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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“I will certainly convey the Member's views to the principals of the junior colleges and ask them to put more moderation and perspective into these functions. But I think there is nothing wrong for young people to have a little celebration after 12 years of schooling. The other point was raised by Mr Abbas regarding physical education. He has asked whether the Ministry has implemented recommendations made by the Advisory Council for Sports and Recreation. I am happy to report to him that we have implemented most of the recommendations with the exception of one or two which are still under study. But also recently the First Deputy Prime Minister called for a return to the rugged society which our Prime Minister had called for in the 1960s. Sir, I certainly support that call. We are, with affluence, in danger of becoming a flabby society, a soft society, and I do not think the problem is only that of the physical ruggedness. It is also a problem of mental ruggedness or robustness of mind. The call is very timely. The Ministry of Education will study this to see how and in what way school programmes can be changed or new ones can be initiated to bring about a more rugged ECA programme for school children which will develop them not only physically but mentally. The thinking of the Ministry is that we should focus on the outward bound programme. That is one programme where students can experience outdoor life. They can develop not only physically but develop courage because some of the activities challenge them to take risks. Other programmes will be looked into. Secondly, the Member asked whether we were training enough physical education teachers. The number is still not enough. We have trained over 300 now since implementation of the College of Physical Education.”
“Sir, I want to reply to two Members, Mr Peh Chin Hua and Mr Abbas. Mr Peh raised the concern that he has for the prom nights organised by the junior college students. He pointed to the extravagance and he expressed concern that this is getting out of hand. I think we should take a more sympathetic view about this. In his time, he had proms held in the school hall. In my time, I had none. Nowadays, many junior colleges hold theirs in a hotel. Times have changed. Sir, the organisation of these prom nights is left entirely to the students' councils at these junior colleges and they are, of course, also advised by their teachers. They raise their own funds. Students obviously are willing to pay because the money comes from the parents. So they have these functions. We have to understand why they want these functions. This is a culmination of their two years of junior college education. In fact, I would say it is a culmination of their 12 years of education, as many of them see it. They have reached the end of school education. They are going on from there in their separate ways to many other places. It is also a relief after their 'A' level examinations. So for once in their young adult life, they want something different and they let their hair down. I think we should see this in a sympathetic and a fatherly point of view. Sir, having said that, I note also that sometimes they want to outdo one another. Junior college A would want to do something better than anybody else and so they have a more extravagant function. I think there should be some moderation in this. Like all good things, when you have too much of it, it becomes a bad thing.”
“The BEST programme took in 38,000 people, the WISE programme took in 22,000 people, continuing education, which is mainly for people preparing for 'O' levels and 'A' levels, took in 24,000, and the modular skills training course which enables adults to pick up new skills took in 17,000, a total of 101,000. If you add the courses provided by the NPB and the polytechnics in their evening courses, the figure may approach 200,000. So there is no lack of opportunity, and if there is need for more of these opportunities, I am sure we will find the resources to provide them.”
“If we were to reduce the class sizes to 30 per class, this is a 33% reduction in class size. It correspondingly requires a 33% increase in the number of class teachers. We have 21,000 teachers today. This means we have to bring that figure up to 28,000, an increase of 7,000 more teachers. Even now, we have to put in a lot of effort, including television advertisements, to maintain our strength of 21,000 teachers, let alone expand the teaching force. So that is the kind of problem that confronts us when we want to reduce class sizes. As I said, this remains a long-term goal and we have to work towards it. But remember that if we take more people into the teaching service, it must be at the expense of other sectors of the economy. We are competing in the same pool. Finally, Sir, I want to speak on the topic raised by Mr Yatiman Yusof. He spoke about adult education. I am glad he supports adult education as we also believe in adult education. We believe that we should provide opportunities for working people to do two things: one, to upgrade themselves, to take their own skills or knowledge further; and secondly, to move into new areas of skills or knowledge which they hitherto have not been involved in. Perhaps they want to change careers and so they want to do this. For both reasons, we should encourage adult education and provide the opportunities for this. For his information, Sir, for just one organisation, VITB, and I do not have the figures for other organisations, last year the adult education programmes provided 101,000 places. There were 101,000 people who took part in their adult education programmes.”
“Recently, we have put in place another scheme called the joint intake exercise for 'O' level school leavers who may not make it to junior college or the polytechnics but who can certainly take advantage of the skill training courses. A joint intake exercise is now available for them to take full advantage of the wide range of courses that are available to them. The Member also raised the question of class sizes. Recently, we sent two teams of school principals to Taiwan and Japan to look at what is done in some very good schools in these two countries, perhaps the best schools in these two countries. They found a lot of interesting things that were being done there. But one thing struck me when they came back with their report. In all the schools they visited, the class sizes were of the order of 50 per class. So let me say right at the start that there is no automatic correlation between class size and the performance of students in the schools. It does not follow automatically that just because you have smaller class sizes everything will become better. Nonetheless, the Ministry of Education took into consideration and accepted a recommendation that was made in 1987 by a group of principals who produced a report "Towards Excellence in Schools". I think the Member may recall that this was a report based on the study by these secondary school principals, and among four key recommendations, one of them was to reduce class sizes. The Ministry has accepted this in principle and this remains our long-term objective that we want to work towards. But as all Members know, to reduce class sizes means to increase the number of teachers. For example, presently, on average we have about 40 per class.”
