Masagos Zulkifli B M M
Singapore
“Coordination between Early Intervention (EI) centres, families and preschools is important for the continuity of support for children with developmental needs.”
“The Taxi Subsidy Scheme supports persons with disabilities (PwDs) who are unable to take public transport, by providing means-tested subsidies to offset the cost of taxi travel to school, work and employment-related training supported by SG Enable.”
“The Skills and Salary Guidelines published by the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) guides social service agencies (SSAs) to pay their employees fair and competitive remuneration and maintain the sector's attractiveness. The Guidelines are adjusted so that salaries remain competitive with comparable roles in competing markets.”
“Staff turnover rates vary across social service agencies (SSAs). An individual's decision to leave an organisation is influenced by a myriad of factors, of which pay is only one.”
“Beyond the requirement of a structured daily programme, community-based SCFA administrators have the flexibility to offer programmes and additional enrichment activities that meet the needs of their students. MSF does not track staff salaries and turnover of SCCs in general nor those that administer SCFA.”
“Male preschool educators comprised about 1% of the early childhood workforce in each of the last five years. The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has not issued guidelines pertaining to the rules set by preschool centres specific to the conduct of male preschool educators.”
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“Sir, we have just implemented a socio-emotional learning framework, which is a larger framework, to implement character development and meant to infuse within a whole-school approach. And this has just been implemented by schools. We are monitoring how they will adopt this within their curriculum and within the school environment, and hope that this will also enhance through CME and other programmes that is relevant in character development to build character.”
“Sir, perhaps the Member could write to me on the matter.”
“The effect has been very positive but we do recognise that in a number of these schools - we identified 70 of them - the workload on the full-time counsellors has been quite heavy and, because of that, we have decided to give them more full-time counsellors.”
“I rather approach it from not erring on the side of generosity but making sure that we approach them knowing where they are, who they are and making sure they get the financial aid that they need. If somehow the parents come to me for KiFAS or for whatever reasons, do not declare properly and it is not gross criminal mis-declaration, I think we just move on. Rather than penalise the child by stopping the child from going to kindergarten, let the child go through the pre-school.”
“If I can read to the Member again: for one or two children, the income level is $1,500 and for three or more children, the income level is $1,800.”
“The different levels of FAS already take into consideration the per capita basis. Dr Lim Wee Kiak: But it only takes into account how many children you have. It does not take into account the elderly parents you support.”
“What we want is a more sophisticated, well trained teacher who knows how to best develop our child to the right pitching of the qualification when they come in, and the training that we can give them.”
“Sir, for the second part, the question is what is the probable impact. I think the Member may be referring to the possible displacement and so forth. We have to look also at the positive outcome of the policy. Firstly, we believe that it will make the pre-school industry a very attractive industry for newcomers to come into. The Diploma courses in Ngee Ann Poly, for example, will be much more sought after because the industry will have a better name, better quality and better pay. However, for incumbent teachers, we have ascertained that about 50% in the kindergarten sector and 60% in the childcare sector have already got the minimum requirements to stay in the industry. However, the other 50% and 40% respectively for this industry have time to upgrade themselves and also to attain the necessary qualification. So it is up to the individuals to ensure that they get the right qualifications to teach our children at pre-school level. I think I have to underscore the importance of the competency that we need for pre-school teachers to impart a more sophisticated pedagogy for our students. Let me give an illustration. I was in Hong Kong once and watched this pre-school teacher supervising a child drawing a big painting on a very big piece of paper. From an untrained observer like myself, I thought this child was doing a painting but he was actually drawing a still art of a flower. When I asked the supervisor, the teacher said: "No. We are not teaching him to paint, we are training his gross motor skill". That is quite different. I think that is from an untrained teacher's perspective, if we do not train them well, it means they do not have the right qualification. These teachers who do it will carry out the routine without understanding how they are developing our child.”
“There are no hard targets. For secondary schools, it is compulsory. For primary schools, it is not compulsory yet. We want them to participate voluntarily at this point of time because there are logistics issues for primary school students to attend CCA, especially if it is after school hours.”
“Sir, I think we have to look at this whole development in perspective. The upgrading of the quality does not come on its own. It is in conjunction with the policy that we had announced just now, and it will take time for the industry to adjust and bring out the right amount of quality that we want to see within the industry. Therefore, it is fair for them to also implement this quality assurance in that context so that they are given time and we are also given time to develop that framework that is fair for everybody and time for everybody to know how to basically succeed in the accreditation process.”
“Sir, I do not want to go into a philosophical debate about whether we should be nurturing the entitlement mentality or not. But I think what is important for us to notice is the process we have already put in place to ensure that these children have access to affordable and good quality pre-school education. As I mentioned just now, we have engaged the community organisations as well as VWOs and PA to go and knock door-to-door to get these children the education that they should need, rather than just looking at the database and at the automatic qualification of all these children. I think the effect of the grassroots going to get these children to go to pre-school, the effect of the parents making the effort to bring their children to pre-school, augur well for a society that we all look for.”
“MOE and MCYS will encourage AECES to play a more active role in improving the image of the early childhood professionals. To help kindergartens identify training needs and prioritise areas for the professional development of their staff, MOE has developed and disseminated a Professional Development Framework. We also organise in-service training, workshops for pre-school educators to improve their pedagogical, leadership and management skills. Teachers and principals are invited to share their experiences and good practices in areas such as curriculum planning, teaching strategies, assessment, partnerships with parents and community, and action research at sharing sessions and briefings for kindergarten leaders. Overseas experts on Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) have also been invited by MOE and MCYS to conduct seminars so as to further build a professional pre-school workforce. In conclusion, the Ministry will continue to review our efforts to uplift the quality of pre-school education, so as to ensure that all children, without losing sight of those from low-income families, will be ready for school and prepared for life.”
