Ng Chee Meng
Singapore
“I note the intent of the OJT and agree with the objectives behind the proposal, and it will be studied, considered in our NTUC's work, even as we chart possibilities in career counselling for the youths, and do possible pathways to innovate with the IHLs in career guidance and matches into internship and other possibilities.”
“I began this speech with the questions on many workers' minds: how can I take part in the AI growth and benefit from it? How can I translate into fair opportunities for me? Singapore has invested much in education and the skills of our workforce.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Government for responding to NTUC's and our Platform Work Association's calls to support sectors most affected by the recent fuel price increases. The measures announced for platform drivers and riders will go some way in easing the pressures on their livelihoods. I have two clarifications.”
“Family members who have mental health conditions or degenerative diseases, such as dementia, which is becoming more common, who may require high supervision but may not necessarily qualify for the three ADL criteria today. Preventive Healthcare in the Community”
“However, there is one group that I am particularly concerned about – the 13,000 or so who are out of the workforce to care for their elderly. I note from MOM's data that this group is largely female, single, 50 and above, non-tertiary educated and do not have any or any recent work experience. We think that there is scope to do more.”
“Chairman, our young graduates are entering the workforce at a time in a disrupted age. AI is becoming more advanced, even at entry-level tasks. And throughout their careers, they will need to adapt and pivot several times, as the pace of change and skills obsolescence increases.”
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Every one of 434 lines we hold for Ng Chee Meng, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 9 of 9.
“Mdm Speaker, the assessment has been done by LTA, and it is centred upon the level of ridership that would necessitate such a direct service. As the Member has mentioned, there is, indeed, a Clementi-Chinatown Direct service during the festive period. This includes charging higher fares, but it is still centred upon ridership. And even these services from different mature towns to Chinatown have low ridership of 150 to 200 riders per day. It comes back to my point in the earlier answer – whether the added services would be considered would depend on the demand. Should there be sufficient demand, LTA would certainly consider such services. But at the moment, with the surveys, there is not enough ridership to justify direct services.”
“Mdm Speaker, Bedok residents can take several bus services to the Geylang Serai market. They include Services 7, 26 and 30 from Bedok Interchange in Bedok Central, 28 and 67 from Bedok North Avenue 3, and 2, 24, 28 and 67 from New Upper Changi Road which serves Bedok South. Residents can also take the many feeder services available to transfer to one of the bus services mentioned. From previous years' experience, these bus services are sufficient to cater to the festive crowds.”
“The junior college (JC) enrolment figures are 30,200 in 2014, 28,300 in 2015 and 27,100 in 2016. These figures include both JC1 and JC2 students. We currently have sufficient JC places for all eligible students who apply for a JC place. We also have enough capacity to cope with surge demand due to larger cohort sizes in particular years as well as places for returning Singaporeans. The falling cohort sizes in recent years, which we expect to generally continue to trend down over the next few years, would have implications for our JCs. We are therefore carefully studying the best option for the future JC landscape. Our priority is to ensure that our JCs continue to provide our students with a good range of educational programmes and learning experiences. There are currently no new building plans for JCs in the next two years. Work on Eunoia JC's (EJC) interim and permanent sites is on track. The decision to establish EJC was made in 2010 when the Integrated Programme (IP) was expanded to benefit more students. EJC was also planned to provide the Year 5 and 6 programmes for the IP students from three feeder secondary schools.”
“As announced in 2010, Physical Education (PE) has been increased to two to 2.5 hours per week, from one to 1.5 hours per week. During PE, students acquire movement competencies, health-related knowledge and sports skills and understand the value of physical activities and keeping fit. Schools also organise recreational sports competitions, sports carnivals and outdoor camps to supplement PE. With these knowledge, skills and values, students will have the capability to participate and enjoy a wide variety of physical activities and sports outside of school hours and beyond their schooling years.”
“MOE resources schools, based on the needs of their students, the programmes that they offer and their enrolment, so that each school has adequate resources to develop the students under its charge. As such, resourcing can vary, both across different groups of schools, as well as between schools within each group. It would not be meaningful to make comparisons based on the amount of funding given to each school. At the broader level, the Government remains committed to invest in all schools to develop our students fully and holistically. The Government's investment in education, as reflected in the funding for the operating expenses per student, or per capita funding per student, increased from 2013 to 2015. The per capita funding of Primary education was $8,500 in FY2013 and $9,700 in FY2015. For a Secondary student, the funding was $11,400 in FY2013 and $13,400 in FY2015. For Independent schools4, the per capita funding was $14,100 in FY2013 and $14,700 in FY2015. Within the group of Independent schools, the Specialised Schools like NorthLight School, Assumption Pathway School, Crest Secondary School and Spectra Secondary School received the highest per capita funding support from MOE. On average, in FY2015, these four Specialised Schools received funding at $25,900 per capita, enabling them to provide the specialised support and programmes to meet the needs of their students.”