“So a lot of effort has to be made by VITB to let these children know that the opportunity is there. Every year, VITB sends teams of people into all the primary schools to inform them about the courses that are available and the career prospects that follow from these courses. I must say that with a lot of effort, there has been some success. Today more than 80% of premature school leavers register with VITB to continue in basic vocational training which leads on to NTC-3 level and they can go on beyond that, if they so wish. I can assure the Member that this subject is under constant review by the VITB. In addition to that, the VITB itself is constantly reviewing and expanding its courses. For example, it is now examining the feasibility of enlarging its apprenticeship scheme, so that those who leave school and who want training but who at the same time need a job because they need an income, can take advantage of apprenticeship training so that they can earn and train at the same time. This scheme is in an advanced stage of planning and should be launched before very long. At the other end of the scale, the VITB has been working with industry groups to put in place NTC-1 level courses. These are the highest level for master craftsmen. This is an effort to enhance the skills in certain areas to the highest possible level. Presently, there is one NTC-1 course in place. There are four more being worked on, which should come in place within the next year. Just to inform the Member, the linkage between schools and VITB or training in Singapore, which is not only conducted by VITB but by other institutions, is an important one. I mentioned the automatic registration scheme which is already in place.”
“The idea behind this is that outside school hours the fence will enable people to make use of the school fields without being able to get into the school premises and possibly causing some damage to school property. This is being implemented and we will see how it will work out in future. As for the hiring of watchman or jaga in school, the problem in the past has been that it has not been possible to find enough people who want to do that kind of work. And so the programme had to be phased out. But if in future such people can be found and can be profitably employed to look after school property for the purposes he mentioned, we will look into it. Sir, the Member for Potong Pasir, Mr Chiam See Tong, spoke on a number of topics. I will only answer him on the subject of vocational training and its needs and also the reduction of class sizes. I will leave to my Minister to reply to him on the Chinese Studies Department at NUS. Sir, as the Member knows, there is a comprehensive programme available now for school leavers, particularly the premature school leavers, to go on from primary or secondary school into vocational training and to come out as skilled craftsmen and technicians. This programme makes it very easy for premature school leavers to register with the VITB. For example, anybody who leaves primary school on completion of the monolingual course or who is unable to go on to secondary school is automatically registered under the automatic registration scheme in vocational institutes. In other words, they will be transferred automatically to the nearest vocational institute. The problem, Sir, is that not all premature school leavers take advantage of this, even though they are informed that they are automatically registered.”
“Most importantly, Sir, when the Ministry makes a major policy change, it takes into account the time that will be required for students to make the necessary adjustments, so that when it comes to affect them, they will have made the adjustments. For example, in the recent change to phase out Religious Knowledge as a subject at '0' level counting for junior college admission, the Ministry gave enough time to students to make that change. This policy will not be fully implemented until 1994. So we have given a span of more than four years for the change. Even after a change has been made, Sir, the Ministry monitors the change, assesses the effectiveness of the policies and ensures that there are no dislocations affecting the welfare of our pupils. Sir, Dr Wang Kai Yuen brought up the subject of use of school facilities by the public and by community groups. I agree with him that valuable school facilities, such as school fields and sports facilities can and should be accessible to members of the public. This indeed is the present policy. We have asked all our schools to make their facilities available to organisations such as grassroots organisations, RCs, community centres, who wish to make use of their premises. We have avoided letting the school premises to be open to any member of the public to walk in and to use because there will be a lack of control and there could possibly be some damage to school property. But if grassroots organisations want to make use of the facilities, they can contact the school principal and this arrangement can be done. Secondly, Sir, in the building of new schools, the plans now provide for a fence to be erected between the school field and sports facilities and the school buildings themselves.”
“Sir, I would like to reply to a number of points raised by Members. The first is from Mr Chin Harn Tong. In his speech, Mr Chin expressed concern that the Ministry of Education has been making too many policy changes in the last few years. Sir, let me assure him that the Ministry does not wish to make policy changes for the sake of making policy changes. It will be much easier for the Ministry to make no policy changes at all and just carry on with its day-to-day routines. But the Ministry cannot avoid making changes when it sees the need to do so. The Ministry regularly reviews all its educational policies and, when necessary, changes are made so that the quality of education can be improved or changes have to be made because needs have changed. However, the long-term mission of the Ministry of Education remains unchanged. It is to bring out the best in every child so that he can grow up to be a responsible citizen and contribute towards the progress of our nation. As for the process of making policy changes, the Ministry takes a cautious approach when considering changes in educational policies. It has to bear in mind the interest and welfare of our students - that is the primary concern. Therefore, in the process, the Ministry seeks the views of school principals, for example, through the Schools Council, teachers as well as members of the public. It also seeks the views of the GPC for Education and on occasions has asked the Feedback Unit to organise public hearings on policy changes that it has in mind. Finally, Sir, these policy changes, are usually announced here in Parliament if they are major changes, so that Members of Parliament can be informed first-hand and have an opportunity to raise questions.”
“Sir, I completely agree with the Member and I am just going to answer the points made by Dr Arthur Beng and Dr Ong Chit Chung yesterday. They raised the question of single-session schools and I thought I should just answer them before we move on to the next subhead. Sir, the Government has agreed to implement in phases single-session schools for secondary schools. The position to-date is that 47 out of the 140 secondary schools are already functioning as single-session schools. 37 more existing schools are going to be upgraded over the next two or three years to become single-session schools and 16 new schools are under construction for the single-session programme.”
“Sir, I just want to reply to two speakers yesterday.”
