Tay Eng Soon
Singapore
“Sir, up to now, the numbers involved are very small. Quite often, it is a small group, together with the lecturers, who work out the project. In other words, it is their initiative. Included in that is fund-raising, which they do.”
“The universities are also planning to introduce a modular and semester system for some of their courses. This will enable their students to do part of their course in overseas universities and gain credits for these modules towards the fulfilment of their degree requirements in NUS and NTU.”
“The polytechnic graduates who go overseas are quite a mixed group of people. Many of them do have working experience. In fact, they save the income from their working experience before they go overseas. So many do have working experience before they go overseas. PRE-SCHOOL CLASSES RUN BY PRIVATE ORGANISATIONS (Regulation) 8.”
“I think this is something which we can ask the universities to look into. Mr Umar Abdul Hamid: Does the Ministry have statistics to show that graduates who went overseas do have industrial experience before they get into the university?”
“Sir, the experience of the universities with polytechnic graduates is that they do well when they have practical working experience in addition to the diploma course that they have done.”
“They may not be highly educated themselves. Many of them are, in fact, not rich at all. They are refugees. But they pay attention to what their children do, they encourage them, they supervise them where they can, and as a result of that kind of encouragement, the children concentrate on their work and they do well in the American system.…”
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“Sir, as I said, this is a matter for the University to consider, as it affects courses that are being run and also the standards which they want to maintain.”
“There are part-time courses being run by the University, e.g. the MBA, or the Diploma in Business Administration.”
“This is a matter which the University itself has to consider in the light of the courses that they are already running.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, a feasibility study for a Physical Education College began early this year. The study has been completed and is now awaiting the comments and advice of an expert consultant who will be coming from West Germany in September. Depending on the outcome of the consultant's visit, it may be possible to start the PE College sometime next year or 1984 at the latest. It is envisaged that the College will take in 'O' and 'A' level students and award a Diploma in Physical Education after a three-year course. My Ministry has been concerned for some time about how to improve the standard of physical fitness of our pupils. We recognize that a well-run compulsory PE programme in our schools would be the way to improve physical fitness. To achieve this, we need to provide our schools with enough trained PE teachers. There is, however, an acute shortage of such teachers. At present, only 50 of our PE teachers have diplomas, certificates or degrees in PE while the rest have partial or no training. Over the next 10 years we will need at least 70 to 80 trained PE teachers each year for our secondary schools and junior colleges. The proposed PE College will not only train PE teachers for our schools but also PE instructors for the SAF, the Singapore Police Force, the Singapore Sports Council, People's Association and other organizations. We have neglected PE in our schools for far too long. The starting of the PE College and a PE programme in our schools should rectify this neglect. PROHIBITION OF SMOKING IN RECREATION CENTRES 5.”
“They have also pointed out that mainstream Hindu thought in India today is studied and taught in English at major Hindu centres of learning rather than in any of the Indian languages. Most of the great Indian scholar-thinkers who led the modern Hindu renaissance were men like R. Tagore, Aurobindo Gosh, M. K. Gandhi, S. Radhakrishnan and Swami Vivekananda. Their major works were in English. The study of Hindu Studies in English would give the students access to these great works. Finally, Tamil parents should not worry that their children will lose touch with the Tamil language by studying Hindu Studies in English, nor should they worry that their children will become unfamiliar with Hindu literature in the Tamil language. Tamil, as a second language which their children will study for 10 years from Primary 1 to Secondary 4, includes many passages and poems taken from the Hindu classics. Approximately 60% of the materials studied in the TL2 course consists of moral education passages and religious poems taken from Hindu literature. Children who take TL2 are therefore well exposed to Tamil Hindu literature. COLLEGE FOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION (Establishment) 4. Encik Abbas Abu Amin asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education when the proposed College for Physical Education will materialize, and how it will help to upgrade the general standard of physical fitness of our young population.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am replying to this question on behalf of the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education. When Hindu Studies is made available as one of the Religious Knowledge subjects in 1984, it will be taught in English. At a later stage, if there is sufficient demand from students and parents, it can also be offered as an option in Tamil. Our records show that out of 4,330 Indian students in Secondary 3 and Secondary 4 in 1982, less than half or only 46% are taking Tamil as a second language. Most of the rest are taking Malay as a second language, On the other hand, all Indian students study English. The teaching of Hindu Studies in English should therefore enable more Indian students, many of whom are not Tamil speaking, to take up the subject. The importance of English is well recognized. The use of English for teaching of Hindu Studies should help the students to improve their English. In contrast, the second language poses few problems for the majority of students and does not need as much encouragement as English. In the case of Tamil as a second language, 87.3% passed it at 'O' level in 1981 compared with 40% for English. As the Hindu Studies course will be a new and an untried one, the Hindu Advisory Board, with whom we are in close consultation, has agreed that the course should first be offered in English. They have further cautioned that the new syllabus as well as the textbooks should be thoroughly tested in the schools. Until the teething problems of the new textbooks are sorted out, the Hindu Advisory Board feels that it would be premature to offer the course as an option in Tamil.”