“Food and Consumer Education, formerly known as "Home Economics", is a compulsory subject for all lower Secondary students. In this subject, students learn basic knowledge and skills related to responsible financial management which lies at the heart of consumer education. In particular, they learn about consumer rights and responsibilities, reliability of advertisement claims and the need for comparative shopping before making a purchase. Beyond this subject, specific aspects of consumer education are integrated into the learning of other subjects that lend themselves well to such discussion. For example, in the Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) curriculum for Primary school students, they are introduced to the values of thrift and savings and basic ideas on budgeting. At the upper Primary level, students are taught to distinguish between needs and wants so that they can learn to manage finances better in their daily lives. Beyond the formal curriculum, our schools also expose students to other aspects of consumer education through platforms, such as talks, learning journeys and assembly programmes. Collectively, these curricular and co-curricular programmes provide our students with a good foundation in understanding and exercising their rights and responsibilities as consumers.”
“If I may continue, yes, our teachers and school counsellors are equipped to help students in the psychological and mental health-related domains. Teachers are the first line of contact for all students. We have, therefore, equipped them with the competencies to carry out three specific roles. First, teachers establish amongst classmates a culture of mutual care and support and teach students life skills to improve their emotional resilience. Second, teachers recognise common distress signals and identify students who need help. These signals include poor attention, social withdrawal, mood changes, aggression or any behaviour that is uncharacteristic of a student. Third, teachers engage with such students to understand their issues and provide care and support. For complex cases requiring more extensive support, teachers will refer students to school counsellors. All school counsellors have professional qualifications in counselling. They provide interventions for psychological and mental health-related issues, such as anxiety, depression, relationship problems and suicidal behaviours. School counsellors will refer the more severe cases to medical professionals for treatment.”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member for the supplementary question. A comprehensive review is currently being undertaken by Parliamentary Secretary Assoc Prof Dr Faishal Ibrahim and I understand that the current discussions are in the advanced stages. The review panel will be making its announcement known soon and it will address the different aspects that the Member has raised.”
“Mdm Speaker, electric bicycles can only be used on roads. Those caught riding on pedestrian footpaths will be fined. For everyone's safety, LTA had tightened the technical requirements for electric bicycles in December last year. Only electric bicycles which weigh less than 20 kilogrammes and the motor power cut off as they reach speeds of 25 kilometres per hour or, if the cyclist stops pedalling, are allowed on public roads. This is to minimise injuries in case of accidents. LTA has also stepped up enforcement and penalties against electric bicycles that do not comply with these requirements.”
“I thank the Member for his clarifications. We will consult grassroots leaders, where applicable, in policies where they have an impact on the locality and, in other circumstances, on a case-by-case basis. For the overall system, we do have the Direct School Admission (DSA) system that recognises talents and other achievements before PSLE. So, there is a good balance between academic emphasis and non-academic achievements. Before PSLE, this exercise is carried through the DSA so that we can afford students to be admitted into the schools. Once, however, the PSLE T-score comes out, it would be better, as we have said earlier, to maintain a system that is seen to be fair, transparent and meritocratic. But overall, the system remains one that recognises different pathways for students to succeed. So, we have not changed the philosophy.”
“So, it is a fair system and we will study how we can see some of the appeals that may require special attention.”
“Madam, I thank the Member for the follow-up questions. For the first issue of complaints on the communications process, the Ministry, in implementing these new guidelines, could have done better in the communications. We will take that as a lesson learnt and see how we can improve it this year. For the circumstances of students who were transferred without meeting the cut-off point, let me give the Member one good example. We acceded to an appeal from a student who had a birth defect, a spinal cord problem. The student requires regular cleaning of the bladder, every four hours or so. In the initial posting, she was posted to a school that was a little further away, by about 1 kilometre. But upon appeal and seeing the circumstances, we facilitated a transfer to another school closer to her home, even though she did not meet the cut-off point. We do exercise flexibility as such to ensure that the students' needs are appropriately taken care of. With regard to the flexibility for the SACs and the Principals, even today, we do allow flexibility. We have about 800 students who were successfully transferred because they had made the wrong choice in the initial selection of schools and they now want to make a change. So long as they have met the cut-off point, the flexibility was given fully to the Principals and schools. On the way ahead, we will see how we can work on some flexibility without undermining the Principals, as I have stated earlier. We have a fine balance to maintain between the fairness of the system and some flexibility for appeals. For the Member's information, in our system today, 95% of our students are successfully posted to a school of their choice and 90% are actually in a school that is in their top three choices.”
