Lim Kim San
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Public Utilities Board's investigation shows that the residents of Pulau Ubin are unwilling to pay higher prices due to higher operating costs, thereby causing the contractor to cease operations. It was explained to the hon.”
“Sir, I understand the Member's point, but I hope he realises that six months after serving notice, the pigs will still be defecating freely which will continue to contaminate our water.”
“Sir, if anyone should get sick from coming into contact with contaminated water, I hope they will accept sympathy from the Member for Jurong. But we cannot evaluate the danger to human life in terms of dollars and cents. The farmers have known for several years now that pig-rearing will have to be phased out of the catchment areas.”
“Sir, all I can say is that we are still looking into the feasibility of siting a coal-fired station on one of the islands to reduce the pollution problem. But no definite decision has yet been made. We have several offers to do a feasibility study on it, and we are looking closely into the matter. 5.45 p.m.”
“Merit Scholar- Merit Courses ships Bursaries Medicine/ Dentistry 44 41 Engineering 28 22 Architecture/ Building/ Estate Management 6 18 Accountancy/ Business Administration 9 14 Arts/Social Science/Law 32 40 Science (includes Pharmacy) 82 102 ___ ___ 201 237 === === Sir, I believe the hon.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, air pollution is being monitored daily by the Anti- Pollution Unit, and we find that the air pollution in industrial estates and the urban areas is normally higher than in the residential or rural areas.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,111 lines we hold for Lim Kim San, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 9 of 23.
“Sir, applications can be made to the Ministry of Finance for a waiver of these fees, if necessary. DRUG ADDICTION AMONG STUDENTS (Particulars) 7. Mr Yeo Choo Kok asked the Minister for Education (a) how serious is drug addiction among students (secondary and tertiary) and how many students were found to be involved between 1st January, 1971, and the latest convenient date; and (b) how have they been dealt with by the authorities concerned.”
“I am sorry. I thought it was operations. Sir, there are outpatient facilities available all over Singapore, and there is no reason why they cannot go to the hospitals for outpatient treatment.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir,. I have said that as soon as facilities, are available and since a promise has been made, we will extend medical benefits to the families of aided school teachers. But whether the hospitals can undertake operations on members of their families -”
“Sir, I believe it would be more profitable if the Member directed his question to the Minister for Health.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, when the medical benefits accorded to Government servants were extended to aided school staff with effect from 1st September, 1970, it was announced that the same medical benefits would be extended to their families when sufficient ward accommodation became available. Although the Ministry of Health has taken over Alexandra Hospital and Sembawang Hospital, the necessary medical facilities, in particular ward accommodation, are not immediately available to give a reasonably satisfactory service to the persons concerned. Alexandra Hospital was taken over with effect from 10th September, 1971, and is not fully operational as yet. The present service is limited to medical and paediatric cases only. The Surgical, Orthopaedic, and Obstetrical Units have not yet been established. The paying class wards which will be required to accommodate members of the families of aided school staff are also not ready yet. The other services will be provided by stages as the relevant equipment is purchased and installed, and structural alterations to the building are carried out. Sembawang Hospital is a small hospital with 68 "C" class beds. It has been set aside for the use of convalescent cases only. In view of the above, Sir, it is not possible at the moment to extend the medical benefits enjoyed by aided school staff to families. However, when Alexandra Hospital becomes fully operational, i.e., when it is able to provide the full range of services and the structural alterations to the building are completed, this matter will again be considered.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as at 1st October, 1971, there were 1,115 relief teachers, of whom 246 were trained teachers. It is expected that by May 1972, when the next batch of teachers graduate from the Teachers' Training College, another 845 trained teachers will be added to the pool of relief teachers, replacing those who are untrained. Under these circumstances, Mr Speaker, Sir, it is unnecessary to conduct a crash programme to train relief teachers. MEDICAL BENEFITS FOR FAMILIES OF GOVERNMENT AIDED SCHOOL STAFF 6. Mr Ho Kah Leong asked the Minister for Education, in view of the taking over of two British hospitals, recently, if the Government will consider extending medical benefits to the families of the staff serving in Government-aided schools.