“The answer is yes. LEGISLATION ON USE OF METAL SCAFFOLDING 2. Mr Lim Boon Heng asked the Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour whether he intends to introduce legislation concerning the use of metal scaffolding in the construction industry, and whether such use will be made compulsory in order to enhance the safety of construction workers. The Minister of State for Labour (Dr Wong Kwei Cheong) (for the Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour): Mr Speaker, Sir, my Ministry intends to introduce legislation concerning the use of metal scaffolding in the construction industry. The legislation, however, will not make the use of metal scaffolding compulsory. It will require contractors to provide a set of proper platforms to be erected at the edge of a building under construction. This will ensure that workers can carry out their tasks with adequate protection. As one of the better ways of meeting this requirement is through the use of metal scaffolds, the introduction of this requirement in the legislation will promote the use of such scaffolds.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as I have said earlier, degrees from universities in Taiwan as well as other countries are not accepted by the Public Service Commission for the purpose of emplacement on the graduate scale in the teaching service. However, in 1970, certain steps were taken as a result of an appeal to the Ministry on behalf of teachers who were graduates of Taiwan and Chinese universities. In that year, it was recommended to the Public Service Commission and accepted by the Commission that certain graduates of Taiwan and Chinese universities could be placed on the graduate scale provided certain conditions were met. Three conditions were applied. First, that they should have joined the teaching service before 1st January 1962. Secondly, that they should have attained 50 years of age and, thirdly, that they should have 12 years or more of teaching service. Since that time, a number of graduates of Taiwan and Chinese universities have been emplaced on the graduate scale. To-date, a total of 67 such graduates have been converted to the graduate scale.”
“The alternative to that would be that in time we will have many sections of our population who do not know anything at all about any of the great religions, their origins, what they stand for, what they teach. Is this something that we want for future generations? I believe I have touched on all the points that Members have raised.”
“They were members of the Singapore People's Liberation Organization who, among other things, wanted to incite our people against the Government on religious issues. They were apprehended and were detained. We will continue to exercise firm control over groups like this. I can assure the Member for Moulmein that this Government will not hesitate to come down hard and strongly on groups that exploit religion in that manner. He has also raised questions about the logistics on teaching Religious Knowledge, i.e. sufficiency of teachers, of classrooms and whether these will be provided. I accept that these are problems that we will have to overcome as best as we can. There is obviously a cost in logistic terms to implement the teaching of Religious Knowledge and it is something which my Ministry is fully aware of and we are looking for solutions. Finally, let me say that we should look upon the introduction of Religious Knowledge in Secondary 3 and 4 as 'O' level papers in their proper and correct perspective. These are subjects which will expose our students to the great religions, to their teachings, to their beliefs, to their universal moral values. It can only benefit them although it is possible that for some students it will make no impact at all. We do not look upon Religious Knowledge as the panacea for all our moral ills. I do not think it is as simple as that but we should see Religious Knowledge in its context as part of moral education in all our schools. After eight years of moral education from Primary 1 to Secondary 2 in schools, we believe that it is appropriate that school children should study something of one of the great religions.”
“On the question of exemption, we have in this subject provided six options: Bible Knowledge, Islamic Religious Knowledge, Buddhist Studies, Hindu Studies, Studies of the World Religions, and Confucian Ethics. We believe this wide choice would meet the needs of almost all students in our schools. There will, of course, be a small number who for various reasons will not want to opt for any of these subjects. They can apply for exemption to the Ministry not to take these subjects. But I can assure the Member for Moulmein that for those students who are exempted something will be found for them to do. They will not be allowed to do nothing during the two periods of Religious Knowledge in their schools. The workload of students has been mentioned by the Member for Moulmein. I do not think that there will be any increase in the workload for students. Even now there are two periods set aside in all secondary schools for Civics and Current Affairs. Civics is a subject which has semestral tests, granted that not all schools take it that seriously but it is meant to have semestral tests. What we have done with the introduction of Religious Knowledge is to replace Civics and Current Affairs with Religious Knowledge in the same two periods which those subjects occupy. What about the question that the Member for Moulmein raised concerning the dangers of conflict and divisiveness in the society at large as a result of religious fervour? It has been said in this House, and I repeat what has been said, that our Government has not and will not hesitate to come down firmly and strongly on groups who intend or who make use of religious issues and religions to cause conflict and division in our society. We have demonstrated this again and again. Quite recently five persons were detained.”
“It is not correct when the Member for Moulmein said that when the PAP Government came in they stopped the teaching of Religious Knowledge. That is incorrect. What was stopped in the Sixties was the teaching of religious instruction during curriculum time, that is, the carrying out of religious practices and worship for the purpose of religious instruction during curriculum time. Schools,such as Christian mission schools which have always done this were obliged to carry out religious instruction and worship in time outside the curriculum time. And so from the middle Sixties onwards mission schools have had to add an additional hour per week to their school time. Religious Knowledge on the other hand continued to be taught as a subject for 'O' level in mission schools and in Malay stream schools, because we have always had students offering these two subjects at 'O' level. Last year, even before the introduction of this new policy 1,200 students took Bible Knowledge at 'O' level and 1,500 students took the Islamic Religious Knowledge at 'O' level. So we have a fairly long history on the teaching of Religious Knowledge for 'O' level at Secondary 3 and Secondary 4, I believe, from the experience of these schools and from the experience of the Ministry in the offering of this subject at 'O' level, that there will be no problem when we extend Religious Knowledge to other schools and by 1984. Nevertheless, as has been mentioned, principals will be monitoring the teaching of the subject; specialist inspectors at my Ministry, in the respective Religious Knowledge subjects, have been appointed and they will be meeting principals and will be monitoring how the implementation of teaching is taking place in the schools. 5.45 p.m.”
