when she says this phenomenon, exactly what phenomenon does the Member mean?”
“And there, really we have a situation where it is a question of what the parents think or what the parents believe. MOE's position is that actually such additional tuition for those who are doing reasonably well in school ought not to be necessary. We certainly do hope that the parents would have a more calibrated and balanced view of tuition and only send their children if there was a real need for it. Because if not, doing it within the context of the school and doing the levelling-up programmes within the context of the school would be a much better approach.”
“Mdm Speaker, there are actually two separate concepts embodied in the supplementary question asked by the Member. One is social mobility and the other is why parents go for tuition. If I may address the second question first. It would be a social mobility problem if the only way you could pass an examination in our education system is if you had tuition. Then it would be a social mobility problem because questions of "Can you Page: 55 afford tuition?" would come into play and, if you cannot, it means you are not able to make it. But that is not the case. As I have indicated in my earlier answer, the education system is designed to be passed even without tuition generally. Having said that, we recognise that there are those who will not do as well as the others and who need support. For that, if we did nothing and we just left the children alone, that would be wrong. Because we recognise that for those who need additional support, we must help them. And because additionally, this Government and my Ministry recognise that those from lower income backgrounds will have more difficulties in being able to get tuition and pay for that, that is the reason why a comprehensive levelling-up programme has been introduced in the schools and that is across-the-board. That would be particularly useful for those who are unable to afford private tuition but, certainly, it is not limited to that group because the levelling-up programme is basically for anyone or any child who is not doing well in a particular subject. That leads us to the other question which is why do so many parents still nevertheless send their children for tuition, including that group where the children are actually doing reasonably well in school.”
“Mdm Speaker, these are certainly issues that we are studying. We would not have any details at this stage as the idea of the subterranean space is something that has been recently mooted by MND. As indicated in my earlier answer, we are certainly supportive of this. The question is: to what degree, what depth, to what extent, how would you treat this underground space? I can assure the Member that we are in the process of looking at it. As and when there is sound framework available, we would certainly come up with a concept for the public to comment on and to get ideas.”
“Mdm Speaker, I would agree that that is valid concern on the part of the parents and I will without any doubt convey that to the Minister for the Ministry of Social and Family Development.”
“Mdm Speaker, if I may address the Member's questions: sometimes, there is confusion as to what MOE's role is, and what the role of MSF is. If I could assist in this regard: MSF is the Ministry that looks after the pre-school sector as a whole. MOE's role is to look at curriculum and to provide input on that to make sure that the educational portions are addressed. And then, of course, MOE had recently entered into the pre-school space by having MOE kindergartens. With respect to the question that was originally asked, as to whether MOE's entry into the market could have an added purpose of affecting the fees of the private operators: as I have answered, that is not the primary purpose, although the entry of MOE into that space with the provision of the MOE kindergartens will undoubtedly be something that the private sector pre-schools have to take into account because there is now an alternative that is providing pre-school education at an affordable rate. With respect to the question that the Member has just raised about fee justification for the private pre-school operators, as indicated in my earlier answer, I believe that they are required to justify any fee increase to ECDA which oversees the pre-school sector. They must justify by giving the reasons for the increase and give six months' advance notice to give parents sufficient time to find an alternative if the parents are not able to afford that. If in the course of giving their justifications, it appears that that is not sufficient, I am sure that that is something that MSF will take into account. Page: 34”
“I am not aware of any survey. I do not have that information at the current time. If the Member would like to file a specific question on that, I can check. But currently, the criterion is based on contribution to the community, as opposed to contributions specifically to the school. Contributions specifically to the school would be under the parent volunteers scheme or on the Advisory Council of the school. But with respect to the community leaders' contribution, it is contribution to the community.”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member for her question. I note her concern for families who have more than one child and the desire to get into a school of their choice that is near to their place of residence. Currently, they would be able to get priority under Phase 1, if there is a sibling who is already studying at the Primary school. If the sibling has left that Primary school but was previously from that school, they would be able to get priority under Phase 2A. With respect to whether we should increase or have more schemes with respect to priority registration, as I mentioned earlier, because we have just recently tweaked the system, we would like to study this before we take any other measures or make further changes to the system. We want to see how the current system works.”
