Ong Ye Kung
Singapore
“The Ministry of Health (MOH) recently enhanced the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) dental subsidies, which are tiered by income, for common preventive and restorative procedures.”
“Healthier SG GP clinics may also refer their enrolled patients to Active Ageing Centres and Community Health Posts to fulfill their social prescriptions and for subsidised services, such as medication management.”
“Public hospitals, such as the National University Hospital, the Singapore General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, have deployed robotic-assisted surgical (RAS) systems for minimally invasive soft-tissue surgeries.”
“The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) welcomes drug producers to choose Singapore as part of their first-wave filings. As long as a pharmaceutical product is approved by at least one regulatory agency, such as China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), it would also qualify for the abridged route.”
“A decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate in patients with diabetes can be due to multiple reasons. Doctors will first investigate the underlying cause before determining whether the patient should be referred to a specialist. Some causes are reversible and cause transient reduction in renal function.”
“Information on the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) cannot be made visible on the National Electronic Health Record system as it is protected under the Mental Capacity Act. Such information may only be disclosed by the Public Guardian to specified persons upon satisfactory submission of evidence(s) required under the law.”
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“Our systems need to be secure and resilient to the evolving cybersecurity threats. For schools websites, these have been migrated to the Whole-of-Government Content Websites Platform since December 2016. This allows centralised management of the infrastructure design and implementation of adequate cybersecurity controls for these websites. As for the Student Learning Space, we have put in place the necessary cybersecurity controls in the design, implementation and management of the national digital learning platform for schools. Measures include requiring robust passwords for logins as well as regular security testing and reviews. The Ministry of Education (MOE) is also working closely with video-conferencing platform providers to ensure online live lessons are conducted in a safe and secure environment. MOE has worked on centrally managing the security settings of these platforms to provide a consistent experience while safeguarding the usage of the systems. We will also continue with user education in the form of guides, training videos, and webinars. Similar guides have also been provided to parents and students on how to safeguard themselves in the online space. This is part of the Cyber Wellness Education that we already have in place.”
“I would think they should be eligible. Why not give us the details and certainly, MAS and ESG can look into it.”
“On the second question, I am afraid I do not have the data. But, as I explained to Ms Foo Mee Har, the personal guarantee is an indication of the confidence of the business owner on how viable the business is. And I think it is a necessary prudential measure. Since the Global Financial Crisis, I think all around the world banks have become stronger – stronger balance sheets, more capital. And I think it is fortunate that we went through this period and we now have stronger banks to meet the challenge of COVID-19. We want to make sure that banks use this balance sheet to be able to help economies, sectors, industries tide through, while maintaining their strength and resilience. That balance needs to be recognised and that balance needs to be struck. As to the processing time, I do have some data. It ranges from one to eight days with the majority hovering around five days, four to five days. So, we will continue to track the schemes and make sure that it is processed efficiently and expeditiously.”
“Personal guarantee. So, the purpose of these ESG loans is to address an unexpected event – a black swan event – that is devastating to the economy and to many industries and firms. We want to make sure that firms do not just collapse as a result of this event. They are firms that otherwise would have been viable, which is why the Government put in a massive Job Support Scheme (JSS) and at the same time, provide these loans to help companies tide over. And I think to be able to pledge your personal assets, is an indication of the confidence of the business owner, that this is actually a viable business and that is worthwhile supporting it to tide through this difficult period.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, a few points. First, the cost of fund is just one component of an interest rate. Beyond that, there is a credit spread depending on the risk profile of the borrower, and in this case, the Government going to bear 90% of the loan losses, that will bring down the credit spread. Then, there is also another component which is the bank's own cost, their administration costs. So, if you add up, it would be above 0.1%, which is just the cost of funds. In April, most of the interest rates charged for ESG loans were between 2% and 4.5%. So, it has come down from before, which was 6% or more. So, I think, it is largely Government measures stepping in to lower cost of funds plus credit spread that have led to this outcome. Whether the volume is according to our expectation, it is hard to say. It all depends on how deep the economic troubles will be. We certainly do not wish for the volume to be too huge. It means that the economic disruption is bigger, but I think the situation is still fluid. I think our measures are in place to answer to the needs of SMEs. The Member had a last question.”
“They include enabling SME borrowers with secured loans to defer principal repayments until 31 December 2020. Many SMEs have requested to do so. As of 30 April 2020, more than 2,500 applications have been processed, with nearly all applications approved. More than S$4.5 billion of secured loan facilities have benefited from this measure to-date. MAS and ESG will continue to monitor the effectiveness of our measures.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as SMEs are a vital part of our economy, the Monetary Authority of Singapore or MAS, and Enterprise Singapore or ESG, are working closely with the banking sector to ensure that SMEs continue to have access to the financial support they need to tide through this difficult period. This is done through the ESG loan schemes. The loan schemes have seen strong interest. Based on ESG’s data, SME borrowers have applied for more than 2,500 loans amounting to about S$1.9 billion since the beginning of March this year. This is about six times the credit extended over the same period last year. The approval rate of these loan applications has been high, at 90% to 95%. Under the ESG loan schemes, the Government takes 90% of the loss if a loan goes bad, with the banks assuming the remaining 10%. This has helped bring down the credit spread that the banks charged. The ESG loan schemes were then further enhanced when MAS launched a new Singapore Dollar facility for the banks and finance companies. It provides them with fully collateralised funding for two years at an interest rate of 0.1% per annum, for the purpose of their loans under the ESG schemes. This funding differs from the existing five-year, uncollateralised funding provided by the Government. Together with the earlier enhancements to the ESG loan schemes, this is expected to bring down interest rates for such loans to 2%-3% for most borrowers, compared to 6% or more for most other unsecured working capital loans to SMEs today. We have also seen good take-up of the complementary set of relief measures to help SMEs during this period. These measures were announced earlier by MAS and the financial industry.”
“Actually, it is within our purview. In fact, for financial assistance schemes today that the schools administer, we do give the students allowances and they typically use their EZ-Link cards to purchase meals in the canteens. Of course, now, some will still go to school and continue to purchase in the same way as it is today. But those who do not and are at home, that is what I mentioned earlier, we are working with MSF and the SSOs to provide additional financial cash assistance, given to the families so that they can continue to purchase the meals.”
“We are also thankful to corporate sponsors who have stepped forward to provide free dongles and Internet subscriptions to many of these students. In addition, our schools can also provide students with safe spaces within the school premises so that they can come to school to use computers and the Internet in school, doing their home-based learning with supervision from the teachers. Those from low-income families can also apply for a subsidised computer and free broadband through IMDA’s NEU PC Plus programme. I think they have recently enhanced it. There is no doubt – as the Member has pointed out or implied in his questions – that when schools move to home-based learning, students from the lower income group will be the most adversely affected. And that is why we are moving to full home-based learning only now, and not earlier, because we know it creates a lot of disruption to people's lives. Children from lower income families, from vulnerable families are most affected. But we are doing it now in support of the circuit breaker measures that will come into force this week. This is really part of our psychological unity – students, teachers, parents, all being part of it. And as the Speaker just said, we all rise to the call as one united people in tackling this crisis. As it is, we are seeing long-term absenteeism starting to creep up in schools because of all the restrictions that have been implemented over the past weeks and due to the COVID-19 measures at schools as well. But now that we have taken the decision to move to full home-based learning, let us now make the best out of the situation. MOE will mobilise the necessary resources to support this group of vulnerable students.”