“For those who need further help, community-based support is also available through the grassroots organisations, self-help groups and PCF kindergartens, to supplement the Government subsidies. For example, CDAC and MENDAKI provide additional financial assistance under the Pre-School Assistance and Support Scheme (PASS) and Education Trust Fund (ETF) initiatives respectively. Advisors and grassroots leaders can also tap on the Citizens' Consultative Committees' Welfare and Education Fund and ComCare Fund to assist their residents who need financial support to send their children to pre-school who may not qualify for the assistance somehow. The Government will continue to review the affordability of pre-school education, to make sure that no child will be denied a place in pre-school because of financial difficulties. MOE will be spending a total of $30.5 million in 2009 for all the initiatives to uplift the quality of the pre-school sector. Lastly, Mr Zainudin Nordin spoke on the need to enhance the remuneration and professional image of our pre-school teachers. While matters pertaining to remuneration are directed by pre-school providers and essentially market driven, more importantly, MOE and MCYS recognise that the most direct way to enhance the professional image of our pre-school teachers is to improve the calibre and training of our pre-school workforce. This is why we have raised the minimum academic and professional qualifications for pre-school teachers. The Association of Early Childhood Educators, Singapore, or AECES, promotes the professional development of early childhood educators and has disseminated a Code of Ethics to all pre-schools.”
“MOE has also worked with primary schools since 2006 to identify six-year-old children who are not attending pre-school somehow at the point of the Primary 1 registration exercise, and help them place their children in pre-school for the remaining months prior to the start of Primary 1. We have also supported the Self-Help Groups in their Bridging Programme to equip needy children who did not attend pre-school with basic school readiness skills. We will continue to adopt this targeted approach to reach out to these children, as we believe that this would be more effective in getting them to attend pre-school than introducing compulsory education at this point of time. On ensuring affordability of pre-school education, currently, MOE provides annual recurrent grants to help eligible kindergartens who cater largely to lower-income families with additional resources to improve their quality, while maintaining affordability of fees. MOE has provided $17 million in 2007 for this purpose. To ensure that pre-school education continues to remain affordable with the raised teacher qualifications, MOE will be enhancing the recurrent grants for these kindergartens. We will give details later on. Parents can continue to make use of the Baby Bonus and the monies in their Child Development Account to pay for any increase in pre-school fees. Of course, for the needy, a variety of financial assistance schemes have already been put in place to help children from lower-income families, such as the Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) and the Centre-Based Financial Assistance Scheme for Childcare (CFAC). MCYS will be announcing enhancements to both schemes to help more families to pay for their pre-school fees.”
“With effect from 2008, non-profit pre-schools can apply for grants to purchase teaching and learning resources such as books, computers and software. To nurture a spirit of innovation and experimentation among pre-schools, MOE and MCYS will also introduce an innovation fund this year. This aims to provide seed funding to encourage pre-school operators to try out new ideas and experiment on areas that will have an impact on the quality of teaching and learning, pupil development and school management. We will also be exploring the development of an early childhood education training and research programme within NIE, so as to build up a strong local community of expertise in early childhood education, leadership and research. While we develop ways to improve the quality of pre-school and allocate resources for it, we want as many children as possible to benefit from it. We thank Mdm Cynthia Phua for her question on improving the accessibility of pre-school education. To provide access to those who are currently not attending pre-school, MOE, MCYS and grassroots organisations have put in place an outreach programme since last year to identify five-year-old children who are not attending pre-school. Yes, they may be volunteers from the grassroots organisations, but their job is not just to conduct visits to families with children who do not attend pre-school, but to also provide them help and, if necessary, refer them to social service agencies. The percentage of our five-year-old children who are not attending pre-school is now about 3%. MOE and MCYS will continue to work closely with the community to support grassroots organisations in their outreach efforts this year.”
“As of December last year, 90% of kindergartens have practised self-appraisals in their kindergartens and found the tool to be helpful. Mrs Josephine Teo and Mr Michael Palmer also asked about quality assurance. To encourage pre-school operators to further uplift their standards and strive for greater excellence in pre-school education, MOE and MCYS will develop a voluntary quality assurance and accreditation framework and implement it from January 2011 to guide pre-schools in gauging their progress in achieving a higher standard beyond the minimum requirements. Through this framework, pre-school operators will be able to benchmark their education outcomes through yearly self-appraisal and external assessment. Pre-school operators that meet specified standards may then apply for accreditation. Although participation is not compulsory, attaining a good quality rating or accreditation status is an endorsement and recognition of the quality of the pre-school. We believe that this will incentivise pre-school operators to improve their standards over time, uplifting the quality of the pre-school sector in the process. To support pre-schools in their efforts, MOE will provide them with additional curriculum resources to help teachers implement the curriculum framework. MOE has embarked on a project to develop a Curriculum Planning Guide which aims to guide teachers to translate MOE's curriculum framework into quality learning and teacher-pupil interactions. The Planning Guide will also provide suggestions for pre-schools to plan, monitor and reflect on experiences and instruction that will enable children to make progress in their learning and development. We also recognise that a well-resourced classroom can provide a stimulating environment for learning.”
