Lee Chiaw Meng
Singapore
“" I think it is an opportune time for the Minister to examine the whole issue of statutory contributions rather than its individual components.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I seek clarification from the First Deputy Prime Minister. This is related to a certain provision in the Companies Act. I believe that section 69N of the Companies Act empowers a company to write to a member of the company to disclose the beneficial ownership of the shares.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I disagree. Is the Minister, therefore, saying that the HDB policy and the PWD policy is this: "We will cross the bridge when we come to it."? With such a policy they will not consider building any road until they have built a housing estate or until a big traffic jam occurs.”
“Sir, I believe the present differential between the Upper Timescale and the Superscale 'H' grades is about 33%. Whilst I appreciate the Minister's contention to retain the distinction between the Timescale officers and the Superscale officers, would not the Minister consider that 33% is too big a gap?”
“I think the best strategy s for us to adopt whatever development that is carried out elsewhere and provide our own innovations to it. The third question the Member asked is how successful we have been in developing Singapore into a brain and service centre, Sir, it is a bit difficult to quantify.”
“To reduce opportunity for cheating, the Bill requires instruments used for trade to be tested by an inspector of Weights and Measures and manufacturers and repairers of weighing instruments to be licensed. Further, shortweight and misrepresentation of goods sold will be regarded as an offence.”
The complete record
Every one of 341 lines we hold for Lee Chiaw Meng, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 7.
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I must thank the Member for Punggol for his keen interest in this Centre, which my Ministry has taken over since 1st January of this year. So far the Centre, which was established in 1967, has produced 1,613 personnel for the hotel catering industry. The break-down is as follows: Receptionist 226 Cashiers 46 Restaurant and bar waiters and waitresses 969 Room stewards and stewardesses 372 In fact, the Centre does not train toilet attendants whose job is much more lucrative! The Centre does not send any graduates overseas for further training. I believe the brighter graduates from this Centre are being sent overseas by the industry which engage them. The third point raised by the Member is the acute shortage of hotel catering staff and whether the Centre will be able to meet the demand. Between 1967, when the Centre was established, and now, the number of hotel rooms has increased eleven-fold. It is hardly possible for the Centre to meet the sudden large demand for hotel staff, but I believe most hotels are training their own staff. However, when the new Centre moves into new premises, we will be gradually shifting our emphasis on to training the middle and higher levels of personnel, leaving the training of waiters and waitresses, stewards and stewardesses, room chambermaids, etc. to the hotel industry itself. On the question of pure numbers, the new Director of the Centre arrived a month ago. In conjunction with the Adult Education Board, he is now working out a joint programme whereby the girls who are in the special classes will be able to take up training within the shortest possible time after finishing the Adult Education Board programme. Part of the training will be provided by the Adult Education Board.”
“Sir, there is no provision for building a vocational institution within Toa Payoh. But all new secondary schools to be established will have a technical wing. At present, Toa Payoh is being serviced by the Aljunied Vocational Institute and the Geylang Serai Vocational Institute which are about three and four miles away respectively. There are three other technical schools surrounding this area. There is the Balestier Hill Technical School which, I believe, is a stone's throw from Toa Payoh, the Upper Aljunied Technical Secondary School, and the Thomson Secondary School.”
“Sir, this $1 million is actually for Government-aided junior colleges. The provision for Government junior colleges, I believe, comes under subhead 401, item 002 of the same Head.”
“Sir, of the $1.3 million, $1 million will be provided for the aided junior colleges and $300,000 for aided secondary schools. The $1 million will be used for the building of two junior colleges in 1971-72.”
“Sir, there will be a total of seven aided junior colleges. We hope construction will commence on two some time this year, three in 1972, and two in 1973. The Government will match the funds raised by the voluntary organisations dollar for dollar, subject to a maximum of, I believe, $1.1 million.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, while it is a tribute to the principal and the staff when their school wins prizes, I am afraid this is not one of the major considerations for expansion of schools. However, in reply to the specific request of the Member for Jurong to pay attention to Jurong Integrated Secondary School, this school will be under consideration by the Ministry of Education which is currently studying the plans which I have just mentioned.”
