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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“These schools offer about 500 places. SINGAPORE SPORTS SCHOOL (Objectives and effectiveness) 22. Ms Joscelin Yeo asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) based on the objectives of having a sports school in Singapore, what is the Ministry's assessment of the effectiveness of the Singapore Sports School (SSP) since its inception; (b) does the Ministry have any plans to help athletes balance their career goals and sporting commitments after they leave SSP; and (c) if so, what are they. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: The Singapore Sports School (SSP) was set up in 2004 to enable young athletes to realise their sporting and academic potential by combining world-class sports training with quality academic education. Since its inception, SSP has housed and nurtured over 600 talented student athletes to realise both their academic and sporting potential. On the sporting front, the SSP has produced, to date, two Olympians, six World Champions, two Asian, one Commonwealth and 23 SEA Games Gold medallists. Their students have broken 50 national records. At the recently concluded Youth Olympic Games, 22 out of 131 Team Singapore athletes were from SSP. They won a silver medal in table tennis and a bronze medal in taekwondo, and formed a large part of the football team that won a bronze medal. Academically, the School has also done well. Of the 39 students who sat for the 2009 GCE O-Level examinations, one in three candidates achieved five or more distinctions. At least 75% of candidates were eligible for junior college, and 97% for polytechnic entrance. The distinction and pass rates for the majority of core subjects have also surpassed the national averages.”
“In the past three years, an average of 550 children per year were placed in the 20 SPED schools operated by voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) and co-funded by MOE and National Council of Social Services (NCSS). The schools received about 850 applications. Parents have the choice to approach any of the SPED schools to apply for admission and some parents make multiple applications. This largely explains why the number of applications exceeds the number of children allocated places. If an applicant does not gain admission into a particular school because of a lack of fit with the admission criteria, the child will be referred to another school which can better meet his or her needs. Every child who applies for admission should be able to find a place in one of the SPED schools. All, except one, SPED schools have sufficient places to meet the demand for admission. Pathlight School, which serves autistic children who are able to access the mainstream curriculum, has a wait list. Students in the wait list are currently enrolled in other SPED or mainstream schools. Parents of these children have been advised that there are sufficient places in other SPED schools catering to children with autism. Children with mild autism could also remain in mainstream schools with Allied Educators who can help to support their learning. The current capacity of the 20 SPED schools is 6,700, of which 4,900 places have been filled. There are sufficient SPED school places across the different disability types, including autism. MOE will continue to monitor the vacancies in each SPED school carefully and will work with schools to cater to demand for places for the different disability groups. There are five private SPED schools registered by the Council for Private Education.”
“GEP students are selected using tests which have been developed based on well-accepted research and best practices. They test innate intelligence for the top 1% of the population. Special preparatory classes cannot enable a child to perform at a level beyond his capacity. We remind parents of these facts and not to place undue pressure on their children to study for the GEP tests. MOE does not track the number and percentage of pupils who attend special classes to prepare for the tests and we do not have any plans to do so. UNDERGROUND LINKWAY (City Hall MRT Station to Capitol Building) 32. Mr Teo Siong Seng asked the Minister for National Development whether his Ministry will bring forward the plan to build an underground walkway linking City Hall MRT Station to the Capitol Building to prevent any road accident that may arise from MRT commuters dashing across North Bridge Road especially on rainy days.”
“Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports how has the Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles evolved since its formation nearly 10 years ago vis-a-vis its current role and future relevance towards the propagation of racial harmony in Singapore.”
“(a) Schools have various Standard Operating Procedures to deal with different emergencies. If students are stranded in schools during a flood, the schools will put students' safety as their priority. Besides, moving the students to higher elevation for safety, schools will attend to the students' well-being. Parents will be contacted as necessary. Schools will work with the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) if there is a need for evacuation. (b) The Ministry of Education (MOE) has a turfing and planting maintenance programme in our schools. The contractors engaged by MOE carry out fortnightly visual inspection on the condition of the trees. The contractors' teams, which include qualified horticulturists, would submit a bi-monthly report on the tree inspections. If recommended by the horticulturists, they will carry out more stringent checks on the trees. As part of their work, overgrown branches are cut and pruned regularly. Based on the inspections, wilted, dead, diseased and damaged trees are either replaced or removed from the school premises to ensure that they do not endanger our students and staff. In view of the recent weather conditions, MOE has asked our contractors to perform thorough inspections of the old trees in our schools. These inspections are led by qualified horticulturists who have undergone training by NParks and are able to identify trees which are decaying or at risk of falling down. When required, an arborist may also be brought in to advise on the health of the trees and the safety measures required. INTER-RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS CONFIDENCE CIRCLES (Future relevance) 4.”
“Fatimah Lateef asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) how many cases have been referred to the National Council for Problem Gambling for the past two years; and (b) how many individuals have requested for (i) themselves and (ii) their family members, to be excluded from entering gambling facilities at the integrated resorts since they commenced operation.”
“Currently, PSLE results are reported in terms of (a) subject grades for each of the four subjects, and (b) an aggregate score for the four subjects. Subject grades, namely A*, A, B, and so on, indicate the level of achievement of a pupil in a subject, ie, how well a pupil has mastered the knowledge and skills required for the subject. These are assigned on the basis of raw scores. Trends in raw scores, as reflected in the proportions of students who took four standard subjects and scoring A* to C, have remained relatively stable in the past three years (Table 1). The trends for specific grade distribution have also remained relatively stable during the three-year period, with 1% to 2%-point variation. Table 1: Percentage range of students# who obtained A* to C for each subject at the PSLE (from 2007 to 2009) Subject EL Mathematics Science MTL Proportion of students obtaining A* to C 97-98% 83-84% 90-92% 98% #Students who took four standard subjects at the PSLE. The PSLE aggregate score reflects the overall performance of a pupil in comparison with his or her peers, and is used for the purpose of the Secondary 1 posting exercise. The subject grades and aggregate score provide sufficient information on a child's performance at the PSLE, and raw scores are not necessary. Together with the child's performance in regular assignments and assessments in schools, parents will have adequate feedback on their child's progress in education. PROBLEM GAMBLING CASES REFERRED TO COUNCIL 7. Assoc. Prof.”