“To encourage teachers and principals to continuously upgrade their academic qualifications and professional expertise, MOE and MCYS will be offering bursaries to pre-school professionals from this year onwards. This will enable them to enhance their competencies so that they can provide better pre-school education for the children under their charge. In addition, we will also further tighten standards of accredited pre-school teacher training courses to enhance the rigour of teacher training. The revisions are expected to be completed some time around mid-2008 and the enhanced standards will take effect from 2009. We will also work with professional bodies to present awards to outstanding and innovative teachers. These awards will help to identify and build up a pool of capable pre-school teachers to serve as role models and mentors to fellow teachers. Funding will be provided for these teachers to attend mentoring courses and they will also be involved in sharing good teaching practices. In this way, we hope that they can help develop a positive sharing culture throughout the pre-school sector, and uplift the overall quality of teachers in the sector in the process. Besides raising the minimum qualifications of pre-school teachers, we are of the firm belief that the quality of the pre-school sector will improve across the board if operators are provided with resources to help them monitor their performance and upgrade themselves. As mentioned by Members, to nurture this climate of continual self-improvement, MOE developed and distributed a tool, called Pursuing Excellence at Kindergartens, or PEAK for short, to encourage kindergartens to conduct yearly self-appraisals and think of more effective ways of delivering educational outcomes, and this was introduced in 2003.”
“In addition, we want our incumbent pre-school teachers to attain a basic level of English proficiency, so that they will be able to help our children, particularly those from non-English speaking families, to acquire the foundational language skills needed to be school ready. Hence, incumbent teachers who already have a diploma-level professional qualification do not need to meet the new requirement of five 'O' level passes, but they will need an 'O' level pass in English, or a pass in an English proficiency test, to teach K1 and K2 classes. If incumbent teachers are unable to obtain either a pass in English or a diploma-level professional qualification by January 2013, they can still teach at the nursery level. To further uplift the standards of English proficiency, we will also require new teachers with C5 or C6 in English to pass an English proficiency test within two years. Sir, in order to help boost the overall quality of our teachers over time, we will require each pre-school centre to have at least 75% of all its teachers, including K1/K2 and pre-nursery/nursery teachers together, to meet the new requirements by January 2013. These teachers who comprise 75% will include new teachers with at least five 'O' level credits, including English Language (EL) and a diploma-level professional qualification, and, secondly, incumbent teachers with an 'O' level credit in EL, or a pass in an EL proficiency test, and the diploma-level professional qualification. Currently, already more than half of our incumbent teachers meet the revised requirements. A centre can retain incumbent teachers who do not meet these requirements as long as they teach at the nursery or pre-nursery levels, but these teachers should comprise less than 25% of all teachers in the centre in 2013.”
“Building on what we have been doing over the past few years, we are now ready to take the next step to further uplift this quality across the board by improving the quality of our teachers. MOE had previously set the minimum academic and professional qualifications of pre-school teachers in 2001. As a result, all pre-school teachers were required to have three ‘O’ level passes, including a pass in English, and the certificate-level professional qualification. At that time, the emphasis was on making sure that teachers received adequate professional training that would enable them to deliver their lessons effectively. 4.00 pm Over the years, there has been a shift in educational philosophy. In the past, teachers were seen as bearers of knowledge and expected to teach skills and content to children as passive learners. Now, children are viewed as active learners who construct knowledge for themselves, and the role of the teacher has transformed to one of helping them to construct their own learning in a seamless, integrated and holistic way. With this increased complexity, it is now timely to improve the basic calibre of our teachers so that they can continue to have the capacity to engage children through more sophisticated pedagogies. Hence, we will require that from January 2009, all new teachers will need to have five 'O' level passes, including a pass in English, and hold a diploma-level professional qualification in order to teach in either kindergartens or childcare centres. This is attainable, given that there is a ready pool of candidates with five 'O' level passes which has grown from more than 70% of the 'O' level cohort in 1997 to 80% in 2007.”
“We have been implementing various initiatives over the years to uplift the quality of pre-school education through the better training of teachers. Firstly, we have articulated standards of professional qualifications for all major providers of pre-school education to meet. As of January this year, we have about 90% of teachers employed in kindergartens and childcare centres, who have attended or are undergoing training to acquire certificates or diplomas in pre-school education. Secondly, to ensure acceptable standards in pre-school teacher training, MOE and MCYS have jointly set up the Pre-School Qualification Accreditation Committee (or PQAC) in 2001 to accredit pre-school training courses up to Diploma level. As at December 2007, the PQAC has accredited 70 PQAC courses run by 21 training agencies. Thirdly, to allow our pre-school teachers to attain a basic level of English proficiency, we mounted the English Communication Skills (or ECS) Course in November last year to develop teachers’ accuracy, facility and fluency in the appropriate use of Standard English in various situations. To date, 315 kindergarten teachers have attended or are attending the course. MOE has developed a pre-school curriculum framework in 2003 to guide pre-school operators in developing programmes that meet the needs of their children, and conducted in-service workshops and briefings to more than 7,000 teachers on its effective use. To date, more than 90% of kindergartens have adopted the principles of the curriculum framework in the design of their pre-school programmes. As a result of our continual efforts, the quality of our pre-school sector has steadily improved over the years.”