“All of us have the experience when we read a good book or see a good film to be moved and even to accept the ideas that are put across, and it is quite possible that during the learning of Religious Knowledge some students will find the ideas, the teachings expounded to be very attractive and to want to accept these ideals for themselves as practical principles for their own lives. Do we say that a student who imbibes ideas and teachings in this manner has been converted? Is it wrong that a student should be attracted by the universal moral values that all these great religions teach and that he should want to imbibe them? On the contrary, I believe that if the study of any of these Religious Knowledge subjects leads to students imbibing the teachings, the values, then this is a cause for satisfaction rather than for regret. Safeguards, of course, can be made. As I said, selection of teachers in the first place is within the school context. The principal who is responsible for the school would know and monitors what goes on in classes where Religious Knowledge is being taught, in the same way that the principal does or should know what is being taught in other subjects. That is something which would normally take place in the school. If a teacher should, in his or her enthusiasm, make use of such classes in a deliberate way to convert or to evangelize the students, then the principal knowing this should report the matter to the Ministry and the teacher will be stopped from doing this. Let us remember that Religious Knowledge, at least for Bible Knowledge and Islamic Religious Knowledge, has been taught in quite a large number of schools for many years.”
“Sir, the Member for Moulmein has touched on the subject of Religious Knowledge, of which much has appeared in the press and public discussion recently. The Member for Leng Kee earlier had also touched on this important topic. The questions that have been raised by both Members are many and some of them are fears they expressed which I am sure other people share. Let me take the most basic point which has been mentioned by the Member for Moulmein - I think it is the fear some people have - and that is the question of conversion. I have said in this House in answer to a question on the 3rd March, that the Ministry will monitor the teaching of this subject. Teachers for this subject will be selected on the basis of their maturity and the knowledge of the subject. The subject itself or the subjects under Religious Knowledge are clearly laid out in the syllabus and in prescribed textbooks. They cover the two years of Secondary 3 and Secondary 4. In the teaching of these subjects there will not be any religious practice or worship in the classroom. It is the express intention of the Ministry that the classroom should not be used as a place for converting any one from one faith to another. So we look upon the teaching of Religious Knowledge as the teaching of a subject which is linked to the 'O' level examination which can be offered for the 'O' level, and which is acceptable for pre-University admission. Nevertheless Members have expressed the fear of conversion. Let me say that the question of conversion is something which is personal and a matter between a person and his own conscience. No one can predict if a person will be converted, and when and how.”
“May I just reply to the few points, Sir? On the question of the date of the salary revision in June, unfortunately my Ministry is not the only party involved in the negotiations. But I think the Member can take it from the Minister for Trade and Industry that the intention is to complete the revision by June. We all look forward and hope it will be completed by June. The point the Member made regarding teachers who want to remain as teachers is a valid one, something which I thank him for making and something which my Ministry officials are fully aware of. I hinted just now in my remarks that we are looking into ways in which teachers who are not going to become principals can be motivated and rewarded.”
“Anybody who has had to deal with parents who are dogmatic and who refuse to accept certain changes in the treatment of their children knows how difficult it is to bring about such changes. I think the Member is touching on something fundamental and universal and which has been in man for a very long time. I do not think there are any quick solutions or answers to these questions. Certainly I do not see how the Ministry of Education will be able to extend itself beyond its very large task of the school system to the home. On the question of religious knowledge which was brought up by the Member for Leng Kee, may I leave this till later because I know other Members also want to bring up points concerning religious knowledge. However I would like to ask my Parliamentary Secretary to reply to the Member for Leng Kee on the progress of the SAP schools.”
“For example, last year the Institute of Education conducted 10 in-service courses and ran 71 school-based workshops. This is an example of how the Ministry can help teachers to develop themselves in their profession and to get more satisfaction in the work that they have to do in the schools. There are other matters which we have mentioned once or twice in the Schools Council, such as encouraging teachers, in some positive ways, to be more innovative. These are the matters which are being looked into by the Ministry of Education. The Member for Kampong Kembangan asked if a status report on the new education system could be provided. My answer is that the status reports on various aspects of the new education system are, in fact, being made known to the public and to the teachers through the Schools Council and through press releases. This has been going on all the time. I am not sure if it would be beneficial to have an omnibus status report on every item covered in the new education system. The present approach of dealing with every aspect as it arises and reporting it in the Schools Council would, I think, suffice to inform Members of this House and members of the public of what is going on in the implementation of the new education system. He mentioned the whole question of how to help children to become better achievers in school. He mentioned home factors and factors outside the school. I am in complete agreement with him that these factors have a profound influence on children. At the same time, these are the very factors which are the most difficult and intractable for anyone to change. Any parent who has to deal, for example, with an indisciplined child knows how difficult it is to try to change the behaviour of that child.”