“Er Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports in view of the falling birth rate in Singapore (a) whether the Government will consider adapting the Swedish system to give extended leave from work to husbands to encourage men to shoulder greater responsibility in looking after their children; (b) what plans are in the pipeline to improve gender equality so that both parents can recognise their shared responsibility in parenting and tending to housework; and (c) what is the Ministry's position on the Swedish system's approach to boosting birth rates.”
“Appropriate disciplinary actions to be taken against plagiarism are set out in schools and institutes of higher learning (IHLs). For example, students caught plagiarising will not receive a grade for the subject concerned. In extreme cases, they can face suspension or expulsion. Processes have also been put in place by schools and universities to inculcate academic integrity and honesty and to reiterate to students that plagiarism is wrong. For instance at Junior Colleges, subjects that require course work or independent study such as Project Work require students to complete a formal declaration as part of their coursework submission to declare that the projects and reports are their own work. These declarations are endorsed by the supervising teachers. Should students need to make reference to other sources of work, teachers have also emphasised to their students the need to acknowledge fully and in detail the words and ideas of others. Students are also aware that software such as Turnitin[5] can be used by teachers and assessors to check for plagiarism. At present, the number of cases of plagiarism is comparatively low – less than 10 cases each year at our national examinations and less than 0.3% of enrolment in the universities. [5] Such plagiarism software checks students' work for improper citation or potential plagiarism by comparing it against documents in its database. EXTENDED PATERNITY LEAVE 50.”
“Mdm Cynthia Phua asked the Minister for Education (a) how serious is the issue of plagiarism among students in secondary schools, junior colleges and universities in Singapore; (b) whether the Ministry is providing any guidance to the students especially in view of the recent change in pedagogy leaning towards research and self-learning; and (c) what actions are or will be taken against students in the most extreme cases of plagiarism.”
“Since the inception of the Allied Educators Scheme (AES) in 2009, MOE has tripled the pool of Allied Educators (AEDs), from 574 officers in January 2009 to 1,722 officers as at 31 May 2010. The total number of AEDs is projected to grow to about 2,800 by the end of 2015. Compared to public sector norms, the resignation rate of AEDs is relatively low, at less than 4%. To attract good candidates to join the AES and to retain them, the remuneration package of AEDs is reviewed annually and takes into consideration market salary levels. MOE will also continue to refine our selection process to recruit quality AEDs with the right aptitude and attitude. In August 2009, MOE launched a competency-based appraisal framework for AEDs. Based on inputs from school leaders, teachers as well as AEDs, the appraisal framework provides clarity on AEDs' job responsibilities, and helps AEDs to better understand their individual strengths and development needs. MOE also conducted a post-implementation review of the AES towards the end of 2009, where the relevant stakeholders were consulted to gather feedback on the Scheme. Based on our findings, the AES is generally well-received. Schools appreciate the additional manpower support provided by AEDs, while AEDs appreciate the opportunity to work with students. As the AES is a relatively new scheme, MOE will continue to look into the needs and well-being of the AEDs to see how MOE can better support them in their work. PLAGIARISM IN SCHOOLS 49.”
“As the People's Festival, the Arts Festival will continue to familiarise audiences with Festival productions, art forms and the creative process through the yearlong calendar of education and outreach events leading up to the 2011 Festival. As a Creation Festival, next year's Festival will see new incubated works by Singapore's finest artists and arts companies come to fruition. In conclusion, I would like to assure Ms Irene Ng that we will carefully consider all feedback, consult with audiences, and continually review the format and programming of the Festival, to make it relevant to Singaporeans, for Singaporeans. THIRTY PERCENT INCOME RISE FOR AVERAGE SINGAPOREANS OVER NEXT 10 YEARS 36. Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for Finance whether he will elaborate on his recent statement of a Singapore being an economy with top quality skills that will raise incomes for average Singaporeans by 30% in the next 10 years, from a median wage of $2,400 to $3,100.”
“The wide appeal of Festival programmes is evident from the impressive 54% of sold out performances this year. This year's Festival also raised awareness of Singapore's performance heritage and history, prompting new audiences and long-time fans to look back at eminent Singaporean productions with fresh perspectives. Margaret Chan's rendition of "Emily of Emerald Hill" sold out quickly, and garnered excellent reviews from both the media and audiences. Another seminal production, "Those Who Can't, Teach", by The Necessary Stage, also received a similar positive reception. Collaborations are essential to achieving a programming mix that is both cutting-edge and resonant among Singaporeans. Collaborations with international partners provide a platform for creative dialogue between local and foreign artists, which seek to share experiences and spark inspirations for local productions with international appeal. To give an example, this year's collaboration with the French Compagnie Carabosse for the opening event exposed the Singaporean volunteers and artists involved to new techniques and possibilities for public arts performances and installations. Collaborations with local audiences, by involving them in the incubation process, will also ensure the relevance of local productions to the Festival and its audiences. Looking ahead, the Singapore Arts Festival will continue to strive to become the quintessential "People and Creation Festival". The 2011 Festival is themed "I want to remember", and will build on the many successful initiatives piloted this year.”
“To connect with audiences, the Festival introduced a year-long education and outreach programme to sustain its engagement with the public beyond the festival period, and to build communities of art lovers, art makers and art volunteers. The Festival also seeks to foster a sense of ownership through its unique blend of home-grown works and international brand names, so that Singaporeans can be proud of the Festival's international standing, and yet embrace it as their own. In addition, Singaporeans are invested in the Festival through active participation in Festival showcases and outreach activities. Notably, in the vein of embracing the creative spirit and promoting "Arts for All", the Festival culminated in a Mega Line Dance closing event, which brought together 2,100 line dancers from all ages, backgrounds and walks of life. Audience and critics alike appreciate the Festival's increasing focus on quality local productions and accessible, interactive events. Over the years, the Festival has also garnered higher sponsorships than its predecessor. In spite of uncertainty following the economic downturn, sponsors and donors generously contributed over $1.7 million to this year's Festival. In terms of content and collaborations, the Festival strives to achieve a programming mix that appeals to a wide range of ages, cultures and artistic taste in order to engage all segments of the population. While international heavyweights such as Joshua Bell, Peter Brook and the Cloud Gate Theatre make their presence felt, regional and local productions are also rapidly making their mark in the Festival, with about half of the nine sold-out productions featuring artists from Southeast Asia.”