“Parents have become more well-educated and better read, and have begun to demand as much emphasis on the rigour of the educational component of pre-school as they had for aspects of care, even in the heartlands. While less than one-fifth of P1 students had at least one parent who attended post-secondary education 20 years ago, this ratio has now increased to one-half today. It is hence necessary to ensure that the quality of our pre-school teachers allows them to engage parents effectively and the standard of the pre-school centres keeps pace with evolving demands. Before detailing the list of initiatives that MOE will undertake to raise the quality of the pre-school sector, allow me to report the progress of those we had already announced and executed previously. Last year, I announced the project pilot called the Focused Language Assistance in Reading programme or FLAiR. This initiative aims to provide targeted assistance in English to children from lower-income families, as many of them tend to lack reading materials, writing experiences, and opportunities for speaking and listening to the English Language at home. The children receive daily attention from para-educational professionals or Pro-FLAiRs who spend dedicated time reading or conversing with them either on a one-to-one basis or in a group of four to six children. The pilot in 2007 covered 57 heartland kindergartens, 600 children participated, and they were able to develop early reading skills as a result of the programme. We now want to extend this to more kindergartens, and we will be encouraging more kindergartens this year to provide this programme. Dr Ong Seh Hong, Mrs Josephine Teo, Dr Amy Khor, Mr Michael Palmer and Mdm Cynthia Phua have asked about improving the quality of pre-school education.”
“Sir, our current pre-school landscape is diverse, with about 500 kindergartens and 750 childcare centres operated by private and community organisations. They offer a variety of programmes tailored to the different needs of our students. While this diversity allows for experimentation and innovation by pre-school operators in the design of curriculum and delivery of programmes, we want to ensure that they continue to provide pre-school education of a good quality. International research indicates that pre-school education is particularly helpful in allowing children from low-income families to be more school ready. In addition, our research shows it offers children from non-English speaking homes an opportunity to develop their proficiency in English through exposure and practice. Hence, we want to make sure that these children have greater access to good quality pre-school education, so that they can obtain a firm foundation when they enter primary school. However, we recognise that pre-school education is not just about getting our children to be school ready, but also about providing a holistic approach to their development and learning. Besides developing their skills in language, literacy and numeracy, we also want to ensure that they undergo other critical areas of learning, such as aesthetic and creative expression, environmental awareness, motor skills development, and self and social awareness. This is so that they can become well-rounded individuals who are equipped with the necessary competencies to prepare them for lifelong learning. Also, the educational profile of parents has shifted over time.”
“For example, students from families on MCYS' Public Assistance Scheme will automatically qualify for MOE's Financial Assistance Scheme and receive a 100% subsidy for examination fees. However, we should not go too far in making all forms of financial assistance automatic, as this could create an entitlement mindset amongst some parents. We want parents to stay engaged and play an active role in their children's education, rather than passively waiting for handouts to be given to them automatically. In conclusion, reducing attrition and, thus, ensuring our students finish at least 10 years of school with an opportunity to pursue some form of post-secondary education or skills training is one of many ways we can level up society. Every child we keep in school is one child less in the street and one child less for the underworld to prey on. Every child from a dysfunctional family with adequate schooling and subsequently a good job will be two less dysfunctional families in the future. These students are not the easiest to help nor inspire. I acknowledge and thank the schools, teachers and community leaders who have put in a lot of effort, time and thought in addressing this issue. These are the areas where results come slowly and sometimes packaged together with heart-breaks and setbacks. But for every starfish somehow abandoned on the shore that we put back to sea, the "Wei Rongs and Mui Fans", it is a starfish we saved, worthy for itself and for society. Inculcate the Value of Thrift”
“45 pm Let me address Dr Lim's query on the income criteria for MOE's financial assistance scheme. This is relevant to address families who are at risk of pulling their children out of school because of financial issues. General education is almost fully subsidised by the Government. For students in Government and Government-aided schools, parents are required to pay a token amount of the fees to instill in them the sense they must be responsible for the education of their children. Even when this token amount is not affordable, parents can apply for the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS). The income criteria were raised in 2006 from $900 to $1,500 for families with one or two children, and from $1,050 to $1,800 for families with three or more children to target the low-wage families. As a result, the number of recipients increased by almost three times from 15,000 in 2005 to 44,200 in 2007. But we will continue to review the FAS so that the income criteria keep pace with the changing income profile of the population. The current income criteria for the MOE FAS provide a higher income limit of $1,800 for families with three or more children, in recognition that larger households would need a higher level of income to pay for their expenses. Of course, for families that do not qualify somehow or at the margins, the schools would provide their own financial assistance or help them to obtain assistance from other community organisations. I would like also to thank Dr Lily Neo for her suggestion for MOE to coordinate with MCYS to provide a comprehensive assistance scheme. We will continue to work closely with MCYS to develop programmes that provide the necessary support and guidance to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.”
“Using this fund, schools can run sport programmes for students, such as sports clinics, instructional courses and even modules where students learn skills in organising, teaching and refereeing sports and games. To date, more than 140,000 students from 311 schools have benefited. While getting the preferred choice of CCA may be a problem, just like getting the preferred choice for schools, we should recognise that CCAs remain a great engagement framework to keep students in school. CCAs help to expose students to different experiences, and encourage them to explore and cultivate diverse interests. Chua Mui Fan from Mayflower Secondary is an excellent example. As a quiet and introverted girl, Mui Fan entered the Normal (Technical) stream with an aggregate score of 98. After taking up sailing as a CCA, she gradually built up her confidence and perseverance through the sport. With her strong leadership skills, she became the captain of the sailing team, and led her team to clinch second place at the 2004 National Inter-Schools Sailing Championships. Mui Fan subsequently became the top NT student in her school and progressed on to ITE to take Multimedia Technology. She is now in Temasek Polytechnic doing a course in Mechatronics. She attributes much of her success in studies to the skills she had acquired in her various CCAs. Despite Dr Maliki's concern, our surveys show that our students are indeed satisfied with the learning experiences provided in CCAs, and recognise the value of participation in them. We will continue to review the structure of CCAs to allow students to better discover their interests and strengths, build up their confidence and engage them meaningfully in school. 2.”