“Many hopes were dashed when only a few percent were promoted. Even those who were promoted received, after all that exercise, one increment. It can be said that these mass promotion exercises produced more frustration, more disappointment, even for the successful teachers than if they were not carried out at all. If we look back into the education service before 1972, we find that there was no system of mass promotion. Instead, promotions were carried out to fill posts such as principals of schools, inspectors in the inspectorate in the headquarters, specialist officers, and so on, and in each of these exercises the candidate who was promoted assumed higher responsibility. He took on, in fact, a different job and gen- erally the education service accepted these promotion exercises. With the proposed Senior Education Service a similar principle for promotion will be observed, namely, that promotions of teachers should be to responsible positions, such as vice-principals and principals of schools and specialist and inspectorate positions in the Ministry headquarters. 4.30 p.m. What about teachers in the rank and file who do not get promoted in these exercises? I think the important thing is not that promotion per se is the main motivator, but how we can help the teachers, the bulk of whom will be teaching in schools, to improve themselves, increase their knowledge of the subjects they are teaching, improve on methods, all of which will make teaching a more satisfying function. For this, the Ministry has already instituted in-training courses, school-based courses or workshops to help teachers to get a broader, deeper perspective of their professions and subjects.”
“3 applicants for every place for graduate teachers, and 10 applicants for every place for non-graduate teachers. So there is interest among our school leavers and university leavers to join the education service. As I said, the selection imposed by the Public Service Commission is of a high standard and I think Members will in the long run agree with me that this is the way for the education service to maintain and even improve standards and to have an excellent teaching force. The Member for Moulmein asked a question about the salary revision. I think his question has already been answered to some extent by the Minister for Trade and Industry yesterday when he said that the salaries of all the other services, including the Divisions I and 11 which affect graduate and non-graduate teachers, are undergoing revision. I can assure the Member that my Ministry has already begun discussions with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service Commission on the revision of these salaries and the introduction of the Senior Education Service. He asked a question about promotion of teachers. I would like to take this opportunity to say something about this. In 1972, 1974, and 1977 there were three mass promotion exercises. These exercises involved something like 10,000 teachers, In each exercise, there was a shortlisting of teachers to a figure of about 1,700 and then there were many interview boards which were set up to further interview the shortlisted teachers to see who should be promoted. The result of all these exercises was that the number of teachers promoted in each case was between 200 and 470. In 1977, it was 470. In percentage terms, promotions were given to 2% to 4.7% of eligible teachers. These exercises took several weeks. Many people had hopes of a promotion.”
“On the basis of what we know of full-day schools, we are not ready to make a firm decision on whether we should proceed full steam ahead with all the schools. This will have to wait until the pilot scheme has been thoroughly tried out. On the shortage of teachers, this problem of manpower affects not only the school system but also many sectors, including the Civil Service. The more important thing to note about the teaching service is that the turnover is low as compared with many other services. For example, for the non-graduate teachers, the turnover is less than 2% per annum and for graduate teachers, the turnover is about 4% per annum. I think we should be thankful for this. At the same time, recognizing that there is a shortage of teachers, the Institute of Education is looking into how the intake can be increased. The problem here is that the trainees in the Institute of Education have to meet strict criteria imposed by the Public Service Commission because when a person is taken into the Institute of Education he is as good as having been employed to become a teacher. The Public Service Commission quite rightly believes that the standards that ought to be maintained for non-graduates as well as graduates who want to become teachers must be kept as high as possible. We know from the experiences of the 1960s that when the education system underwent explosive growth many people with marginal academic qualifications had to be taken into the education service. The Public Service Commission is not prepared to accept this for our education system for the years ahead. With that important restriction, I must say that the number of applications to the Institute of Education for both graduate and non-graduate courses remains quite high, something like 3.”
“What is more important is to find solutions which provide alternatives for such students, such as streaming, which I have mentioned, into appropriate streams for them and alternative channels, such as vocational training for those who are not academically-inclined. I think these are the more important practical measures that we have to take to provide a route up for those who are not academically-inclined. If we are successful in carrying out these measures, I do not see any necessity to introduce compulsory education. There will, of course, be pupils who for various reasons do not want to stay within either the school system or the vocational training system. We know this to be true even today. We have to look into how we can get these pupils to progress smoothly from the school system into the vocational system. But the possibility of making it necessary for such pupils who are not staying in the school system to have to do some vocational training as a compulsory requirement cannot be excluded. The Member for Moulmein cautioned us against making too many changes and his advice in a way runs counter to what many Members have also suggested because, what they have suggested, if implemented, tantamounts to change. I think the important thing here again is that we make haste slowly. We do not make changes for the sake of change and where we do have to make a change we do so after careful and thorough investigation. On the subject of full-day schools, the Member knows that a number of schools are under a pilot scheme. This year we have six secondary schools and two primary schools and we are constantly monitoring these schools to find out what their experiences are with full-day school.”
“I think this is so, and this is the reason why in the monolingual stream the course is deliberately made not academic in content and emphasis is placed on literacy, learning of the language under informal conditions. With these measures, I can assure him that we hope to reduce educational wastage in the schools. On the question of helping those who are not academically inclined to become more skilled so that they can contribute to themselves as well as to the economy, we are looking into how the VITB system can be more closely linked with the school system. As Members know, by 1984-85 the first batch of monolingual pupils will be leaving our school system. The monolingual stream is not a dead-end because our intention is that monolingual students on leaving the school system should go on to some form of pre-vocational and vocational training. The same thing can be said of those who are unsuccessful in the PSLE examinations after having been through the extended course in the primary stream. Similar provision will be made for them. On the question of compulsory education the Member has cited so many countries that have introduced compulsory education. The first point to note is that in Singapore the desire for education is extremely high. Without any form of compulsory education, more than 99% of pupils of school-going age register to join Primary 1. On the question of whether we should have compulsory education at the later stages so that we can keep potential premature school leavers within the school system and prevent them from dropping out, we can certainly do this by compulsory measures but that by itself does not solve the problem.”