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, altogether 1,190 children have been enrolled in Primary I classes in July 1971, in 23 Government and Government-Aided Chinese primary and full schools. As the system of having two Primary I intakes a year is a pilot project, evaluation will have to be made in due course in order to determine the desirability of extending this system to other language streams, bearing in mind the limitation of resources with regard to physical facilities and teaching staff. FOREIGN UNDESIRABLE PUBLICATIONS (Measures to stop circulation) 7. Mr Ang Nam Piau asked the Minister for Culture what measures have been taken against the circulation of foreign undesirable publications, which are poisoning the minds of our young children.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, an option was given to the officers whether to accept consolidation or not. Whether it should be backdated to 1st January, 1969, or not is something which was forced on me. I would say that most of the P.U.B, officers supported backdating. They wanted it to be backdated because they would gain in the long run. Consolidation, in the majority of cases, means an increase in total emoluments though the take-home pay would be less. If I had known earlier that the Member would prefer not to have it back-dated to 1st January 1969, I would have conscripted his services and probably the P.U.B, could have saved quite a lot of money.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the consolidation exercise did not depend upon one party. It was arrived at and agreed upon after long negotiations with the officers. So if the P.U.B, is to be blamed, then I say the officers are to be equally blamed. On the whole, they gain; they do not lose. As I have pointed out, the Public Utilities Board is out of pocket by about $40,000 a month. Let me tell the Member here that if I had my way, it would not have been backdated to 1st January 1969. It is just because the Board made an error in promising the staff that consolidation would be backdated to 1st January 1969. The question of backdating is one on which I hold very strong views indeed.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we do not believe in giving anything f tee. We are charging six per cent interest on the loan. This is cheaper than they can get anywhere.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the exercise on consolidation of salaries was to integrate the basic salary with the variable allowance into an all-in salary; in other words, what were allowances before have now been incorporated into the salary proper. As donation and contribution to the Provident Fund will be based on the consolidated salary, some 1,389 out of a total of 2,756 officers will have their take-home pay reduced. There is, however, an increase in the gross emoluments drawn by these officers because of the larger amount of donation made by the Board to the Provident Fund. For the 30-month period from 1st January, 1969, the total increase in the Board's donation to Provident Fund would amount lo 51,350,700, averaging about $40,000 a month. Some 79 out of 839 officers who ate members of the Municipal Provident Fund have to pay arrears in excess of their monthly-consolidated salaries to the Fund covering the 30-month period. However, they have the option to pay these arrears in one lump sum or by 12 monthly instalments. The result of the exercise on consolidation has been a reduction of 88 basic salary scales of senior, junior and subordinate officers grades to 25 key scales. With the consolidation of salaries, emoluments drawn by the staff are based on services rendered, irrespective of sex or marital status, a principle recommended by the Harvey Commission and accepted by Government. The improvement in salary and salary structure is reflected by the fact that 93.1 per cent of monthly paid staff, (that is, 2,756 out of 2,961 officers) have opted to accept the new consolidated salaries.”
“I am sure there has been consultation with the professional bodies. However, if the Member will let me know what professional body he has in mind, and if we find that they have a standing in their profession, we will certainly try to get their views oil the legislation that will be enacted. PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD (Results of salary consolidation exercise) 3. Mr Low Yong Nguan asked the Prime Minister (a) if he will ascertain from the Public Utilities Board (i) how many officers of the Board have had their take-home pay reduced in the recent salary consolidation exercise; and (ii) how many officers have had to pay arrears to the Municipal Provident Fund in excess of their monthly salary; and (b) if he is satisfied that as a result of the exercise there have been improvement and simplification in the salary structures.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Electricity Department of the Public Utilities Board has compiled two draft sets of electricity regulations - (i) Licensing and Safety Regulations for Electrical Installations and (ii) Electricity Supply Regulations. The Licensing and Safety Regulations for Electrical Installations cover safety standards for electrical installations and the operation, repair and maintenance of such installations, the licensing and registration of private generators, the registration of electrical contractors, the colour coding for electrical appliances, the approval of electrical apparatus and other related matters. The Electricity Supply Regulations set out general rules concerning applications for electricity supplies. The draft regulations now under review will shortly be presented to the Public Utilities Board for approval before enactment under the Public Utilities Act.”