“I thank the Member for the suggestion. Currently, the cases are handled on a case-by-case basis. When the student comes back to the school, the counsellor and the teachers will get with the student and the parents to render support and work through what may be the needed steps. Beyond the school, the counsellor also has networks with the Family Services Centres (FSCs). If there is a need for further counselling besides the school and beyond the school, referrals are made to the FSCs to extend this help. But, certainly, I will take up the Member's suggestion on whether a regime could be set up to better tailor to the needs of such students.”
“At the moment, I do not quite have the details. Perhaps, in another occasion where a PQ is filed, I can get back to the Member on these specific details.”
“We must move back to the incident without hindsight. For such an incident where the processes are in place for the counsellor to consult with the mother to see how Benjamin is doing, it is very reasonable. Of course, with hindsight of what has happened, we can always do better. These are the things that we can review. But in terms of calling the parent to check on how Benjamin was doing, it is not an unreasonable thing to do. Even then, the decision for Benjamin to go to camp or not, was one that was discussed and mutually agreed upon. It is a very tragic incident, no doubt, but at the moment, we really do not know what was the trigger for Benjamin. Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: Mdm Speaker, clarification on a point the Education Minister seemed to have missed out; which is whether the psychological assessments for suicide risk are required, or should be required, when students are being interviewed by the Police. This may or may not imply that the school counsellors should be present during the interview. I will leave it to the Education Minister to answer the question.”
“To the first question, Mdm Speaker, the answer is yes, it was during school hours. With the current laws of Singapore, there is no need for consent from the parents when Police want to interview a student or any person in particular. I think the Minister for Home Affairs can confirm that. I am not an expert in that area, but that is as far as I can understand. And I did not get the Member's second question. Can she please repeat that?”
“Mdm Speaker, the school counsellors, as far as I know at this stage, are trained to do basic assessment. If they do think that there are added risks, they will refer the student to psychiatric help or a psychologist's help outside the school, in the hospitals or in other clinics.”
“In terms of feedback, I do not have the information with me. I do apologise. I will share that feedback with you offline. Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong (Non-Constituency Member): Mdm Speaker, the Minister for Home Affairs pointed out that there are complex psychological grounds to suicide. I will add that the young persons are especially vulnerable in terms of the stage of their mental development to suicide risk. I would like to ask the Education Minister whether school counsellors are trained to do psychological assessments on suicide risk and whether such assessments are, and should be required, when students are being interviewed by the Police.”
“When the school takes the student back, the balance between confidentiality and rehabilitation is a very delicate one. The counsellors, some are trained with the National Institute of Education (NIE) and some of them are even ex-teachers. They would be able to contextualise their approaches to counselling according to the needs of the students, depending on the severity of the case, how emotionally impacted the student may be. All these would be factors that the counsellors would have to take into consideration and make his or her judgement to tailor the counselling.”
“Mdm Speaker, let me take the last question first. At this stage, we do not yet know the reasons for Benjamin's decision to end his life, whether it is social media or other factors> It is premature to make any conclusions. So, I will just leave it as that. For the statistics: over the last three years or so, across all the different schools, we have close to 1,500 per year. So, it is about 4,500 over three years. It is not a small number. These processes that we have adopted are practised and refined over this period of time.”
“I thank the Member for the questions. In the current process, the Principals under the law have no such discretion. When the Police invite or take someone for an interview, it is up to the Police to decide where and when the interview would take place. But over time, the schools and the Police have worked together to ensure that the well-being of the students are taken care of. On the second part, each incident is unique and at what stage the Principal would get the student to call the parents will all be contextualised. In this particular instance, where the interview was in a calm manner, the whole eight-step process could carry through as how I have articulated. But in certain instances and context, you would understand that the real ground processes may be somewhat more flexible. And also, in answer to the Member's earlier question, the Minister for Home Affairs has pretty much answered most of it. I would just like to emphasise that we are open to review and adapt our processes where needed to make sure that the students could be accompanied if the review conclusions allow us to do so.”