“RAdm [NS] Lui Tuck Yew: I would like to thank Ms Irene Ng for her interest in the Singapore Arts Festival and its future direction. Ms Ng's question addresses three key issues: first, the development of the Singapore Arts Festival into its present state; second, the cultivation of Singaporeans' sense of ownership of the Festival; and third, the content and collaborations featured in the Festival. I will address these points in turn. The Singapore Arts Festival has come a long way since its beginnings over 30 years ago as a national showcase that celebrates the local arts of our diverse communities. Over time, it has explored the invitation of international stalwarts, the commissioning of new local works, the inclusion of crowd-pleasers, as well as the revisit of seminal works by Singaporean writers. These have shaped the Festival's direction, form and programming mix. Today, the Festival is a celebration of the arts with a distinctive Asian flavour, featuring bold and innovative collaborations. It is still evolving. Yet, at its heart, it remains a People's Festival – a festival that is committed to the interests and aspirations of our people and resonant among artists and audiences alike. Reflecting this, this year's Festival was themed "Between You and Me", and focused on fostering connections with artists and audiences, in order to nurture their sense of ownership of the Festival. To connect with artists, the Festival launched targeted platforms that facilitated deeper dialogue, collaboration and engagement on issues such as tradition and its continued relevance.”
“On average, 55,600 students a year participated in the inter-school sports competitions in 2008 and 2009, and of these participants, 1,100 or about 2% were international students. Only Singapore citizens are eligible for certain benefits such as Edusave scholarships, bursaries and financial assistance schemes. In areas such as school fees and registration for Primary 1, Singapore citizens also enjoy greater privileges than non-citizens. However, in sports meets and academic tests, competition encourages all students to strive and excel. Hence, in such areas, we allow all students within our national schools to compete alike based on merit, regardless of nationality. There are benefits to creating opportunities for more students to compete at the recreational level, even if not all of them reach the apex of the sport. Not only do sports competitions help students develop their games skills, they also build character. As such, MOE will work with the Singapore Schools Sports Council and National Sports Associations to create Division II or III leagues for various games. This will allow students who do not currently have the opportunity to represent their schools in inter-school sports competitions to compete at the recreational level for a start. ASSESSMENT OF SINGAPORE ARTS FESTIVAL 34. Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong asked the Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts whether he will provide an assessment of the Singapore Arts Festival and its development into an international yet quintessentially Singaporean festival which artistically presents Singapore's finest artists and companies in new works and international collaborations and demographically engages with as many people as possible, giving them ownership of their annual international festival.”
“All schools appreciate the school holidays as a break from formal curriculum. Nevertheless, to give additional support for students' learning, or further enrichment, the majority of our schools do conduct activities especially during the March and June holidays. Such activities might include overseas exchanges, excursions, camps, enrichment or remedial classes. When planning these activities, schools try to adopt a balanced approach and ensure that students and teachers have at least two weeks of break during the June holidays. The number of students involved varies according to the needs of schools varying between 5% to 20% of the student population. The holidays allowed teachers to provide small group remediation to students who needed them as well as to address learning gaps identified during the mid-year examinations. Schools, however, do grant requests for students to be excused from such holiday lessons. MOE will continue to remind schools and junior colleges to remain judicious in their planning of lessons during the school holidays and be mindful of the students' and teachers' need for a restful break during the school holidays. 3/1/2013FOREIGN STUDENTS IN INTER-SCHOOL SPORTS 29. Er Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Education (a) what was the average number of students taking part in inter-school sporting events for each of the last three years; (b) out of these students, how many were foreign students; and (c) whether the Minister will consider setting a cap on the number of foreign students participating in inter-school sports.”
“I have appointed a Mother Tongue Languages (MTL) Review Committee headed by the Director-General of Education to chart a road map for the next 10 to 15 years. The Committee commenced its work earlier this year, and has been studying best practices around the world. In the coming months, the Committee will continue to consult our educators, parents and community stakeholders. While the review is still in progress, the Committee’s preliminary scan of local trends and best practices overseas, has shown that in order for language instruction to be effective for students with a broad spread of linguistic abilities, we have to make teaching more customised to the range of student abilities, and make learning more relevant in different real life situations. Our assessments and examinations will also have to be aligned. This is a long-term endeavour, as we will need to recruit more MTL teachers, re-train existing ones, and develop new instructional materials. We are also mindful that any future changes will have to be phased in carefully. The Committee will complete its review by the end of the year. APPENDICES”
“From AY2007-2009, over 70% of the applicants to the National University of Singapore's Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (YLL SoM) obtained 4As or better in the GCE 'A'-level examinations. Medicine is a highly competitive course. To ensure that the school selects applicants with the correct aptitude and passion, all short-listed applicants have to submit a portfolio and personal statement as well as undergo two rigorous interviews conducted by a panel of clinician educators. The interview panel assesses attributes such as integrity, teamwork, willingness to contribute to society and communication skills – all of which are key traits of a good doctor. The attrition rate for YLL SoM has remained stable at below 2% (ie, not more than five students in each cohort) over the past three years. INTEREST RATES CHARGED BY LICENSED MONEYLENDERS 4. Mr Yeo Guat Kwang asked the Minister for Law whether MAS will consider requesting all licensed moneylenders to reveal the effective interest rate charged to enable borrowers to understand the offer and make an informed choice.”