“But should there be a shortage, I can assure Members that during the course of the financial year if seminars are held and proved to be of practical value - I have no doubt at all that they will be of value if enough thought and interest are shown by those who participate -we will either ask for a supplementary vote or vire the amount from savings, if any, from other heads of expenditure. 3.15 p.m.”
“Sir, the Member for Moulmein is out of date. Inspectors do not snoop around inquiring into fictitious complaints. I have already made it clear to them that unfortunately their office carries some sort of an odium about it; and that their job is not so much inspection of schools as advising and helping teachers and principals of schools to achieve the quality of education that we want and to carry out the policy that we have set out to achieve. As regards the Teachers' Seminar, which was organised recently by the Singapore Teachers' Union, of course. I was very much encouraged by the response given to it, and by the discussions that took place. I very much welcome the suggestion of the Member for Moulmein to get the various sectors of the Ministry of Education to enter into a dialogue on the role of education and on education itself in Singapore. What has made it necessary for me to stand up here to reply is because of the confusion that has arisen with regard to the reduction of the vote. Actually there is no reduction in the allocation for "Education Exhibitions, Career Conventions and Teachers' Seminar". What happened was that out of the provision of $10,500 for the financial year which is about to end, there was included a sum of $5,000 for guidance and placement. But this sum has now been transferred to the vote for the Technical Education Department. Therefore, though the sum asked for is $7,000, there is, in fact, an increase of $1,500 in the provision. We feel that this vote should be enough for the use of "Educational Exhibitions, Career Conventions and Teachers' Seminar".”
“I think I did answer that question, and I said that the matter is under consideration. But while it is being considered, I would like to ask Members to appreciate the problem of getting sufficient teaching staff to teach these trainees. I have mentioned this in the course of my reply earlier.”
“Sir, I am not aware of any teaching institution in the world guaranteeing jobs for its graduates. And I am afraid I cannot start a precedent. If the Minister for Finance, my colleague here, would like to guarantee them jobs, then that is his business.”
“Sir, I think I have dealt with almost all the points raised, but if Members have any more queries, they can raise them under some other amendment so that I will try to answer them.”
“We are in the process of trying to achieve that, but there are many matters to look into now. I think the Member is not unaware that there has been a curriculum revision in the Ministry. There is a Department of Research looking into ways and means of improving methods of teaching. We have launched the Educational T.V. service, and we are using all forms of aids to reach the young minds. And improving the quality of education is not an overnight process. It takes a long time and careful research. I would say that our circumstances here are different from those in most other countries, because when we set out to achieve multilingualism, or at least bilingualism in the schools for the majority of our students, it was not just a question of learning two languages but three. We must remember that our students have also to learn the native tongue used in their homes.”
“All I can promise is that things may get a little bit worse before they get better, largely because of the difficulties involved. It takes about three years at least to train a teacher. If we start making teaching as a career more attractive or enlarging the intake of trainees in the Teacher's Training College, you will not see the result until three years after. 3.00 p.m. As for the measures taken by the Ministry to solve the problem of shortage of staff, I have figures here to show that the intake of the T.T.C. has been greatly increased. We expect 660 trainees to qualify this year and 950 next year. Thus the intake is increasing. Therefore, you can see that relief is on the way, and I hope the Member for Telok Blangah need not stand up again and say that he has been at this problem for the last five years. As regards the increase in the workload, I believe this is due to the fact that we are also engaging graduates as relief teachers. Unfortunately, there is a certain quota to be observed with regard to the intake of graduates and T.T.C.-trained teachers. This may be due to financial considerations but it is largely because the professionals have advised that we should maintain a certain proportion. In their view, it would not be realistic at this stage of our development to have the full complement staffed with graduate teachers. If Members want to know all the facts, they can refer to the professionals in the Ministry of Education, who are their colleagues or ex-colleagues. Anyway, I completely disagree with the Member for Telok Blangah when he said that we have not succeeded in expanding quantitatively.”