“PA and its grassroots organisations are non-partisan organisations set up with the specific mission of connecting people to people, people to the Government, and Government to the people. Grassroots leaders (GRLs) support PA in its mission of community building in support of the government of the day and that is why, at the current time, only active GRLs from the four grassroots organisations and District Councillors from the Community Development Councils are eligible for consideration under Phase 2B. And eligibility is based on contribution and not along party lines.”
“Mdm Speaker, one part of the question is related to whether the priority was Government-linked. As mentioned in my answer earlier, quite apart from the grassroots organisations under the People's Association (PA), there are the Parent Volunteers and there are also those who are members endorsed by the clans or churches. Of course, there are the alumni as well, but that is a different priority phase. So, the short answer to that particular question, is it only Government-linked? The answer is "no" because there are those which parent volunteers as well as those endorsed by churches and, of course, by clan associations as well. With respect to the specific question about those who are given priority under the grassroots organisations, perhaps I should clarify before I go on to deal with specific Government-linked aspects. Under PA, it is not all of the grassroots committees that get priority. For example, as I mentioned earlier, it is only those in the Residents' Committee, Neighbourhood Committee, Citizens' Consultative Committee and the Community Club Management Committee. There is a great number that do not get priority, such as the Youth Executive Committee (YEC), Women's Executive Committee (WEC), Community Sports Committee (CSC), Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle (IRCC) and a large number of others under that umbrella. So, it is the ones that are residentially-linked as well as those in the community. We recognise that there are many different social groups which serve the community. But when we look at priority, we look at priority for active community leaders. And in defining active community leaders, we define eligibility based on an objective view of community service.”
“We will also continue to ensure that every school is a good school, so that every pupil can receive a good quality and holistic education, regardless of the school which he or she attends.”
“The current Primary 1 (P1) Registration Framework reflects a careful balance of considerations, such as convenience for the family, the school's ties with community stakeholders and school proximity. Mrs Lina Chiam has asked about the priority of registration. Phase 2B of the P1 Registration Framework is open to children of active community leaders, that is, serving committee members of the Residents' Committee, Neighbourhood Committee, Citizen's Consultative Committee, Community Club Management Committee and the Community Development Council. In addition, Phase 2B is also open to the children of parent volunteers and endorsed members of the churches 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. We also note Dr Intan's concern about providing support for large families in Primary school admissions. While P1 admissions were used to support population policies up to the late 1980s, the Government decided to de-link P1 registration from population policies in 1992. As we had just reviewed the P1 Registration Framework last year to give priority to Singapore Citizens during balloting, we will monitor the effects of these changes before deciding if further refinements should be made. In addition, the Ministry will continue to ensure sufficient school places on a regional basis so that our children will not have to travel long distances to their Primary school. In fact, for the last three P1 Registration Exercises, about 98% of the registrants were able to obtain a place in a Primary school of their choice, or a Primary school within 2 km of their residence.”
“If the concern is whether or not the faculty staff is able to have housing in terms of how do you recruit; is one of the things that you need to add into your package to be able to attract people here, that, I think is what the universities are doing. I think the Member has flagged this as a cause for concern. That is something that we certainly convey back to the universities so that they can review to make sure that their practices are fair and have a rational basis in terms of what they offer their faculty and their staff.”
“I thank the Member for his supplementary question. I think the Member's concern is, if there is discrimination without a rationale or justifiable basis. Let us come back to the basic issue or the basic situation. We have autonomous universities. They have to look to see how they can recruit. The Member also acknowledges that for the base pay or the base salary and for the bonuses that is dealt with, more or less on par. The real crux of the matter appears to be the allowances, out of which the largest one is really the housing Page: 168 allowances. My understanding of it is that when you are recruiting from overseas, what the universities do is they take into account whether or not the person has housing, and they look to see whether that is something which is necessary to be addressed, in terms of getting people over here. At the same time though, they also do look into that from the perspective of returning Singaporeans. So, one of the universities, for example, has for Singaporeans, a housing allowance of up to one year of housing benefit if that Singaporean had been residing abroad for more than three years. There is another university where they are allowed to apply for on-campus housing if they or their immediate family members do not own a residential property. Then there is another one where they have the same allowance if they do not own a residential property in Singapore. The universities do not have the same practice across the board. They have practices which they feel are suited to their own university. To the extent that the Member is concerned about just pure discrimination on the basis that one is a foreigner, one is a Singaporean then obviously that is not correct. Not correct meaning that that should not be done.”