“On Assoc Prof Walter Theseira's second question on home-based learning and the availability of devices and Internet resources, let me first clarify that home-based learning is not solely done through online learning. The two are not similar. A substantial part of home-based learning is also in the form of readings or assignments to be done offline. Schools will plan and implement a home-based learning programme that best suits the context of their curriculum and the profiles of their students. But the Member is rightfully concerned about the availability of devices and Internet access. This is an issue that MOE has been very preoccupied with, ever since we were planning home-based learning. Based on a 2018 survey by IMDA, fortunately, 98% of our households with school-going children have access to a computer, and almost 100% have home Internet and broadband. Of course, this is a national survey. When you go to the community, to the households, many of them still encounter challenges. So, most students are reasonably equipped, but there will always be a minority that we must take care of as we move to home-based learning. We have a few responses. One, for the students without computer and Internet access at home, schools will loan devices to these students. As of last Friday, we have loaned out about 3,300 devices, tablets as well as laptops; and over 200 dongles loaned out to students without Internet access at home. Today and tomorrow, we expect more students and parents to come forward, and we will loan them more if need be, so that everyone is properly equipped. This is why we are starting out home-based learning on Wednesday and not immediately. It is one day later than the companies, because we need to get this done properly.”
“The Member first asked about School Meals. In 2019, about 49,000 Primary and Secondary school students on Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) benefited from Schools Meals programme. As the School Meals Programme provides subsidies for meals purchased from the school canteen, the students will not be able to benefit from it if they are not in school. When schools move to full home-based learning on 8 April 2020, this Wednesday, two things will happen for us to continue to assist them. First, some of the students will continue to come to schools. Last week, we had already done that. But today and tomorrow, schools will reach out to these students to see who would still need to come to school because they do not have support at home to do home-based learning. We will register them and continue to let them come to school during this circuit breaker period. Secondly, MOE will work with MSF and through our community partners, such as the Social Service Offices (SSOs), to provide financial and other support for their families. This is what we currently do for low-income households facing financial difficulty throughout the year, but the SSOs will do more to help needy families access financial assistance schemes rolled out as part of COVID-19 support measures. I should also add that other than the SSOs, there are also other community partners such as the Community Development Councils (CDCs), donors who are coming forward to try to support these students, often through food vouchers for example, so that they continue to get their meals. The CDCs are studying this and once the details are worked out, they will announce the new measures.”
“Mr Speaker, can I take the first and second questions together, please?”
“Visiting several SAP schools, I am actually quite glad and amazed at the efforts they have taken to teach Conversational Malay. Many SAP school students – Senior Parliamentary Secretary Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim has met some of them – are speaking very fluent Malay, and are able to go out to the community and interact with people. So, be mindful that in Singapore, do not take extreme positions. We all have multiple levels of identity; they are all important to us, but we have always managed that and we are a society that is, a work in progress.”
“I think if we are honest and we just look around us, look around the world, in a country where there is a majority community, they will tend to insist that the language that the majority speaks becomes the national language and then, school instruction becomes in that language. You do not have to look very far – just look around us. In Singapore, we have majority of one community but we have decided we shall be a multi-racial country. And therefore, we use English, that is neutral to all, a common language for everyone. But having done that, let us make sure we respect the fact that every community also values their own language, customs, culture. This is why within our education system, different kinds of schools – from SAP schools to clan-based, church-based ones, specially-designated madrasah schools, the Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre – they all exist as part of our education landscape. This is how we reconcile as a country the fact that we all have multiple levels of identity. Two important ones are: first, we are all Singaporeans; second, we are also a member of our ethnic community. Therefore, there is a place for all these schools. So, within SAP schools, there is a downside – as the Member mentioned – which is that there are less opportunities to interact with members of other races. But we live in Singapore! So, let us be realistic. If you are a student in a SAP school and you feel that you do not have the opportunities, come, volunteer for the Member of Parliament! We have plenty of opportunities. Just get into the community, visit the hawker centres – this is Singapore. You do not have to confine yourself to just revolving around your classrooms. I think SAP schools can do more. I would say that they can do more and they have been doing more.”
“On fees, the Prime Minister actually spoke about this at great length during the National Day Rally. For the cost of ITE education, we fund over 90%. For Polytechnics, the Government fund about 85%. And then, for University, the Government funds about 75%. Today, we are pretty much there for most courses. Some courses are still out of whack, so over time, we may need to adjust. But for most courses, we are pretty much there. From henceforth, we need to adjust fees from time to time in order to reflect cost inflation. And bursaries, from time to time, also probably have to adjust, so that education remains affordable. Our principle is very clear: no one who gains a place in an IHL should be denied of studying, of education, because of financial circumstances. As for breakdown of ICT students, I do not have the numbers but a lot are coming from NUS, which has been really beefing up and ramping up their courses. Because the courses, the places, are ramped up so fast, you cannot really get sufficient professors. So, you actually have no choice and, just as well, we rely a lot on practitioners. Indeed, this is very valuable. With their experience, the students gain skills that are very relevant to the market. If you look at their employment results, the ICT students are doing pretty well.”
“Yes, as I mentioned, the four components of digital literacy simplified – Find, Think, Apply, Create. What the Member has mentioned is under "Find". Certainly, we will look at it; I fully agree with the Member. Second, our SkillsFuture for Educators is fully funded, just as at NIE, our training at the, Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST), they are fully funded for our teachers. It is not just online and courses. One important modality for teachers when they learn is to do so in a professional community, learning from each other. You can make use of online platforms but teachers appreciate that the most, when professionals can come together and learn from each other. We have to fully leverage on that. On AED(LBS), answer is yes, some schools are doing very interesting initiatives on the ground, beefing up AED(LBS) and also doing things differently. Not ready to talk about it in great detail this time, but certainly we are looking at it. On Work-Study Programme, certainly, if we want to increase to 12% and become a mainstream pathway of every cohort, we certainly need all hands on deck. SIT being an applied University, surely it is one of our big partners that we hope will roll out more. I hope Dr Intan will push for it back in her institution.”
“Prof Lim Sun Sun talked about microaggression yesterday. I do not think it is widespread. I do not deny that sometimes it can happen, but I do not think it is so widespread that we have to roll out a national training programme for our teachers. Where teachers cannot control their anger or in the rare occasions that it happens, I think they ought to be counselled. Over time, as they gain experience, they will have more patience and have the skills to handle difficult situations as opposed to losing their cool. I think actually all of us need those kind of skills. But it does not mean we get angry all the time. 1.15 pm As for the second question on the device, these are practical issues we really have to look at on the ground, which is why before we roll out any national programme, we always pilot it first. We have piloted in these eight schools and all these issues the Member raised happened, all happened – Wifi kept dropping, all these things happened. But with the experience that we have gained so far, these practical problems can be resolved and we make sure they are resolved before we roll out nationally.”