“But I am also quite confident that for those who cannot get into the polytechnics, there are many other channels, for example, SHATEC, the EDB training centres, VITB itself and its higher level courses, Pre-U centres, and so on which will accept these people.”
“Sir, as Members know, the Temasek Polytechnic Bill is now going through Parliament and once that has been approved by Parliament, work will start on the development of the polytechnic at the Bedok Reservoir site. It will take three to four years, at which point we shall have a very good tertiary institution on the eastern side of Singapore. But the polytechnic will begin to take in students from this year operating at temporary premises. It plans to take in 525 students into two campuses - one at the Raffles Institution, Grange Road campus, when Raffles Institution moves out by the middle of this year to their new site and, secondly, at the Baharuddin Vocational Institute campus. Dr Tan Cheng Bock mentioned the anxiety that perhaps with the expansion of the NUS and NTU and the plans which were announced recently, students might be strongly drawn to the university and fewer students may choose to go into the polytechnic courses and that all our projections may turn out to be incorrect. Sir, I am happy to inform him that the demand indication by students based on their first choice has been very encouraging. Last year, based on first choice of students after "0" levels, 12,300 opted for 8,000 places at the polytechnics. Of course those who were not successful went into other courses. But this year, based on preliminary results of the Joint-Admission exercise, there are 16,000 students who have opted as first choice for the polytechnics competing for 8,700 places. I have asked the three polytechnics - Singapore, Ngee Ann and Temasek Polytechnics - to look into their intake to see whether they could stretch their resources a little further to accommodate this very large number of students who wish to go for polytechnic education. They are doing that at the moment.”
“All of us know that these two countries have an excellent workforce producing manufactured goods and services of the best quality in the world. The Working Committee recommended that the polytechnic level of education should be expanded and, in particular, they recommended that a third poly- technic be set up. They also recommended that the total intake into the three polytechnics should go up from the present 8,000 a year to 10,000. Sir, 10,000 a year is about 25% of a primary 1 cohort, that is, one in four of our future primary 1 cohorts will have an opportunity to go to polytechnic. In the case of Temasek Polytechnic, the recommendation was that it should be an institution that will take in 3,000 students each year, having a total enrolment of 9,000. In its courses, the recommendation was that the Temasek Polytechnic should start off with courses in technology, design and in business, but it should keep itself open for future courses. In this respect, the point made by Dr Aline Wong was recognised by the Working Committee that the need in the future may be for more people in the health sciences, not just in nursing but also in therapy areas, in radiography, radiology, and so on. For the moment the Temasek Polytechnic is concentrating on the schools of technology, design and business. But once these schools have been established, it will look into the feasibility of starting courses in the allied health sciences. One point that has been noted is that there has to be a contact with hospitals and for the training of this type of people. That is one factor that has to be taken into account because on the eastern side of Singapore, there are hardly any major hospitals for the polytechnic to work with. Nevertheless, the subject will be kept very much in view.”
“Sir, I would like to respond to the Members who mentioned the polytechnics during their speeches and I would also want to take this opportunity to update Members of the House on developments related particularly to the Temasek Polytechnic, the third polytechnic. Sir, last year the Ministry of Education did a very thorough review of tertiary education requirements for Singapore, and this involved not only the universities but also the polytechnics. We recognise that the country has progressed and benefited from the people who have received tertiary level education and the polytechnics themselves have made a major contribution. Over the last 25 years, in fact more than 50,000 polytechnic graduates were produced and these were the persons who helped in the industrialisation of Singapore and aided Singapore's economic development. 50,000 members is a small army of people, in fact it is equivalent to five military divisions. Sir, in this review we set up a Working Committee to look into whether the polytechnics should be expanded and, if so, in which direction. The Committee had two tasks. Firstly, to look into the further needs of our economy into the future for polytechnic level of manpower and to make sure that there is such a requirement on the part of employers and the economy. And secondly, to determine whether there is a sizeable pool of students and school leavers who could benefit from polytechnic education. During their review they looked at overseas examples and, in particular, they examined the German/Swiss system. As we know, the German/Swiss system emphasises not only university education but also technical and vocational education to a high level.”
“Sir, we have considered that possibility at some stage during this programme and we have come to the conclusion that for children who are gifted in certain areas there are existing very good programmes at junior college which will cater for them. For example, there is already in place a humanities scholarship programme which will cater for those who have a flair for the humanities. There is also a science research programme every year where students who have a flair for science and R&D work can take part. So there are adequate provisions. TAMPINES NEW TOWN/PASIR RIS NEW TOWN (Improvement of feeder services) The following Question stood in the name of Mr Chew Heng Ching - 2. To ask the Minister for Communications and Information whether there are plans to improve the feeder services in neighbourhoods 4 and 8 in Tampines New Town and in Neighbourhoods 1 and 4 in Pasir Ris New Town.”