“The key here, really, is getting principals and school leaders to see Literature as an important subject and to introduce programmes within their school that encourage a stronger take-up rate from the students. That, to me, is the key. From MOE's perspective, we will work with those principals and with the schools to encourage the taking up of Literature; and not just Literature as I have mentioned in my answer – Humanities as a whole – because I think that we need that balance.”
“Mdm Chairperson, I thank Ms Koh for her supplementary question, which is a very valid one. She raised two points – passion and perception. In terms of the perception, the main perception which deters people is the perception that it is hard to score at Literature. On this, the proportion of distinctions in Literature amongst "O" level graduates is about 41%. This actually shows that it is very much within the realm of possibility to do well for Literature. That is the first point. You can do well. Then, of course, the next question is in the schools will they be encouraged to take up Literature? As the Member may know, a large degree of autonomy is given to school principals and the idea is that you do not have a one-size-fits-all approach. The principal and the school leaders should do what is best that fits the circumstances for each school. I think that is why we hear different stories about Literature is approached in different schools because some schools have a very strong Literature programme and some schools, well, less so. It boils down to the four points that I raised earlier in my speech which is that the distinctive characteristics of the schools which do well in Literature are where we have the students who are already interested; you have passionate teachers; you have supportive principals and there is good foundation in English. Now, the funny thing, though, the key is when you have passionate teachers and a supportive principal, they will put in programmes to make students more interested. You could have some who were not interested to begin with, but if they see that the school has a good programme and they start to think about it, they may be encouraged to take it up.”
“I think that MOE is certainly aware of the need for more preschool teachers and kindergarten teachers, in particular. This is something that we are actively studying at the current time. It is important not just to have quantity. We want to make sure we have quality. And it is not just quality, it has to be people who have a passion to teach children and the right disposition to be able to bring out the best in them. This is something that we are currently looking at the moment.”
“These include the Opportunity Fund to further help students from lower-income households; there is also the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) which helps those who require assistance in relation to the basic Page: 136 cost of schooling, such as fees, textbooks and uniforms, as well as school-based financial assistance which is available to meet these needs for those who require more help or who just miss out on qualifying for the FAS. In conclusion, Madam, I wish to say that MOE's policies and efforts aim to support each Singaporean on his or her lifelong education journey. We start early – building a strong foundation through preschool education. We create diverse opportunities and pathways in the education system, to help every Singaporean fulfil their potential. We try to keep education affordable to help each student go as far as he or she can. And our goal is that each and every Singaporean will have a fulfilling educational journey and can develop to the best of his or her full potential. 5.15 pm Naming of Schools”
“Academics recruited from overseas may, therefore, receive housing allowances but, similarly, Singaporean faculty recruited from overseas may be eligible for a housing allowance if they do not own a property in Singapore and have to rent in the open market. The exact terms of these allowances differ across the universities. Mr Gan Thiam Poh shared concerns about the affordability of tertiary education. The Government is committed to ensuring that no student is discouraged from taking his or her education as far as possible. We provide generous subsidies for post-secondary education, as well as Government-funded loans and financial assistance in the form of bursaries. The Post Secondary Education Account (PSEA) is another tool which the Government uses to help Singaporeans with the cost of post-secondary education. When students complete their general education, the balance in their Edusave Account is transferred to their PSEA and their Edusave Accounts are closed. The Government tops up the students' PSEAs from time to time and the students can use the PSEA to pay for post-secondary education in our AUs, polytechnics and ITEs. Mr Png Eng Huat raised the issue of Edusave and the concern about the fact that parents may not be able to afford some of the activities. There are, in fact, a range of different funds for different uses which parents would be able to have access to.”