“Therefore, we are seriously considering the proposition whether we should reintroduce part-time training. But here again, may I point out to the House the problem of sufficient staff to teach these relief teachers who will be going in for part-time training. This is a question of staff and facilities. In the same ways we would very much prefer, if we could, to have one-session schools in Singapore right through. We are prevented from doing that largely because of the insufficient facilities for one-session schools. It means that we have almost physically to double the school buildings that we have now. For the information of Members, when I attended the Commonwealth Education Ministers' Conference recently in Australia, I was surprised to find that a large number of countries were very much interested in our two-session schools because, to their minds, this feature represents the full utilisation of the resources at one's disposal. So while we here may think that it is an unsatisfactory way to cram all our students in the schools, others think it is one way of fully utilising one's resources. It could be that the double-session school is a way out for most countries. Maybe later on we will reach a state of affluence and, with reclamation making good progress and providing us with sufficient land, we may be able to build single-session schools for all children going to school. The Members for Telok Blangah and Moulmein are wondering why there is an increase in the vote for relief teachers. As I have said, what has started on an ad hoc basis is probably becoming permanent, but I can tell them that my Ministry now is doing its very best to relieve the situation.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, fortunately enough I have looked into the establishment of my Ministry, otherwise after listening to the two Members I would have thought that my Ministry had been staffed completely by relief teachers! Actually, only five per cent of them are relief teachers, and the other 95 per cent consist of a hard core of fully competent teachers who are there by their own choice. I would like very much indeed to see all one hundred per cent of the establishment filled by people who become teachers "by their own choice", to quote the words of the Member for Telok Blangah. It is because we do not have enough people who want to join the teaching service by their own choice that we are at present in this plight, and have to resort to engaging five per cent of the staff as relief teachers. The key words here are "by their own choice". Let me take the point raised by the Member for Moulmein. I am very glad indeed that, whether consciously or unconsciously, he has advocated the point which I have made about not proceeding with the setting up of the Institute of Education. It is precisely because of the fear that I had of having insufficient people enrolling to pay for an education in order to be able to teach four years later that I have had second thoughts, and he has stated it correctly in this House that there are lots of people who would prefer to learn while they work. The question of whether we should institute full-time training for these relief teachers is under consideration by my Ministry, because what started on an ad hoc basis looks as if it is going to become a permanent feature in the Ministry of Education, largely because - and I repeat - there are insufficient people who would opt to teach.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I think I have clarified all the doubts that were in the minds of Members at the last sitting with regard to this subhead. Unless they want further clarification, I propose that we go on to the next amendment.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 1st April, 1971, to 31 March, 1972, and ask leave to sit again on Monday, 22nd March, 1971.”
“Yes, Sir,I can assure the Member for Jurong that it is the policy of the Government to see that Nanyang University takes its rightful place as another institution of higher education in Singapore. I will not enlarge on this point, as I have only one minute left. I shall come directly to the question which the Member has asked, and that is, the academic qualifications or the qualities of the staff appointed to Nanyang University. May I clarify that appointments of academic and non-academic staff to the University are not made by the Ministry of Education, but by the Establishment Committee of the Council of Nanyang University of which the chairman is the Vice-Chancellor of the University. And, of course, there are two Government representatives who are given directives to see that not only expatriates but also local staff are fully qualified before they are appointed. Here again, may I stress that it is not possible to fill all the posts, nor is it desirable to fill the posts either in Nanyang University or in the University of Singapore with purely local staff. 8.00 p.m.”
“I would like to clarify one point. I never said that examinations are not important. I only said you should not place too much importance on examinations. The Member has placed too much importance on the examination system. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“As I say, at the age of between 16 years and 19 years, the boys and the girls pass through quite a lot of changes physically and mentally, and passing examinations depends not only on the principal and the teacher, but also a lot on the home surroundings and on the students themselves.”
