Ng Eng Hen
Singapore
“I think we try to keep this virtuous state of affairs as long as we can to make sure that we can invest steadily. Year-to-year fluctuations would occur, whether it is economic, not so much in COVID-19, but remember the Global Financial Crisis? Everybody needs to take a haircut. If you have to take a haircut, you have to take a haircut.”
“Mr Chairman, as the World around us becomes more unpredictable and changes, the more we need to keep the strongest commitment to strengthen our own defences and, if needed, we must be willing to do more. Singapore celebrates 60 years of Independence this year.”
“MINDEF will continue to work with partners to encourage Singaporeans to raise their digital literacy, develop and maintain good cybersecurity habits, protect sensitive data and guard against scams, fake news and disinformation so as to make the digital domain a safer and more secure space.”
“The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) conducts regular mobilisation exercises (MOBEX) of our National Service (NS) forces. In a silent mobilisation, NSmen are notified through their personal contact numbers. Open mobilisations include the broadcast of unit code-words through mass media.”
“In 2020, the Ministry of Defence replied to a Parliamentary Question on this matter that the relocation of Paya Lebar Air Base (PLAB) would likely occur around 2030 or beyond, after Changi Air Base and Tengah Air Base have been expanded to house the existing assets at PLAB.”
“When incidents or near-misses happen, as it did where one Hunter armoured fighting vehicle rear-ended another during Exercise Wallaby in Australia, thorough investigations are conducted and lessons learnt shared across the units.”
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“For schools, especially pre-university education, the YNC, as the pinnacle programme at NUS, will have a pervasive and powerful effect. It will signal to students and parents that critical thinking, analysis and deliberation, which are hallmarks of liberal arts education, will be needed and valued in education. Singaporeans and Asians are, if anything, pragmatists. If it does not count, it matters less. A liberal arts college will be a physical reminder that, as Einstein remarked, "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." It will hopefully move us from a system that is now world-renown for students who answer set questions well, to one that produces students who want to start asking the right questions to produce solutions to complex problems. Our curriculum in our junior colleges and polytechnics has already started on this journey. The YNC will accelerate this. Last year, we have also made quality enhancements in our two arts institutions – NAFA and LASALLE – for new high-quality programmes they will offer in partnership with reputable foreign universities. This will create an additional pathway for students with strong talents in the arts. As our economy restructures into high productivity, high value-added industries, our universities must complement this strategy by being engines of knowledge, innovation and enterprise. Our universities should ride on tides of global developments and help Singaporeans seize valuable opportunities that will come our way. The rise of China in this century will drastically re-shape the global landscape. The US economy, with its dynamism and a constant capacity to re-invent itself will continue to be a potent economic force, its present problems notwithstanding.”
“I would like to use this opportunity to give some brief updates on the various institutions so that Members can see the overall landscape in addition to SUTD. The Singapore Institute of Technology's (SIT) model preserves and leverages on the strengths of our polytechnic sector. It provides polytechnic students an option to obtain a university degree from well-regarded foreign universities. This approach has many advantages, not least the focus on producing graduates who are attuned to the needs of industry and business. Within a short time, SIT has gathered an impressive stable of top institutions – including the University of Manchester, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Newcastle University, University of Glasgow, University of Nevada (Las Vegas), the DigiPen Institute of Technology and the Culinary Institute of America. The Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCSOM) is a tie-up between NTU and Imperial College London (ICL). It will not only produce more doctors – because we need them to cater to our health care needs – but also facilitate innovations in the field of medicine. Imperial College was chosen because it will provide a different and complementary model to the existing Yong Loo Lin Medical School and Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School. Like NTU, Imperial College has strong engineering expertise and is a world leader in applying technology to the field of medicine. It also has a deep ethos of producing doctors who are patient-centred. The Yale-NUS College (YNC) will be another unique model that provides a different pathway for students. I have described it as "strategic for Singapore". Indeed, it can prove to be, at various levels.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Singapore's university sector has evolved considerably since its inception as a small medical college in 1905. It took another about 80 years before we had about 8% of our cohort going into university. And from there, 30 years to reach 26% and we are on track, by 2015, to reach the target of 30%. But it would be a mistake in developing the university sector to focus just on expanding the number of places because that would basically pit us against other countries on a comparative disadvantage. Let me give Members two examples – two hefty ones. China recently announced their goal to have eight million graduates a year by 2020. India similarly has committed to six million graduates a year by 2020. Combined, 14 million graduates a year compared to our figure of about 14,000 graduates. You can do the maths. We cannot compete on numbers. Instead, we must always differentiate ourselves from the rest of the pack by attaining the highest quality of tertiary education in Singapore. We must be bold and open to new models that will become more relevant as the future unfolds. We need to do this, if our students are to acquire a competitive edge in education against other graduates. So, quality and innovation have therefore been the key themes that have guided our university sector, not the number of places. This is the approach that has led to the creation of the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) – for which the Bill is being read today – but also the Singapore Institute of Technology, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, new degree programmes at NAFA and LASALLE, and also the Yale-NUS College.”
“As my Minister of State mentioned, MOE is working very closely with MCYS to look at these issues, the trends of youth-at-risk. We do have programmes which keep them in. But I want to articulate a principle, that we should not ask our schools to do what is primarily the responsibility of parents. Neither do we push them and pressure them because I have seen that happen. It is not wrong in itself, but it does dilute the attention of your teachers, and it does not place squarely where the responsibility should be placed. We have to work with parents and the community in order to address these issues. In other words, I am not going to keep students because they want to be somewhere else. I am not going to create programmes because basically, that will just create disinterested students who will be antagonistic, rebellious at school and may even affect their real programmes when there are real classes to be held. We will do what we can but I would like that for these matters, we work with community groups to engage students and their parents. My teachers have gone out of their way to do that, but I have never asked them to be solely responsible for that, and they are clear on that. I have asked them to be solely responsible for educational outcomes.”
“Many Members would have remembered the article by Tom Friedman in the New York Times. He mentioned this wonderful science class at Gan Eng Seng Primary School. What the article did not say was that Gan Eng Seng School has 50% of students from 1- to 3-roomers. It is one of our schools with the largest percentages. Nobody in MOE told the principal or the Science teacher to do this. This is why the most powerful and enabling factor in any system is dedicated and committed teachers. I do not have the specifics of 1- to 2-roomers. We will give it to the Member if she files a Parliamentary Question. As I have said, for the 1- to 3-roomers, 50% of them progress to polytechnics and universities, and that is quite a remarkable achievement for any system. I did mention about resilient students. PISA showed that we are the 5th out of 65 countries. Resilient students are the ones that perform better than predicted which shows that our system does help students over-reach, even given their socio-economic status.”