“I thank the Member for the suggestion. We are currently reviewing the whole process. It is currently premature to position one way or the other. If you look at the process of the school, they would ensure that the well-being of the student is first taken care of when the Police moves the child or student to the Police station. And in the process, there would be no further contact between the school staff and the student. So, in the process of movement, the Police will be with the student in the Police car. And when they reach the Police station, the Police will have the interview process away from any waiting room. At the end of the interview, when the parents are there, the handing over of the student will be to the direct care of the parents. So, the school staff essentially will have no contact with the student in the current Protocol. In the review, we will be working with the Police to see what the review outcomes may be. If the Appropriate Adult accompanying is part of any recommendation, MOE will certainly consider getting our staff to be with the student.”
“I thank the Member for the question. EMAS signs on the expressways and arterial roads currently show only the key information related to traffic incidents, such as the root causes and the magnitude. As oil spills are not root causes and are, in fact, often caused by root causes like vehicular breakdowns or accidents, they are not reflected in the EMAS. Nevertheless, LTA will review how EMAS displays can be enhanced to convey more information about major incidents which may be useful to motorists. Currently, we also have various channels, like the radio, Twitter, smartphone apps like Mytransport.sg, all these different possibilities to inform motorists, if they so choose to use other roads to ease the congestion.”
“Mdm Speaker, there were about 6,500 oil spill incidents in the last five years. Most were minor spills that did not lead to significant traffic disruptions. Only 13 were serious cases that required the roads to be resurfaced, resulting in severe traffic jams. This year, four major oil spills have occurred on Singapore roads. There is no clear commonality in the profile of the drivers involved. Both local and foreign drivers and vehicles were involved. Most oil spills are caused by accidents or breakdowns. To reduce accidents, the Traffic Police (TP) will continue to educate and engage the public through its various campaigns and enforce against reckless driving. On its part, LTA mandates regular vehicular inspections to ensure that vehicles are kept in good shape, so as to minimise breakdowns on the roads. In recent years, LTA has claimed from the involved parties, amounts ranging from about $5,000 to $200,000 for the cost of repairs to damaged roads. LTA is looking into imposing deterrent penalties.”
“Mdm Speaker, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 14 and 15 together, please?”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) recognises that Student Care Centres (SCCs) provide important after-school support for students. Over the last four years, we have steadily increased the number of school-based SCCs from fewer than 50 to 127, and the overall student enrolment from around 3,000 to more than 15,000. Amongst SCCs registered with the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), around 300 are in community spaces, with a combined enrolment of over 12,000 students. These centres complement school-based SCCs in the provision of after-school care. The average and median number of waitlisted students in school-based SCCs is smaller than 10. However, the waitlist situation varies from school to school. MOE will continue to work with MSF to monitor the demand for SCC places both in our schools and in the community. We will also work with our schools to facilitate the setting up of new SCCs as well as expanding enrolment for Page: 151 existing ones at a pace that does not cause quality to be compromised.”
“In 2015, about 47,000 students who met the Edusave Merit Bursary's (EMB’s) academic criterion, that is, they were in the top 25% of their level and course in school, did not apply for EMB, likely because their families exceeded its income criterion. All students who are eligible to apply for EMB based on its academic criterion are currently issued a Certificate of Academic Achievement to recognise them for their good performance, regardless of whether they meet the income criterion. They receive this certificate when they are informed of their eligibility to apply for EMB. Furthermore, students who perform well in various academic and non-academic domains can also strive for other Edusave Awards which have no income criterion, such as the Edusave Scholarship, Edusave Good Progress Award, Edusave Character Award and Edusave Award for Achievement, Good Leadership and Service (EAGLES).”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) Kindergartens (MKs) were first set up in 2014 with the intent to provide quality and affordable preschool education to Singaporeans and catalyse quality improvements in kindergarten education. To date, there are 15 MKs of which 12 are located within our primary schools and the remaining three in community sites. All are situated in Housing Development Board (HDB) heartlands for accessibility to children from a variety of backgrounds. The MKs currently serve a total of almost 1,700 children. The MK positions, comprising Centre Heads, Deputy Centre Heads and teachers, have attracted the interest of both trained teachers from the sector as well as fresh graduands from early childhood and care education courses. To better meet the manpower needs of MKs and other providers in the preschool sector, MOE has also partnered Singapore Polytechnic to pilot a full-time place-and-train programme to select suitable candidates and put them through the Diploma in Page: 150 Kindergarten Education. MOE will continue its efforts to attract and retain good MK educators. Over the past two years, we have received consistent favourable feedback from parents that their children enjoy the learning activities and are eager to attend MK. They shared that their children are better able to express themselves and are more independent and conveyed their appreciation for the dedication of the teachers in providing a fun and engaging learning environment for their children. MOE will continue to monitor the progress of MKs in delivering a quality curriculum that is relevant to the Singaporean child and work towards sharing good practices with the preschool sector.”