“First, the Council will be able to satisfy itself that sufficient evidence exists for the action to be taken, and that the action of the Minister is justifiable. Secondly, the Minister, knowing that the Council can call for and scrutinise the evidence, will clearly be more thorough and careful before he acts. This way, Sir, the Council will be able to play its role more effectively as a safeguard against any possible abuse. Furthermore, Sir, before the prohibition order is issued by the Minister, I would suggest that a number of earlier warning letters and contacts be made with the party concerned. This will give the person a chance to retract what he is doing or saying or to explain himself. And if he continues to disregard the warnings, then the prohibition order can be issued. Finally, Sir, religious leaders do have views on matters of conscience and morality and on other public issues. This must be recognised by the Government. Therefore, channels for private contact and dialogue must always be kept open. The elected government of the day has the full mandate and responsibility to govern. But it must maintain and open all channels to religious leaders in our multi-religious society if we are to take into account their concerns, just as we maintain channels to many other groups in Singapore. Finally, Sir, touching on the point raised by Mr Chandra Das, I fully agree with him that in the long term, moral and civic education especially touching upon the area of religious tolerance and more knowledge of one and others' religion should be carried out in the schools. I am happy to inform him that, in fact, this is part of the framework that is being developed, which was mentioned by my Minister earlier this morning. Sir, I support the Bill.”
“It is quite a different thing, Sir, on the other hand, for a religious organisation or its leaders in the name of their religion to make political pronouncements or even to go into the political arena. This is not their place. If they do so this will only result in competition and rivalry from other religious groups who will seek to do the same thing. This will be the beginning of tensions. Sir, I have met many religious leaders since the publication of the White Paper and have sought to get their views and their feedback on the proposed legislation. Many concur with the basic need to preserve religious harmony although, as I have explained, some expressed the fear that it may lead to the loss of religious freedom. But I have taken great care to explain to them that it will not do so. But there is one fear that they have and that is the possibility of abuse of the power which is given into the hands of the Minister who has to administer this Act. The Presidential Council for Religious Harmony which has been explained in detail by the Minister is meant to be an advisory committee. But I believe that its role as a watchdog committee can be strengthened. According to the proposed Bill, all correspondence between the Minister and the person who is being warned will be provided to the Council, so they will have sight of it. Furthermore, in clause 11 of the Bill, the Minister will give to the Council documents relating to the case. Sir, I believe that if the Council could have more access to information and be able to call for more background evidence relevant to the issuance of the prohibition order, this would have two salutary effects.”
“The end purpose is to make parents become better parents, sons and daughters become better sons and daughters, to make a boss a better boss, a worker a better worker and even a citizen a better citizen and a better member of his community. Sir, this is the noble task of all religions. If they succeed, society will be a better place. In this sense, religion has a profound influence over society and even over the politics in that society. But it does so by changing the individual from within for the better and it does not do so by involving itself directly in politics. Perhaps religious leaders should from to time examine or re-examine the real purpose of their religion. Is it to influence political affairs or is it to seek to change individual lives towards the good? I believe the unique role and purpose of all true religions is clear. It is to minister to the personal and spiritual needs of individuals and to make them morally upright. But, Sir, I make a distinction between individuals and their religious organisation getting involved in politics. Sir, I must make this point again as, judging from letters to the newspapers, some writers seem to confuse the two issues. In my view, there is no reason why a person with strong religious principles should not go into politics. He should. He has every right as a citizen and he has a contribution to make. We need such men, men who are morally upright and can serve the society. But he cannot and should not go into politics to represent his religion. His electorate is multi-religious. He cannot take sides in this matter and he must serve all of them.”
“Sir, having seen the havoc in history as well as in other countries, I am convinced that we need a simple, narrow Bill as a minimum piece of legislation to maintain religious harmony and to prevent religion and politics from getting mixed up. Sir, I would like to turn to the question: Is legislation necessary? There is one recurring point which keeps coming up when the White Paper is discussed in various circles. The point is, why do we need to add another piece of legislation? Is not existing legislation sufficient? In one sense there is merit in that point. But, Sir, interestingly, the Sedition Act, the Penal Code, even the Internal Security Act, are all silent on the issue of religion getting involved with politics. They have a lot to say about disturbing the peace, for example, denigrating other religions, ie, one group denigrating the other, or subverting the security of the State, which is the main concern of the ISA. But they say nothing about religions and political parties seeking alliances with one another, nor about religious groups seeking the support or criticising political parties or vice versa. If the new Bill can prevent this from happening, I believe it will be worth having. Sir, I am not anti-religion. In fact, I take my own religious belief very seriously. But the purpose of religion is often misunderstood and, worse, misused by people with political ambitions. What is the purpose of all religions? In my view, it is to help the individual to become a better person, to give him meaning to life and to give him comfort and assurance in times of suffering and death. Religion cuts to the core of the problems of human nature - problems of selfishness, greed, hatred and in its place seeks to make man better.”
“Civil wars, riots, international conflicts. Sir, the mixture is extremely potent. Religion has to do with sacred beliefs and practices and these cannot be challenged by others, especially those outside the faith. Politics, on the other hand, has to do with dividing the cake ultimately - the division of incomes, who gets what, university places, fees, etc. Can you imagine what will happen when people seek "justice" or a "better deal" in the name of their religion? Or consider this other scenario. Supposing we have a situation where there are marginal seats in a coming election or, worse, a national situation where there is a marginal situation. Will politicians and political parties in that situation be tempted to seek the support of religious groups in order to win the elections? Or will religions, sensing an opportunity, move in to offer their support to one party or another? After the elections are over, who will have to do favours for whom if the support resulted in victory for one party? Will the religious suspicions and tensions which arose because of the hustings subside after the elections are over? Sir, is this an unlikely scenario? I submit that it is not an unlikely scenario when things are on the margin. Many other countries have gone down this road. If we go down this road we will go down the road to perdition. There will be permanent distrust and suspicion. There will be tension of a kind that cannot be persuaded to go away. Sir, no good has ever come out of allowing religion and politics to come together in any form. Dominant groups in such a situation will exert their influence. Minority religious groups will suffer.”