“The short answer is "yes" for dysfunctional families. We do not label them and call them dysfunctional families and then help them. Our programmes give access to slower learners. We have learning support programmes for English, as I have mentioned, and also learning support programme for Mathematics. They basically gauge the child's ability at Primary 1, and in small groups sometimes five, eight or three, depending on each school – dedicated teachers will be put into these schools, over the next two years, in Primary 1 and 2 to help them graduate from that group and try to catch up with the rest of the students. Over time, what happens is that the school recognises that a child's learning ability is always a function of his family. Sometimes, they do not have the social environment. When I talk to teachers – many teachers do home visits on their own – they recognise the situation. This is the reason why we created the space for all schools. We are going to build in the space so that they can engage VWOs to come into the schools. Many Members of Parliament said it was a good idea to have before and after-school programmes. Indeed, that was the reason why we put it as part of the new specifications for new schools to have a space. I have visited many schools who have on their own engaged a VWO to come in to take care of these students. Another school outsourced it to a private firm. The private firm does it because of its Corporate Social Responsibility, so it charges certain rates which the school subsidises. There are these programmes that are taking place. At the end of the day, you need to engage principals and teachers because we have varied needs and different environments.”
“I replied to the Member but I think she may not have heard it. I said that I agreed with her and Mdm Cynthia Phua that CCA should indeed be to inculcate character and that is the primary goal. I agree with her also that it should not be a winner-take-all approach for CCAs. That is why we have stepped up the opportunities for students to have recreational and competitive CCAs within school. I made a point in response to MP Cynthia Phua's suggestion that every student could be involved in competition events. We try to get there. It may not be possible for inter-school but within the school, I think it is possible and that, indeed, is the goal.”
“If we look at the Singapore University of Technology and Design that we did together with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I cannot remember the scale of it but I would think what it compares to some of our courses, they are resource-intensive, so that they may be 50% or even 100% more than what we spend. That was the reason, if Members remember, we said that we did not want to deny students a good opportunity and that Singaporeans can benefit, yet at the same time, we charge very much higher fees. The second point is that we want to move towards an endowment model so that it is really up to the stakeholders, all Singaporeans, to say I am willing to fund this so that it helps some Singaporeans but to the Singaporean himself, he will bear more of the fees. But obviously, we cannot charge beyond a certain limit. The Member is quite right, some of these are costly – the Medical School of Imperial College costs as much if not a little bit more than what it does cost to train our own medical student, but that is because it is a young university with a young faculty. Duke costs more and that is why we charge them higher fees. Some of these do come at a price. I want to make it clear to Members that yes, indeed, the education model costs more. We feel that it will add not only to those students but to the entire system, and that is the reason we charge higher fees and move towards an endowment model.”
“Madam, indeed, MOE has some experience in that because as a Ministry, we send the largest number of Singaporean students to the Chinese universities – Beida and Qinghua as mentioned by Mr Chan. More to Beida because they are training to be Chinese teachers. Qinghua is more engineering and sometimes international studies. But the ones that are enrolled in Beida to become Chinese teachers are, indeed, going through the lessons as the Chinese students are. I visit them quite often, and when I go there and sometimes I have meals with them, I ask them, "Are you sure you can compete?" They say "还可以", or "we can still do it, we are on par". We are producing, as the Member calls it, that group of bicultural elite. Honestly, can we compete with their best? We encourage them to. But even if we could, I want us to be realistic that when we offer scholarships and opportunities, parents advise their children accordingly. Some would still feel that studying elsewhere in established Ivy League universities, Oxbridge is the better choice, because if they are bright in languages often they are bright in many areas and they really have the choice of whether they want to do law, medicine, etc. I think we can offer these as a choice and I would say that the opportunities exist if, indeed, someone feels that he is going to focus primarily on the Chinese language, there are opportunities but beyond these incentives, I feel a bit reluctant to push them that way only – but to just offer them the choice. I also want to respond to Mrs Josephine Teo about cost, and she is quite right, some of these tie-ups are costly. They are costly because they require a different pedagogy.”
“That was the main point. I just want to make a clarification on one of my remarks just now. I may have given the wrong impression that 50% of my teachers are not married. I said that more than 50% of my female teachers are married and have young children or of child bearing age. There are also those who are married and have children above 12.”
“Madam, the figures I gave were beyond just progression to polytechnics and universities. The Member is quite right that the particular figure she cited was that half of our children who live in 1- to 3-room flats progress to polytechnics and universities. Her question is: if, for example, the proportion of polytechnics and university students are 60% across the board, should we not aim for that? If that is her argument, then only 60% of middle income students can go to polytechnics and universities, and only 60% of high income students can go to universities. The point of my speech was that that is a very wrong starting point – that in our attempt to focus on one group, we actually try to conscribe other groups. It becomes a win-lose mathematical game. What we really ought to be doing is to say how Singapore as a whole is moving up first. I gave examples of how indeed we moved up. Because we really do not know where the next bright child comes from – whether it is low, whether it is middle or whether it is high income – what we need to do as a system is to ensure that everyone has the opportunities to enter a good school wherever they live, whatever background they come from, and to be able to access the programmes that fit their talents and aptitudes. The only way to do that is to resource all schools to make sure that teachers are spread across all schools. And Mr Chiam subsequently asked, do we indeed do that, and I gave figures that all secondary schools can claim to have scholars, teaching award holders, which was his point. All schools can claim that they have good graduates and are resourced adequately, and the bulk of our spending as well as the increases in spending in the last decade were for primary and secondary schools.”
“Siang Huat is doing relief teaching in Raffles Institution (RI) after completing his National Service (NS). He comes from a single-parent family and his mother used to be a factory worker. He did very well in his PSLE. At first, he was not sure whether his mother could afford the fees at RI. But RI offered him a scholarship. During the six years in RI and then Raffles Junior College (RJC), he did well academically and he was vice-captain of the RI hockey team. I am using him as an example because later this year, Siang Huat will leave for Warwick University on an MOE teaching scholarship to study psychology. If all goes well, he will be in our classrooms teaching the next generations of Singaporeans as a living example of social mobility and a firm believer in helping students live out their dreams. In this new decade, we will continue to ensure that Singapore Education remains at the forefront of excellence so that our children are prepared for the challenges in the next decade. More importantly, we will continue to ensure that education is the best way to level up all Singaporeans. The Singapore Story lives on. Update on Primary Education Review and Implementation (PERI)”
“We go through the schools so that they can engage the community groups. If it is the other way round, there will not be ownership of the programmes. They can do, for example, the MTL Fortnights. On top of this, a combined total of $16.6 million will directly support each of the promotion committees. This represents a 20% increase in funding available for each of these committees. Again, Senior Minister of State Grace Fu will provide details. Mr Chairman, the array of efforts aims to improve the entire educational landscape. We are doing more for students in lower-income households but our strategy to uplift Singapore through education must be focused on providing opportunities to all Singaporeans of diverse needs, talents and abilities. We are realistic that the extent of social mobility experienced in the past cannot be repeated in the future. It is just not possible. We started from such a low base and now Singapore has the highest per capita GDP in Asia today. I have always been used to the figure in the news that we were second in Asia. Well, I have good news for all Members. We surpassed Japan last year to take top spot. It will be sad if increasing affluence results in smaller dreams for Singapore and Singaporeans. We must not lose the vibrancy and resolve of our founding generations. We must and can aim higher for everyone. In doing so, we must provide more resources to the poor to ensure that that no one is denied access to education because of financial difficulties. Each child should have the opportunity to be the best that he or she can be. Will we succeed? I am optimistic because the Singapore Story continues to surface today across our island. I will give one example – Mr Hong Siang Huat.”