“Sir, when I replied to the Member for Toa Payoh, I did mention that the Ministry of Education is now considering a long-term plan to build schools and priority will be given to towns such as Toa Payoh and Jurong where there are many people.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, this sum of $247,200 is for three projects, namely, a block of 12 additional classrooms for Ama Keng Primary School, the reconstruction of Pulau Seking Malay School, and the replacement of a stall for Radin Mas School.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I fully appreciate the difficulty of the children. In fact, it is very much my concern to see that they do not have to travel too far to their schools. When the Member for Toa Payoh was raising this question, I saw very approving nods from the Frontbenchers. We are now making a micro-analysis based on the population density of the nation as far as 1989, so that in future we will site our schools where students do not have to travel far. With respect to the particular point raised by the Member for Toa Payoh, we are considering resiting schools which are affected by urban renewal into densely populated areas where there is an urgent need for schools.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as I have just clarified, the other portion of the capital cost will come from the member countries of S.E.A.M.E.C. I do not understand the reference to American dollars. It is a regional project and Singapore contributes a certain portion and the other member countries contribute their portions. With regard to the operation of the Centre, it is used to train teachers in the English language. So far about six or seven batches of students have been trained. The Centre is temporarily housed in a Government bungalow in Watten Estate. When the building is completed - I cannot recall the exact date - we will move to the new Centre. As the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education has just mentioned, the building will consist of 18 storeys. The first few storeys will be for the Regional English Language Centre and the top ten storeys will be in the form of a 60-room hotel for those attending conferences and also for hostel facilities for students from the region.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I just want to clarify that the capital cost of the Regional English Language Centre is being financed jointly by the Singapore Government and the South-east Asia Ministers of Education Council.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I believe the Member for Delta is not disagreeing with me. We both share the same views. He has asked why we have not approved the provision of $1.2 million. The request for this provision was made as late as February this year. We are now in March. It was therefore too late to enter this provision in the Development Estimates. Regarding the fund-raising campaign launched by the Nanyang University Council and the question whether we are prepared to give assistance to Nanyang University on a dollar-for-dollar basis, my answer is that we must know to what development purposes the fund will be put before consideration can be given to this proposal. If the $700,000 is for the sports complex, then it will be better than assistance on a dollar-for-dollar basis.”
“You cannot first build a sports complex costing $700,000, and then decide to build another one for $1.2 million. So we must wait for the overall planning to be completed before we can proceed with the construction. That is one of the reasons why a revote is being asked for. I believe the Member for Jurong also asked why we do not have a development plan for Nanyang University. The University authorities have already set up a committee to prepare a ten-year development plan of Nanyang University. When we receive these development plan proposals, we shall be able to give more details to the Member for Jurong. As regards the staff quarters, Nanyang University asked for about $2 million for their construction. I think the Member for Delta has already said that the most important matter is the development of a sports complex and a students' hostel.”
“Thank you, Sir. The question of students' hostels has been brought up for reconsideration, and the new proposal is under active consideration by the Ministry of Education. After the technical problems have been solved, we shall proceed with the construction work forthwith. Meanwhile the Government is also discussing with the Jurong Town Corporation the possibility of renting one 16-storey block of flats for use as a students' hostel. I believe the Member for Delta and the Member for Jurong are aware that the Council of Nanyang University have recently started a campaign to raise funds with a target of $2 million, part of which is meant for building a students' hostel. Regarding the question of a sports complex, as early as 1969 Nanyang University proposed to the Ministry of Education a plan for a sports complex costing $620,000. After consideration the Ministry counter-proposed with a $700,000 plan. They asked for $620,000 and we gave them $700,000! In this plan the facilities included a swimming pool and other amenities. But subsequently Nanyang University wanted to make amendments to the original proposal by including the building of a stadium. The amendments would require a further sum of $500,000 making the total cost of the plan $1.2 million. This matter is now under consideration by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance. The Member for Punggol asked why a revote of $692,000 is asked for, when we have already voted $700,000 for the last financial year. I am not able to answer this fully. However, we have already allotted the money to the University, and it is up to them to spend it. One of the reasons for not spending it could be that the plan for $1.2 million is still under consideration.”