“This translates to about 16,000 publicly-funded full-time degree places each year from 2020. SIT and UniSIM will play key roles in bringing this vision to fruition; SIT will become an autonomous university, and UniSIM will start to offer Government-funded full-time degree programmes. They will roll out many more programmes to suit different interests and passions. SIT and UniSIM will also pioneer a new applied degree pathway, which adopts a practice-oriented pedagogical approach. This applied degree pathway provides an alternative to the more theoretical content and pedagogy of our existing AUs. One unique aspect of their degree programmes is the work-study component, which provides a strong nexus between what is learned in school Page: 135 and what is learned in the workplace. SIT and UniSIM are working closely with the industry on the curriculum and structure of their new degree programmes. Asst Prof Eugene Tan asked about remuneration paid to Singaporean and non-Singaporean academics in the AUs. To be internationally competitive, we need to give remuneration that would attract both local and international talent. The AUs are autonomous universities, which means that they have autonomy in governance, including flexibility in the areas of appointment, promotion and remuneration of faculty members. This enables them to tailor competitive remuneration packages to better attract and retain top Singaporean and international faculty. The base salary and criteria for performance-based bonuses at our AUs are the same for Singaporean and non-Singaporean academics. Housing allowances take into account whether academics have to relocate and whether they have their own housing in Singapore.”
“MOE understands that going back to school as a working adult Page: 134 requires some flexibility, so we have rolled out a plethora of part-time upgrading pathways. Polytechnic diploma holders can re-skill or upgrade by taking up part-time diploma and post-diploma programmes. They are modular, giving them flexibility to pursue the degree, together with work or other commitments. Last year, the Government extended a 70% subsidy to all Singaporeans pursuing their first part-time diploma programme at the polytechnics, even if they held a diploma or degree previously or had previously consumed a partial subsidy in the course of full-time study. Polytechnic graduates may also pursue degrees at our universities. Let me touch briefly on the university landscape. Currently, we have universities which offer full-time degrees but we also have those which offer part-time degrees, and the Singapore Institute of Technology was established in 2009 to provide more degree opportunities for polytechnic graduates. The Government has also started to fund degree programmes at our tertiary arts institutions like the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), and LASALLE College of the Arts. Mr Lim Biow Chuan and Ms Mary Liew were concerned about access to university education for Singaporean students. MOE recognises the growing aspirations of Singaporeans for a degree education. We are currently on track to achieving a 30% university Cohort Participation Rate (CPR) by 2015. In August last year, the Prime Minister announced that we will further expand access to publicly-funded full-time degree places for Singaporeans. We will add 3,000 publicly-funded full-time degree places by 2020, growing university cohort participation to 40%.”
“If they are unable to complete the career core modules in the third year and obtain a NITEC certificate, the NFC will allow them to continue their learning journeys in the future after gaining some work experience. For the 2014 pilot, ITE will admit 180 Normal (Technical) students with zero or one N-Level subject passes into the Extended NFP. The Extended NFP will also be open to eligible candidates from NorthLight School and Assumption Pathway School, who are currently unable to enrol into the existing two-year NITEC programme as they may not have acquired the necessary literacy and/or numeracy foundations required for the NITEC programme. Members will see from this that we are striving hard to give each student the right kind of support at every step of the way, to bring out the best in them depending on his or her aptitude, ability and speed of learning. What is important is that at the end of the day, they come out knowing that they have the opportunity to go further if they wish to, and with confidence and belief in themselves, knowing that we believe in them, too. Mr Zainudin Nordin asked about the longer-term role of the polytechnics. Together, the five polytechnics form a core pillar of our education system, and will remain so. They offer over 200 Pre-Employment Training (PET) and 110 Continuing Education and Training (CET) courses across various disciplines. Polytechnic graduates are distinguished by their work-readiness – nine out of every 10 polytechnic graduates go on to secure employment within six months of graduation. Many opt to enter the workforce immediately and apply their vocational training in their respective industries, before pursuing higher qualifications.”