“We plan to invest another $290 million over the next five years, about double of what we have invested in the last five years, so that this can continue to uplift the quality of the preschool sector. Minister of State Masagos will provide these details. Ms Denise Phua asked that we do more for special needs students. As announced, MOE in partnership with NCSS, will introduce a special education financial assistance scheme. The financial assistance scheme was only for mainstream schools but now we are extending it to the special education (SPED) schools. We will work out the details later but it will be a form which subsidises school fees, uniforms, textbooks and examination fees. Obviously, it may not be completely comparable because some of the expenses in SPED schools are different but we will work out an equitable model. Basically, we are extending the coverage to SPED schools. We will also provide more customised support for students with higher needs in the SPED schools. I am pleased to announce that MOE will work with NCSS to increase the resources – called a High Needs Grant – from April this year. We recognise that some schools are dealing with children with, say, multiple disabilities and they really need a lot of effort. We recognise that not all SPED schools are the same. Up to $2.3 million per year will be set aside for schools to hire additional teacher aides to support this group of students. Senior Minister of State Grace Fu will give you the details. Mrs Josephine Teo asked about mother tongue language (MTL) and how we are going to spend the $45 million in the community. Around $29 million will be disbursed through our schools to support the programmes. I think that is a better way to do it.”
“I cannot promise Mdm Cynthia Phua who said to do it for every child because there are scheduling problems. But the aim is that it should be done at some level as that is the aim of the school philosophy. We are also doing more for the post-secondary education institutions. We have revamped ITE. ITE College East has been operational since 2005; ITE West since last year and ITE College Central will be ready in 2013. We are expanding the polytechnics as well as university places. Polytechnic intake will increase by another 20%. The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) will increase its intake to 1,000 students and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) will open in 2012 which will make sure we reach our cohort participation rate of 30% by 2015. As part of the Government's overall effort in upgrading our workers, MOE will step up the role of our post-secondary education institutions in delivering continued education. We will tap on our polytechnics and ITE. We will grow the current CET training capacity by 60%. This is for adults. We will raise more spaces, funding and subsidies for advanced diplomas and specialist *Cols. 4049-4050. diplomas from 70% to 85% which will bring fees down significantly. MOE will also increase fee subsidies for part-time undergraduate programmes at UNiSIM and public universities to 55% of published fees. Senior Minister of State Iswaran will provide further details. There have been calls to do more for preschools. We will do more. MOE has invested $150 million in the preschool sector over the last five years and we have seen good results.”
“The new schools are in areas where the populations are growing, particularly in Punggol and Sembawang [indicating a map* shown to Members ]. For Phase 2 and Phase 3, it is across the island where we are upgrading our schools. Our total investments will be $1.1 billion over the next seven years. We will be giving Members information about the schools that are built or upgraded in Members' specific constituencies. The upgraded schools will be equipped with newer and better facilities that enable primary schools to deliver the programmes recommended by the Primary Education Review and Implementation Committee. More emphasis will be placed on art and music education to complement science and mathematics in drawing out the creativity in our children through visual and aural means. We will place more emphasis to develop civic literacy and global awareness through character and citizenship education. I think Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Ms Irene Ng asked about this. MOE will indeed place stronger emphasis on character development and the teaching of life skills going forward. Particularly for Ms Irene Ng's ward, we will teach them to say "thank you" when they receive the bursaries. We will teach them to be polite. I think it is a very important trait. But sometimes, they are nervous because Members are taller than them. So, they forget to say "thank you". We will also place more emphasis on school-wide sports participation. I think Ms Joscelin Yeo and Mdm Cynthia Phua made impassioned pleas about this. I agree completely with them that sports are not just about a win-all mentality. Going forward, we will step up opportunities for participation for more students by organising more intra-school and recreational inter-school sports competitions.”
“30 pm Let me summarise all that the Minister for Finance and myself now have announced in terms of the impact on the household. Bursary support will now be extended to all students in our post-secondary education institutions who are in the bottom two-thirds of households by per capita household income. Bursary quanta have also been increased. If you are a student from the bottom one-third of households, this means that those in ITE will have their education costs entirely covered while those enrolled in polytechnic and undergraduate courses will have their education cost covered by as much as 97% and 85% respectively. Polytechnic students from the lowest one-third, 97% of costs; universities, 85% of costs. All in all, the enhanced bursary scheme will benefit students from both local and middle-income households. It will cost MOE up to an extra $134 million per year. The extension in the capabilities of our teachers will allow us to expand the *Cols. 4047-4048. offerings within our educational landscape, to offer a more holistic education and create new pathways to cater to varying aspirations and abilities. Many MPs asked for this. We will continue to upgrade and build better schools across the island, with the latest facilities and equipment, sports halls, arts studios and music rooms. To help move all primary schools to single session, 11 new schools will be built. I have already announced this. They are expected to commence in 2013/2014. Thirty-seven schools will be upgraded by 2014 under Phases 1 and 2. I am pleased to announce today that we will embark on Phase 3 which will start in November 2012. In this phase, 40 more schools will be upgraded.”
“Earlier, I have announced a one-off top-up of $130 to Edusave accounts to primary and secondary students, and the one-off injection of $100 million to the Edusave grants for schools to purchase additional IT equipment. We have two more funds that help some of the students that MPs have brought up. These are called the Opportunity Fund and Trips for International Experience Fund. Members must have met some of the students in neighbourhood schools, especially, who may not be able to afford it when the school wants to bring their students elsewhere. We do want some co-payment to exercise some discipline and make sure that it is worth it. Such needy students can receive further help through the Opportunity Fund and the Trips for International Experience Fund. As long as the school can justify that the overseas trip adds to the development of students, the funds can be used to help these students embark on overseas learning programmes. We will also substantially enhance existing bursaries to help more students from both lower and middle-income families cope with the cost of post-secondary education. The Minister for Finance has already announced the increase in bursaries for university and polytechnic students. Today, I am happy to announce that MOE will further expand the bursary support for ITE students [chart *]. With these increases, students from the lowest 15% percentile will receive $1,000 a year. The extra amount received will help these students with other costs related to the ITE education. *4047-4048. On top of this change, we will now extend bursaries to include households up to the 66th percentile. Students from two-thirds of all households will now receive bursaries. 2.”
“There will be full-time advanced diploma courses that will be developed by NIE and a new award for in-service teachers who pursue full-time undergraduate studies. We want to also provide more flexibility and additional resources to schools to allow teachers to go on for further studies and fulfil other social roles as parents or caregivers. Many of the MPs have spoken about that. Seventy percent of our teachers are female, with more than half of them married with young children or of child-bearing age. MOE wants to provide more flexible work arrangements to allow them to raise the family and do post-graduate studies so that it becomes a career of choice. When teachers can opt for part-time or no-pay leave instead of leaving the service, MOE can keep more teachers. It is a long-term career option for them. Second prong: affordable education for all. Sir, we will increase the subsidies for students from lower and middle-income household substantially. Let me emphasise that these are not one-off measures – they are recurrent subsidies. This is in keeping with our pledge that no Singaporean should be denied an education because he or she cannot afford it. Let me start with primary and secondary schools. They are already heavily subsidised but MOE will provide extra funding to help needy students. As already announced, on top of MOE's financial assistance schemes (FAS), there will be a one-off top-up between $10,000 and $15,000 to the school advisory committee and the school management committee's funds. They can target students who do not meet the FAS criteria for financial assistance.”