“I think the analogy of a tree cannot be pushed too far, but that is always the danger when you use an analogy. Foundational principles – I totally agree with Ms Denise Phua. When we came up with this "Tree for Life" and the Learn for Life movement, we were focusing on the deltas. What are the main changes we want to make. One example is UPLIFT, which is something that we are putting a lot more resources to. But surely, all the principles that the Member mentioned earlier – they continue to be relevant. But this tree is focusing on the delta. As I mentioned in my speech, it will guide us in our actions for the next five to 10 years – the key changes that we want to see in the system. The Member's points on the branches, on the different kinds of fruits – actually, if we want students of different abilities to have different pathways, one fruit is not enough. You need a whole orchard of different kinds of fruits. So, again, the analogy cannot be taken too far. But I take all of the Member's points. These are all valid. That is why I say the education system must always be a work in progress. While we say we have a plan for the next five to 10 years, I am sure along the way, there will be new initiatives, new imperatives and we have to change again. I will leave the Second Minister to answer the question on SEN, but on the renaming to the Ministry for Lifelong Learning – we agree with the essence of what the Member said. I think the essence of what the Member wishes MOE will do, we will do. If we do it well, we achieve what we want to do, and promote lifelong learning the way we want to, at that point in time, maybe we can think about a change of our name.”
“The Deputy Prime Minister announced this in the Budget Statement and I will provide more details today. With your permission, Mr Chairman, may I ask the Clerk to distribute a handout to Members please?”
“Before enrolling in an IHL, prospective students can approach the SEN Support Offices in IHLs to find out more about courses that better suit their interests and learning needs. After enrolment, the SEN Support Offices work with the lecturers and tutors to make arrangements to ensure that students with SEN can access the curriculum and assessment tasks. For students with SEN who require additional support to transition to the workplace as an intern, the IHLs also work with SG Enable and SSAs to identify suitable internship opportunities, prepare the students and ensure that they get the support that they need during internship. MOE will continue to work with schools and IHLs to strengthen support for students with SEN to ensure that they, like all other students, receive the support they need to maximise their potential. MOE is also committed to ensuring that financial circumstances are never a barrier to education for Singaporean students. Students with financial difficulties can tap on a variety of MOE support schemes. In 2019, 52,000 students from lower income families at the Primary to pre-University levels benefited from the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS), SPED Financial Assistance and the Independent School Bursary. Another 72,000 students from low- to middle income families in our IHLs benefited from the government bursaries in academic year 2018. Last year, we announced changes to make preschool and higher education more affordable. To ensure that education remains affordable at every stage, MOE will enhance financial support for two more groups – students on the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme at Primary, Secondary and pre-University levels as well as full-time NITEC and Higher NITEC students in ITE.”
“45 am Second, MOE will extend the SEN Fund to cater to a wider spectrum of learning needs beyond those with sensory or physical impairments. The SEN Fund was established in 2014 to help Polytechnic and ITE students with physical or sensory impairment to purchase education-related assistive technology (AT) devices and support services. Feedback on the SEN Fund has been positive. It has helped students to keep up with academic learning and improve day-to-day interaction with peers. Thus far, about $675,000 has been disbursed under the SEN Fund, benefiting more than 120 students. In my engagements with students with SEN at the Polytechnics and ITE, they told me it would be helpful to extend the SEN Fund beyond physical disabilities, and they are right, as is Ms Denise Phua. Advancement in assistive technology devices have made it easier for students with other types of challenges to access education and prepare for independent work and life. MOE will thus extend the SEN Fund to Polytechnic and ITE students with language and learning difficulties, as well as social and behavioural difficulties, including conditions like dyslexia, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). These students will be able to tap on the SEN Fund to purchase assistive technology devices, up to a cap of $5,000, from 1 April 2020. Eligible students can approach their SEN Support Office to apply. I am also happy to say that the Autonomous Universities will be extending the same support to their students with SEN for the purchase of assistive technology devices. Besides funding, the SEN Support Offices in our IHLs also provide support to students with SEN from pre-enrolment to graduation.”
“Finally, we note Ms Denise Phua's suggestion to extend the exit age for SPED schools. While the exit age remains at 18, students offering an academic or vocational national certification may remain in SPED schools until age 21. This will allow them additional time to become work-ready. Of the 422 SPED students aged 18 years old in 2019, 150 remain in their schools this year, when they turn 19. Most will progress to open employment before the age of 21. For students with SEN in mainstream schools, I am happy to announce two new initiatives. First, MOE has developed a professional development roadmap to enhance SEN training for all educators in mainstream schools. Second, we will provide more financial assistance to students with SEN in IHLs. I believe Ms Phua talked about that. SEN training for educators. Minister announced earlier that MOE will embark on SkillsFuture for Educators or SFEd. Support for students with SEN is one of the focus areas of SFEd. We have thus developed a new SEN Professional Development Roadmap (PD Roadmap), to better equip our educators in mainstream schools to support students with SEN. We want every teacher in mainstream schools to become more skilled in supporting students with SEN. MOE will work with NIE to strengthen the inclusion of SEN support strategies in pre-service teacher training. For in-service teachers, MOE will launch bite-sized online learning resources in phases from this year. The SEN PD roadmap will also provide more professional development (PD) opportunities for educators who play a more specialised role in SEN support – namely, our Allied Educators in Learning and Behavioural Support, teachers trained in Special Needs or (TSNs) as well as the school management team. MOE will share more details in the coming months. 11.”
“Earlier this year, MSF, MOH and MOE, in collaboration with MCCY and the National Youth Council (NYC), issued an open call to anyone interested in improving youth mental well-being. Last week, Minster Desmond announced that we will set up a new Youth Mental Well-Being Network, bringing together more than 700 people who responded to the open call, many of whom are passionate youths. Minister Desmond will share more about the network during MSF’s COS. To ensure our education system provides opportunities for all, MOE is also committed to supporting students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) to reach their fullest potential. Over the years, we have increased the variety of high quality educational settings. Today, around 80% of students with SEN learn in mainstream schools, supported by teachers and allied educators with specialised skills. Our Special Education (SPED) schools, which provide customised learning environments, dedicated resources and specialised manpower, support the remaining 20% of students with higher needs. MOE’s funding for SPED schools has increased by about 40% in the last five years. Ms Denise Phua and Ms Rahayu Mahzam asked about MOE’s plans to support students with SEN. We can, and will do more. For students in SPED schools, we are continually improving affordability and accessibility of education. Since January this year, six SPED schools have lowered their fees by at least 25% for Singapore citizens. We are also working with SSAs to open three new SPED schools. One will support students with moderate-to-severe SEN who have both Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Intellectual Disability, while the other two will support students with moderate SEN who have ASD and can access the National Curriculum.”