“As a matter of policy, MOE does not publish the exam subject results of individual schools. What we can provide to the Members are results based on national trends. Among schools that have a high proportion of students (ie, at least 80%) from predominantly EL-speaking homes, 97% of the students scored 'A-star' to 'C' for their Chinese Language at the 2009 PSLE. This is marginally lower than the national cohort of 98%. Mr Seah asked whether students were being penalised for an equal weightage in Chinese. Among students who were in the top 30% of the 2009 PSLE cohort based on their performance in English, Mathematics and Science, around one in 10 of these students were in the bottom 30% in terms of their Chinese Language score. SUBSIDIES FOR RETURNING MEDICAL SCHOOL GRADUATES 3. Mr Seah Kian Peng asked the Minister for Education in light of a recent Government proposal to offer subsidies to returning medical school graduates (a) what percentage of applicants for medical schools in Singapore have perfect scores (four As) over the last three years; (b) how do interviewers differentiate between students applying for local medical schools; and (c) what is the percentage of students who drop out of medical schools over the last three years.”
“All schools, including single-session primary schools, have the flexibility to decide on their own start times. Such flexibility allows schools to take into account local conditions in their decisions. These local factors include the needs of their students and the programmes of the school, the impact of timetabling of PE lessons and of lessons stretching into the afternoons, the preferences of parents, school bus transportation arrangements and the traffic conditions around the school. Public feedback on the start time for primary schools has been mixed. Some parents prefer a later start time while others prefer the current start time, which fits well into their daily routines. Concerns have also been raised on the possible challenges of arranging for school bus transportation with a later start time, including a rise in bus fares if school bus operators had to give up transporting factory workers due to the later start times of schools. The question was also discussed during the deliberations of the Primary Education Review and Implementation (PERI) Committee. After careful consideration, the Committee supported the current position of allowing each school to decide on its own start time. DIVERSION OF CPF CONTRIBUTIONS TO MEET MINIMUM SUM 40. Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for Manpower in view of the partial restoration of employers' CPF rate and the CPF contributions being channelled into the Medisave and Special Accounts, whether there is room for flexibility by diverting the contributions to top up employees' Minimum Sum requirements first and when an employee's Minimum Sum requirement is fulfilled, then it be channelled to the Medisave and Special Accounts.”
“These incidents serve as valuable reminders of this educational goal. COMPANIES WHO FAIL TO PAY EMPLOYEES' CPF CONTRIBUTIONS 30. Mr Terry Lee asked the Minister for Manpower in 2009 (a) how many employers failed to pay their CPF contributions; (b) what was the total outstanding amount; (c) what were the reasons for their default in payment; and (d) what was the impact on the workers.”
“The educational goal of participation in sports and games is to shape and develop the character of our students. External coaches are sometimes engaged by schools in areas where teachers do not possess adequate expertise and experience to coach students, and to augment the manpower needs of Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs). Nevetheless, the responsibility to inculcate the correct values and imbue good sportsmanship in students, continues to be the primary responsibility of the school Principal and teachers. They must ensure that students on or off the sports arena learn and demonstrate respect, courtesy, fair play, responsibility and self discipline. To ensure that both teachers and coaches transmit the right values through CCAs, MOE has been conducting courses on policies and pedagogy for coaches and will be strengthening our efforts in these areas. The courses cover areas like the Desired Outcomes of Education, the Singapore Schools Sports Council's competition rules and regulations, and roles of coaches at national school games competitions. It is a good outcome to have the national schools games competitions keenly contested but through them, students should be taught to uphold good sportsmanship, to win the competitions fairly and to accept defeat with dignity. Our teachers do brief students before and after games competitions, and use teachable moments to imbue sportsmanship. Students who display unsportsmanlike behaviour during competitions as well as schools that do not abide by the rules and right values have to face disciplinary actions meted out by the games' organising committee. MOE will continue to emphasise to schools and coaches the importance of cultivating in the students the right values and conduct in sports.”
“One is what we hope for, and one is the reality which we face. It is no different from saying,"What do we hope for our students in Mathematics?" I, as a Minister, and you, as Members of Parliament, certainly want all our students to be good at Mathematics. But what is reality? Reality is the spread of performance, in terms of examinations. But the bottom line for this Committee is to try to make proficient users of all our students. That is a very sensible bottom line. Can we teach them to use the language? If you want them to use the language, they would be concerned about the examinations and they would want to do well in examinations. I do not think that will change. I am not sure what Mr Low is pushing for but, educationally, what will change is we want to make proficient users, we want the language to be interesting, and the assessments to reflect what we teach and the cirrcumlum to reflect our desires to make the language alive. FOREIGN WORKER DEPENDENCY RATIO (Post-Crisis Review) 9. Ms Ellen Lee asked the Minister for Manpower in light of the better than expected economic results in the first quarter of 2010, whether his Ministry will be re-examining and adjusting the foreign worker dependency ratios which were tweaked in view of the recession last year. 10. Ms Ellen Lee asked the Minister for Manpower whether the reduction and rejection of 'S' pass and work permit applications have adversely affected those industries that are dependent on foreign manpower.”
“Yes, the consultative process will be worked into the timeline. Not so much of the syllabus, but a sample of what the curriculum will be like in Primary 1 or lower primary. The problem is when principles are discussed in abstract like I have done, you know, people will say, "Well, I do not know what he is discussing." We need to come up with something tangible – what a sample of the textbook will be like, what the test paper would be like, and people can discuss and say "Well, I agree with this or I do not agree with this. Can you add this? Can you not add this?" Let me assure the Member that we will work in the consultation but it will be something that people can get their minds round, rather than just principles. Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, the Minister is talking about the spread of language proficiency and ability. And Member Seng Han Thong was not talking about "bao di, bu feng ding ". The question is what is the bottom line? What is the bottom in proficiency that we are looking at? Not so much on whether we can keep that bottom line, but what is the bottom line we are talking about? What is the minimum proficiency level?”
“I would like to ask the Minister whether there will be any consultation from now till end of the year so that there would not be any abortive work.”