“It helped many cohorts of primary school children solve simple word problems, and understand algebraic ideas. That seeding and leavening effect of deep profession expertise continues today. Let us take the example of Dr Elizabeth Pang. Dr Pang obtained a PhD in Educational Linguistics from Stanford. When she returned, she led a team of fellow curriculum specialists in developing STELLAR. Many Members are familiar with STELLAR programme – STELLAR stands for Strategies for English Language, Learning and Reading. It started as a pilot programme in 2006 and all primary schools have now adopted STELLAR. It has changed the way of students learn English. If Members go to the English classes now, it is very different from the way Members and I were taught. They no longer do just textbooks, they do drama, music lessons, read to one another, use big books, move from stations to stations, interact, use audio-visual aids. It has raised the standards of English in our neighbourhood schools. Today, we have about 500 teachers who are pursuing their post-graduate studies, mostly through part-time studying. Another 200 non-graduate teachers obtained undergraduate degrees each year. I recognise that there are opportunity costs when they upgrade, so the new TEACH package will give teachers, pursuing part-time Master's degrees, the option to take up part-time teaching. In other words, teachers can do part-time teaching and part-time upgrading, and we will also introduce a cash award upon completion of their part-time Masters degree to recognise their efforts. In addition, MOE will offer more scholarships as well as new post-graduate awards for full-time post-graduate studies. Non-graduate teachers will also have a wider range of upgrading avenues.”
“We will continue to ensure stringent selection standards because we want teaching to be a career of choice. We envision teachers staying for many decades. I agree with MPs that an experienced teacher can help a lot of students. We want them to help many generations of children, if we can, for a few decades. But to get these passionate teachers, we must offer attractive prospects. Our professionals have evolved a TEACH framework for teachers – "T" is for Teacher professionalism, "E" for Engagement, "A" for Aspirations, "C" for Career and "H" for Harmony between work and life. But core to this is teacher professionalism. There will be an ethos – and this will be a ground-up initiative – as what MPs have said, about teachers articulating their values and beliefs, something that Mr Liang Eng Hwa talked about – so that they can guide and inspire future generations of teachers. We have set up the Academy of Singapore Teachers to provide them the platform to share their expertise across Singapore. We are doing this not only just to benefit the teachers but because it benefits the students. Deep professional expertise can have profound leavening effects for the entire system. All of us know that "Singapore Maths" today is a brand name used by many countries that I travel to. They said, "Singapore Maths is very good". Many teachers were responsible for this. Dr Kho Teck Hong is one of them. He was the project director of the primary mathematics project team which was set up in the early 1980s. The Committee was tasked to teach Maths better. It was his team that introduced the Model Method. I know that many older MPs do not understand what the Model Method is, cannot do the sums using a Model Method, but our children are very adept [Laughter ].”
“The sphere of arts, sports, drama, dance, science and literature must thrive. Our strategy must again be to lift the tide for all Singaporeans. The poor will need extra help and resources but we must not become myopic in neglecting the whole of Singapore because that would indeed be short-sighted. To achieve this uplift for all Singaporeans, this renaissance, we must again focus on teachers as key agents of enabling mobility. Some MPs have asked what MOE is going to do for the future. I will say that there is no magic bullet. MOE will just have to do more of what we have been doing right, starting with teachers. We will continue to build or upgrade more schools and expand our programmes to develop diverse talents. We will increase our subsidies to the lower- and middle-income students so that good education remains affordable for all. Let me start with teachers. We have about 31,000 teachers today. The pool has increased from 24,000 a decade ago. Eighty percent of them are graduates, up from 56% in year 2000. The teachers with post-graduate degrees have jumped from 4% to 10%. They are impressive increases over a short time but MOE will still need more. We want to expand our teaching force to 33,000 by 2015 so that students and schools benefit from more customised learning. We are moving towards an all-graduate recruitment. We want to continue a high quality bar for recruitment, even though we want more. Yes, it would be a hard act but we will keep the standards there. We also want to promote a teacher-led culture of professional development. Mrs Josephine Teo and Ms Denise Phua asked how MOE is going to expand the teaching force while maintaining quality. That is an excellent question. Today, we have about 18,000 applicants for teachers but recruit only about 14%.”
“You are the one who can determine your own success. Yes, life might be hard for you. But if you try, you can succeed and others have. But, this Government will give you all the opportunities and adequate resources for you to reach your full potential. What is our strategy for the way forward? More importantly, how are we going to measure social mobility, especially now that Singapore is at such a high base? In the 1980s, it was easy to measure social mobility because 60% households live in 1- to 3-room flats. Let me give you a figure that will scare you in terms of what we are looking for. Forty-four percent of those aged 25 to 39 today have university education. Close to 50%. I doubt if their children, your children, my children are likely to climb very much higher than 50% or even 60% (with university education). There are also fewer Singaporeans who now live in 1- to 3-room HDB flats. That is why we are seeing less of them in top secondary schools, polytechnics and universities. It is just a general movement of society. To enable and measure social mobility for the next lap, you must not confine ourselves only to narrow academic domains or even specific groups. First and foremost, we must believe and focus on moving the whole of Singapore up. I started by saying that moving Singapore up is just as important as moving Singaporeans up within. Yes, we are at a higher plane. But if we become complacent or descend into hubris thinking that we have arrived, others will bypass us. Our education for this 21st century must expand to encompass the full limits of our people. We must always aspire to develop the richness of diverse talents within all Singaporeans. We must nurture creativity, innovativeness and entrepreneurship.”
“Their parents – one is a security guard, the other is a cleaner – take home modest salaries. But they were stout-hearted and determined in wanting to provide the right, not necessarily the most expensive environment, for their kids. I want to quote their mother Mdm Soh, who is a gem in my eyes. She said in Mandarin: "We have always been quite poor, so I save on the things like buying new clothes. But when it comes to things like nutritious foods or things for their studies, we try to make sure they have it." They succeeded – both twins are top students in Hwa Chong Institution. How many richer Singaporeans dare to say that they would have provided a better environment for these twins? Resources are important and we know that, but they are poor substitutes for love, devotion and sacrifice. All of us meet these stout-hearted, steady citizens in our house-to-house visits. When I go from house to house, I know what is a good environment instantly by looking into the house. A 3- or 4-room flat, I see the bookshelves are full, tables are cleared, some assessment books are there, sometimes there is a keyboard. I know that the mother and father are providing an excellent environment for these children. Finally, social mobility cannot mean a diminution of individual effort. Opportunities can and will be provided. But at the end of the day, it is the individual who determines his or her own success. He or she decides if opportunities are to be squandered or seized. We need to complete the messaging because otherwise you make people believe that you did not succeed because you were born in the wrong house, that you were not given enough tuition, you went to the wrong school – how many of you really believe that? Honestly.”