“One of these platforms is Civics and Moral Education, or CME, where students are taught to live by certain core values in order to guide them to make appropriate choices, and determine their behaviour and attitudes towards themselves and to others. Apart from CME, there are other programmes and activities in the non-formal curriculum, such as National Education, Community Involvement Programme and Co-Curricular Activities that provide students with opportunities to practise making value-based choices. We have also introduced the Character Development Award in 2006. This award recognises and motivates schools' efforts in character development, and provides a structured framework to guide schools in their character development efforts. Over the last two years, 139 schools have attained the CDA. On CCAs, Dr Maliki has concerns regarding the effect of CCA trials and auditions on students. Schools plan their CCA programmes taking into consideration their students' interests, available resources and niches. While students prefer the CCAs they would like to participate in, there may be inadequate resources to meet the students' choices. This problem exists in all instances when demand exceeds supply or when supply cannot or should not be expanded for good reason. There are however complementary alternatives. Besides the formal CCAs which have a 30-week programme, schools have adopted other innovative ways to engage their pupils in their activities of interest, such as inter-house activities and modular CCAs. MOE has been working with the Singapore Sports Council since last year to provide all schools with a dollar-for-dollar Sports Education Programme of up to $10,000 per school.”
“We will also be developing data management tools to provide useful information on individual students for teachers to facilitate the monitoring of their development even as they move from school to school and from class to class. These tools can help teachers design appropriate learning structures and processes to improve their quality of learning. Third, we will strengthen further our partnerships with other Ministries, non-Government institutions and self-help groups to provide comprehensive and holistic support for these students. For a start, we are consolidating programmes currently offered by self-help groups, and will be disseminating them to all schools so that they can tap on these programmes where appropriate. We recognise the self-help groups have been providing intervention and prevention programmes for a long time. With their experience and access, MOE will work together with them in areas where our synergy will make their effort more effective and contribute to reducing attrition in schools. On character building, Dr Lily Neo, Dr Ong Seh Hong and Ms Lee Bee Wah have asked for an update on what MOE has done to improve the character building and moral values of our students. It is not only important for our society but for the students themselves. I agree with them that the school is not only about academic learning but is also not solely responsible to develop character in our students. However, having said that, MOE has always regarded character development as one of our key areas of focus in the education system. We have developed many platforms in the formal and non-formal curriculum.”
“Building on our existing efforts, MOE will adopt the following three measures to further reduce attrition, especially among students in the high-risk groups. First, we will provide additional resources for schools. The small rate of attrition also implies that the students who actually drop out are at high risk of dropping out and are not addressable with more of the same thing. In fact, most need to be individually case managed. As of January this year, we have assigned Full-Time School Counsellors to all schools to identify potentially at-risk students, design programmes and provide counselling support for them. These FTSCs have been very effective in engaging students who are at risk of dropping out of school. Over the next few years, MOE will be providing a second FTSC and an additional Operations Manager to 70 schools with higher proportions of at-risk students. The Operations Manager will follow up with the students at-risk to ensure that they are participating in all aspects of school life and are meaningfully engaged in school programmes like CCAs. Second, we will support earlier intervention through identifying and monitoring at-risk students. Currently, often work done for a child at risk, even when documented, does not get passed on properly for continuous monitoring and subsequent intervention as the child moves up from class to class. This is important because not all problems can be resolved quickly or within an academic year. This systemic problem is exacerbated when the child moves from school to school. We will be developing tools to identify students with literacy, behavioural or social communication difficulties early, so that we can provide timely support to them and plan the best pathway for intervention.”
“For example, of the 17 Secondary 3 Normal (Technical) students who participated in Chong Boon Secondary's time-out programme last year, 16 of them are still attending school regularly. One such programme was the Centre for Supervised Learning (CSL). This programme helps students with behavioural problems from Bukit Merah Secondary School, Outram Secondary School, Gan Eng Seng School and St. Theresa's Convent embrace positive learning attitudes, so as to ensure sustained learning when they reintegrate into the classroom. During the four-week programme, students were taught social and emotional competencies and character development besides study skills for core subjects. Chee Wei Rong from Outram Secondary School was one of the students who participated in the programme in July 2007. Before that, he had been absent from school for more than a year, due to a lack of motivation for learning. Through the customised programmes and close interaction with teachers, Wei Rong became aware of the need for a proper formal education to achieve his career goals. At the end of the programme, Wei Rong returned to school, topped his Secondary 2 class and was promoted to Secondary 3. He is now a good role model for other students in his class. We will continue to support schools in these programmes by providing specialists to offer advice on programme and evaluation design, and toolkits to study their impact on students. Now, let me describe to you the further steps we are taking to reduce attrition. Although our dropout rate is very low, maintaining it at this level and improving it further will require more work over time, given that our students continue to be exposed to different influences and distractions outside school.”
“Education and Career Guidance allows students to determine their educational and occupational pathways based on their interests, abilities and aspirations. When students have clear goals to work towards, they become more motivated in their studies. Likewise, CCAs provide opportunities for students to develop interests and bonds with peers outside of academic pursuits, and help to keep them engaged in school. We have implemented a revised Normal (Technical) curriculum with a more practical orientation, to better engage our students in their learning. Three schools, namely, Bedok Town Secondary, Si Ling Secondary and Shuqun Secondary have begun piloting new approaches to the N(T) programme by introducing new subjects and pedagogies developed in partnership with ITE. The introduction of Elective Modules and Advanced Elective Modules has also created greater engagement and enjoyment in learning for students due to the more practical hands- on approaches. We have also enhanced the Student Re-admission Policy in 2006 by putting in place a responsive process to facilitate the re-admission of school dropouts. As a result, the percentage of students who have successfully applied for re-admission has increased from 65% in 2005 to 85% last year. Let me now talk about the time-out programmes schools have initiated to provide enhanced guidance and support for students with disciplinary, behavioural and academic problems. These programmes provide them with a time-out from their normal school environment and routine so that they can sort out their thoughts, redirect themselves and prepare to get back on track with their learning again. Twelve such time-out programmes involving 44 schools were initiated last year, and with much success.”