“Members of this House are important and appropriate stakeholders. But there are various groups. As we have engaged the teachers' unions in 2004, we have engaged them now, for all Mother Tongues. There were post-2004 reviews, and we have also set up three groups which promote the Mother Tongue language – for Chinese, Malay and Tamil. We engaged them all. As Mr Seng Han Thong had said, they comprise members who are writers and those who are in the media. So they would know what is appropriate. But the recent episode has also thrown up new stakeholders, which is quite interesting and quite useful. They are very passionate about it because they have struggled with it. I have made an offer to them to come and advise us. They said "Yes", in principle, they are willing to do so. So, we will engage them as well. The issue of standard is one that will concern us all. I want to give an assurance that the professionals will look into this that the ideal is to maintain standards while we move towards proficiency because that is a better environment to keep the language alive. In reality, there will be a spread of abilities. The ones that have gone very far can even go further. We are trying to push the rest up. It is a difficult task, but one that we feel that given the resources and change in approach, we can achieve. This is our aim, we are able to say in 10 or 15 years' time whether we can achieve it. We can only achieve it if all the stakeholders put in efforts to create the conducive environment for our children to use and learn the Mother Tongue language. Er Lee Bee Wah: Sir, the Minister mentioned that by end of the year, the Committee will produce the new syllabus.”
“I entrust it to them and the Committee will know whether our standards are acceptable.”
“Professionally, the standards should be set by the professionals because they know what is worth, how it is necessary. Obviously for Mother Tongue, we said that it is useful to teach the language. It also teaches who we are and we are an Asian society and that has to be factored in. The aim of the Committee to create proficient users is clear. The standard of proficiency states upfront, and as I had said, we can compare with other systems. Internally we feel that some of our brightest and most capable students should be as good as native speakers in China or Taiwan. My professionals want that, I said, "well, you do it; push them". There are some who are struggling at the other end and we say, "well, let us help them to like the language, to use it, and after 10 years when they leave school, they have the ability to use the language and when they use it in social settings, it adds value to them. But what we are recognising in the middle band – there will be a broader spread – will be less homogeneous. We have to change the way we teach them so that they will, by themselves, gain the proficiency. The incentives will stay because those with high proficiency will get higher marks but I am not keen on the system that ignores the changing landscape, ignores what the students have to go through and just administratively set a standard and get everyone to try to jump at it, because I do not think that our professionals want to weaken the standards. They have been very realistic and they have professional boundaries in which they discuss with people elsewhere from Taiwan, China and other places that teach foreign languages and our second language Mother Tongue as well, that set appropriate standards.”
“Sir, I wanted to pointedly address the point on time to illustrate that we should not conscribe our professionals with limits. It is sensible just to state what we want and allow them to do it. So, let us take curriculum time which Mr Low has brought up. I may very well have a school where within curriculum time, the teacher assesses that the children are weaker in other subjects, whether it is Mother Tongue, English, Science or Mathematics, and spend more time on these. Let us suppose the teacher or the principal decides that for this class, they are doing well and so they are going to take some curriculum time from some subjects and use it for drama. I am willing to back my principals and teachers up. The message to them is, "you focus on the child, do what you think is educationally right for the child and the Minister will back you up". Should we then worry about standards? If the realistic standard is just to be able to write your name, then we would not have this issue. That is obviously not the aim of the exercise, neither do we have to convene a high-powered Committee, high level involvement of Government to look at this issue, if the whole aim of the exercise is to lower standards. How can it be and why would we want to put in resources? Over 20% of curriculum time is spent on Mother Tongue language now so we expand resources to maintain that. But that is quite different from saying, let us just prescribe a standard and never mind how students reach it. Make the examinations very hard so that the penalty is so great that the lashing of the examination is so punitive, that will push you to that – it is not only for Mother Tongue, it could be for Mathematics, Science or English.”
“Our purpose is to make sure that the Mother Tongue is retained that when you gain proficiency you can continue to keep the language alive, to pass on the cultural heritage and the language to the next generation. Each generation will pose new, and I would say increasing challenges, as our language environment changes. If I take a show of hands, how many Members speak predominantly Chinese at home with your kids? The environment changes and we have to recognise that. I would just end off by saying that we are working very hard on this and we cannot do this alone, so we would indeed need to consult various groups as well as Members of Parliament for their efforts and ideas.”
“We want to create an education system where you play up the strengths and help those who are weak level up. That, very simply stated, is our aspiration. But there is a group that is struggling with MTL and I think this is the purpose of that review as well. My professionals believe that, take an average student, if you make the language alive, if you show him the ability, if you put him in China for a long time, will he pick up the language? The answer is probably yes, because he uses it and he knows that it is useful and that is the thinking then. So how do you transport the environment to him without him spending a long time in that environment? The way to do it is to use modules that engage him and he can see the relevance as well as change the way you approach him. If he has never had any exposure to Mother Tongue language, which will be a growing number at Primary 1, you might have to use English initially. We leave it to the professionals to decide on the best method and the clear aspect from other systems is that you have to focus first on aural and recognition before writing. And I think that is sensible to get them to have confidence in the language, but we do not want to prescribe to say that just because you come from any environment, where your highest point is. We do have many examples of those who come from predominantly English-speaking backgrounds and we want to encourage that. So, our basic philosophy is to recognise the spread of ability but to help each one go as far as they can. Where you go, depends on your effort and how much time you spend on it. It is not our purpose to try to order the system so that one group benefits over the other because everyone will have to put in the effort and you have to strive for all the subjects.”
“The students need something beyond just an examination grade for utility. I do not want to underplay this challenge. Members have asked, "can you get the teachers?". It is difficult. I posed this question, too. We are sourcing. Our preference is to get Singapore teachers, but that means that you must be willing to do MTL at higher levels in junior colleges and universities. We are willing to fund that, put up even more scholarships. So we have to get a pipeline for more MTL teachers, but I think the curriculum and the testing will have to follow, so I welcome any new ideas. As I said as when the ideas are more cooked, we will share them in Parliament and we will have debate and more good ideas.”