“But, Sir, this situation is not so in many other countries where there is a dominant or an official state religion. This influences who gets what jobs, who gets university places. There is a distortion. There is a bias. This would be disastrous in a multi-racial, multi-religious society like ours. The reason why religion is not a factor and has not been allowed to become a divisive factor is that our Government has not allowed it to become one. We have achieved this by scrupulously keeping religion separate from the political arena and keeping it from being able to influence the politics of our country. But, Sir, we cannot be complacent. There are pressures mounting in many places outside of our country. Many people are seeking more rights, special rights, and even so-called justice on the basis of their religion. Take, for example, in Azerbaijan and Armenia. There is a worldwide revolution taking place. Older forms of Government, for example, communism, or even dictatorship, are being swept aside by uprisings. In their place at the moment there is great jubilation, there is exhilaration, there is even euphoria. But we are yet to see new stable forms of government taking their place. When the lid has been removed, old issues along racial and religious lines which were suppressed are beginning to emerge and resurface. Sir, are we so special that we do not have racial and religious sentiments in our country that cannot be influenced by these powerful changes, nor be exploited by ambitious politicians or religious leaders for their purposes? Some evidence have been provided in the White Paper of incidents to convince me that we are not that special. Historically, more conflicts in the world have taken place over racial and religious issues than over any other issues.”
“Is this really so that we can mix religion and politics and get away with it? I would ask them to look at a few examples. Take India. Every time there is a run-up to a general elections, hundreds of Indians are killed in the process because politicians on every side try to make use of religion and religious sentiments to gain support for themselves. So in the excitement, there is religious tension, there are fights and there are deaths. Sri Lanka has been mentioned by the Minister. It is important to reflect upon the fact that Mr Bandaranaike in the Freedom Party came to power because his Party played on the sentiments of Buddhist Singhalese and also on their language. The result of that was that the Tamil Hindus, the minorities, were forced into a corner and they became less and less favoured in many ways. Today we have a civil war in Sri Lanka, a war that has seen no end. Even in Malaysia, some political parties made use of Islamic fundamentalism and they tried to outdo each other. Why? Because they want to use religion to win political support. I do not believe that this leads to greater harmony and stability. Can we, a multi-religious, multi-racial country, afford to let religious pulls come to the fore to determine the shape of politics in Singapore? Sir, up to now we have enjoyed peace and harmony. Our people are basically tolerant and pragmatic. Religion is not a factor in education, in getting jobs, in housing, in getting promotions, in winning scholarships, etc. Religion has never been a factor in these things. Only in marriage, Sir, is religion a factor. But it is a very personal and private matter and if people prefer to marry other people of the same religion and faith, who are we to question their choice?”
“Although it is enshrined in our Constitution that we have religious freedom, we must recognise that it comes with responsibilities. Therefore, preaching, for example, should not be in such a way as to denigrate other religions or people of other religions, nor should the propagation of a religion be carried out with force or with harassment of people of other faiths. It should, in fact, be gracious and sensitive to those who have already embraced other faiths. When I examined the Bill, Sir, I found that the Bill is narrow and specific in its intent. First, to prevent actions which are calculated at disrupting harmony between religions and, secondly, to prevent politically motivated actions which are carried out under the guise of religion or in the name of a religion. If the Bill succeeds in doing these two things, it will help keep the peace. And far from curbing religious freedom, it will safeguard freedom. So I am satisfied that the provisions and intentions of the Bill are narrow and specific, that the Bill will prevent a person from saying things which are calculated to cause disaffection. But the Bill will not restrain him in any other way, ie, he will continue to be free to act in every other way, including to preach and practise his religion. So when people express fears about the prohibition order, they should understand that it is on specific matters that the person has said or acted upon. But in all other respects, he is a free person to continue to preach and practise his religion. Sir, I do not agree with those people who say that keeping religion separate from politics is a Western idea. By implication, they are saying that it is all right for us in the East to mix the two. I find this unacceptable.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to speak at this debate. I rise in support of the Bill. Sir, when the concepts of this Bill and the need for the Bill were first discussed some two years ago, I was party to the discussion. I must say that at that time my initial reactions were one of caution and I had some reservations. The questions that went through my mind were: will legislation on a subject concerning religion lead to the curbing of religious freedom or freedom of worship? Secondly, is legislation itself necessary? This is the same concern that I have found expressed by many other people when I discussed the White Paper and the Bill with them. Let me return to the basic issues of the Bill first. The Bill addresses two basic issues. The first is how can we continue to preserve harmony amongst the different religious groups in our country? Secondly, how can we prevent religious groups from getting embroiled in the political arena or political parties from exploiting religious sentiments in order to win support or to cause disaffection with the elected government? The first question is on religious freedom. Religious freedom and harmony amongst religious groups are two inter-related matters. If there is friction and unrest, obviously freedom will be affected. For there to be genuine religious freedom, freedom to worship freely, there must be a degree of harmony in the society. This is true especially in a multi-religious society. We have in Article 15(1) of the Constitution the guarantee that every person in Singapore has the right to profess and practise his religion and to propagate it. To that extent, religious freedom is enshrined in our Constitution. But freedom is not unlimited. Freedom comes with responsibilities.”