“Mr Speaker, I do not know whether to laugh or cry after listening to the Member for Paya Lebar. He is an educationalist and a very voluble critic of the educational system. Having taught in schools, he must be aware that passing an examination does not solely depend on the principal or the teacher; it also depends on the students themselves. During the difficult age of between 16 and 19 years, a lot of things can happen. So if the students fail, surely the blame does not lie solely with the principal or the teacher. There are many extraneous factors. I expect him, as an educationalist, to understand that point. He is also a very difficult man to please. Did he expect a 100 per cent pass in the H.S.C, examination for the Junior College students? Of course, the National Junior College is there not only to inculcate knowledge in the students, but also leadership qualities. May I inform him that leadership qualities do not depend on passing examinations only. I have known a lot of people with First-class honours degrees who do not do as well when they come to leading a team as people who have just a Third-class honours degree. So leadership does not depend on just the ability to swot over facts. There are other intangible qualities which a leader requires. I would like to disabuse him of another piece of false information which he may have gathered, and that is that two years ago the best students were taken into the National Junior College. They were the best only in the sense that they were the best among those who applied. So you cannot say that they were the best from all over Singapore, those with five or six distinctions. Even granted that if we take the best, we cannot expect a 100 per cent pass.”
“Mr Speaker. Sir, here again is another problem which we face, being a nation of two million people and using all the modern aids we have in educating our young people. It would be ideal, of course, if we could project on E.T.V, a series of films which are made in Singapore showing scenes of Singapore. But making films is very costly. Besides the cost of the films, we must also have the expertise, which is not easily acquired nor is it latent in a lot of people here. As I have said, it would be ideal if we could do that. Unfortunately, we cannot. We are doing the best we can. We have limited resources and we have a limited E.T.V, audience. I am glad that the Member for Katong did say that one swallow does not make a summer. There are many other series of telecasts on E.T.V, where the films are made locally. In this instance, I am sure that when a strange scene like a Yorkshire countryside is projected on the screen during. E.T.V, time, the teachers are supplied with notes of explanations so that the students, looking at it, will know and try to understand what is happening elsewhere. I would like to repeat that it would be ideal if everything could be done locally. But it just cannot be. Moreover, since it is from one of Charles Dickens' stories it would be a dramatic story and students who read his books are probably given the background information so that if they have a command of the language and have a good teacher and a vivid imagination, they would see the story come to life.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we have had a very professional discussion, and being the only layman around, I am most grateful to the Members who stood up to speak on education. I am glad that the Member for Katong agrees that, given the choice, most people would go for a B.A, degree plus a Diploma in Education. That is one of the reasons which make me hesitate whether we should set up the institute of Education and whether we would have enough students wanting to join the Institute. The point the Member for Katong brought forth is that opportunities should be made available for teachers to qualify for degrees. I think there are now avenues for them to do so by taking an external degree or degrees. Whether it can be done locally or not will depend very much on the University of Singapore, and whether they would allow such extramural studies to be conducted in the University itself. This is a question which the University authorities should start to think about, and whether facilities should be made available. Once they are made available, the problem of having more avenues for teachers to upgrade their skills and qualifications would be temporarily solved. But in the meanwhile, I have doubts whether we should proceed with the Institute of Education.”
“Sir, if the T.T.C, has not inculcated a sense of dedication in the present teachers, where then have they got it from? Obviously there must have been some inculcation of the spirit of dedication in them when they were in the T.T.C. As a result of that, we are now having dedicated teachers who are doing their work well.”
“The good results achieved in the education service are largely due to their dedication.”
“It is not our policy to cause discontent by being unfair in implementing policies in the Ministry of Education. The Member for Paya Lebar implies that teachers lack dedication. This is a very sweeping statement because he cannot generalise on the basis of a few teachers. It is not fair to the majority of them,”
“C, and gradually build up a professional corps of lecturers in education who will have an international standing. If by that time we feel that it is really necessary to confer a degree in Bachelor of Education, a degree in Master of Education or a Doctorate degree in education, it is not too late to do it. But at the moment we should go in more for consolidation of existing practice. Now, to answer the Member for Jurong. There will, of course, be regular revision of the syllabus and curriculum in the T.T.C, to see that quality is being maintained. The Member for Paya Lebar has levelled a very sweeping criticism not only at the teaching service but also at the T.T.C. Let me take up that point first. He has not much good to say about the T.T.C. Everything there is wrong! I cannot agree with him on this. If the T.T.C, had not been doing a good job, we would not have been able to expand the educational service as much as we have done. We would not have been able within ten years to offer every child of school-going age a place in school in any language stream which his parents may choose for him. Nor would we be getting the kind of results we are getting both in the Cambridge Higher School Certificate and the School Certificate. I agree that there are some shortcomings, but they are not of such magnitude as he has described them. We will try to plug any loopholes whenever possible and we will try to make improvements where needed. To come now to his other point that there has been unfairness in giving monetary rewards to those who have been given special training. Here again, he has probably not examined the cases carefully, because it would be very stupid if we were unfair in the granting of rewards. That would only bring discontent.”