“To address this group, we have established NorthLight School in 2007 to provide them with a customised vocational curriculum that focuses on their socio-emotional needs and character development. Last year, for students who have been posted to a secondary school after their PSLE but did not report to the secondary school subsequently, we have also put the onus on their former primary schools to contact them and counsel them to enrol in a secondary school. The biggest improvement in attrition rate comes from those who drop out during secondary school. This is 1% of the cohort currently, compared to 1.6% a year ago. This drop is largely due to the many initiatives undertaken by the schools themselves following PM Lee's announcement on the formation of the CRA. About 70% of the dropouts leave school at the upper secondary level, namely, Secondary 3. In addition, about 90% of the secondary dropouts are from the Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) streams. We will continue to focus more efforts and resources on this group of students to help them stay in school. Why do students drop out from the school? They drop out due to many different factors, not just financial difficulties. Some have family problems, while others may find difficulties coping with their studies, are more keen to work than study, or lack the motivation to learn, especially after mixing with bad company. There are also students who experience a combination of these factors. Consequently, they become disengaged from what is happening in school. To address these factors, MOE has implemented various initiatives over the years to strengthen students' engagement through programmes such as Education and Career Guidance and CCAs.”
“PM Lee had announced in 2006 that MOE would be studying how to further reduce the attrition rate in schools. Since then, we have put in place several initiatives and schools have developed ways to reduce the number of dropouts, the attrition rate is now 1.6%. While our dropout rate remains very small compared to many other countries, we want to do everything we can to get as many students as possible to attain at least 10 years of education, so that they can subsequently get a post-secondary education. This would help equip them with useful skills and knowledge, and prepare them well for the workforce. The work and oversight of the Committee to Reduce Attrition (CRA) and the effort and programmes put in by our schools will continue to be important not only to reduce dropout rates and maintain the low dropout rates in our schools, but also to address those with some form of risk of dropping out which students can develop at any point of their time in school. The small attrition rate in fact belies the tremendous effort and comprehensive systems put in place by the schools and community to keep it in check. Currently, around 0.15% of the cohort drops out during primary school. For this group of students, we have implemented the Learning Support Programme, which we enhanced recently and had improved outcomes, to help Primary 1 and 2 students who are not school-ready by providing them with dedicated assistance. The introduction of compulsory education for primary school since 2003 has further reduced the number of children not attending school or dropping out over the years. Another 0.45% drops out during the transition from primary to secondary school.”
“Sir, a few Members have raised some questions on how MOE can help to keep our students stay engaged in schools. I will first start by addressing Dr Lily Neo’s issue on how we have reduced the attrition rate in schools, followed by an update on MOE’s character development programmes which Dr Ong and Ms Lee Bee Wah alluded to. I will then talk about the role of CCAs in child development raised by Dr Maliki, before coming to the issue of financial assistance raised by Dr Lim Wee Kiak. But, first, a short preamble in Malay. (In Malay): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] The number of students who dropped out of school was small and getting lesser among all levels and races, for the last few years. The rate of our dropouts has been significantly reduced, from 5.3% in 1997 to 3.6% in 2002. Since we implemented some initiatives, following PM Lee's announcement to reduce the drop-out rate, the current rate of dropouts has gone down to 1.6%. Presently, around 0.15% of a cohort dropout occurs at the primary level. Around 0.45% dropped out when they are transferred from primary to secondary schools. The biggest group of dropouts comes from those in secondary schools. They represent 1% of the current cohort, compared to 1.6% two years ago. Most of these dropouts leave school at the upper secondary level, especially in Secondary Three and also those from the Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) courses. *Cols. 2037-2038. 2.30 pm (In English): The number of students who drop out from school is small and has been decreasing across all levels and races over the years. Our dropout rate has reduced significantly from 5.3% in 1997 to 3.6% in 2002.”
“With respect to water charges, can the Minister update us on the restructuring of water charges announced in the last COS? Lastly, what are the Ministry’s plans in further developing the water industry sector? ABC Waters Programme”
“Sir, I recall my conversation with a telecoms supplier from Israel. We were talking about the situation in the Middle East, when I was struck by a statement he made. He said that in the near future, the conflicts in the Middle East will be about water. This was when global climatic changes were not even hip. That conversation resonated even more later when the water issues became a very hot issue with Malaysia, and then more recently when the climatic changes in the world are vaporising the glaciers and putting rain where there were none in the past. His ominous words could certainly ring true - shifts and changes in where water can be found and used will be potential points of conflict in the future. Coming back to Singapore, we are fortunate that the Government has taken steps for some time now to source for alternative resources. Besides the supply from Johor, the NEWater and desalinated water have proven to be viable and comforting alternatives in addition to our local source. My question to the Minister is whether, with these four taps, there is sufficient water supply both for domestic and industry, for now and the future, from these four sources, or do we need a fifth. With global climatic change, the public should be aware that global scarcity of potable water is real. Therefore, good habits and practices should be imbibed, if not imposed, in conserving this precious resource. One approach for domestic uses that the Ministry has undertaken recently was to encourage voluntary water efficiency labelling for domestic appliances. May I ask if there is a need to make this mandatory? This practice will definitely help our consumers make the correct choice and attain MEWR’s 10L challenge. What are the Ministry’s plans for non-domestic water users?”