“For the 86% who did graduate from NorthLight, a third (32%) of them had already exceeded both their parents in terms of educational qualifications. Seventy-one percent passed all their modules and obtained an ITE skills certificate, and about a third (31%) went on to ITE. For this group of students who have failed their PSLE repeatedly, it is a remarkable achievement for their teachers and principal. 2.15 pm What of the future? Can we ensure the Singapore Story for the next generation? Here, I want to caution what social mobility should not be about. It cannot be about neglecting those with abilities just because they come from middle-income homes or are rich. It cannot mean holding back those who are able, so others can catch up. This would be detrimental to the whole society. I was quite happy, when PISA included Shanghai and they beat everybody. They set a new standard. More Chinese cities will be included and Members will be startled by how well the Chinese cities' students are performing. If we look only within ourselves and think that we have arrived, it will be detrimental to the whole society. We can and must provide opportunities to all and develop all students to their full potential. Second, ensuring social mobility, as MPs have said, cannot mean equal outcomes because students are inherently different. Third, while MOE seeks to provide opportunities to all, no education system can replace the vital role that family and caregivers provide for an enriching learning environment. Here, we must dispel the notion that only rich parents can provide the right environment for their children to succeed. Recently, Members must have read of the twins who were the top students in the "A" Levels from Hwa Chong Institution.”
“They conducted assessments for 65 countries and they have a very interesting construct called the Economic, Social and Cultural Status (ESCS) index. Basically, they took detailed information and constructed a socio-economic background of students across 65 countries in the world. Quite a massive task and very rigorous, so it provided a very good basis for comparison. First off, they showed that in most countries, there was a general positive relationship – the higher the ESCS, the higher the PISA scores. So, what we are observing in Singapore is no different everywhere else. Members are quite right. Family background makes a difference and has impact all across the world in terms of academic scores attained. But there was something else that we were interested in. They found that in some education systems, among them Singapore, China, Korea and Finland, a larger proportion of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds performed better than predicted. OECD called them "resilient students", students who excelled despite having come from less favourable circumstances. We were ranked fifth out of 65 countries for the proportion of resilient students. Almost one in two of our students were resilient, compared to one in three in the OECD. The PISA average was one in four. Singapore was one in two. These figures are not mere numbers but translate to hope for many students in real life here. Many Members know about NorthLight School. The first cohort graduated in 2009. Fourteen percent did not stay on to complete their education. This is a remarkable achievement because before NorthLight, which took over Geylang Serai Vocational Training Centre – 60% dropped out.”
“These figures have remained stable over the past decade even though the bottom one-third may be different. If we look at those who lived in 1- to 3-room HDB flats at Primary 1, we find that one in five of these students score in the top-third in the PSLE and the same proportion, one in five, score within the top 30% of every "O"- and "A"-Level cohort. So, if we track children who stay in 1- to 3-room flats, about half eventually *Cols. 4045-4046. progress to our universities and polytechnics. More importantly, these outcomes have remained unchanged since the 1980s – we have tracked it since the 1980s – even though the proportion that lived in 1- to 3-room flats has been coming down. This is as if we had a football league that has "A" Division, "B" Division and the "C" Division as the weakest. And the "C" Division has become smaller because "A" and "B" Divisions are more organised. Yet, players from "C" Division are still able to move up to "A" and "B" Divisions, even though the numbers in the "C" Division is coming down. In the 1980s, almost 60% of our Primary 1 students lived in 1- to 3-room flats. This had fallen to 30% by 1995 and yet half of those children progressed to our polytechnics and universities. Those who lived in 1- to 3-room flats only made up 15% of the 2005 Primary 1 cohort who took their PSLE in 2010 and yet about half of those did well – as the numbers showed. International experts have also analysed our progress and given us a sound basis for comparisons with other countries. Most Members know we recently published our results in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).”
“The key question the MPs are asking is has it worked to ensure social mobility? Has it help lower-income students? Gratifyingly, our data affirm that the Singapore Story continues for this generation. Students of all socio-economic backgrounds have been able to achieve good outcomes. Let me provide specific information. There has been a lot of talk about the PSLE so let me start there. If I take the top 5% of PSLE students and I ask, "From what schools do they come?" If someone says "50% comes from the top 10 schools" or "the top 80% comes from 20 schools", it may not be so surprising; but the top 5% of PSLE students come from 95% of primary schools and across all socio-economic backgrounds. Let me flip this around. Every primary school – just name any primary school in Singapore in your neighbourhood – would have at least 10 students who had scored in the top one-third of the PSLE cohort. So, when Ms Irene Ng mentioned her story, I was not surprised. Members will be able to find the top students within the top one-third in any primary school. Not one or two. At least 10. Coupled with merit-based entry into secondary schools, it means that every student has a good chance of success regardless of which primary school they attend. Let us look specifically at students who start from lower socio-economic backgrounds, the students who are in the bottom third by socio-economic status and we track them and we ask, "how did they do at PSLE?" Half of the students from the bottom one-third by socio-economic background score within the top two-thirds in the PSLE. One in six from this group scores within the top one-third. We can look at the trend curve as these figures are tracked over 10 years [indicating to a chart* distributed to Members].”
“At the secondary level, every school has more than eight in 10 teachers who are graduates. We have teachers who are scholars or award holders in all our secondary schools and JCs. Take any school, there will be a teacher there who is a scholar or an award-holder. We have also expanded the range of programmes, in particular, those catering to slower learners. That has seen the largest ramp-up in the last decade. These include: the Learning Support Programmes for both English and Mathematics at *Cols. 4043-4044. primary schools; the Elective Modules for Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) students; and the establishment of NorthLight School and the Assumption Pathway School to help students who fail PSLE and have difficulties handling the mainstream curriculum. These investments have indeed translated to better educational outcomes. Today we have almost 100% participation rate of Singaporeans in our primary schools. Close to 99% of each cohort complete 10 years of primary and secondary education. This is one of the highest completion rates in the world – close to 99%. This builds a strong foundation for progression to our ITE, polytechnics and/or universities. Fifty percent more students are now progressing to our universities compared to a decade ago, 40% more to our polytechnics and 30% more to ITEs. Our education system creates opportunities for all our students. Regardless of which school they are in or what background they come from, our students are able to learn at their own pace, and develop in areas they are passionate about and can excel in, and achieve their maximum potential. Customisation and differentiation of educational pathways are key reasons for our robust and responsive education system.”