“Sir, the Members for Delta, Jurong and Punggol have brought up this question of students' hostels and the sports complex. I would like to deal with the students' hostels first, and then take the opportunity to clarify the question of the development of Nanyang University. And the Member for Delta, who is a member of a certain committee, should be aware of the delicate situation. As early as 1969, the Ministry of Education was already aware of the problem of students' hostels for Nanyang University. In August of that year, the Ministry made certain proposals to Nanyang University to rent a block of flats in Jurong Town for use as students' hostels, for which the Ministry was prepared to allot a sum of $58,000. Perhaps the Member for Delta was aware of this. But in February 1970, Nanyang University rejected this proposal.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I did not say that he is a member of Nanyang University. I said that he is one of the two Members who are graduates of Nanyang University.”
“Sir, first of all, I wish to thank the two Members, who are graduates of Nanyang University for expressing their love of their alma mater. The Member for Jurong and the Member for -”
“Sir, actually this provision is to meet the local cost of the expenditure which is to be spent by the Economic Research Centre. The money is not only for buying equipment but also for paying the salaries of the local staff. Only the expenditure on foreign exchange components is met by the Ford Foundation.”
“For supporting staff and local expenditure which does not involve foreign exchange components. 3.45 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I believe the sum of $227,700 will be used to meet the local cost for the Economic Research Centre which is being established with financial assistance from the Ford Foundation.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, all those suggestions raised by the Member for Katong will be taken into consideration when we launch this Projects Supports Communication. With regard to the points raised by the Member for Moulmein, first of all, it is not quite true to say that the quota of teachers for the Technical Education Department is more than that for the General Education Department, and therefore their teachers are better off. In fact, they are not; because those teaching in the workshops have a much heavier load than those teaching in the classrooms. Unfortunately, when the Technical Education Department started, we had to get the teachers, and we just could not grab anyone from the street and make him a technical teacher. The obvious answer was to retrain teachers from the General Education Department. With regard to the point that we are developing technical education at the expense of general education, it is not so, Mr Speaker, Sir. There is constant liaison between the two departments regarding staffing, and we always ensure that the Technical Education Department will not develop at the expense of the General Education Department. In fact, the Ministry is looking into the possibility of integrating the two departments into one.”
“Sir, the post will be created under the U.N.D.P, project, and the appointee may be a local or a foreign expert.”
“-load, or if he feels there is a certain unfairness, will he let me know and we will look into it to rectify the situation? The final point raised by him concerns public relations. In fact, the Ministry is thinking of injecting professionalism in this respect. We are going to engage one expert on public relations under the United Nations Development Programme project, known as Projects Supports Communication which undertakes public relations work in order to "sell" the department to the public.”