“As against this, if they go into the University of Singapore, take a BA, degree in three years, then get into the T.T.C, to do a one year's course for a Diploma of Education, they will have greater mobility. And knowing how calculating and how materialistic the people of Singapore are, I have my doubts whether the Institute of Education will attract the number of students that we want. As it is now, we are finding great difficulty in attracting people to the teaching service. As for upgrading the teaching scale, I think there is nothing which the T.T.C, cannot do except, as I have said, to confer degrees, and that may be possible later on. We will see whether it is worth while to confer this degree. 7.00 p.m. I must say that I am swayed not only by the opinion of the English authority that I have quoted - there are, in fact, about six or seven other authorities who are very critical of the degree of Bachelor of Education conferred in England - but I am also swayed by the circumstances which we are now in. If I remember rightly, the Institute of Education was conceived at a time when we had a surplus of teachers. Therefore, the thinking then was that we could bring these teachers into the Institute and make them specialise in teaching. Another point of view, with which the Member for Katong will agree, is that we must not only teach the pedagogic aspect of the profession but also the subjects in which they want to teach. In other words, we give them education in the subjects in which they want to teach. If we just make them specialise in the professional aspect, will we be turning out the kind of teachers we want? We have taken all these matters into consideration. A better course of action now will be to improve the standard of lecturing in the T.T.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have said just now that I have second thoughts and I say it again that I still have second thoughts, because while having second thoughts we can discuss the pros and cons of the Institute. Except for the conferment of degrees, there is nothing which the T.T.C, cannot do that the Institute of Education can do. Here, I would like to pose this question to Members who are au fait with the teaching profession: of the two types of degrees, a B.A, plus a Diploma of Education and Bachelor of Education, which do they think is more attractive to the teaching profession or to those who are going for higher studies? As far as obtaining better qualifications is concerned, there is nothing to prevent non-graduate teachers from studying for an external degree, which means that together with the Certificate of Education they would be graduate-trained teachers. I would like to clarify the point about taking over the School of Education in the University of Singapore. I did not mean "taking over". I said that we would probably assume the role which the School of Education is now performing, i.e., awarding a diploma in Education. I have given this some thought, because in my mind all of us want to upgrade the quality of our teachers. But the question is whether it is best done through the Institute of Education, because it would in a way prohibit or would not give the teachers the mobility which they now have. Supposing we do set up the institute of Education on these lines, and ask students to apply. I am very doubtful whether we will have a sufficient number of them to come in, spend three year~ in the Institute, come out with a B.Ed, degree, and be stuck in the Education service.”
“After that, another two years' extension, and then a further extension from year to year till he is 65 years old. But now we are not given SO large an establishment, so we have to be very careful about giving extension and have to justify every post that we fill. I hope that gives the Member a clear picture of what a supernumerary post is. It is not a super human being in the Ministry of Education!”