“While there are merits of universal mental health screening, mass screening can also raise complex issues, such as over-medicalising of behaviours in young persons or negative labeling effects. We also need to evaluate the age appropriateness and effectiveness in the school context. To illustrate how our system of support works, let me share another student’s story with you – we will call him Sam. A few years ago, Sam was suffering from panic attacks. He could not submit his work on time. His teacher referred him to the school counsellor. The counsellor learnt that Sam’s parents were going through a divorce and that was what was causing Sam to struggle with severe anxiety. The school counsellor taught him coping strategies and worked with mental health professionals to address his anxiety condition. However, Sam still found the situation overwhelming and stopped coming to school. But the school did not give up. They continued working with a Social Service Agency (SSA) to reach out and support Sam and his family. Sam’s classmates and CCA-mates also encouraged him to return to school, offering a listening ear and help in homework. Over time, Sam started to attend school again and re-joined his CCA. Today, Sam is doing much better. In fact, he has become a peer supporter himself and is using his experience to help others who are going through similar difficulties. So, you can see from there it is a whole eco-system. Support for youth mental well-being is a whole-of-society effort. Outside of MOE, a lot of work is being done by other Government agencies, SSAs, community groups, private organisations and individuals. I agree with Assoc Prof Daniel Goh, our youths themselves should be at the centre of these efforts.”
“But even so, there will be a small number of students who struggle with mental health issues. For these students, additional support by professionals is needed. We need to identify these students in order to support them. Teachers in schools and class advisors in IHLs are trained to pick up signs of distress, reach out to students facing difficulties, and refer them to a counsellor if necessary. With stronger mental health education and peer support cultures, students will also be able to look out for one another and seek guidance from teachers and counsellors if they notice that a friend is struggling. Students who require additional support will be referred to the counselling professionals in schools, including counsellors and para-counsellors. Students assessed by counsellors to have more serious mental health issues will then be referred to external professionals for further clinical assessment and intervention. External professionals include the hospitals’ REACH teams – that is Response, Early Intervention and Assessment in Community mental Health – and IMH's Community Health Assessment Team (CHAT). To Ms Anthea Ong’s suggestion to increase the number of counsellors, MOE will continue to work with our institutions to review this regularly. For example, those with higher needs will be able to hire additional counsellors and are given the funding and the manpower provisions to do so. But counsellors are just one part of the wider eco-system of support for mental well-being in our schools and IHLs. This eco-system, comprising peer support networks, teachers, counsellors, external professionals, provides a robust and responsive approach to ensuring timely identification and targeted intervention for students with mental health needs.”
“Steve's friends also joined in, and got to know Mark as well. Whenever he could, Steve met with Mark after school to help him with work that he had missed. Gradually, Mark started coming to school more regularly and more punctually. When we asked Mark what helped him to make the change, he said he felt really encouraged when he asked Steve if anyone missed him when he was absent, and Steve replied simply, "Have lah, have lah". The smallest, simplest gestures can make a difference. Anyone can do it. That is what makes peer support so powerful. Therefore, we will establish peer support structures in every school by 2022 and continue to strengthen the peer support culture in our schools. Our vision is for every student to be a peer supporter, forming a strong network of support in their class, CCA or peer group, where they can look out for each other and seek guidance from teachers or counsellors where necessary. The Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) have also put in place peer support programmes similar to those in schools. In addition to this, we will include mental health education in the CCE curriculum for Secondary schools, to help students to understand common mental health issues and their symptoms, know when and how to seek help for themselves and others, and develop empathy and care towards persons with mental health issues. Similarly, the Polytechnics and ITEs have worked with the Health Promotion Board to develop mental health resources for their students. The new mental health education in schools will complement our earlier efforts to help our students develop a resilience mindset and to foster peer support cultures. Together, we will equip our students with the knowledge, skills and support networks to better overcome challenges.”
“However, in cases of unprofessional conduct, where the teachers step over the bounds, such as deliberate attacks on students’ self-esteem, schools will take a serious view, and intervene as necessary to safeguard our students’ well-being, and maintain a positive learning environment. Having laid the foundation of a positive school learning environment, the next step is to build resilience, by equipping our students with the skills and knowledge to overcome setbacks. To help students face challenges confidently, we will help students develop the resilience mindset of "I am, I have, I can". "I am" is about helping students to appreciate their strengths and harness positive beliefs about themselves. "I have" is about enabling students to tap into their social and emotional resources, like peer and family support. And, "I can" emphasises skills that will enable students to cope and thrive, including emotion regulation, problem-solving and managing relationships and conflicts. "I have", which is about tapping on support, including peer support, can be really powerful in schools. Research has shown that having a sense of affiliation among peers, positive vibes and feeling supported by one another, all contribute to positive well-being. Some of our schools have already introduced peer support structures, to good effect. To illustrate, let me share an example from Bukit Merah Secondary School. We have changed the students’ names to protect their privacy. Last year, Steve from Bukit Merah Secondary started training to be a Peer Support Leader. He buddied up with his classmate Mark, who was frequently absent due to his gaming addiction. Steve encouraged Mark to come to school, and started eating with him during recess and breaks.”
“Prof Lim Sun Sun spoke about the importance of building positive learning environments; Ms Rahayu Mahzam and Assoc Prof Daniel Goh suggested strengthening mental health education in schools, to equip our students to handle life’s challenges; while Ms Anthea Ong asked if we can increase the number of counsellors and introduce mental health screenings. Thank you all for your thoughtful speeches and questions. Student well-being is of utmost importance to MOE. Our efforts in this area are guided by three broad questions. First, at the most basic level, how can we create a positive learning environment in our schools? Second, how can we equip our students with the knowledge and skills they need to overcome challenges and setbacks? And finally, how can we support the small group of students with more serious mental health challenges? So, let me address each of these in turn. First, creating a positive school learning environment for all students. Our teachers and school leaders play a crucial role in this. In our Singapore Teaching Practice (STP) model, creating a "positive classroom culture" is a fundamental teaching process. The STP is covered in pre-service training at NIE, as well as in-service courses by the Academy of Singapore Teachers. In CCE, positive teacher-student relationships are strongly emphasised. We will also be developing our teachers’ competencies in establishing strong teacher-student relationships, and providing a caring and enabling environment, through the CCE practice area of SkillsFuture for Educators. As Prof Lim Sun Sun acknowledged, the vast majority of our teachers undertake their roles with professionalism and care. There are times where teachers have to be more strict with students. This is a part of their duty.”