“The professional aspects of the workshops and the responsibility for inspection are, in fact, undertaken by the Superintendent and the Assistant Superintendent. In the General Education Department, however, the system is slightly different. Here, the work, with respect to inspection of teachers, planning of curricula, and drawing up the equipment requirements, is undertaken by the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent, and the operational and administrative duties are undertaken by the Assistant Training Officer. With that clarification, Sir, if you will look under subheads 1433, 1434, 1443 and 1444, you will find that there is a total of 20 Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents and, under subheads 1436 and 1445, a total of eight Assistant Training Officers. This compares very favourably with the 40 Specialist Inspectors under the General Education Department. Comparing the student population with the great variety of subjects that are available in the General Education Department, I think we have done fairly well. Of course, we would like to have more such posts if we can. The next point raised by the Member for Jurong concerns the possible reduction of work-load for the teachers under training. I think he was referring to those technical teachers who have already been trained in one trade, and are now under training for a second trade. Sir, I believe all of them are relieved from extra-curricular activities. The time required for technical training is roughly three to six hours per week, and this is about the same as that for the E.C.A. load. However, if the Member has any specific instance where a teacher under technical training is not relieved of his E.C.A.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to thank the Member for Jurong for his observations on technical education, and for affording me the opportunity to answer and clarify a few points, lest the significance of the frequent participation of the Parliamentary Secretary and the Political Secretary to the Minister for Home Affairs and my constant silence during the debate may be misinterpreted! Mr Speaker, Sir, since its establishment two years ago, we are fairly satisfied with the progress made by the Technical Education Department. Originally our target was to have by 1975 one in every three secondary school leavers vocationally biased. But now I think we will achieve that target by 1973. There are not enough places available for all those who want it, but the capacity is sufficient to meet this target. We have some 16,000 places in secondary technical schools and 8,000 in the vocational institutes for technical education. We do not wish to train more students than necessary in this respect, because such graduate is less flexible than that in the general education stream. With respect to the facilities which the Member for Jurong has asked for, if I recall correctly, we have some 33 units of centralised workshops, about 30 schools with their own workshops, and nine vocational institutes. The Member has also referred to the provision of only one Inspector of Schools for the entire Technical Education Department. I am afraid there is some confusion here, and I wish to take this opportunity to clarify. This particular Inspector of Schools is actually provided for the Technical Education Department for the Vocational Guidance Unit.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I presume the Member is referring to the preparation of food. This is usually based on the opinion of the principal and teachers and the standing committee if it is appointed. UPPER THOMSON ROAD (Construction of bus bays and shelters) 3. Mr Ang Nam Piau asked the Minister for Law and National Development if he will consider the construction of bus bays or shelters at all existing bus-stops along Upper Thomson Road between Mm Hock Road and Windsor Park Road. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Law and National Development (National Development Division) (Mr Ho Cheng Choon) (for the Minister for Law and National Development): Mr Speaker, Sir, four bus bays and five bus shelters will be constructed along Upper Thomson Road between Mm Hock Road and Windsor Park Road as soon as the service cables are laid and other road work completed along this stretch of road. PRICE INCREASES OF DAILY NECESSITIES 4. Mr Ang Nam Piau asked the Minister for Finance if he will take steps to curb increases in the prices of daily necessities.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in his original question the Member for Katong has only asked for those who have been specially trained. However, I am able to say that, in addition to this number, there are some 22 other teachers who have also been seconded to various voluntary organisations. EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONS FROM SOCIAL WELFARE INSTITUTIONS 2. Mr J. F. Conceicao asked the Minister for Social Affairs what efforts have been made to find employment for persons who have been discharged from approved schools and homes of the Social Welfare Department or who are under probation.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have just now answered that we are carrying out an overall review of teacher training. FILMS (Introduction of classification system) 2. Mr J. F. Conceicao asked the Minister for Culture if he will consider introducing a system of film classification to replace the current system of film censorship.”
“They are daily-rated, Sir. They are paid according to their work.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have not got the details with me, but if the Member for Bras Basah wants them, we can send them to him.”
“Relief teachers are employed according to the terms laid down and depending on their qualifications.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I say it cannot be done away with completely. The relief teachers' scheme has been introduced ever since women have maternity leave.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am afraid we cannot do away entirely with relief teachers. As I have explained, they are employed in a great variety of situations such as maternity leave and so on. The pure vacancies will be filled when graduates come out from the Teachers' Training College. Unfortunately, we have not got enough trainees of high calibre joining the T.T.C.”