“Mr Speaker. Sir, "supernumerary" here is a term used by the Ministry of Finance. I believe, to warn the Department or the Ministry concerned that you have more bodies than they think you should have. If Members will refer to subhead 1158, they will see that in 1970-71 we had an establishment of 2.223 whereas for 1971-72 we are given an establishment of 2,056. In other words, there is a difference of 100-odd. Similarly, under subhead 1192. Members will find that for 1970-71 we had an establishment of 7,797, whereas for 1971-72 we are given an establishment of 6,997. In the eyes of the Treasury, there should be a paring down of the number of teachers in the Ministry of Education. In other words, they estimate that we have too many bodies. Incidentally, I would like to take the opportunity also to explain that the Treasury do have a case in that we are having too many bodies in the Ministry. This is so if you consider the situation as a whole, but, in actual fact, there are not too many bodies for the simple reason that there has been a terrific expansion in the English stream. We are very short of teachers there. But there has not been this expansion in the non-English streams, with the result that we have excess bodies there. 6.30 p.m. But these excess bodies in most cases cannot be used to do the work in the English stream. As a result of this, we have to pare down the number. It will not be that easy to get extension -would like the Member for Paya Lebar to pay close attention to this - for those who are due for retirement. Because of the shortage of teachers it was quite easy to get an extension of three years in the first instance after the retiring age from 55 years until 58 years.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am a law-abiding citizen and I dislike violating anything, much less the Instruction Manual of my own Ministry. However. I think there are practical difficulties in not violating the provision and, allowing acting appointments to exceed more than one year largely because of the difficulty of finding the requisite people to fill the posts. On the question of filling the posts of principals of primary schools, as Members know, appointments and promotion exercises do not come within the purview of the Ministry of Education. This is done by the Public Service Commission. I am given to understand that the usual process has been completed and it is likely that the candidates will be called for interview some time next month.”
“In fact, we will be taking over some, if not all, of the functions which are now undertaken in the School of Education in the University of Singapore so that there will be sufficient facilities for those who want to better themselves to take up the necessary course of education in the Teachers' Training College itself.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we understand that everybody wants to improve himself, not least the teachers. We will explore every avenue possible to see that the ambitious teacher who wants to better qualify himself for his job should have a way by which he can upgrade his skill and his position in the Ministry. Coming to the Institute of Education. I would like to take this opportunity to inform the House that when I assumed the post of the Minister for Education, the Institute of Education Bill had been read the First time and I took it through the Second and Third Readings. Since then, the officials of my Ministry and I have given considerable thought to whether we should go ahead with the setting up of the Institute of Education. I must confess that I have second thoughts about it because the circumstances then prevailing have now changed. On going through the experience of other countries where they have the degree of Bachelor of Education, I find that there were some very critical comments made on the setting up of an Institute of Education purely to give a degree in education. I have here the remarks of a well-known British educationist, Professor G. Taylor, who wrote in an article in The Times Educational Supplement that "the setting up of the Bachelor of Education degree course is a flagrant example of the current fashion among educationists and intellectuals to decide now and think later." I would like to learn from this statement and I prefer to think now rather than later. I think there will be a delay, if not a postponement, in the setting up of the Institute of Education. But I would like to assure officials of the Singapore Teachers' Union as well as Backbenchers that this will in no way stop the upgrading of skills and the training of teachers.”
“A pyramid depends upon the base. If we have a broader base, then we have more room at the top. But here again it all depends. We have about 17,003 to 18,003 teachers in the service, and we cannot expect more than 10 per cent to hold really high posts. Otherwise we will have so many generals and so few soldiers. Anyway, it is in the interest of Singapore and the Ministry of Education to see that the teachers are relatively satisfied with their conditions of service. They should have enough of what has been described as an unchaste subject -money. At the same time, we must also keep our sense of perspective to see that people are not promoted beyond their capacity. We will make available all avenues of promotion commensurate with their service. This has been occupying our attention in the Ministry for some time.”
“Sir, if the pyramid is sharper, there will be a smaller percentage going to the top.”