“Let me thank the Member for his feedback. Parents play an important and vital role. The home environment makes a big difference. I have sampled, as I visited schools every one or two weeks or so, talking to Mother Tongue language teachers. They try different things. Some have grandparents and they insist that you have to speak to your grandparents in the Mother Tongue and that helps. We had a Superintendent who told his children, "I do not really mind how you do in your exams (I do not know whether it is true or not), but when it comes to your grandparents, you must be able to converse to them" and that is the way he encourages his children. Educationally, experts would say the younger you start, the easier it is, so parents would have to do their calculations if they want to speak to their child in the Mother Tongue language when they are very young and hope as I gave the example of the Indian Mother Tongue language teacher where she spoke to her child in only Tamil, and is still doing it, and he is in Primary 5 or 6 now. She refuses to answer him if he speaks to her in English. He can speak to anybody else in English, but for her it is that way. I think the Member has a point. If you want to learn the Mother Tongue, you have to create the speaking environment. I visited a school recently and I asked, "should we have one day designated in the school where all of you just speak Mother Tongue? Just one or two days, so that you create that atmosphere". And I think it is a big challenge. As I have told various representatives, we want to work them, whether it is Business China or SCCCI, to bring them into our schools, excite the students about what China is, or India, the value of a second language and interest groups that will help them realise that the language is hip.”
“If the Committee can look into it, why do you not give marks for projects so that it is seen as that? Ultimately, we do not want a system where the message is that you do not have to work hard for Mother Tongue or any other languages. That has never been our message. Indeed, those with higher proficiency deserve to get higher marks and you do have to work hard in mastering anything and that includes the Mother Tongue, and that is the message. But we have to face reality that as the home environment changes, especially at Primary 1 and 2, there will be a wider spread of ability and we have to deal with that in a very constructive and enlightened way that helps everybody understand the challenge so that we can maintain our Mother Tongue policy. Assoc. Prof. Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim (Marine Parade): Sir, I had the opportunity to attend two events organised by the Indian and the Malay Activity Executive Committees of my grassroot organisation over the weekend. I find that the residents from both races are very passionate about it. They found that the review is very timely as they do not want the standard of the Malay and Tamil languages to deteriorate further. What they have suggested was that we should enhance, as what the Minister has said – the use of Mother Tongue at home. Personally, I find it very rewarding. I applied it together with my wife on my children conscientiously and they are able to speak Malay better over the months. I would like to know what the Ministry is doing currently in engaging parents, in trying to help the learning of Mother Tongue. And in the years to come, what approach are we taking to further enhance this?”
“Let me thank the Member for her heartfelt sharing and words of encouragement. Do we ask students how they feel? Yes, we do. Prior to starting this Committee, we did a survey with parents, teachers and students, both on their time spent and their reaction to it. It is an interesting anecdote. I hear that when some of the students got the wrong impression that we are thinking of cutting the MTL, they cheered. But they would cheer when any subject is being cut because they are under examination stress. That is not quite the right question to ask. As you read, students went to the petitioner as well as to sign the petition. The public across all ages do want to retain this ability, to be able to speak the Mother Tongue language. I do not think that is the problem. The motivation is there. We all want it. But we are all struggling with the fact that when we impose greater requirements on our students in other subjects. The research is done as we do more project work, critical thinking, it is done in English. Except for certain schools, even the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools. Even if you ask what the speaking environment for students in SAP schools – I will leave it to Members to ask and get the response. So there is a difficulty that we have to address. Quality of teachers – good teachers make a big difference and my teachers know it. They are on the forefront, wanting to change and they are, indeed, exactly as the NMP says, to make the teaching more aligned with the assessments so that they can continue to make it interesting. They are pushing for the use of more drama but they say, "will you give marks if my children act out a script in Mother Tongue language?" And I say, "why not?".”
“We have to watch that and see that the textbooks are engaging as well and, finally, whether they are using it, and that is a more difficult challenge. If you take a survey, when I visited schools, there are different profiles, but some are using it and struggling with their English, some are using it less and struggling with MTL. So I think it would be different across the system. But if you look at examination grades, they are the same. I think the level of engagement has gone up.”
“And the new PSLE MTL format was implemented from 2010, the interim format was in 2006. There was a greater emphasis – another recommendation from the 2004 review – on oral communication and reading for a majority of students. The new PSLE format from 2010 was that there would be greater emphasis on listening and speaking skills and the interim change in 2006 was the 5% increase from weighting from 30% to 35% at PSLE. As Members can tell, once you recommend it, it does take a while for it to come to fruition. The 2004 review also recommended that we allowed greater use of IT in schools which, as a result, in 2007, hand-held electronic dictionaries were allowed in the composition component of national examination from 2007. And we also set up the Committee to promote Chinese Language learning. Mr Baey also asked if language proficiency has increased. To be honest, I think if you ask different groups, we might have different responses. And it is hard, if you just look at examination grades, for example, you will see it is stable. But that is one measure. If you ask whether students are using the language, you might get a different answer. So it is quite wide. I would say that what we want for MOE is to see the engagement level of students, whether they are interested in MTL lessons. Some revisions for the MTL, for example, the CLB syllabus have made great strides so much so that students who are exempted from MTL, from Chinese, as the Prime Minister mentioned in the press conference, are asking to join the classes and that is, for the teachers, a great feedback, a positive one, when people are asking for once to join their class.”
“One definite timeline is probably towards the end of the year where they will come up with preliminary recommendations for the curriculum for the lower primary where they will show examples of what the curriculum would look like, perhaps the types of texts, and examination formats. It is quite a long way off from PSLE. So I think that would be the first stage. And then you have to field-test it. In other words, it may be a great idea but can the teachers teach it? Can you roll it out to 500,000 students within your system? You have to field-test it. I think we should allow them to do it. I will assure Members that when it is done, it will be open so that we can discuss it with Members of the Parliament as well as with various groups who have expressed interest – various groups have written to me and I have replied to them. Past lessons from past reviews – it is interesting that Mr Baey asked that question. I will give Members some examples. He asked, has it made a difference? The short answer is, yes. When I met the Singapore Chinese Teachers Union, they were very much involved in the 2004 review. They said that they are quite happy that the review now changed textbooks because the primary school students are finding it more engaging and they find the textbooks more lively. But it is only being rolled out now. I think Members would not have remembered what 2004 review recommended. So let me remind Members. The 2004 review recommended a modular CL curriculum, providing differentiated programmes to students of varying CL abilities. So we are just doing more of the same and from the 2004 review, they recommended the bridging module for students without CL background, and it was fully implemented in schools from Primary 1 to Primary 5 last year.”