“The net has been cast as wide as possible. The post of Principal of the College has been advertised in all the international journals and in the newspapers of many leading cities as well as locally. The remuneration of the Principal must be comparable to that of the other institutes of higher learning. It cannot be artificially raised just to attract the right person. This would he a very shortsighted policy. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time. Resolved, "That the Bill be committed to a Select Committee consisting of Mr Speaker as Chairman and seven other Members to be nominated by the Committee of Selection." -[Dr Lee Chiaw Meng]. PROHIBITION ON ADVERTISEMENTS RELATING TO SMOKING BILL Order for Second Reading read. 6.27 p.m.”
“Mr Govindasamy, Sir, first of all, a point of clarification. The Minister of State for Education does not act as the Principal of Ngee Ann Technical College. He is only the Chairman of the Executive Committee. In the absence of the Principal, he carries out his duties. Sir, the College has advertised, not less than four times, both locally and internationally, for a suitable candidate to head the College but without much success. I am, however, pleased to report that certain headway has been made in getting the services of an expert, through the loan agreement, to serve during the project period as Principal of the College.”
“To avoid this tedious and time-consuming process of alienation of land to Ngee Ann Technical College which was originally established by the Ngee Ann Kongsi themselves, it is necessary to amend section 17 of the Ngee Ann Technical College Act as proposed in the present Bill. This will enable the Ngee Ann Kongsi to alienate or donate immovable property to the College by the Management Committee of the Kongsi notwithstanding the procedures laid down in section 20 of the Ngee Ann Kongsi (Incorporation) Ordinance. The future development of the College will then not be unnecessarily hampered as has happened. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 6.25 p.m.”
“The granting of the loan is conditional upon the alienation of the land at Clementi Road to the College within a period of 90 days from the date of the signing of the agreement. Under the provisions of section 17 (b) of the Ngee Ann Technical College Act, the income and property of the College shall, inter alia, include such immovable property as the Ngee Ann Kongsi may, subject to the provisions of section 20 of the Ngee Ann Kongsi (Incorporation) Ordinance, alienate or donate to the College. Section 20 provides that the Ngee Ann Kongsi will have to apply for leave of the Supreme Court to alienate or donate land to the College and that no application for such leave shall be made without a resolution being first passed at a general meeting of the members held for this purpose. When the Ngee Ann Kongsi accepted the Thong Saw Pak Report which, inter alia, recommended that the properties at Clementi Road be endowed to the College, the Committee of Management of Ngee Ann Kongsi in the same year passed a resolution to rent out the property at Clementi Road to the College at a nominal sum of one dollar per annum and to donate to the College 50 per cent of its net income or $100,000 annually whichever is more. A few days ago the Ngee Ann Kongsi at an extraordinary general meeting passed a resolution to donate approximately 40 acres of land together with the property thereon to the College for development. It will now take some time for the legal process to be completed. It is envisaged that further adjustment of the land may be necessary for future expansion plans of the College.”
“Mr Govindasamy, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Ngee Ann Technical College was established in 1963 by the Ngee Ann Kongsi and was registered under the Education Ordinance as a private institution financed and administered by the Ngee Ann Kongsi. Since then, three teams of experts have been invited to make detailed studies on the functions and development of the College. All of them recommended drastic changes. In 1967, following the acceptance by the Ngee Ann Kongsi of the recommendations contained in the Thong Saw Pak Report, Ngee Ann- College was reconstituted by statute (Number 28 of 1967) with its management vested in a Council, and the College was to concentrate on technical and commercial courses and phasing out the existing academic courses. The College officially became known as Ngee Ann Technical College following the passing of the Ngee Ann Amendment Act in 1970. The Government recently negotiated a loan of $9 million with the Asian Development Bank for the development of the College. The five-year expansion programme will provide educational facilities to serve the student population of about 3,000 compared with the present enrolment of 900. If the rate of expansion in our economic development is sustained at the present level, there will be greater demand for skilled personnel as well as trained executives. It is therefore reasonable to assume that there will be continuous expansion of the College after the project period. Difficulties were encountered in the negotiations with the Asian Development Bank for the loan on account of the peculiar position of the College in that it did not own the land on which development was to have taken place.”