“For the next few years the PSLE results steadily improved: in 1977 it went up to 67.9%, in 1978 74.5%, in 1979 74.3%, and so on. That meant that the retained students would either pass in the following year or would reach a point when they would be too old for their class and would have to leave the system. So retention meant that a certain percentage of the students would have to leave the system and these premature school-leavers or drop-outs represented a loss. It was precisely to address that problem that the Goh Report was produced, and the principle of streaming students into courses more appropriate to their ability and therefore more suited to them, was introduced in 1979 and 1980. So I take this opportunity to reiterate the purpose of streaming - it is none other than to reduce educational wastage which the Member for Boon Teck and other Members are rightly concerned. 4.15 p.m. The benefits of this policy would take some time before they become apparent. This is the third year in which streaming has taken place in the primary schools, and the second year in which streaming has taken place in the secondary schools, and it will be some time before a reduction of premature school leavers can be seen. But I would just like to let him know that with the monolingual stream being introduced in the primary schools, the number of pupils who are leaving the school system at Primary 4 and Primary 5 has already gone down. In fact, last year the number of pupils who left at Primary 4 had gone down by a factor of three. So we begin to see some reduction in premature school leavers in the primary schools. The Member for Boon Teck's point about the courses being too academic for students and is the cause for some of them to fail is well taken.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, permit me to reply to the questions and points that have been raised on behalf of my Minister. I know that there are other Members of the House who want to raise more points later, but as several Members have already spoken and raised numerous points, I feel I should try to give an answer now so that I can do justice to their points and then take on more points at a later stage. The Member for Boon Teck raised the question of educational wastage and I want to thank him for raising this very pertinent point. That was the fundamental reason why the Goh Report was produced and this was debated at length in 1979 in this House. I can assure him that the subject of educational wastage is constantly before the officers in my Ministry who have to carry out this policy. To give an example of how progressively over a long period of time we can hope to reduce educational wastage, I would just like to take the example of the Primary School Leaving Examination going back to 1976. I would like to caution that changes in education have a very long time factor, namely, that a change today affecting a child in Primary I will not show any results until 10 years later when that child does the 'O' Level. So we have to make haste slowly. We have to have a long-term view and we have to persist in whatever we do. Prior to 1976 we had automatic promotion in our schools with the result that many pupils were being pushed up to PSLE with the obvious consequence that they would fail. So it is not surprising that in 1976 the failure rate in PSLE was very high and only 57% managed to pass the examination. But from 1976 onwards we stopped automatic promotion and we introduced the policy of retention, that is to say, weak students would have to repeat their year.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have the opportunity to ask a supplementary question but I want to direct the question at the Member for Anson. Yesterday in this House, he spoke about our rugged society and went on to sneer about the ragged society, casting a slur on the people of Singapore. Now we hear that he has reported or alleged to have reported to an international newspaper that there are 5,000 detainees in Singapore and that the people of Singapore are starving. I think he owes us and the people of Singapore an apology. Will he apologize publicly to the people of Singapore?”
“The College will continue with recruitment vigorously so that it will have the 500 teaching staff required to cater for the 8,000 students in 1985. This will be a major task. How do the graduates of the College perform? Feedback on their performance and the usefulness of their training have been obtained through many surveys. These show that they are easily absorbed in the public and private sectors. Regular graduate employment surveys show that more than 90% of the job seekers had found their first job within the first three months after graduation. A survey on NATC graduates of 1971 to 1979 showed that not only the occupational experience of NATC technical graduates is in many ways similar to that of their Singapore Polytechnic counterparts, they are just as strongly in demand. Like Singapore Polytechnic graduates, most NATC technical graduates are engaged directly in technical or engineering work and almost all hold jobs for which their College training is relevant. The College has the same aims and objectives as the Singapore Polytechnic; its courses are comparable and its graduates are accepted as equals to those of Singapore Polytechnic. NATC has come of age. At the threshold of its next phase of expansion, it is timely to rename it as the Ngee Ann Polytechnic, or NP for short. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.- [Dr Tay Eng Soon]. Bill considered in Committee. 5.00 p.m. [Mr Speaker in the Chair] Clause 1 -”
“With the recent greater emphasis on the need for continuing education among working people, the College has extended its role to provide a Continuing Education Programme. The programme, which was started in 1978 on a regular basis has introduced a variety of part-time evening diploma courses. The latest development is the College's second 5-year (1981 - 85) Expansion Project which, when completed, will provide the College with facilities to cater for a full-time enrolment of 8,000 students. Physical facilities will be increased and enhanced; additional support and recreational facilities including a sports complex will be built. The expanded campus will cover over 26 hectares. There are also plans to build residential accommodation for foreign staff and students. The total cost of this Project as proposed will be around $200 million. The existing courses of study are subjected to continuous review and modification in accordance with the changing needs of industry and commerce. In this respect, it has been decided that the practical content of the technical courses should be increased. New courses of study relevant to the needs of the country will also be introduced. The first amongst these will be the Diploma in Computer Studies course which will train students to become programmers and systems analysts at the junior level. Parallel to the expansion in enrolment is the need for more and better qualified teaching staff. A staff development scheme is being implemented under which serving staff are given opportunities to obtain locally as well as overseas relevant experience and qualifications. Major recruitment exercises are being carried out, both locally and overseas, to attract suitably qualified professionals to join the College.”