“In Singapore, we counter this trend by ensuring that whether it is in healthcare, transport, public housing or education, we deliver a national system of high quality, even world-class quality. And that is why the education system must always be a work in progress, always be honest in identifying our strengths as well as our gaps and areas for improvement, keep engaging and working with stakeholders to improve it, and doing all these while keeping school fees to a few dollars a month for the great majority of our schools. We will make sure no one is denied a good education because of their family background. Within these commons, we enable social mobility, we help children from poor families break out of poverty, we build a platform for all Singaporeans to mingle and build bonds. We can fulfil the aspirations and dreams of successive generations. From Learn for Life to SkillsFuture, we will inculcate the spirit of lifelong learning in our young and ensure that they will be ready for the future. [Applause.] The Second Minister for Education (Ms Indranee Rajah): Mr Chairman, the Government is committed to nurturing every Singaporean to their fullest potential. Minister Ong has just shown you our roadmap through the "Tree for Life". But even as we transform the education system to help Singaporeans seize opportunities of the future, we will ensure that education remains an uplifting force that provides opportunities for all, regardless of their background or the challenges they face. 11.30 am One key challenge our youths face today is mental well-being. Many colleagues have asked how we can better support our students’ well-being.”
“To tackle these challenges, we should not penalise the schools or the individuals who have done well, for which parent does not want their child to do well and to be the best they can be? That is why our approach is "not to cap the top, but lift the bottom", extend more help to students who need assistance most, devote resources and implement programmes that lift the quality, standards and experience across the board. When I visited Orchid Park Secondary, one of our pilot schools to implement the use of personal learning devices, I met a Chemistry teacher. His name is Mr Ramesh. He said something that left a very deep impression. He said that the most profound implication of the initiative is not the technology or the new pedagogy. It is that now, every student is similarly equipped in terms of computer resources and learning resources. And then, with the SLS, he readily hears the voice of every child in class. The teacher can now more easily detect and zoom in to the students who have somehow fallen behind. In other words, this initiative has further levelled the playing field for all students. And that is the most significant outcome of this programme. And that is also the objective of MOE's other initiatives rolled out over the years, whether it is Applied Learning Programme, Values-In-Action, Outdoor Adventure Learning, Language Elective Programme or the Junior Sports Academy. We are always improving the common experiences of our students. In many countries, social stratification worsened partly because the national system deteriorated. So, the affluent opt out of the national system and they pay for market-based solutions. Over time, this further entrenched the gap between the rich and the poor, who live in worlds far apart – stratification worsens.”
“As you can tell, it is a MOE designed handout. It is what Second Minister Indranee calls, the "Tree for Life". At the very base, the ground, it represents our mission which is UPLIFT, making sure that every child has opportunities. No child is left behind because of their family backgrounds. Second, the roots represent the cornerstone of our education system which is bilingualism and learning languages for life. Then, the stem and the branches represent significant structural changes that we are making – the first structural change is to nurture the joy of learning, by making changes to the PSLE scoring system, reducing examination load. The second structural change is to phase out streaming and replace it with Full SBB. And then, the leaves and the fruits represent what we are populating the classroom with, which is refreshing our curriculum to prepare our students to be future-ready – in CCE, Knowing Asia and Digital Literacy. The sun represents what is critical for the system to work well – our teachers. And through SkillsFuture for Educators, we are upgrading their skills and professionalism. Together, these six thrusts form the "Learn for Life" movement for schools. It will guide our efforts to raise the school education system to a new level, in the next five to 10 years. I hope this is the transformation map Ms Denise Phua is asking for. I hope it lives up to her expectation. I hope it is as thoughtful as it is bold. The constant improvement of our public systems, like education, is a core aspect of our governance approach and our social compact. Technology and globalisation – yes, they bring about great opportunities, but they can also aggravate inequality and stifle social mobility.”
“Our teachers were very forthcoming with their input because they want to learn, be good at what they are doing and grow in their careers. They do not see professional development and teaching duties as a zero-sum game. But to make sure that the training is useful, it is important that teachers decide for themselves what kind of training they need. This is the essence of professional autonomy – teachers taking ownership of the tools of their craft. It is essential in determining the standards of practice, developing mastery, deepening capabilities and instilling professional pride. If you cannot do that, you are like a chef who just reheats the food that somebody else cooked. The concept of professional ownership applies to all industries, trades and crafts and, in fact, this is a core philosophy of SkillsFuture. So, in MOE, when we were thinking how do we name this significant initiative to upgrade the skills of our teaches, we came up with the name "SkillsFuture for Educators". Mr Chairman, Sir, let me conclude and summarise the key thrusts of our reform efforts. With your permission, Sir, may I request that the Clerks distribute a handout to Members, please?”
“Three, differentiated instruction, so that in more diverse classrooms, teachers can teach in a way that caters to the different strengths and learning needs of the students. Four, support for students with special educational needs. About 80% of our students with special educational needs (SEN) are in our mainstream schools today. Teachers want to have a better understanding of their needs and support them better. Five, e-pedagogy, so that they can use digital technology effectively to enhance learning and especially with the NDLP. Finally, CCE, number six, so that every school experience can be a CCE lesson and every teacher a CCE teacher. Some may ask: how will older teachers keep up with all these new demands in education? I think it is a misperception that older teachers, and for that matter, older workers, cannot keep up with changes. Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat was a guest-of-honour at the Distinguished Chinese Language Teacher Awards Ceremony last year. The most experienced award recipient was Mdm Lee Pick Siew. She has taught Chinese for 24 years at St Joseph's Institution (SJI). Senior Minister of State Chee spoke to her about education technology. It turns out Mdm Lee is a firm believer in using technology to teach languages. She told Senior Minister of State Chee that technology will not replace teachers, but teachers who know how to use technology will replace those who do not know how to use technology. And that is coming from the most senior teacher that evening. Others are concerned that with professional development, teachers will have one more thing to worry about, on top of their teaching and administrative duties. But professional development is not new. Teachers have been doing it for many years.”
“The IHLs are also upgrading their curriculum for sectors that require more advanced digital skills, such as cybersecurity, finance, manufacturing and logistics. In the last three years, the Autonomous Universities (AUs) have trained about 1,000 ICT graduates annually. But the AUs know that the industry is hungry for more talent and have been working very hard to expand the capacity of ICT courses. Today, they are taking in a total of 2,800 ICT students a year, almost three times more than before. And we will find ways to ramp up the capacity further if need be. I have spoken about many changes in the education system. Let me now tie them all together. The most important common success factor for all the changes we are making is our teachers. I think we have the best teaching force in the world to make our education reforms a success. Over the years, we have been able to recruit very good teachers. Many are attracted to the noble mission of education, in helping to mould the future of our nation. Having recruited teachers, we then need to continue to invest in their professional competencies, a point alluded to by Mr Murali Pillai and Miss Cheng Li Hui. So, MOE surveyed our teachers and asked them, given the changing education landscape, what kind of skills do you need most? So, they provided their inputs and the following are the six competencies that teachers told us they needed. One, assessment literacy. As we reduce exam load, teachers want to be able to use other assessment tools, such as project work, quizzes and class presentations. Two, inquiry-based learning. They want to be able to design and conduct a class that encourages active learning, giving students more time to explore, pose questions and find answers.”