“This scale of increases in funding per student in primary and secondary schools has allowed us to increase significantly the number and quality of teachers, and to start more programmes to meet specific needs of children. Ms Denise Phua talked about special education, or whether it was for slower learners. It allowed us to customise, to differentiate and to meet different needs. Over the last decade, MOE invested some $25 billion to deliver a first-class, highly educated and well-trained teaching service. We spent five times more on teachers than we did on buildings. Twenty-five billion dollars for teachers and about $5 billion for upgrading the facilities of 125 primary schools and 75 secondary schools. This is as it should be because good teachers make the bigger difference. Sir, let me give Members some numbers so they can have a feel of what the increased spending translated to. Compared to 10 years ago, each school today, not just some, has on average 30% to 50% more staff – that means 20 more new teachers on average and, in addition, new allied educators and support staff. As a result, the pupil-teacher ratio has improved from 26:1 to 19:1 – nearly a 30% improvement in our primary schools. For secondary schools and JCs, the increase is less – about 16%. The quality of our teachers is spread across the system. We deploy our teachers based on the level and subject they teach, and the needs of the school students – something which Ms Irene Ng brought up. Every school has its fair share of experienced and qualified teachers. Almost all primary schools have at least one in three teachers with more than 10 years of experience, and at least half of the teachers in each primary school are graduates.”
“It does not matter if we have one or two brand name schools or many such schools. Sure, parents compete. It happens all over the world. What we must ensure is that we have good schools everywhere that students can have access to wherever they live. To achieve this, we must therefore resource all schools well, not just some. We must ensure that good teachers are spread out across the system, not only to the few top schools. We must ensure that all students have enrichment programmes or CCAs – which is what Ms Joscelin Yeo and Mdm Cynthia Phua were asking for – that can develop them to their full potential. This, indeed, is exactly what MOE has been doing, especially in the past two decades or so. Let me give you some specifics. Firstly, we have increased our investments into education significantly over the years. I have distributed a chart* [the handout was distributed to Members]. Over the last decade, it has risen steadily, even during economic downturns. That is the first important point. Our budget this year is $10.9 billion, almost double from a decade ago and 10% more than last year. More importantly, the increase in spending has benefited all students and not only a select few. We deliver a consistently high standard of education across all our schools, ITE, polytechnics and universities. Over the last 10 years, annual recurrent funding per student in primary schools saw the largest increase, more than double — up 110% to almost $7,000 in 2010. In the same period, funding for secondary schools and JCs grew almost 75%; ITE, 50%; polytechnics, 55%; universities, 35%. The bulk of the increase has been on general education in the primary, secondary and JC sectors.”
“I meet them and many Singaporeans who share similar success stories. And I know many MPs here know of them. I believe deeply that the same Singapore Story can and must be written for every new generation. I know I am not alone in this belief. Many MPs too spoke impassionedly about re-writing the Singapore Story for every generation. Indeed, Singapore must always be a land of opportunity and hope for all Singaporeans. Have we kept faith with our founding fathers and ensured that opportunities continue to exist for all today? How do we continue the Singapore Story for this generation and the next? This was the key question that MPs were asking. What does social mobility mean today with a very different societal profile from that in the 1960s and 1970s? These are important questions that need to be addressed for all Singaporeans about our future. 2.00 pm Let me assure this House that enabling social mobility will continue to be a hallmark of our education system. MOE believes that education can and should uplift individuals and families. I agree with MPs too that in doing so, we cannot aim for equality of outcomes. That is not what we are asking for. Not equality of outcomes because students are inherently different. Neither can we stop parents who can afford it, from spending large sums on pre-school or private tuition for their children, as Mr Low Thia Khiang and Ms Joscelin Yeo pointed out. What we must ensure is that opportunities abound for all students and that no student is denied a high quality education because he or she cannot afford it. How do we achieve this? How do we ensure that no student is denied a high quality education because he or she cannot afford it? As always, through good schools that students can have access to, wherever they live.”
“This rental flat overlooked the Alexandra Canal, which was a far cry from what it is today after MEWR’s ABC Waters programme. But we had our own Version 1 of the ABC programme – Active but Be Careful because you could fall into the longkang. The canal flooded often, to the delight of kids living there. Every time it rained and got flooded, that was play time! I can still hear my mother’s clarion warning to be careful lest we got swept away by the currents. She spoke in vernacular – "Ler um zai si!" *Cols. 4041-4042. Upgrading meant moving to a 3-room flat in Queenstown. This time we did not have to share and we could own it. But there were still hard times with bills unpaid and my mother had to do odd jobs, sewing and cooking at home to earn extra income. I am thankful that my parents believed in a good education for me and my siblings. That changed our lives. I am also grateful that I could become a doctor after studying at the National University of Singapore. I know it was heavily subsidised as my family could never have afforded the full costs. Later, a Government scholarship allowed me to train in the United States as a cancer surgeon. Many Members including Mrs Josephine Teo and Mdm Halimah Yacob have spoken about this unique meritocratic Singapore system. This massive rising tide that lifted a boy from a 3-room flat in Queenstown to top cancer centres in the US. Today, I am able to provide my children with a quality of life far better than I could ever have imagined growing up. I consider myself blessed but my story is not unusual in Singapore. Many of my old friends who grew up with me in the same HDB neighbourhood, who took the bus to school with me, and when I meet them now, I see how much they have risen in life.”
“That was in the 1960s. By 1990, almost 90% of households owned their homes, which was a dramatic increase from 30% in 1970. Not only more owned homes but the homes were bigger. The percentage of households who lived in 1- to 3-room flats fell too – from 80% in 1970, it dropped to 25% in 2010. The rise in educational attainments was equally impressive. Steady jobs, better incomes, bigger homes provided a more conducive social environment for academic achievement all round. We will take just one metric – in 1980, only a quarter of those aged 25 to 39 years had completed secondary school or above. That is the chart* [indicating a chart shown to Members ]. Members would see that three quarters had primary school education. In other words, a quarter had secondary school education or higher. This jumped four-fold to 96% in 2010: those who had secondary school education or above. What this means is that most Singaporeans born in the 1970s and 1980s would have attained educational qualifications of at least one if not two or more levels above those of their parents. It cannot be that they got smarter. Genetic changes take longer. It is just that they had more opportunities. Many of us aged 50 or older today, born before 1960, do not need these statistics to convince us about the Singapore Story. There are many MPs here, and I have heard the stories they have shared across the years. We experienced this rising tide first-hand. My parents had six children. My first home as a young boy was a rental flat in Zion Road. We shared it as tenants with other families. It never occurred to me that I was poor then, or that it was not the norm to share abodes.”
“Both elements are important – of the entire country and the people within it. There were remarkable improvements in almost all conventional measures of living standards, indeed, we were physically transformed – not only the city landscape but its people too, literally! What do I mean? I witnessed this profound change, this phenomenon, on our people physically as a young doctor. Due to better nutrition, children grew taller and heavier. When we started out as medical students, we referred to height-weight charts and as we went to the wards, we realised they were no longer applicable because our children were already way off the charts. Height-weight charts based on older cohorts became obsolete and had to be revised and adjusted periodically. With widespread public sanitation and vaccination programmes, disease patterns changed. I started as a medical student seeing some infectious diseases which were typical of poorly developed countries but as I aged and progressed in my training, they changed to diabetes and heart diseases associated with affluent societies. Infant mortality rates, which represent a very useful indicator of general healthcare standards, dived to one of the lowest in the world. In short, more babies lived, grew taller and bigger; adults acquired affluent diseases born of richer lifestyles even as they lived longer – a profound change. With rising home ownership, wealth across the belt of heartlanders increased. Families moved from kampongs and slums to HDB flats. Many MPs would be familiar – if we asked the 1- to 3-roomers when they bought the flats, they would say, "in the 1960s, 1970s", and at least in Queenstown and Toa Payoh: "$6,200 for a flat". Some of them cost a thousand dollars more if it was a corner unit.”