“Religious Knowledge should not be taught within the curriculum time in schools and it should not be used as a subject for the admission to junior colleges and pre-university centres. Some of the Members mentioned just now that Confucian Ethics is not a religion. But because we are phasing our Religious Knowledge as a compulsory subject, we will also withdraw the teaching of Confucian Ethics. This cannot be helped because if we are to maintain on Confucian Ethics and phase out the other religious subjects, there will be problems. When we phase out Religious Knowledge as a compulsory subject, it does not mean the Ministry of Education does not attach importance to the teaching of moral education. We will extend our Civics Moral Education programme so that sutdents in Secondary 3 and Secondary 4 can also learn from it. The contents of the programme would include aspects of nation building and shared values, and the characteristics of our mulit-religious society. The Ministry needs at least two years to compile the syllabus and teaching materials and train the teachers for the new subject. Just now, one Member mentioned we should set up a committee to draw up the syllabus. We will consider it. Other Members mentioned that we should include the essence of Confucianism in the new subject. This will also be considered. Another point to note is that we do not want our students to be adversely affected by our new decision. That is why we have decided that Religious Knowledge could be used as a subject to be counted for admission to Junior Colleges and Pre-University Centres until 1994. By so doing, I believe the effects on those students who are alsready in secondary schools now will be minimised.”
“I thank the Member for his generosity. But I think he must have heard me say that the reasons for introducing Religious Knowledge were valid and are valid. The mistake was in making it compulsory. EXEMPTED BUSINESS (Motion) Resolved, That the proceedings on the item under discussion and the remaining items on the Order Paper today be exempted at this day's sitting from the provisions of Standing Order No. 1 - [Prof. S. Jayakumar]. TEACHING OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE IN SCHOOLS Debate resumed. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education (Mr Tang Guan Seng)( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, today we are debating on the teaching of Religious Knowledge in schools. In the Ministerial Statement, I believe the most important message is this: Government institutions and Government supported institutions, including schools, should not be used as a venue for the preaching of religion. The most important thing that we should bear in mind is we are a multi-religion society. In our multi-religious society, the recent heightened consciousness of religious differences and increased propagation of religious beliefs would result in apprehension among religious bodies. We have to maintain the traditional religious harmony and tolerance without which our society cannot exist. It is for this reason that we have re-examined the whole issue and decided to make the teaching of Religious Knowledge optional. We have to treat the various religions fairly and equally. If we accept this principle, then we should not allow Government-sponsored institutions such as schools to be used as a venue for the preaching of religion.”
“They can choose and, of course, I hope very much that many parents will still choose to let their children study a religious knowledge of their choice outside curriculum time in the facilities and premises that the schools can provide. Then we have lost nothing, Sir. We would still have available this important subject. Parents who believe in its value will have the free choice. The element of compulsion has been removed. Furthermore, Civics will be expanded for integrating our children much more through a course of civics education. I think this change has not removed Religious Knowledge. It has not invalidated the reasons why it was started. It has removed the compulsion and I think parents will stand to gain out of this exercise.”
“Perhaps in our eagerness to get every child to study one of the major religions, we failed to see that it should not be compulsory. You cannot compel everyone to choose one of the major religions and/or Confucian ethics and say that you must study it. I think in that respect perhaps we have erred. It is an error in application or approach. Nonetheless, it is an error. But the reasons for making Religious Knowledge available are valid, as I have mentioned and explained. The change proposed is to remove the compulsion, but to make it available as an option to anyone to choose and to do it outside curriculum time. Sir, the inculcation of religious values of a religious faith is certainly something which must take place in the home with individuals. It is not the right place for a secular school to be involved in. The Minister has quite rightly given emphasis to the key role that parents who believe in the moral upbringing of their children would have to play in this. I am glad that Religious Knowledge in its present form as a curriculum subject will be available as an option in schools outside curriculum time. The issue then is whether parents will choose for their children to study one of these subjects, whether they will take up the option. I believe they will, after hearing the Members in the House, that people place high value on the moral education of their children. Furthermore, from the feedback sessions, from the GPC on Education's feedback, many parents say that Religious Knowledge has been good for their children and that they believe that their children benefitted from it. The choice is still there. It has not been removed. It is now optional.”
“But in Religious Knowledge, one teaches the subject from the point of view of its foundations, its founder, its origins, its precepts, as a body of knowledge. And therefore in the teaching of Religious Knowledge in schools we were careful, and we are careful to ensure that there are no worship practices, that no religious objects are brought into the classroom, that no meditation or practices take place within the class. So we have been aware of this very important difference between what the State can and should do and what the State should not be involved in. We knew, Sir, that two years of Religious Knowledge (Secondary 3 and Secondary 4) can only achieve a number of limited objectives. Its objectives are limited to helping the child to understand something of one of the major religions that he should choose to study and the precepts. And the hope is that this will reinforce the moral values that he would have studied in his earlier years. Certainly, the objective was not to convert him from one religion to another, or from no religion to a religion. So to say that Religious Knowledge is dangerous because it will result in this, I think it is misunderstanding this course, misunderstanding its objectives, and giving too much to the two years in which the subject is taught. Anyone who is a religious person, who takes his religion seriously, can tell you that it is a life long process. It is something which starts very young and is something which grows with the individual with time, with personal experience, with practice. It is not something that happens in two years. We were aware of the limited educational objectives of the subject of Religious Knowledge. The difference then and now with the new policy is that we made it compulsory.”