“This year, and in anticipation of the full roll-out of this initiative, we will provide another $200 top-up to the Edusave accounts of all Singaporean students in Primary and Secondary schools. This will cost $75 million. We expect most students to have enough balance in their Edusave accounts to pay for the device. Some who have used more of their Edusave funds might have to fork out a bit of cash. But MOE will provide further subsidies for students from lower income household groups and ensure that their out-of-pocket cost is $0. The last component of the digital literacy framework is "Create". It is the productive mode, that is, the ability to code a programme, develop an app, create a website, design a game and collaborate with others in the process. Many Secondary schools are leveraging Applied Learning Programmes to get students to develop software or programme robots. We will also expand the number of schools offering "O" Level computing, from 22 to 30 schools; and "A" Level computing from eight Junior Colleges (JCs) to 10 JCs. To Ms Denise Phua's question, MOE has also partnered the Special Education (SPED) schools to customise digital literacy to the learning needs of their students. For example, Pathlight School offers "O" Level computing. For home-schoolers, they can refer to materials that MOE has made available to the public. Mr Ang Wei Neng asked about the efforts at IHLs in pushing digital literacy. IHLs are setting baseline digital competency requirements for all their students. For example, at SMU, students take a module on Introductory Statistics. At Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), computational thinking is a compulsory Year 1 foundational module.”
“A third lesson is that having issued a device to every student, there has to be controlled access so that the device is used for education and learning and not other distractions. The pilot schools have effectively addressed this through device usage control. It can access educationally meaningful sites on the Internet, but online games and Korean dramas are out. It will also monitor students’ use of the device and where they have gone to. Some students are naturally disappointed with the limited functionality of their devices, but it is a necessary thing to do. It is consistent with a common school practice where mobile phone usage is disallowed during school hours. 11.15 am We are now ready to expand the pilot programme. Over the next few years, MOE will progressively roll out this new way of teaching nation-wide, to all Secondary schools. By 2024, we will equip every school with e-pedagogy capabilities and every single Secondary 1 student with a personal learning device. This could be a tablet, a laptop or a chromebook. By 2028, all Secondary school students will be equipped with a digital device and this will address the concerns of Ms Denise Phua and Dr Intan. We will make sure that the device is affordable. Given that it is primarily used for learning and education, we do not intend for it to be a high-end device. We will use a bulk tender to lower the price further, probably, I think, to a few hundred dollars. Students can pay for the device through their Edusave accounts. The Government contributes to it annually. Last year, we raised the Government's annual contribution to the Edusave accounts. We also provided a $150 Bicentennial Bonus top-up for all Primary and Secondary Singaporean students.”
“In this online space, anonymity is put to good use as the students experience a much higher level of psychological safety in learning, as Prof Lim Sun Sun puts it. The teacher could monitor the answer given by every student in real-time, through a heat map. If the heat map is filled with green dots, it means everyone got the answer right and the lesson carries on. If it is all red dots, it means everyone has got it wrong, and the teacher had better re-teach the concept. If it is mostly green with some red dots, it means that some students need coaching and the teacher will know who they are and can intervene accordingly. At last year’s Malay Language Anugerah Arif Budiman Teachers’ Award, one of the winners was Cikgu Siti Mariam from Crest Secondary. I asked her how she managed to make her MTL lesson interesting and engaging. She said she used digital technology. In her case, she incorporated her students' interest in photography into the lesson. The students would take photos using their mobile devices, prepare a photo story in Malay and then upload it on an online platform and share it with the rest of their classmates. There are many ground-up digital lesson plans that teachers have created and uploaded onto the SLS platform to share with their colleagues. So, we are now crowd-sourcing digital lesson plans. And I think we are still just scratching the surface of this very powerful SLS tool. A second important insight from this pilot is that to conduct e-learning, it is very useful for every student to have a personal learning device. Device sharing makes learning sub-optimal. A device is as essential for e-learning in a digital learning classroom, just as paper and pen are for a traditional classroom.”
“The quality and outcomes of e-learning will never be the same as a physical learning environment with teachers, friends, CCAs and a social setting. Neither are we using SLS to make the classroom high-tech and futuristic. What we want to do is to use SLS to enhance the classroom experience. Let the technology fade into the background, and let the interaction, thinking and discussion come to the fore. Flip the classroom, give students more voice, make learning become collaborative. Then students are more likely to internalise the lessons and achieve better education outcomes. So, we got eight schools to start a pilot project where teachers conducted lessons using SLS and gave every student a personal learning device to access the SLS portal and we learned many things from this pilot project. First, teachers cannot teach the traditional way. They need new pedagogies – e-pedagogy. I witnessed some of these lessons. They are nothing like the lessons that I went through as a kid. At Orchid Park Secondary, I saw how a Mathematics teacher, Mr Marwin Low, used SLS to teach students about angles within a diagram. So, after the students logged on to SLS, they were shown a quadrilateral on screen. The students could drag each of the corners and change the shape and size of the quadrilateral. But no matter how they manipulated the diagram, a display at the side will show that the addition of all the interior angles was always 360 degrees. The concept is presented visually and it is very clear. They were then presented with various tasks, which they had to solve and use SLS to key in their answers. Students can remain anonymous and give themselves nicknames. They could also see each other's answers, comment on them or pose questions.”
“Today, teachers typically explain the process to identify prime numbers as follows: for a set of numbers, say one to 100, cross out one, then the teacher will say, "Then, all the higher multiples of 2, cancel off; then all the higher multiples of 3, cancel off; we skip 4 because it is divisible by 2; and then we go to 5, you skip 6 and go 7 and, finally, what you are left with are prime numbers." All of us went through that, right? In future, to be more explicit about developing computational thinking, teachers can challenge students to write a simple program to follow that same logical sequence. Through such an exercise, students learn various programming structures, such as loops and conditions. One common programming logic is: "if, then, else". So, applied to this example, if a number is a multiple of 2, then you take it out, it is not a prime number, or else you retain it as a possible prime number and you loop back and you try with 3 and then 5, 7 and so on. With this, the already renowned Singapore Mathematics curriculum has received another upgrade! The third and biggest component is "Apply". We need to teach students to use software and devices productively to learn to work for daily living across different contexts. A major initiative in this area is the Singapore Student Learning Space (SLS). This is a dynamic online learning portal. Almost the whole of our curriculum is on SLS, complete with animation, interactives, videos, assessments and other resources. To Mr Chen Show Mao's question, we started building it a few years ago, way before there was COVID-19. The idea is not to make students learn completely online and not have to go to school.”