“If he is a good teacher, probably he need not be promoted to be a principal or an official in the Education Ministry in order to enjoy a pay which is equivalent or almost equivalent to that which a principal and Ministry officials enjoy. We will make teaching a worth-while career in the restructuring of the salary scales. Mr N. Govindasamy: Sir, I partly accept the Minister's explanation. The recruitment of specialist teachers stopped in 1958. I am not quarrelling about that. I thought the Minister said that in a pyramid you could never have 90 per cent of those in service right at the top. I agree with him entirely on that point, but you do not have in any service 90 per cent remaining right at the bottom either. It must be a pyramid which is correctly structured from the base to the apex. I think the Ministry acknowledges this fact. That is why the Minister himself has said just now that the Ministry is looking into the possibility of providing more promotion prospects. If that is the case, I gladly withdraw this amendment. However, we have to make the pyramid sharper.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, my brief tells me that the recruitment of specialist teachers ceased in 1958. There has been no more recruitment of specialist teachers since then. Except for 24 of them, all have left the service. Presumably most of them retired, some may have died, and some may have joined other services. The present position is that 24 of them are in the service. They have not lost their pension nor have they lost their specialist allowance. With regard to the complaint that 90 or 95 per cent of the teachers begin and end their career as teachers, this is not surprising. There is always a pyramid in any profession. If the pyramid is put at a hundred per cent, you get about ten per cent who can go to the top. I think that is very good indeed. I do not know how we can make it possible for the 90 per cent of the teachers to go to the top of the pyramid. I do not think that in any service it is possible for the top of the pyramid to contain 90 per cent of those who join it. As far as I know, there is going to be no recruitment of specialist teachers. Anyway, the Teachers' Unions and the Ministry have been discussing avenues of promotion and the restructuring of the salary scales. Once the recommendations are accepted, there will be avenues for promotion for teachers. The system will be such that in promoting a teacher to become a principal, we do not at the same time lose a good teacher and gain a bad principal. That is the principle on which we will work on all promotion schemes. It will be possible for a good teacher who really likes teaching and is a credit to the profession to remain as a teacher and yet be given recognition.”
“I thought I had replied to his question by saying that we are running relevant courses for those who are taking classes in extra-curricular activities. Of course, when we run classes we hope that those attending will improve in time. The idea of running classes is to give teachers the technical know-how. If the Member is patient, he will be able to see the fruits of our endeavours in due course.”
“I am sorry if I have misunderstood the Member for Paya Lebar. I quite understand the example which he has quoted. It has happened. I am not at all surprised at this because there has been such a terrific expansion in sporting activities. However, both the principals and sports secretaries are in the process of learning. As long as they learn and improve the next time, I do not mind. One has to start learning at some time. As long as they are learning, I am quite satisfied.”
“It is our duty to see that any marking is fairly made. We do send out inspectors from time to time, but it is not possible to send them to every school. Here again, I come to the question of whether we have a competent man to be a principal of a school. If he is a competent principal, complaints of this nature will not arise. Here again, both the trade unionists and the Ministry of Education have a mission to accomplish, and that is to bring expertise and knowledge to bear on people holding a special post like that of a principal.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it is interesting to hear from the Member for Paya Lebar that some teachers are not interested in sporting activities. I think there is a mission for him, as president of a teachers' union to inculcate an interest in sporting activities among the teachers when he meets them. In some way, he has misunderstood the organisational set-up of a school. When you appoint a man to be a principal of a school, he is responsible for all the school activities. If he is a good principal, he will choose a man who is experienced in E.C.A. activities to run those activities and those experienced in sports to run sporting activities. However, if we were to make the sports secretary responsible for sports activities in the school without being responsible to the principal, we would have a situation when the principal might be holding, let us say, a session in the hall and the sports secretary might be calling for the students to take part in sporting activities outside. There is more than one leader. There are two leaders there. So from an organisational point of view, it is not desirable that the school's sporting activities should be run by a person who is not responsible to the principal. I agree that it must be run by someone who understands what he is doing. We are running classes for those who will be taking the lead in extra-curricular activities. I now come to the Member for Jurong who is dissatisfied with the grading of extra-curricular marks. I would like to inform the Member that there has been a revision. Mr Ho Kah Leong rose - Mr Lim Kim San resumed his seat.”
“Sir, if I remember rightly, about 98 per cent of these children were given places of their first choice. So the Member has only heard from the two per cent, and not from the 98 per cent who were satisfied. This is the usual case in meet-the-people sessions. So unless we have a set of criteria by which we can reduce the number of disappointed people to below two per cent, I think we will stick to the present criteria. The Member for Jurong was afraid that we might ask the students - correct me if I am wrong - to specialise too early. I am not aware of this. On the other hand, he said that we could not have rugged citizens if we gave them only one period of physical exercise.”