“Even in Chinese society, one cannot deny that religious beliefs have undergirded the values that have been held important and even sacred by the members of that society. This is the human experience and for centuries and thousands of years this is how societies have generally kept themselves intact as far as moral values which have helped to shape them have survived. Those societies that have completely done away with religious faith, religious values, religious convictions, stand to change and possibly to lose their direction and I think we can see this happening in some parts of the world today. It is with that recognition that it was felt that some knowledge of the major religions in our society should be made available as subjects for the students to study and that if they understand the foundations of those religions, their origins, their precepts, this will reinforce the moral education that they will have received in school. Sir, we should note that the children in our school have eight years of moral education (six years in primary school, two years in Secondary 1 and 2). When Religious Knowledge was introduced, the purpose was to reinforce the moral education that they will have received in school, so that by the time they leave school their foundations will be that much stronger. We were careful even then in recognising that we are a secular State, that a secular Government cannot be involved in religious instruction, in religious propagation as implied in religious education and therefore we called it Religious Knowledge. There is a difference. In religious education and in religious instruction, one sets out to implant in the individual full religious conviction and practice.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir, for allowing me to join in this debate. Sir, I was involved in the policy and in the implementation of policy to make Religious Knowledge a compulsory subject in schools in 1982. Having heard a number of Members speak on this, especially with reference to 1982, I felt that I should join in to clarify the position and also to answer one or two points raised by Members, particularly the point raised by the Member for Moulmein, Mr Lawrence Sia, who says that he is now more convinced than ever that that policy was wrong. Sir, the reasons that motivated the Ministry of Education and the Government to introduce Religious Knowledge in 1982 were valid and are still valid. The difference that brought about this change in the policy announced by my Minister today is this. It is to make Religious Knowledge optional, a matter of personal choice, as a subject which anybody can choose and it is no longer compulsory. And, secondly, to introduce in its place within curriculum time more Civics education which will bring together the students in a common cause throughout their secondary education. But otherwise Religious Knowledge is still available as an optional subject for anyone to choose. Sir, why do I say that the reason for introducing Religious Knowledge in schools then and now has validity? The reason why, after careful consideration, we decided to introduce Religious Knowledge as a subject in schools is based on the recognition that undergirding the moral values of most people are in fact the major religions. If you look at the history of all our societies, all our cultures, religious beliefs and, religious faith have always been the undergirding foundation behind the moral values of most societies and most cultures.”
“Sir, we have mentioned this before in the House that there is always a need for relief teachers. The reason is that there are a number of teachers every year who are away on study leave or who are on maternity leave, having just had babies. These are exigencies of service which will always be with the education service. And to fill these vacancies caused by exigencies of service, relief teachers are needed. So we will always have relief teachers. What we are working to reduce completely are relief teachers filling vacancies which should be filled by full-time teachers. And this is what the annual recruitment exercise strives to fill, in addition to teachers who are resigning or who are retiring. SEMINARS FOR PRE-U STUDENTS (Participation by PAP leaders) 5. Dr Lee Siew-Choh asked the Minister for Education why only leaders from the People's Action Party are allowed to participate in seminars for Pre-U students and to address school children.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the Member for that question. It is a long-term concern of the Ministry of Education that there should be enough male teachers, particularly in our secondary schools and more so in our boys' schools. This problem is a difficult one and we are finding it increasingly difficult to persuade young men to come into the teaching service in the face of competition from many other sectors where they can go in and have a career. For this year's recruitment, I have the following figures. In the Certificate in Education programme which is preparing people for primary school teaching, 12% of the number who have registered are men; 88% are women. For the Diploma in Education programme preparing people for teaching in secondary schools and junior colleges, the position is slightly better. 21% are men and 79% are women. The figures are still very low.”
“We cannot solve the problem of teacher shortage by simply lowering selection requirements. Rather, we should make the teaching service more rewarding in terms of better salary scales and promotion prospects. The establishment of an Education Service Commission and revising the salary scales for teachers holding positions of responsibility are necessary if we are to attract more able young men and women to become teachers.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the IE's target for recruitment this year was 454 graduates for the Diploma in Education programme, 120 for Diploma in Physical Education programme and 375 for the Certificate in Education programme, making a total of 949. With this number, the Ministry of Education would be able to fill vacancies arising from the projected retirements and resignations of officers in the coming one to two years. In the recruitment exercise, the selection board which comprises the PSC, IE and MOE members selected 391 University graduates for the Diploma in Education programme, 104 candidates for the Diploma in Physical Education programme and 460 'A' level candidates for the Certificate in Education programme. The selections were based on criteria such as proficiency in English and ability to communicate well, in addition to the qualifications of the candidates. In the case of university candidates, the Degree must be from an accredited university and the candidate must have two teaching subjects. The intellectual ability of the candidates, as indicated by the details of their qualifications, is taken into account in the selection. Sir, the outcome of this year's exercise was not as successful as we would have hoped. While we were able to get the targetted number of candidates for the Certificate in Education programme, we were short for both the Diploma in Education and the Diploma in Physical Education programmes. Further, not all offers made to the successful candidates have been taken up. So far, only 789 of the offers have been taken up, against our target figure of 949. Sir, teaching is a career that requires communicative and intellectual skills. It is right that these qualities should be present in prospective candidates.”