“Sir, dengue is a disease that can be minimised if everyone takes appropriate steps to prevent the breeding of the Aedes mosquito. We cannot prevent our citizens from travelling and contracting dengue overseas nor block visitors from dengue-prone countries. The disease can only be infected by the mosquito and I do not know of studies about the mosquito crossing our borders from overseas. Therefore, we can certainly do something about preventing the mosquito from breeding here and carrying the parasite within Singapore. Like many of you, I was involved in the Ministry's effort in trying to prevent dengue from infecting large numbers of our community, going door-to-door. In addition, the Town Councils have taken their responsibilities in this matter very seriously. Despite this, there was a surge of dengue incidences in 2007, after a successful campaign and lower incidence of dengue in 2006. Can the Ministry assure us that better measures be undertaken to prevent a similar surge in 2008 and in the years ahead? Dengue and Chikungunya”
“Sir, I think we agree by now that food price increases are real and not likely to return to pre-election levels even if the GST had not been raised, or if the increases have been withdrawn. I read in Wednesday’s papers - and the Minister referred to this just now - how wheat prices have jumped 25% in the commodity market just one day after Kazakhstan, one of the largest exporters, imposed export tariffs to curb exports. We already know that bad weather – both droughts and rain - has already destroyed crops in Australia, Germany, France and, recently, in India and Canada. The same report quoted BBC for stating that food prices have risen by 40% as a whole. I am quite sure that not only are there worries among the public about rising food prices, these reports further alarmed our population. Clearly, I have not heard that the Government is for direct food subsidies that our neighbours have resorted to. But to alleviate the income effect of lower wage rise among the low-wage earners, the Government has chosen the direct-transfers route in amounts of inverse proportion to the income of the populace. On the food supply side, may I ask the Minister, are there more that the Government can do to help mitigate food price inflation?”
“I ask the Minister whether he can further explain this scheme and how it can be disseminated to those who need it most. *Cols. 1349-1350.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] Sir, some of our elderly have become vulnerable to housing problems. Whatever they have built when they were young, that is a family and a house, becomes a tragedy for them when they are old. A few times, I have met many elderly people who have sold their flats to live with their children. This is their aspiration to have a happy life with their favourite child. The money they received from the sale is usually distributed to their children, and a large proportion goes into renovating their children’s flat where they will stay, or to pay part of that child’s flat arrears. However, the house that they sold is the only asset that they will ever have and they disburse it to their children as proof of their love. However, love often runs out after their money runs out, until they cannot live with each other. They want to move, but the other children have hidden resentment because most of their parents’ money was used to renovate their sibling’s house. So, these children would not accept them. Or these other homes are already congested with other grandchildren or relatives who are lodging. So they usually complain to the MPs to get rental homes that are usually for the needy, but not for the elderly. I feel sad thinking of their fate. It is good for the elderly to live with their children during old age. But, they should not have sold their house, so that they can depend on this asset when such a situation occurs. Usually, this group of people does not know how to use the money that they received from selling their flat for the long term. I think HDB’s Lease Buy-Back Scheme, that was announced last year, is good.”
“Will the SLA allow social enterprises or commercial ones to develop, operate and maintain large tracts of undeveloped State land for large scale development for purposes that are non-profit and for the public to use at very affordable fees? There could be many developments that will not require large infrastructure builds that could be suitable for temporary use, namely, perhaps lawn bowling club, wood ball course, an adventure trail or even golf course for the public. In Sydney, for example, where I lived for three years, there were many no-frills and open-to-public walking-golf courses which offered good exercise and recreation for students and children, housewives and the retired. There were also parks that had facilities donated as a symbol of responsible corporate citizenship dedicated to youths and young children.”
“I hope this represents the minority of the successful cases handled by the CMC. It has however prompted me to ask the Minister the following: (1) How many cases have the CMC handled so far and are there indicators to show that they have become more accepted as the preferred means to resolve non-legal disputes? (2) How effective has the CMC been in handling these disputes? How does the CMC measure effectiveness? (3) After 10 years, is it timely that the Ministry review the CMC and its processes vis-a-vis its effectiveness, the need to compel attendance, mechanisms to ensure compliance to agreed resolutions, the need to involve grassroots or third parties to follow up and counsel or oversee resolution after agreement has been signed at CMC session? State Land Madam, there are a number of plots of land with a sign that says, "State Land. No Trespassing" or "No Dumping". Many residents in the past look forebodingly at these plots left empty, reserved for so many years without any known plan of use by the general public. I understand the Singapore Land Authority, or SLA, has embarked for some time now on allocating some of these land plots for non-permanent community oriented purposes. So in Tampines today, there are signs that say, "STATE LAND. This Site is for recreational use. Please exercise caution and be responsible for your own safety." May I ask the Ministry how much of these land and properties have been released for such use? What forms of use have been allowed by SLA and how well have they been utilised? Is it possible for SLA to allow a mechanism for a more proactive demand-initiated request for designated State land or property to be developed appropriately by social enterprises for community use?”