“One clear learning point from all the systems that the Director- General's Committee has visited in Hanban or advanced placement system in America is that language – this is quite intuitive – if you want to teach it, you have to use it, you have to teach them to use it. It cannot be just an examination subject. They looked at alternate assessment modes – fairly interesting. These are ideas and I do not want to prescribe it to them. I want the Committee to go through these. The examples that they have shown to us and Members of the Cabinet is, for example, in an advanced placement module, you enter a module and it is the computer speaking to you, as you were in social context, and then there is a tape recorder and then you reply. Then based on the reply, you are graded, or you will be asked to do an oral presentation on different cultural festivals, for example, and you are graded on a project basis. It is quite, what we call, enriching – even pop songs or even current movies, so that the students feel that it is relevant today. I am not only studying because I might be working in China or India 15 years later, I am building the foundation, but I can use it, I can email, I can SMS, I can browse the web, I can even create my own website and I will be given points for it. So I think the professionals are excited that this opens up a different box to engage them. Timelines – this is a large project because it means that you have to start from curriculum and then teach the teachers how to teach this in different ways and then make sure that you align with the testing. I think the Committee will not finish its work soon and more likely it will roll out in stages.”
“Let me thank the Member for pointing out that important aspect, ie, the purpose of the review is not pander to a declining interest. It is not and we would not waste an effort like this – we would have to hire more teachers, change textbooks, re-examine the formats. The Director-General's Committee is looking at various systems to glean important lessons. If it were just to make it less important, it just does not make any sense to spend all the effort. Let me give that assurance. It is to respond decisively to the changing language environment. When you look at our children, when you talk to the teachers, when you actually calculate the time that they are actually exposed to the Mother Tongue language, it is very clear that the hours that they spend on English is certainly more. So how do you teach a Mother Tongue in that new environment, especially so when it is progressive? I was quite glad when I met with the language group – this is the small group that was petitioning at Hong Lim Park. I met them on Saturday when they were going there and on Sunday. They were very clear and they volunteered their services. They said, "It is not only MOE's job, but it is also the job of the parents and the community. We have to help you to maintain that speaking environment." So we ended on a very positive note. They all volunteered to be ambassadors to go to my schools – one is a former DJ, the other is drama teacher, another lady has a job in the advertising industry, so they have skills that we can use. So I think the challenge is how do you align what they study in schools, get tested and use it.”
“And I think that I have confidence that our professionals are not out to dilute the standards. They are out to set realistic standards. They take reference from various systems across the world. We should leave it to them. They will give examples of the curriculum, the text as well as the examination formats to give us comfort that there is a certain rigour in the system. Are my teachers overworked? They work very hard. There are continuous changes. But I think they are up to the challenge. I have been impressed that despite the confusion in some instances and the reactions to this, the teachers are not discouraged. They said that this is the right thing to do. I met the Singapore Chinese Teachers Union with Mrs Josephine Teo. I met the President of the Indian and Malay Teachers Union or the equivalent, and they are very keen on these changes because they said that they want to make the language engaging and interesting. Most times, when the children reach Primary 4 or Primary 5, the parents say, "Can you just drill and practise because there are examinations coming up." And they sometimes disconnect between what we examine and what parents want so that the whole issue of making them "like the language" becomes secondary. This is the aim for our Director-General's Committee.”
“During my visits to schools, I asked the teachers: "What do you think it would be in 10 to 20 years' time?" Nobody believes that it will be reduced because the children are spending more time on the Internet using English. Exposure to the Mother Tongue languages is very much reduced. Last week, I visited a school and the Mother Tongue language, an Indian teacher, said the way she did it was she refused to answer her child if he or she did not speak in Tamil to her. The child is in Primary 6, so I say, "Can you keep it up when he is in secondary school?" She said, "I don't think so, but I will try." So, parents are resorting to various efforts to try to create the environment – because the language has to be used to be learned. The Director-General's Committee is to create that roadmap and the blueprint for the next 10 to 15 years. There is a concern that every time we review that, standards will drop. But I think when we aim for proficiency, we have guidelines to use. If Members had followed some of the press reports, we gave an example of Hanyu shuiping kaoshi where they give explicitly what language or the standard is. So, at certain level, you are supposed to be able to read the newspapers, carry on a conversation with natives – that is quite explicit. Indeed, the move towards proficiency is exactly that. You state upfront what the standards are, and standards are transparent. I think there will be consultation with community groups. Some obviously will feel that the standard ought to be higher, some may feel it ought to be lower but, educationally, standards are not set arbitrarily. In other words, you can make an examination so difficult that everybody fails. But you have to set realistic standards.”
“Let me thank the Member for her questions. I will try to take each one at a time. Is there a blueprint for the Mother Tongue language? Indeed, that is the task for the Director-General and her Committee. The reason we appointed that Committee was because our language environment is changing rapidly. For context, there have been a number of Mother Tongue language reviews – in 1992, 1999 (chaired by then Deputy Prime Minister Lee), and recently in 2004 where MInister Mentor had been personally involved. As I visit the schools, our students are doing well in their Mother Tongue, and there may be a perception that they are doing well because the system has not changed. But, indeed, it is evolving all the time. One of the problems is, if I asked Members what the recommendations for 1999 or 2004 were, people would have forgotten because it actually takes a long time to implement. Some of the changes, for example, in the 2004 review, are only being implemented now. Because, if you want to change something, you have to change the curriculum and then the assessments. Even for this Committee, if they start work now, it will take many years. They have to start at Primary 1 or lower primary and change the format, which will take many years. So, it is like a picture of a swan – you think it is flowing gracefully but beneath the water, it is paddling furiously. We have to appoint the Committee because within the last 20 years, the home speaking environment has changed. If you take Chinese families – we did a survey – the proportion of households that is speaking English predominantly at home is 60%. It was 30% 20 years ago; it has doubled. It is the same for Indian families – 60%; for Malays, it is 35%.”