“Third, we can break digital literacy into productive and receptive components – listen and speak, read and write. In Chinese – 听，说，读，写。 We are conscious of how we teach each of these components, how they relate to each other and how they reinforce each other. We, too, can break digital literacy down into different components. The framework MOE has adopted is: find, think, apply and create. They represent the different and mutually-reinforcing aspects of digital literacy. Recognising the importance of digital literacy, MOE will launch a National Digital Literacy Programme (NDLP). This is MOE’s contribution to the national effort, with a focus on schools and IHLs. Let me explain what the NDLP entails using the four components I have just mentioned. The first component is “Find”. It means being able to gather and use information and data from digital resources. Our young have no problem doing that; they are digital natives. Their challenge is how to do it in a constructive, safe, responsible and ethical way. This will be taught through the cyber wellness component of the new CCE curriculum that I spoke about earlier. The second component is “Think”. This is the ability to manage, analyse, interpret and understand data and then solve problems systematically. These are skills largely found in what we call computational thinking. But we do not need a new subject called computational thinking. The elements are present in existing subjects, especially Mathematics, where there is a strong focus on problem solving already. What schools can do is to explicitly draw out the learning points from Mathematics. Let us take an example – the teaching of prime numbers. I hope Members remember what prime numbers are. A prime number is one that is not divisible by any other number.”
“The third area of curriculum review is digital literacy. Ms Denise Phua, Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar, Miss Cheng Li Hui and Mr Ang Wei Neng spoke about this. We all know how digital literacy is important for our young. I do not have to explain this. But what are the responses? One popular response around the world is "Let us make coding compulsory in schools!" But that is too simplistic. Not everyone will grow up to be a coder. Many of us just need to learn how to use technology and software and be comfortable with using them. Further, programming languages will become outdated by the time the students graduate. Another popular response is, "Let us give every student a digital device". It is not a bad idea, but it can do more harm than good if the device becomes another gadget that is a big distraction for the student. So, if we want to do this, we must do it in the right sequence – make sure that the curriculum is rightly designed, teachers are equipped with the suitable pedagogical skills, then use the device to enhance teaching and learning. We need to think about digital literacy more deeply and holistically, rather than simply implementing immediate things that come to mind. One way is to think of digital literacy like language literacy. There are important similarities between the two. First, both are generative or seminal skills, allowing a learner, after you have learnt it, to access knowledge in other domains. Second, both require an immersive learning environment. We do not teach children language just through the formal lessons, but within a holistic and immersive environment. Likewise, we should embed digital literacy within our overall school curriculum and not as a standalone subject.”
“As announced by Deputy Prime Minister Heng in the Budget Statement, our aspiration is "70-70". I would like to assure Mr Saktiandi Supaat that the target includes our ITE students. This means to have 70% of IHL students undergo an overseas stint and with 70% of that going to ASEAN, China or India. Today, the numbers are about "50-50". So, it is not an exclusive experience, as Mr Faisal Manap puts it. But there is room to do more. Third, we can know our region better through the learning of languages. A good start is to learn our Mother Tongue Languages (MTLs) better. Where possible – I keep coming back to learning MTL better – and if the students have the aptitude and interest, we will also encourage the learning of third languages. For most students, this will be at a conversational level and it is not examinable. So, to Mr Chen Show Mao’s suggestion – I know the Member has been raising this every year – that MOE make the learning of conversational Malay compulsory in Primary school, I think it is better that we continue to emphasise the learning of a student’s own MTL. As it is, many students are already finding that quite challenging. But we have been encouraging students to learn the language of another community at a conversational level. Today, about 60% of Primary schools and 40% of Secondary schools offer Conversational Malay and Chinese. We are encouraging more schools to do so and more schools will do so. There is also value for our young to learn to converse in regional languages, as Members have suggested. We will pair the learning of conversational ASEAN languages with overseas school trips. MOE will start with Vietnamese and Thai. That way, learning is more meaningful and can be immediately applied and more students can access it.”
“But, like all skills, it takes many years, even decades of experience, to become a country or a regional expert. What the education system can do, is to get our students started young and expose them to the region. As a start, we will do this in three ways. First, through our Humanities curriculum. It must provide students with a deeper appreciation of the geographies, histories, cultures, languages and economies of our regional countries. We will give the study of Asia its due emphasis in Humanities subjects. For example, in history, students will learn more about the Vietnam War and how developments in Southeast Asia is intertwined with the complexity of the Cold War. In Social Studies, students can learn about the importance of ASEAN centrality. 11.00 am Second, we will leverage overseas trips. Overseas trips have taken a backseat due to COVID-19 but I am sure, in time, the crisis will blow over. The younger ones in schools attend student exchanges, cultural enrichment or embark on service learning projects. The older ones in IHLs typically go for overseas internships and immersion programmes in a foreign education institution. These have been effective in building their cross-cultural skills, resourcefulness and resilience. Students generally enjoy overseas trips, but I think their favourite destinations are still New York and London. We will organise more trips to Asian countries and encourage students to participate in them. Students from the West are flocking here to experience Asia because of the cultural diversity and the exciting economic opportunities. Our students should do so, too. This is our own backyard and, here, we will always have a natural competitive advantage. We will need that mindset shift that Mr Teo Ser Luck talked about.”
“Some of these contemporary issues and the discussion of them will help hone the critical thinking skills of our students. They may be sensitive to discuss, but they are important to help our students better understand the complexities of our country and our life. MOE will develop the resources and methodologies. Teachers will guide students to listen attentively, converse respectfully and be open to differing perspectives. Finally, given the expansion of the CCE curriculum, we will need to have more time to teach it. We will have to, as Miss Cheng Li Hui suggested, further integrate CCE into school lessons and activities, such as CCAs, camps, learning journeys and Values-in-Action. With these changes, every school experience can be a CCE lesson. Every teacher can be a CCE teacher. And every school a good school, of course. It should become a whole-school approach. This is happening in some schools, but we will implement it system-wide, be more deliberate about CCE and make learning intentional rather than incidental. The new CCE curriculum will be progressively implemented from 2021 in all Primary and Secondary schools. The second area of curriculum review is Knowing Asia. Several Members, such as Ms Foo Mee Har, Mr Murali Pillai and Mr Teo Ser Luck, have explained why this is important. Suffice to say that Southeast Asia is one of the fastest growing regions in the world. Together with China, India, Japan and Korea, they all form part of our natural hinterland. Singapore-based enterprises need to be able to venture out to the region. And Singaporeans must be able to play a part in it. To do so, we need to be equipped with the relevant knowledge, language and cultural skills.”
“So, they could tell how their decisions affected the outcome of the story. I could tell the situation resonated with them and the students were very engaged. To me, the lesson that day was quite clear. The lesson is: if you encounter cyber bullying, seek help and support, do not retaliate. That day, the students voted for retaliation, even though I was sitting there! And the ending did not turn out well. This is one way we are using more authentic scenarios, immersive modalities and giving students more voice and agency to bring CCE to life – not just for cyber wellness, but for all aspects of CCE. The third change, the CCE curriculum will have greater focus on mental wellness, which is closely related to cyber wellness. We already teach students socio-emotional competencies today. The new CCE curriculum will seek to strengthen one important aspect, which is peer support. Second Minister Indranee will speak more on this topic. Fourth, we will expand our efforts to engage secondary school students more actively on contemporary issues through CCE lessons. This is already done today. We will explore more topics, find ways to engage students more deeply and increase the frequency of these lessons to at least once a fortnight. Climate change, as Miss Cheng Li Hui and Mr Yee Chia Hsing suggested, could be one of these issues. Other examples could be Government policies, social inequality, race and religion, online falsehoods and so on and so forth. Mr Leon Perera suggested including a subject like Theory of Knowledge (TOK) into our school curriculum. MOE is quite reluctant to over-crowd our curriculum. It is already quite a heavy curriculum, especially given that TOK is a pre-university subject for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.”