“Sir, let me thank the many MPs who have spoken passionately about education during the Budget debate and this COS. I have enjoyed all their accounts, whether it was Ms Irene Ng's students in Changkat or the various ceremonies that Members attended. These tell me that as leaders of society, our Members of Parliament are very concerned and watch education very carefully. We recognise this trust placed upon MOE. There were many issues raised but there was one particular issue which I thought deserved a complete response, rather than just a tangential response. This is social mobility. Today, it was raised by Mrs Josephine Teo, Mdm Halimah Yacob, Mr Christopher de Souza and Ms Irene Ng, and others during the Budget debate. Social mobility stands at the heart of our education processes, and indeed, our whole-of-Government policies. My colleagues will deal with specific issues later but I would like to deal with this squarely. I think it is important enough. From 1960 to 2010, Singapore's per capita nominal GDP rose 100-fold, from US$400 to more than US$40,000 today. Nice number to remember. This remarkable achievement has been variously depicted. Monikers abound, and Members would be familiar with them: "sleepy fishing village to world-class hub", "colonial backwater to economic powerhouse", "Third World to First", etc. But for me, "The Singapore Story" probably best captures this economic transformation. It was a massive rising tide that lifted all boats, with a reach that extended deep into the heartlands. Stagnant pools turned into thriving waterways as the tidal rise was sustained over 40-odd years. As a result, social mobility occurred en masse – and this is important – both of Singapore compared to other countries and within the society.”
“Mr Speaker, I take the Member's comment in the general direction that we want to weed out and we want to be aware of instances which would affect the selection of that person as a teacher. That is the overall aspect. At the same time, I think we would have to give the schools the judgement when they write the testimonials: do we want them to write every misdemeanour? When do you think that someone has learned a lesson as a 12-year-old, a 13-year-old or a 14-year-old and to be put on record? There is a certain element of judgement that we want to give to teachers and their principals. Arising from this particular case, rather than give the school a blanket rule that "thou shall record all misdemeanours in scripts" which will then affect his application for a variety of positions and not necessarily just teaching, I think it is better for MOE to write to the school to ask them, "Is there anything in the course of his time in the school that you think will not make him suitable as a teacher?" I think that may be the better lesson learned here. So, that is what we have decided. In general, I think our selection processes are robust enough. Obviously, we do not have a fool-proof system. A candidate can undergo psychologists' interviews and it would still not be possible for them to pick up that the candidate may not be suitable to be a teacher. We will strengthen and tighten our processes along the way. POSTAL DELIVERY SERVICES (Level of customer satisfaction) 14. Mr Arthur Fong asked the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts for an assessment of the level of satisfaction of the postal services especially after the non-delivery of mail on weekends and the many complaints from residents.”
“Scholars do return during their undergraduate study. For example, some of them are asked to come back for three to four weeks during their breaks if they are scheduled for any development programmes. There are requirements where they are asked to inform should, for instance, they are picked up by police or where there is a charge pending. There are some of the instances that we require of them to inform us before they are accepted on scholarship. In that particular instance, the scholar chose not do. Arising from this incident, we recognise that there are processes that could be tightened to allow us to better monitor our scholars not only in terms of their academic progression in the university course but as well as these related aspects. So, we are looking into these processes. Er Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio): Sir, I would like to ask the Minister, moving forward, whether the Ministry will ask the schools that the scholarship applicants attended to declare or to write a report on all previous cases of misconduct, despite these being non-police cases.”
“Any concerns of panel members can constitute a veto even when the so-called candidate meets the requirements. When they are unsure about the candidate's integrity, they will discuss the various issues and reach a decision. MOE screens all candidates selected for teaching positions and scholarships against police records before appointing or awarding them. Where relevant, checks are also made with the candidate’s previous employers or school. So, we have a fairly robust system but, obviously, our screening procedures cannot weed out all unsuitable candidates. Moving forward, as we learn from isolated instances, MOE will tighten selection processes where potential scholars are concerned. Arising from the previous case, MOE will specifically ask the candidate's school to provide more information which may affect their suitability as teachers. In other words, a directed question.”
“MOE takes a holistic view when selecting teachers and teaching scholars. Apart from academic qualifications, shortlisted candidates are required to undergo an interview process. During this interview process, the panel will assess the candidate's overall abilities, his aptitude, character, and the passion to teach and develop students under their charge. For applicants for a teaching position, the panel is chaired by a school leader, typically a school principal. That assessment panel has access to the applicants' transcripts, CCA records, school testimonials, work references and details of their employment history, where available. Similarly, shortlisted candidates for the Teaching Scholarship will be interviewed by a panel comprising senior management and education officers. The interview selection panel looks at candidates' CCA records, school testimonials, personal essay, psychometric assessment and National Service records for insights into their conduct, character and values. The panel also assesses the candidates' leadership potential. Candidates selected for an overseas scholarship undergo an additional interview conducted by trained psychologists to assess their leadership style, interpersonal social behaviours, character and values, thinking, communication style, and the ability to adjust to overseas living because some of them will be sent overseas for their studies. This psychological report is an additional input to the deliberations of the interview selection panel. Our panel members are experienced and are generally able to interpret and identify information gaps from various documents for clarification with the candidates given their experience within and outside of the Education Service.”
“Mr Speaker, can I have your permission to take the two questions together?”
“The Learning Support for Mathematics (LSM) was implemented in all primary schools in January 2007 to help Primary 1 students who lack foundation knowledge and skills in numeracy. The effectiveness of the LSM was reviewed in 2008. Based on the review and feedback from teachers, MOE developed an enhanced version which was more structured and contained detailed lesson plans and progress monitoring tools for teachers. The enhanced LSM was piloted in 51 schools in 2009 – 2010. MOE is currently reviewing the effectiveness of the enhanced LSM. We expect the review to be completed by end of 2010. PUBLIC AWARENESS OF PROBLEM GAMBLING 10. Mr Terry Lee asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports since the start of the two Integrated Resorts (a) what is the increase in the number of gambling-related problems and what are these problems; (b) how effective are the various education programmes to promote public awareness on problem gambling; and (c) how can these programmes be further improved.”