“The Kongsi continues to provide financial assistance to the College, its annual contribution being 75% of its net annual revenue. Concurrently with these changes, NATC was moved from its borrowed premises in the Ngee Ann Kongsi buildings in Tank Road in 1968 to its present campus in Clementi Road. As a polytechnic, the College had a humble beginning. In 1968, it started with 116 students in its only course, Mechanical Engineering. But its growth has been impressive. By 1981, the student enrolment reached 3,200 in five departments, namely, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Ship-building & Repair Technology, Building and Business Studies. This was made possible by the continuous development which, with Government support, the College has carried out over the years. As early as in 1971, the College embarked on its first 5-year expansion programme at a total cost of more than $14 million, including a US$3 million loan from the Asian Development Bank. This project provided for the building of new laboratories, workshops, offices and lecture theatres. Towards the end of the project period, the College carried out two other development projects to establish the Department of Shipbuilding & Repair Technology in April 1975 and the Department of Building in November 1975. Throughout the years, the College has worked closely with the Education Ministry, other government and public bodies and the private sector towards providing full-time training for school leavers to meet the increasing demand for suitably trained manpower. The full-time programme includes 3-year courses for 'O' level holders and 2-year courses for those with 'A' level qualifications, the latter being introduced only in 1980.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Ngee Ann Technical College was originally known as Ngee Ann College. Ngee Ann College was established in 1963 by the Ngee Ann Kongsi and functioned as a private College which offered 4-year degree courses in arts, science and commerce. In 1966 the role of the College in the Singapore educational system was reviewed. The main recommendation was that the College should become a public institution of higher learning offering diploma courses in engineering and commerce similar to that of the Singapore Polytechnic. This recommendation was accepted and the first important change was implemented in early 1967 when the College stopped enroling new students for the degree courses as a first step in the phasing-out programme. This programme was completed at the end of 1969 when the last batch of degree-course students left the College on graduation. In September, 1967, with the passage in Parliament of the Ngee Ann College Act, the status of the College was changed from a private to a public educational institution. Subsequently in August, 1968, this Act was amended to become the Ngee Ann Technical College Act and the College formally assumed its present name, the Ngee Ann Technical College (NATC). Since then, it has functioned as a polytechnic offering diploma-level courses. The Ngee Ann Technical College Act spells out the objects and functions of the College and the composition, functions and powers of the Council which is the governing body of the College. In acknowledgement of the role of the Ngee Ann Kongsi, the Act provides for the three representatives of the Kongsi to serve in the Council.”
“Nevertheless, the Schools Division of my Ministry will closely monitor the teaching of the subjects to ensure that no teacher makes use of such classes for conversion purposes. As a final safeguard, parents who have fears of religious conversion of their children may ask for exemption from attending these classes. They can opt for Confucian Ethics instead. SINGAPORE POOLS (PRIVATE) LIMITED (Use of profits) 8. Mr Yeo Choo Kok asked the Minister for Finance (a) what were the profits of the Singapore Pools (Private) Limited during the past five years; (b) how the profits have been used; and (c) whether he will use a portion of the profits to provide scholarships to needy and outstanding students and to construct sports complexes in housing estates where sports facilities are much needed.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, teachers of religious knowledge will be selected from those who belong to the established churches in the case of Christians. Those who are members of fundamentalist sects (which have a record of evangelical excesses) will not be selected. Teachers of Islam will be approved by MUIS. Buddhist and Hindu teachers will be those accepted by the Singapore Buddhist Federation and the Hindu Advisory Board respectively. The syllabuses and textbooks which have been or are being prepared for the four religious knowledge courses, namely, Bible Knowledge, Islamic Religious Knowledge, Buddhist Studies and Hindu Studies, are aimed primarily at informing the students about the religion, its founder or its origins and the universal moral teachings and main beliefs of the religion. For example, in Bible Knowledge, the textbook is the synoptic Gospels which are an account of the life of Christ and his teachings. The 'O' level examination at the end of the two-year course will be based entirely on the context of the set books. Students are not expected to provide theological interpretations. More importantly, although some rituals are mentioned in the four subjects, the students are not permitted to practise the rituals nor to carry out religious practices in the class. The purpose of the course is therefore to inform and to explain the teachings and beliefs of each of the religions and not to produce converts. It should be noted also that two of the courses, namely, Bible Knowledge and Islamic Religious Knowledge, have been aught for many years to thousands of students in Singapore. There have been no complaints on record that any of these classes were being used for conversion.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, no date has been fixed for a general promotion exercise for principals and teachers. It is unlikely that one will be held as previous exercises have merely resulted in a general demoralisation of the teaching service. The Ministry, together with the Public Service Commission and the Finance Ministry, is working on a better method of rewarding deserving principals and teachers. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS 7. Mr Lim Boon Heng asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education how his Ministry will ensure that religious knowledge classes in schools will not be turned into conversion sessions.”
“Sir, so far, we have trained 192 teachers for these computer clubs. Another 420 teachers will be trained this year and next year to provide the full complement. PROMOTION EXERCISE FOR EDUCATION OFFICERS 6. Mr Sia Khoon Seong asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education when the next promotion exercise for Education Officers will be held.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there are at present 91 computer clubs in secondary schools. My Ministry is preparing guidelines for the management and control of computer club activities in secondary schools. Micro- computers will be used for educational purposes and not for video-games. Teachers have been trained to manage the computer clubs in schools and they will ensure that the microcomputers provided for the clubs are used for learning purposes, Computer games which are purely psychomotor in nature, e.g. Space Invaders and the like, will be disallowed. The average computer time available per student per week is about 30 minutes. This is barely enough for the pupils to complete their computer programming exercises and assignments, let alone play games.”