“MOE, on our part, is putting in more resources for the teaching of Mother Tongue language in schools, not less. As I said, we have to recruit more teachers, change the curriculum and look at other systems. We will work with groups within the community as well as parents to create a more conducive environment for our students to use and learn their Mother Tongue language. The outpouring of support for the Mother Tongue language is a positive aspect that we can tap on and there are a number of groups. We share the same goal – how to create a conducive environment. There are new ambassadors that MOE can tap and we still use them to try and create a better environment for the learning of Mother Tongue language. We should now leave it to the Director-General of Education's Committee and the professionals to set the roadmap to enhance Mother Tongue language learning for the next 10 to 15 years. Er Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio): Sir, I would like to thank the Minister for the explanation. I have three supplementary questions: (1) I would like to ask the Minister whether he has any blueprint for the education of Mother Tongue; (2) In the process of reviewing the teaching and examination of Mother Tongue, does he foresee that there will be further decline in the standard of Mother Tongue, especially the Chinese language; and (3) With the continuous changes in the teaching of the Mother Tongue languages and the impending changes in the teaching methods, are our teachers overworked? How does the Ministry ensure that there is work-life balance and that they are motivated?”
“I will just cite one example. Mr Low has asked whether we will commit to keeping time spent on Mother Tongue language as it is. That may be a little bit too prescriptive for our students because my advice to my teachers in the school is to focus on the child. If a class needs more time in Science, English or Mathematics – because they are strong in Mother Tongue – you have to do what is professional. It could be vice versa. In some schools where the students are indeed weak in Mother Tongue, they do organise extra classes outside curriculum hours or even within curriculum hours. For these professional aspects, it is best to leave it to the school to decide. The teachers and the system as a whole and the public would have understood what we have said in our statements about the importance of our bilingual policy and our Mother Tongue language and that weighting will not be cut. But beyond that, how you actually teach, what curriculum you use, how you set the examination formats and the standards that you should articulate, it is best to leave it to the professionals because you and I are not trained teachers and it is not our job to look over the shoulders of the Director-General of Education and the teachers. So, it is best to leave it to them. Despite our statements and the reactions, whether we succeed in helping each new generation use and love their Mother Tongue language and appreciate their cultural heritage will not depend on mere political statements or affirmations. MOE does not under-estimate the challenge ahead of us because we know that the language environment is changing. After this, all interested parties must now put in more effort to support our bilingual policy.”
“Mr Baey Yam Keng asked about MTL performance at the PSLE. Let me provide some statistics. Performance of our students for all three MTLs has remained relatively stable in the past 10 years with strong support from parents, the efforts put in by our students and teachers as well as the improvements in the curriculum and teaching methods. Some of the curriculum and teaching methods had changed from previous reviews in 1999, 2004 and 2005. Last year, for MTL, 98% of candidates scored 'A-star' to 'C'. Let me give a breakdown of the various grades: 13% of the cohort scored 'A-star's, 69% scored 'A's, 11% scored 'B's and 5% scored 'C's. Among the students who scored in the top 30% for English, Mathematics and Science, around one in 10 were in the bottom 30% for MTL. Mr Baey has asked for some of these figures, and this is the reply. MOE's goal is to help every child to be proficient in MTL and to encourage those with the ability to go as far as possible. Mr Low Thia Khiang asked how the PSLE score is computed. Four subjects are examined at the PSLE (English, Mathematics, Science and Mother Tongue). For each subject, the marks obtained are converted into a corresponding t-score (transformed score), which provides a common scale across subjects and Mother Tongue Languages, because there are different Mother Tongue Languages. The PSLE score of each student is the aggregate of the t-scores of the four subjects. In responding to our press statements, Mr Low has asked publicly if Government will commit to maintaining the importance of MTL. The Prime Minister and I have said so plainly. Our statements are clear and direct and there is no need for Mr Low to interpret them further. In fact, this can be counter-productive and may actually educationally work against our students.”
“There has been a number of questions from Members on the weighting of the Mother Tongue language (MTL) at PSLE. The Prime Minister and I had clarified on 11th May at a press conference that the Ministry of Education (MOE) is not reducing the weighting of MTL in PSLE. We stated that the MTLs remain a vital part and a cornerstone of our education system. MOE also agrees with Mr Teo Siong Seng that our bilingual policy provides our students with a competitive advantage and is useful to transmit important cultural values. To maintain our bilingual policy, MOE has appointed a MTL Review Committee headed by the Director-General of Education. This is to respond to a wider spread of language abilities and exposure among students, as the proportion of pupils predominantly using English at home is expected to rise further among all ethnic groups. We are starting the review now as it will take many years to implement the Committee's recommendations. We spelt out the broad directions of the Committee's work which are for more differentiated teaching of MTL and a focus on proficiency. We provided some details at the press conference as much as we can because the Committee is still doing its preliminary work, and I need not elaborate on that today. I want to assure Members that the Committee will consult appropriate stakeholders in their deliberations. What is clear is that teaching students of different abilities at the appropriate level to produce proficient users of MTL will require more resources. We will have to recruit more MTL teachers, re-train in-service teachers, revise the curriculum to be more directly relevant to the students' daily use of the language and, more importantly, align our assessment and examination formats with this revised curriculum.”
“Mr Speaker, can I have your permission to take Question Nos. 3 to 8 together?”
“The Government has committed to increase the university cohort participation rate (CPR) to 30% by 2015. The expansion of the university sector will allow more polytechnic graduates to have access to subsidised degree programmes. Currently, about one in seven polytechnic graduates matriculate into our three autonomous universities (AUs). The newly-established Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) will expand the upgrading opportunities for polytechnic graduates by bringing in industry-relevant degree programmes from reputable overseas universities, in close partnership with the five polytechnics. At steady state in 2015, SIT will offer about 2,000 full-time places each year which, together with the AUs, will allow one in five polytechnic graduates to obtain a degree. Beyond that, any increase in CPR should be carried out in a way that continues to uphold the high standards of our public universities. The experience of other countries that have expanded university intakes to respond primarily to aspirations to obtain degrees without due regard for the quality of university education that their students receive has not been positive. When the quality of these institutions is not maintained, students suffer, as employers do not value the qualification. We will continue to invest in our tertiary institutes to build global best-in-class institutions that offer different tertiary and post-secondary education pathways, in our universities, polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education. APPENDICES”