“A steering committee which includes medical professionals, educators, health education experts, family life educators and counsellors is chaired by the Director General of Education to oversee this process. In reviewing the curriculum and implementation of sexuality education in schools, the Steering Committee also consults COMPASS [COmmunity and PArents in Support of Schools] to take into account the views and concerns of parents and the community. MOE had already started the process of refreshing the sexuality education framework and curriculum to take into consideration societal changes and the new media. (3) The percentage change is computed as follows: (Previous year's figures – Current year's figures/Previous year's figures)* 100. (4) The data on teen pregnancies come from MOH and it is derived from the number of teen live births + number of teen abortions. MOH is prohibited from divulging the NRICs of the abortion cases due to the Termination of Pregnancy Act. For the teen live births, the information is owned by ICA. Without a full database of all the teenagers who are pregnant, it is difficult to establish accurately how many are still in school system during or after the year of pregnancy. LEARNING SUPPORT FOR MATHEMATICS PROGRAMME 9. Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Education (a) whether the Learning Support for Mathematics programme for Primary 1 students who are weak in Mathematics is available in all schools; and (b) whether the Ministry has done any studies to assess the effectiveness of this programme.”
“MOE regularly reviews the effectiveness of sexuality education in schools and takes steps to improve the content and delivery of the programme. At the school level, teachers use questionnaire surveys, journal reflections and informal discussions to gather student feedback on the sexuality education programme. Reports from schools indicate that the programme is effective in increasing student understanding about sexuality matters, including the negative consequences of teenage sexual activity. Parental support for the programme has also been quite positive as reported by the schools. Although parents have the choice to opt their children out of the sexuality education programme, the opt-out rate is less than 1%. Over the last three years from 2007 to 2009, there has been a decline in the incidence of STI/HIV among teenagers, teenage pregnancies, teenage abortions and teenage live births. The teenage pregnancy rate was 2,196 in 2007 and declined by about 4% and 11% in 2008 and 2009 respectively(3). Not all students inform the school if they become pregnant(4). Thus, we are not able to establish the exact number of pregnant teenagers who have dropped out of school. However, we have seen a decrease in the overall dropout rate from 3% in 2005 to 1.5% in 2009. Schools work with parents and community partners to support students who are known to be pregnant. School counsellors will follow up on students who drop out and refer them to community support services. In addition, the Ministry of Education's (MOE's) readmission policy also enables such students to be readmitted back to the school system. MOE will continue to review the content and teaching approaches to sexuality education regularly to ensure that it remains relevant to our students.”
“To sustain volunteerism beyond the school years, MOE encourages schools to forge long-term partnerships with community organisations to deepen the quality of the CIP experience for our students and to allow for continuity of contribution beyond the schooling years. Schools also encourage their students to tap on national platforms such as National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre's (NVPC) Singapore Cares, which is an on-line platform offering volunteering opportunities for individuals. MOE will continue to review the CIP and work with partner agencies, such as the NVPC, to engage students in community service both while they are in school and after they graduate. RULES FOR PUBLIC OFFICERS (On visiting gaming places) 26. Er Lee Bee Wah asked the Prime Minister in view of recent cases of cheating involving civil servants (a) what is the rule for public officers who visit gaming places such as casinos and the Singapore Turf Club; and (b) whether there are public officers who hold sensitive positions who are barred from visiting such gambling establishments.”
“The Community Involvement Programme (CIP) provides students with the opportunity to participate in meaningful activities which contribute to the community. It aims to nurture a sense of social responsibility and help students understand that everyone can play a part in bettering the community. Schools prepare their students for CIP. Teachers provide proper structure, guidance and supervision so as to engage their students. For example, as a preparation for CIP, students at Nanyang Junior College discuss community needs during Civics tutorials to raise awareness of social issues in the community, while students from Ang Mo Kio Secondary School play an active part in identifying organisations they want to work with for their CIP. Not only do teachers prepare their students beforehand, they also encourage them to reflect on their learning after they take part in a CIP activity. The Ministry of Education (MOE) agrees that the CIP serves as an important first step to encouraging long-term involvement in community service. Even though CIP is no longer compulsory at the Junior College (JC) level, MOE's surveys show that JC students continue to actively participate in CIP, with many students initiating their own CIP projects. This is a positive outcome. However, MOE will retain the current approach of mandating six hours of community service per year at the primary and secondary school levels, as this serves as a platform to introduce all students to community involvement. Students can decide whether to go beyond this minimum requirement and indeed, many primary and secondary school students choose to perform more than six hours of community service per year.”
“Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the phasing out of training subsidies under the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) will force employers to cut back on training for their employees; and (b) if so, how will the Ministry address the issue of employees continuing lifelong training for skills acquisition.”
“In 2010, seven more primary schools turned single-session, bringing the total number of primary schools on single-session to 83 or 47%. Another five primary schools will turn single-session next year. Most Government and Government-aided primary schools would move to single-session by 2016. To allow all our primary schools to go single session, MOE plans to build up to 18 new primary schools and enhance the infrastructure of up to 80 existing primary schools in phases. In the first phase, MOE will build 11 new primary schools and upgrade 28 existing schools. With the additional places in the new schools, the Primary 1 intake of existing schools can be reduced to allow them to transit to single session. Schools that have moved to a single-session model have shared positive feedback about being able to provide a better environment to develop their pupils. By providing pupils with more time and space to interact meaningfully with their teachers, the implementation of single-session model helps balance the acquisition of knowledge with the delivery of skills and imparting of core values to our children. Teachers from all six levels also have a common time to collaborate and share best pedagogical practices. Single-session school operation has also helped to minimise logistical issues in the scheduling of activities, such as the Programme for Active Learning (PAL). For example, New Town Primary School has been able to schedule two hours of PAL activities within curriculum time on two separate school days and it has sufficient facilities to support the allocation of the classes to participate in the different PAL activities during the PAL time slot. PHASING OUT OF TRAINING SUBSIDIES (SPUR) 2.”
“Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how effective has the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme been in boosting the wages of low-skilled and low-income Singaporean workers, in particular cleaners; (b) whether the wages of the lowest-income group have seen increases over the past five years; and (c) if so, what is the percentage of increase each year, calculated with and without the WIS.”
“MOE's Performance Indicators for School Management (PRISM) that evaluate effectiveness of schools based on comparison between actual O-Level results and expected performance, have also shown SSP's value-add, with O-Level students performing above expectations with a mean subject grade of 2.7, higher than the expected grade of 3.5. To ensure adequate preparation for further education and employability, SSP builds partnerships and pathways that cater to students of differing academic abilities. Students can now sit for the O- and N-Level examinations, as well as enrol in diploma programmes such as the Republic Polytechnic-Singapore Sports School Diploma in Sports and Leisure Management. The School will also commence the six-year International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme from 2011, beginning with the current 2010 Secondary 1 cohort. These extended academic pathways allow students more time in the Sports School to optimise the integration of studies, training and competition, and enhance the quality of young athletes progressing to senior elite levels. The various post-secondary pathways also offer their students the opportunity to gain admission into local or reputable overseas universities. In addition, SSP, in partnership with the Singapore Sports Council, offers a customised athlete lifestyle programme, which helps provide SSP athletes with support services in education, career and life-skills development, to enable them to integrate their sporting aspirations with their career goals. With the conclusion of the YOG, my Ministry is also planning a comprehensive review of the overall career and education support for our athletes. WORKFARE INCOME SUPPLEMENT (Impact on low-income Singaporeans) 23.”