“At the same time, my Ministry has deployed the few trained PE teachers we have to 14 secondary schools and junior colleges in 1982 to teach a PE programme consisting of a combination of physical conditioning activities, curricular gymnastics, track and field and games to help improve the physical fitness of students. COMPUTER CLUBS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS (Teaching of computer programmes) 5. Mr S. Chandra Das asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education how many computer clubs here are in secondary schools and what steps his Ministry is taking to ensure that he computers are being used for the eaching of computer programmes and not for computer games.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the subject of improving physical education in. schools has been discussed at length within my Ministry and at meetings with the Schools Council. It is generally agreed that, with a few honourable exceptions, the standard of physical education instruction is poor. A good PE programme is a combination of curricular gymnastics, track and field activities, games and swimming. But such a programme requires trained PE teachers of whom, unfortunately, we have very few. My Ministry is therefore studying the feasibility of setting up a PE college to produce PE teachers in sufficient numbers. In the meantime, the physical fitness of boys has to be improved to better prepare them for National Service. My Ministry has therefore introduced a pilot swimming programme in six secondary schools, to be followed by another 14 schools in 1982, to develop the physical fitness of boys. Under the swimming programme, PE lessons in these schools would be exclusively swimming. Swimming has been selected as a means to develop physical fitness of boys for the following reasons: (i) a swimming teacher can be trained in a relatively shorter time than an all-round PE teacher; (ii) a swimming pool is more effective in terms of space utilization than large playing fields in land-scarce Singapore a swimming pool can be used simultaneously by 80 or so persons in an area less than one-fifth of a playing field; and (iii) swimming is proven as a good exercise for developing aerobic capacity. The swimming programme will be extended to more schools as more teachers are trained as swimming instructors.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, a study was conducted in July 1981 by the Ministry on the amount of homework done by school children in Singapore. The average number of hours per week spent on homework were as follows:- Primary School children 6.8 hours Secondary School children 18.5 hours 82% of primary and secondary pupils and 75% of Pre-U pupils considered the amount of homework assigned by their teachers reasonable. These hours are not excessive by any standard. Comparison with Australian secondary school children which was reported in a survey carried out in Western Australia show that their higher achievers do more homework than ours, namely, 25.7 hours per week against 19.7. The average for poor students is about the same; 16.9 to 19.4 hours for Australians, compared with 18.5 for Singaporeans. These are the averages. But averages conceal variations. There are children who do much less homework than the average and there are others who do much more. Those who do very much more - thereby causing anxiety in the mind of the Member for Chong Boon - could be of two types. First, they could be the more diligent and ambitious children. Second are children who have to put up with over-ambitious parents. Nothing need be done about the first group; little can be done about the second. PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS (Steps to improve) 4. Mr S. Chandra Das asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education what steps are being taken by his Ministry to improve the teaching of physical education in schools.”
“Sir, piling work is in progress for the building of the secondary school at Aljunied Road/Aljunied Way and the school is scheduled for completion in November 1983. On the same site, a primary school will also be built. Plans for this primary school are being prepared now and construction work will start in September 1982. The school is expected to be completed in June 1984. In addition, two primary and one secondary schools are being planned in the Geylang area, which covers the Geylang Serai constituency. Sites for the three schools have not been decided but the schools are targetted for completion in 1985 or 1986. CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND SAVINGS (Exemption from estate duty) 4. Dr Ow Chin Hock asked the Minister for Finance, in view of the facility to use Central Provident Fund savings to purchase property which may enjoy exemption from estate duty up to the value of $600,000, if he will grant similar exemption to CPF balances of up to $600,000 upon the death of a contributor who does not own property.”
“Encik Othman bin Haron Eusofe asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education (a) what is the progress of the construction of the secondary school at Aljunied Road/Aljunied Way and the expected date of completion of the school; and (b) whether there is any plan to construct a primary school in the Geylang Serai Constituency.”
“Sir, there are three primary schools and two full schools in the Radin Mas Constituency. In the Telok Blangah Constituency, there is only one primary school, Kampong Jagoh School. This school, however, will be closed in January 1982. The buildings will be demolished, as it is an old school, and the site redeveloped into a new 1980 standard primary school. The new school is expected to be completed in mid-1984. One new primary school at Bukit Purmei in Radin Mas Constituency will be completed in September, 1983. Soil investigation of the site has been completed and piling tenders are being prepared. In the Telok Blangah Constituency, two new primary schools, in addition to the redevelopment of Kampong Jagoh School, will also be built. Soil investigation of the site for the first school at Telok Blangah Drive has just been completed. The school is expected to be completed in mid-1983. Plans for the second school at Telok Blangah Road are now with the Planning authorities. The expected completion date is December 1983. When all the new schools are completed by 1984, there would be enough places for children in the Radin Mas/Telok Blangah areas. Meanwhile, children in the area can join nearby schools in the adjoining constituencies such as Telok Blangah Primary School at Kampong Bahru Road, Silat School I and Silat School II at Jalan Bukit Merah, These schools still have places for more Primary I pupils after the registration exercise in the middle of this year. BUILDING OF SCHOOLS AT ALJUNIED ROAD/ALJUNIED WAY AND GEYLANG SERAI 3.”