“For Primary 1 to 3, we will henceforth devote the bulk of CCE lessons to character and values. As the Chinese saying goes, "品德在先，学术在后" – values before academics. We will emphasise respect and care for others, honesty, humility and kindness. They must also learn resilience and courage. Our children need to learn to stand up against discrimination, against bullying – of all kinds and regardless of who the victim is. Many of these lessons will be taught in MTL from Primary 1 to 6. We will therefore better align the CCE and MTL lessons – ensure that the standard of the language is appropriate and engage students in much more interesting ways. From Primary 4 to 6, we will broaden the existing Form Teacher Guidance Period to include National Education and citizenship topics – values relevant to us as a nation. For these topics, it is more meaningful to have a diverse group of students from all communities and therefore, these classes will continue to be taught in English. The second change, we will place more emphasis on cyber wellness. We will devote more time and develop more materials to teach this subject, so that students will learn to critically evaluate what they read online, be able to tell genuine news from falsehoods and not rely on social media "likes" for validation. They need to be able to say no to bad influences, and protect themselves from cyber bullies and predators. Several Secondary schools – in fact, 11 – have piloted the new CCE curriculum on cyber wellness. I visited one of them – New Town Secondary – and observed a class on the topic of cyber bullying. This was conducted via a video case study and students were asked at every juncture of the story to vote and decide how the story would unfold.”
“A child can choose to be nasty and then get away with it. Whereas in the real world, it is not easy to say something nasty to your friend in the face; a punch can come back. In fact, sometimes there is nothing very social about social media. More importantly now, with a powerful device in their hands, our children can decide: do I use it to acquire knowledge for learning, or access undesirable materials? Do I use it to keep in touch with family and friends, or get addicted to digital entertainment? Do I use it to record beautiful memories, take pictures with my friends or intrude into the privacy of others, or worse, commit a sexual offence? How do we ensure that our young make the right choices and survive well in an online world? I think digital world problems require analogue world solutions. It goes back to our values, our morals, our humanity. Values are what distinguish us from computers and machines, and that we cannot abdicate to technology. We apply our moral and values system whether we are offline or we are online. We determine the purpose of technology, we determine the purpose of devices. Dr Intan said that values are more often caught than taught. I think both are needed. Families play a big part in instilling them in the young, at home. But schools can then work with parents and make a big difference too. We need to update the CCE curriculum to reflect this imperative and reinforce the teaching of values in our children from as young an age as possible. So, we will build on the existing CCE curriculum and strengthen it with the following five changes. Number one, we will restructure formal CCE lessons to reinforce the teaching of moral values. Today, CCE lessons cover both character and values, and also citizenship.”
“If we keep all these practices up, even after the crisis has blown over, I think we will have a generation of Singaporeans who will be much more resilient to infectious diseases. Today we face new challenges and realities that necessitate a refreshing of our curriculum. They are in three areas: first, in Character and Citizenship Education (CCE); second, Knowing Asia; third, Digital Literacy. I will start with CCE. I thank Dr Intan, Mr Zainal Sapari, Mr Ang Wei Neng, Dr Lim Wee Kiak and Mr Yee Chia Hsing for asking about this. There are a few components to our CCE today, such as the teaching of values, National Education, Social and Emotional Learning, and Education and Career Guidance. In 2016, we started a comprehensive review of the CCE curriculum. The more we progressed in the review, the more we thought it in urgent need of change. Why is that so? Because the young today are different from previous generations in one major aspect, which is their exposure to technology. For those who follow comics and watch superhero movies, they are like Bruce Wayne, who is also Batman – one day, one night. They have one real world that parents can see and another one online, which they spend a lot of time on, that parents do not see. As adults who have grown up without this duality and without this space, I do not think we fully understand what our young are going through. The impact of technology on students and on children is complex and multi-faceted. But let me just highlight one of the most significant effects, which is that technology presents children with the influences, choices and decisions previous generations never had to contend with. In an online world, you can be anonymous and there are no policemen, no editors, no verifiers.”
“The Programme supports students to attain a higher level of MTL proficiency and acquire a better understanding of their culture. About 250 students took it up, which is an encouraging start. It also helps to have specialised schools, like the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools and programmes like the Elective Programme in Malay Language for Secondary Schools (EMAS) and the National Elective Tamil Language Programme (NETP). In other words, let us not shy away from doing what it takes to preserve the use of MTLs. The world is moving towards bilingualism, even multilingualism. We have an advantage because of our ethnic diversity and bilingual abilities. We must not only preserve this advantage, but strengthen it further. Let me move to the next part of my speech today – the new things MOE plans to do. They have to do with curriculum – what we teach and how we teach. We need to refresh our curriculum to evolve with the needs and realities of the times. But any changes to curriculum must be very carefully considered. It shapes the values, attitudes, mindsets and competencies of an entire generation. It gives meaning to MOE's mission of "moulding the future of the nation". For example, we introduced Values-in-Action (VIA) in 2012 to foster social responsibility amongst young Singaporeans. Today, you can see its imprint in our young Singaporeans, in the way they look at social issues. I do think it has an imprint. As Dr Intan and Mr Ang Wei Neng pointed out, events like the COVID-19 outbreak also offer a valuable opportunity in education. Schools today are placing strong emphasis on personal hygiene and on social responsibility.”
“When they graduate, 90% of them who want to join the labour force find work within six months; that is our track record. Starting salaries have also been going up. By the time they step into the workforce, they would have more or less pressed a reset button that mitigated their childhood disadvantages. This is uplift in action, where all young Singaporeans can access opportunities, because we have a stable country, a growing economy and a good education system. The fourth thrust is "Learning Languages for Life". Ms Tin Pei Ling and Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked about MOE’s bilingualism effort. I thank Mr Lim for sharing his personal experience in two languages. I will answer the Member in one. The Member lamented that he only realised the importance of Mother Tongue Language (MTL) in adulthood, after he stepped into his professional life. Unfortunately, some things do not change, and I think many of our students will still feel the same way as Mr Lim when they grow up. Hence, it is critical to start as young as possible and make students interested in learning MTL. 10.45 am This requires schools and families to complement each other's efforts. Families can provide an immersive MTL environment at home. Then, schools carry on the work, starting with kindergartens putting stronger emphasis on the teaching of MTLs in pre-schools, which we have started to do. We have also introduced targeted programmes. In Primary schools, we introduced a Mother Tongue Support Programme for Primary 3 and 4 students who have a weak command of MTL. Last year, 60 pilot schools enlisted 1,100 students. It will be fully rolled out to all schools in 2021. For students who are strong in MTL, we introduced the Language Elective Programme (LEP) in 15 Secondary schools this year.”