“Mr Cheong Yuen Chee asked the Minister for Law and National Development if he will ascertain from the Housing and Development Board whether it will consider (a) reserving a number of flats on the ground and first floors for applicants who are, or the members of whose families are, medically certified to be suffering from cardiac diseases or other physical disabilities; (b) giving priority to applicants who are staying in dilapidated accommodation and flood-prone surroundings or who are being evicted by private developers; and (c) setting aside a number of ground floor, one-room flats in Toa Payoh to be used as playrooms for children.”
“Sir, as regards the second point, I have just answered it in the last sentence of my answer to the original question. I said that any such complaints will be duly investigated and, if substantiated, followed by appropriate disciplinary action. On the question of what is the criterion for bad conduct, it must be persistent bad conduct. The pupils must first be warned and their parents notified, and if the pupils do not improve, then they will be asked to leave school. PEDESTRIAN OVERHEAD BRIDGE AT MOUNTBATTEN ROAD 7. Mr J. F. Conceicao asked the Minister for Law and National Development whether and when a pedestrian overhead bridge will be constructed at Mountbatten Road near its junction with Kampong Arang Road. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Law and National Development (National Development Division) (Mr Ho Cheng Choon) (for the Minister for Law and National Development): Sir, the Public Works Department has plans to construct a pedestrian overhead bridge at Mountbatten Road. A study is being made to determine the best location for this bridge. Any suggestions from the Member for Katong will be appreciated. HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD FLATS (Reservation and priority for special cases) 8.”
“Sir, it has been so worked out that it is comparable to the incremental credits which a teacher would derive under the former scheme. KALLANG BASIN INDUSTRIAL ESTATE (Bus services) 3. Inche Abdul Aziz Karim asked the Minister for Communications whether there are any plans to provide bus services within the Kallang Basin Industrial Estate; and if he realises that such services will be appreciated by workers, especially the female workers, employed in the factories in the Estate.”
“Sir, conditions change and the bonus has to be terminated somewhere. We have worked out that a bonus of three years is sufficient as an incentive for teachers to go for in-service training.”
“Sir, this is a bonus scheme and a bonus is terminable.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, if they draw a salary of less than $400 a month, they will come under the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance. If they draw more than that, I presume they will sue the school authorities for damages. TIMBER LORRIES (Cause of traffic congestion and hazard to road users) 3. Inche Rahmat Bin Kenap asked the Minister for Defence if a survey has been made by the Police as to whether timber lorries using busy roads, like Nicoll Highway, in and near the City centre during peak periods are a cause of traffic congestion and a possible hazard to other road users; and whether and what remedial action will be taken.”
“The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Dr Lee Chiaw Meng]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. SINGAPORE MARINERS' CLUB BILL Order for Second Reading read. 3.40 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, other than the three-year Technician Diploma Course in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Electronics, the College also runs a three-year course at the same level in Commerce and Business Administration. The College is also planning to enlarge the enrolment of these three courses. At the same time, it is planning to run a two-year course at the ordinary Technician Diploma level which is equivalent to the General Certificate of Industrial Technology offered by the Singapore Polytechnic in Engineering subjects, and also a course in Private Secretaryship. These courses run by Ngee Ann College will not duplicate, but Will supplement the courses conducted in other tertiary institutions. Despite the very substantial grant the Government has given to Ngee Ann College, the Government's role with respect to Ngee Ann College is similar to that with respect to Nanyang University. The supreme governing body of the College is vested in a Council of which three members are appointed by the Minister for Education. The Ministry of Education does quite frequently give general guidance and advice to the College in administrative and financial matters. There is a Principal at Ngee Ann College. She is on leave as from the 15th of March, 1970, prior to resignation. The administrative and academic management of the College is now vested in an Executive Committee until a suitably qualified candidate for the principalship is found. In the past, the Council has, on various occasions, invited applications, both overseas and locally, for the post of principal. Unfortunately, up to this date the College has not been able to find a suitable candidate. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.”