“Sir, the answer to the question is "Yes". My Ministry is looking into the possibility of organizing courses which will help school administrators, including principals, in their duties and in improving their leadership in the running of schools. PRIMARY SCHOOL FOR RADIN MAS/TELOK BLANGAH AREA (Building of) 2. Mr M.K.A. Jabbar asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education whether his Ministry has any plan to build a new primary school in the Radin Mas/Telok Blangah area as there are not enough places for all the children in the area seeking admission to Primary I classes in the Blangah Rise Primary School.”
“Sir, up to now, the final decision for naming of schools is made by the Senior Minister of State of Education. The naming of schools generally follows the names of private schools, which were in those areas that have been passed on to the Government. So the names continue because the assets of these schools will pass over to the Ministry of Education. Another principle that is observed is that we try to make use of the name of the location, the road or street in the area concerned. PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT IN PUBLIC SERVICE (Improvement of quality) 6. Encik Mansor Haji Sukaimi asked the Minister for Finance what specific steps have been taken to improve the quality of personnel management so as to bring about better teamwork, higher productivity and more harmonious relations in Government Departments, Ministries and Statutory Boards.”
“Sir, eight new primary schools are being built in the Ang Mo Kio New Town area. Four of them, Ang Mo Kio North, Chong Li, Da Giao and Hong Dao, will be completed in time to take in Primary 1 pupils from January 1982. The other four, Ang Mo Kio South, Chong De, Chong Shan and Jing Shan, will be completed sometime in 1982. Although these four schools will not be ready before January 1982, pupils can register and are, in fact, being registered for these schools. They will be having their classes in the existing schools and the four new schools will be completed before 1982. As soon-as the other schools are ready in 1982, they will be transferred to their respective schools. The new schools, together with the five existing schools, will have sufficient places for all Primary 1 pupils living in the Ang Mo Kio New Town. Encik Mansor Haji Sukaimi: Could the Hon. Minister of State inform the House who makes the final decision in the naming of primary schools or secondary schools, and what are the general principles adopted in the naming of schools?”
“Sir, the Ministry of Education has no plans at the moment to ask teachers to mandarinize their names. The programme applies only to school children. ANG MO KIO NEW TOWN (New primary schools) 5. Mr Lim Boon Heng asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education (a) how many new primary schools will be completed in Ang Mo Kio New Town in time for the commencement of the new school year in January 1982; and (b) whether these new schools, together with the existing schools, will be able to provide enough places for all Primary One students living in Ang Mo Kio New Town.”
“Sir, the names of all ethnic Chinese pupils in the Pre-primary and Primary 1 classes have been mandarinized and transcribed in Hanyu Pinyin. By 1982 all Chinese pupils will have their names mandarinized. When these pupils sit for the PSLE, GCE 'O' and 'A' levels in 1982, they will use their names in Hanyu Pinyin with their statutory names in brackets. Their Hanyu Pinyin names will, therefore, appear on the certificates with the statutory names in brackets.”
“Sir, before the restructuring of the school system, those who failed badly were put on the basic course for a number of years until such time when they became ready for entry into the VITB. Since the restructuring of the education system, many of these students would go into the monolingual stream, again for a number of years of basic education, before joining the VITB. I think it is too early to say whether the revised education system is resulting in more students not making it through the school system. CHINESE NAMES IN PINYIN (Use in PSLE and GCE certificates) 4. Dr Koh Lip Lin asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education whether the names of Chinese students in Pinyin will be used in PSLE and GCE certificates.”
“Sir, on the question of contravening the labour laws in this country, the Member should address the question to the Minister for Labour.”
“Sir, the answer to the Member's question is "Yes". The Ministry has been carrying out studies of pupils who have left the school system. Encik Mansor Haji Sukaimi (Kampong Kembangan): Sir, noting the statement by the Minister of State that some of the students who dropped out after PSLE had to do something to supplement the income of the family, does this mean that they are taking on some jobs? If so, what type of jobs, and whether this will contravene any labour laws of this country?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, during the last two years the total number of primary school students who left the school system before the PSLE was 1.6% of the total enrolment in 1 979 and 0.3% in 1980. These figures do not include those pupils who fail badly in the schools and are transferred to the basic course previously and now to the monolingual course to continue their education. These pupils will continue in the school system until they are ready for enrolment at the VITB. The majority of premature school leavers were at the Primary 6 level. For example, in 1979, out of 4,732 premature school leavers, 3,488 or 74% left at Primary 6. The trend was similar in 1980. There are various reasons why pupils leave school prematurely. Some leave because they are required to supplement the family income through employment. Others do so because of family problems. The majority do so because they have lost interest in schooling after repeated failure in their studies and because of inadequate parental guidance and support.”
“Sir, people who want to become teachers apply to the Public Service Commission to be employed as teachers. The Public Service Commission at the interview decides whether or not to recognize his or her qualifications. Dr Toh Chin Chye; PUPILS LEAVING SCHOOL BEFORE PSLE (Particulars) 3. Dr Koh Lip Lin asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education (a) what was the average percentage of pupils who left school before sitting for the PSLE during the past two years; (b) at what stage did most of them leave school; and (c) what were the main reasons for their doing so.”