“Madam, the Community Mediation Centres (CMCs) have been in existence for about 10 years now. They deal with disputes which are more relational in nature, including between family members, neighbours and even among friends. As long as they are not legal or commercial in nature, CMCs will deal with disputes when both parties agree to attend them voluntarily or when referred to, say, by the court, Police or an MP. Unless the parties are referred by the courts, neither party is obliged by law to attend a CMC session. In this instance, I believe there is an implementation issue. While the agreement, when signed, states specifically its binding nature, ensuring compliance to what was agreed has proven onerous, especially when one or both parties have not entered into agreement in good faith. There must have been many disputes that have been carrying on for so long that both parties must have felt aggrieved enough to need a third party to mediate. I believe, therefore, that the CMC is a good initiative that will enable disputing parties to avoid the long legal and costly route and a mechanism that allows a third party to objectively mediate the parties. Like many hon. Members, I have encountered neighbourhood disputes that have gone through the CMC process but have not resolved itself. Residents continue to come to the meet-the-people sessions (MPS) to complain about their neighbour, despite having agreed to take active steps to minimise or resolve their differences at the CMC. Often, their squabbles inconvenience their other neighbours or continue to bear on the town council staff and the Police to intervene. Some of my grassroots members even express their scepticism of the institution because of cases like this.”
“Sir, certainly, as I mentioned just now, the media plays a very deep role in transmitting values. However, we should not be controlling the media. If we cannot control the media, I think we can at least build some resilience or resistance in the way our students view the media and also the kinds of models or icons that the media try to sell for commercial purposes or otherwise. At our secondary school, I think the outcome that we are looking at is basically to make them understand the importance of strong and healthy relationships and not just sexual relationship as an end. WORKFARE INCOME SUPPLEMENT PAYMENT 12. Mr Siew Kum Hong asked the Minister for Manpower in view of the first Workfare Income Supplement payment on 1st January 2008 (a) how many persons received this payment; (b) what was the aggregate amount paid under this first payment; and (c) what was the average amount received by each person.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we do start sexuality education as early as possible, although the form and the implicitness of the subject may not be as direct as we want it to be at a higher level. At primary school, for example, we start by making pupils understand the importance of family values, the importance of relationships and helping them to develop healthy relationships with one another. As they move on to secondary school or a higher level, we retune them to promote abstinence or to emphasise the need for responsible decision-making. The implementation of smaller pupil-teacher ratio is a bigger issue beyond just sexuality education. But there is a lot of contact time available between teachers and pupils in the innovative ways that schools are implementing, in different ways also across different schools. For example, some schools implement compulsory contact time with their students in small groups, at least one hour a week, to discuss issues, including sexuality issues, that they like to bring up with their teachers.”
“At the current level, of course, we are satisfied with the progress that has been made. Certainly, we want more students to be exposed to the sporting activities. This, as I have mentioned, is not only through sports CCAs. There are other opportunities. I think even the community can provide sports activities organised at CCs or the RCs for the schools to participate in.”
“Sir, the last question, first. MOE takes a very serious view of bullying. Every incident reported is investigated as a whole-school approach. The incidence of bullying is also quite low in our schools. It is about 1.9 or two per 1,000 in primary schools and about five per 1,000 in secondary schools, and it is about the same for the last few years. OVERHEAD BRIDGES AND UNDERGROUND TUNNELS (Inspection programme) 17. Mdm Cynthia Phua asked the Minister for Transport (a) what inspection programme is there to ensure that overhead bridges and underground tunnels in Singapore are structurally sound; (b) over the last five years, whether any serious concerns were discovered during these inspections; and (c) if so, what were these concerns and what steps were taken to rectify them.”
“Our schools define bullying as hurting, frightening or intimidating others using power or strength. Our full-time and part-time counsellors as well as teachers are given adequate training to deal with the issue.”
“Sir, I think I made a clarification that it was $150, not $150 million. The Member will find it in the Hansard afterwards. The issue of publishing information on the web must also be taken in the context of establishing standards that the kindergartens or pre-schools have to follow. So this must be read with the standards that MOE is setting, and these standards will evolve over time, and we will increase the standards and quality as we move over time. Whether the kindergartens will meet these standards or not, we will be transparent about it. At this point of time, we have not yet decided what these key performance indicators will be. As I have mentioned just now, among them would be the qualifications of principals and teachers or the number of teachers that they have compared to the teachers who are qualified to teach in the kindergartens. These key indicators will also evolve over time and, hopefully, together with the standards that we have set, will become valuable information for our parents to know which kindergartens or pre-schools to send their children to.”
“I hope that the community will rally around these efforts, and all do our part to encourage these families to send their children to pre-school as a first step.”
“At these kindergartens, trained personnel, or whom we call Pro-FLAiRs, worked with these children on a daily basis. The children received intensive attention from these teachers to help them to develop their confidence in using English. 82 children benefited from this pilot project and we found that these children demonstrated significant improvement. MOE will, therefore, be extending FLAiR to more kindergartens starting from July, and we hope to be able to reach out to around 1,000 children each year. We will focus on extending FLAiR to children from lower-income families as these are the children that need the most help. Both the outreach effort and FLAiR programme reflect part of the intervention programmes that we have implemented more upstream during the pre-school years, with an aim to reduce the risk of attrition in school later. To uplift the quality of spoken English also, especially for pre-school teachers, MOE will also be implementing an English Language proficiency course for them. This will help to strengthen the foundation in English Language received by our children during their pre-school years. As you know, they are very impressionable at that age. The course aims to train about 2,000 teachers over three years. In conclusion, Sir, the quality of the pre-school sector has steadily improved over the years. The vast majority of children also receive pre-school education. MOE will continue to review our efforts. In particular, pre-school education can play a role in helping to level up children from lower-income backgrounds. MOE will, therefore, pay even greater attention to ensure that children from lower-income backgrounds are able to access high quality pre-school education.”