“To enable Ngee Ann College to do this, the Government has approved a further subsidy amounting to $100,000 per annum. The total subsidy by the Government for the coming financial year will amount to more than $1.1 million. In view of the reorganisation of Ngee Ann College into a College providing mainly technical education facilities, the name of the College, known as Ngee Ann College under section 3 of the Ngee Ann College Act, 1967, was administratively changed to that of Ngee Ann Technical College on 22nd August, 1968, by the Ngee Ann Council. This Bill is introduced to regularise the position, that is, to enable Ngee Ann College to assume the name of Ngee Ann Technical College with retrospective effect from 22nd August, 1968. Mr Speaker, I beg to move. Question proposed. 3.35 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." When Ngee Ann College was established in April 1963, it was registered under the Education Ordinance as a private institution and was financed and administered by the Ngee Ann Kongsi. It functioned then as a College of liberal arts, offering degree courses in Chinese Studies, Malay Studies, Home Economics and Commerce. In 1967, following acceptance by the Ngee Ann Kongsi of the recommendations contained in the Thong Saw Pak Report to reorganise Ngee Ann College into a Community College, it was reconstituted by Statute (No. 28 of 1967) with its management vested in a Council. In April 1968, a sum of $469,820 comprising $363,000 as capital expenditure and $106,820 as recurrent expenditure for the first year was given by Government to assist Ngee Ann College to provide courses geared to meet the growing demands for technical manpower in our Republic. A further grant of $987,750 was given by the Government to the College in 1969 to enable further expansion of the College in this direction. The first course conducted by the College in August 1968, as a result of its reorganisation was the three-year Mechanical Engineering Course, leading to a Technician Diploma. This was followed by the introduction of the Industrial Electronics Course in April 1969. All the old degree courses in Chinese Studies, Malay Studies, Home Economics and Commerce have been phased out, and only the Technician Diploma Course in Technical and Business Administration subjects will be conducted from now on. In a further move to support Ngee Ann College in its effort at reorganisation, the Government has recommended a reduction of tuition fees payable by Ngee Ann College students from $540 per annum to $300 per annum.”
“The Education Ministry is presently running a management course for all principals of vocational institutes. If the demand for skilled workers arises in Sembawang, we will look into the establishment of a vocational institute there.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in reply to the query by the Member for Sembawang regarding the damage to the machinery at the vocational institutes, I would like to say that the technical education programme has expanded so rapidly that we find it a bit difficult to maintain the machinery which happens to break down almost at the same time. Formerly, the minor maintenance of machinery was done by our own craft teachers and workshop instructors, and major faults were repaired by the P.W.D. Owing to the sudden increase in machinery in our technical institutions and its intensive usage, the P.W.D. has not been able to cope with the requests for repair immediately. As a result, the Ministry has set up a maintenance unit to relieve some of the burden on the P.W.D. As for the Member's query regarding the language of instruction, I am quite sure he is fully aware that even in secondary schools, Mathematics and Science are being taught in English. Therefore, it is reasonable that technical subjects should be taught in English. As I said just now, when answering a query from the Member for Punggol, in the technical institutions the instruction is more in the acquisition of skills and therefore the language of instruction is not a crucial point. The Member for Sembawang also raised a query about inspectors from the Technical Education Department not visiting the technical institutions as often as the other academic schools. I think this will be much to the relief of the Member for Paya Lebar, who is rather worried about - the frequent visits of these inspectors to the schools in his constituency! Our Technical education is managed in a different way. The Principal of the Singapore Technical Institute, who is a professional officer, has an almost autonomous say in the running of the Institute.”