“Of the three batches of DSA students who have sat for GCE "O" levels from 2013 to 2015, about 80% of them were eligible for junior colleges. Overall, DSA has broadened the definition of merit and promoted holistic education by reducing the emphasis on national examination results. As with all of our policies, we will continue to regularly review and improve the DSA scheme.”
“The Direct School Admission (DSA) scheme was introduced to promote holistic education by reducing the emphasis on examination results and recognising a more diverse range of non-academic talents, achievements and personal qualities. Schools participating in DSA are committed to developing students to their fullest potential in both their studies and areas of talent and have put in place a range of programmes and support structures to help DSA students balance academic demands and co-curricular activities (CCA) commitments. Schools help students who face academic challenges, regardless of whether they entered via DSA or not, in two broad ways. Firstly, they make efforts to know these students, their learning styles, their strengths and difficulties and what motivates them. Many schools ensure that their DSA students are assigned teacher mentors and class buddies. There are regular discussion sessions with the DSA students and dialogues with parents to better understand the students’ needs. With this knowledge, schools can then provide targeted academic support, structured guidance and adjust their curriculum and programmes to better cater to them. Secondly, schools monitor these students closely. Schools track the academic performance of DSA students and have regular platforms to discuss whether and what kind of interventions are necessary. Schools also monitor the socio-emotional well-being of these students and work in partnership with their parents to ensure that the students are doing well. Overall, the GCE "O" level performance of students admitted via DSA-Sec is comparable to their non-DSA peers with similar Primary School Leaving Examination results.”
“Mdm Speaker, the recent rise in motorcycle COE prices has understandably raised concerns. Category E COEs, which can be used to register vehicles from any category, are intended to allow the vehicle mix to evolve as market demand changes. Currently, all vehicle categories contribute 10% of their quota to Category E. This rate has been gradually reduced from 25% over the last three years, with the most recent reduction to 10% taking effect in February 2015. Motorcycles are in a separate COE category so that motorcycle buyers need not compete with car buyers for COEs. We have received suggestions in the past to split the motorcycle COE category. However, unlike for cars, the quota for motorcycles is small. Last quarter, for instance, the Category D COE quota was about 2,000. Dividing Category D into even smaller sub-categories may result in significant volatility in their COE prices. It was, in fact, for this very reason that the Government Parliamentary Committee that reviewed the COE system back in 1999 had recommended to merge the then-four car categories into the present two. We will continue to review the COE framework, including the Category E contribution rate, and make adjustments, if required.”
“Mdm Speaker, with your permission, I would like to take Question Nos 15 and 16 together.”
“Following the completion of our haze management review, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will be deploying air purifiers to all school classrooms to further enhance the well-being of our students and staff during a haze situation. MOE will deploy about 25,000 air purifiers to all primary and secondary schools in Singapore by July 2016. Similarly, voluntary welfare organisation-run special education schools and MOE Kindergartens – which take reference from and are guided by haze management measures taken by our schools – will also be equipped with air purifiers. Schools will be provided guidelines on the use of the air purifiers. This enhancement to our haze management measures takes into account the unusually prolonged haze season of 2015 as a possible forerunner of future haze seasons and is introduced in consultation with the National Environment Agency (NEA) and Ministry of Health (MOH).”
“Mdm Speaker, that voting is secret has been affirmed and re-affirmed multiple times, both in this Chamber and outside. Voting is an issue that concerns all Singaporeans. Through our curriculum and through the students' own exploratory learning together with their parents, in good time, when they reach 21 years old and beyond, they will be equipped with the necessary skills to evaluate for themselves whether voting is secret. I would like to assure the Member that MOE will do its best to teach within our curriculum and also to encourage learning beyond the classroom so that they can evaluate for themselves that voting is secret.”