“Sir, we have said on many occasions that students who are at the fringe of the criteria for admission to junior college, ie, those who can just make it into the junior college, should ask themselves whether they should pursue a junior college course which, having got 'A' levels in two years, may or may not be adequate for admission to university. Or instead should they not take an alternative route, ie, go to the polytechnics, do a professional course in three years and come out with a professional diploma which is well accepted by employers. I think under the old criteria, this was true. Under the new criteria, the same consideration applies and students still have to ask themselves the question whether they should go into the junior college or into the polytechnics. WORK PERMIT HOLDERS MARRYING SINGAPOREANS (Figures) 5. Mr Teo Chong Tee asked the Minister for Labour how many male and female work permit holders applied to contract marriage with Singaporeans in 1987 and 1988, and how many applications have been approved.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the revised admission criteria for junior colleges were worked out after discussions with principals of secondary schools and junior colleges. In arriving at the criteria, my Ministry took into consideration that the junior college course is essentially an academic course, preparing students for university education. And only academically-inclined students with a broad-based education at 'O' level will derive the most benefit from the course. Based on the revised admission criteria, nearly 14,000 students who sat the GCE 'O' level examination in 1988 qualify for admission to the junior colleges. I would like to assure the Member for Bukit Batok that students who can best benefit from a junior college education will not be kept out of the colleges because of the revised admission criteria.”
“The details of the post-secondary institutes are still being worked out. The staff complement will be better than in the present pre-university centres. ADMISSION CRITERIA FOR JUNIOR COLLEGES 4. Dr Ong Chit Chung asked the Minister for Education whether the admission criteria for junior colleges have been set too high; and whether many good students have been kept out of junior colleges.”
“Sir, the College of Physical Education that was referred to is in the process of construction. It will be ready for the intake of students this coming July. With that intake, it is hoped that they will take in at least 60 teachers or trainees for the secondary school programme and another 60 for the primary school programme. The facilities there are first-class not only for the training of teachers but it will also be made available to national sports associations to carry out their training programmes, their matches and practices. I understand that some of the experts at the PE College will also be available to help national sports associations upgrade themselves to train their coaches. But this arrangement will be done through the Singapore Sports Council.”
“I cannot do justice to the Members when they have brought up so many points. But I would like to suggest that if they want to have answers to their points they could raise them again as Questions for Oral Answer or they could write directly to me and I can furnish them with the answers.”
“We will be studying the report of the Advisory Council on Sports and Recreation and we will look into all the recommendations and see how they can be implemented in our schools. Our plan is to give every school a full complement of physical education teachers so that sports and physical fitness can be properly taught and nurtured in the schools. I agree with him that there should be games for all students in schools. There should also be games for excellence. These are two different levels. We want all children in schools to acquire some game skills. This is for life. This is useful for them. But we also want those who have the ability to excel and therefore schools are encouraged to identify which game they can excel in, whether it be rugger or badminton or swimming, whatever, and to make a name for themselves in these areas. Indeed, a number of schools have done so.”
“Sir, I intended to respond to five Members of Parliament on five different subjects but since I have only three minutes, allow me to respond to one or two more extensively. First of all, the point raised by Mr Sia Khoon Seong, the Member for Moulmein, I welcome his views about the need for the training of principals, vice-principals and those in leadership positions in schools. I agree with him that in a large organization like the school where there are 60 or 70 teachers, the management of professionals is of highest importance. Good management leads to good work conditions, job satisfaction and people doing their work well in the classroom. So we agree that we should provide training for principals and vice-principals. In fact, the Ministry has been doing this since 1985. Every year a small group of principals, about 20 in number, are taken in to do a Diploma in Education (Administration) course. A similar course is run for vice-principals. The number is kept small because it has to be a very interactive group, working with senior principals, by means of dialogue rather than just by lectures in the classroom. The result of this has been very positive. Those who have been through this course have a lot of praises for the course and we know from the feedback that they are effective principals or vice-principals when they get back to the schools. A similar programme has been mounted for the heads of departments in schools called the "Further Professional Certificate or Diploma in Education" with the same objective - management training for those who have to help run schools. Sir, Encik Abbas raised the question of ECA. I assure him that we take this seriously.”
“Sir, I think there is no point for the Member saying these things. The truth is, if he wants to help us, he should publicize the attractions of the teaching profession, persuade his friends, his colleagues, his friends' children to go into teaching.”
“In that case, I welcome you with open arms into the teaching service. But seriously, Sir, I do not disagree with the Member regarding the need to make class size smaller. We all want to do that. But until you can get more teachers - we are already in a shortage situation to man the normal classes that we have - until we can overcome the shortage and recruit even more teachers, the possibility of reducing class sizes is not great. We have to do this.”
“Sir, I think the Member was at one time a teacher for a short while and then he left teaching. If he wants to, we will welcome him back into the teaching service as a qualified person!”
“--- by pointing out to the Member that until we can recruit enough people to become teachers, you can do all you like, you cannot reduce class sizes without enough teachers in the classrooms.”
“Sir, I thought I answered that question ---”
“He has not been in previous debates in this House where the subject of streaming had been extensively explained but I just want to let him know that, thanks to streaming, many of the weaker students in our schools now have the opportunity of spending an additional two to three years in school to be taught, to be given remedial help so that they can progress further in their education. As a result of this policy, more children are staying in school for longer period to receive an adequate education compared to the past when many of them in that same group dropped out from the system altogether. So contrary to what he has said, many children today enjoy more education and will emerge from school better educated than they were, say, 10 years ago. Secondly, on the spending of funds on the non-independent schools, indeed, Sir, we will be spending quite a lot of money on the non-independent schools. In fact, the bulk of this budget is for them. In particular, when the secondary schools become single session schools, the Ministry of Education will be spending close to $1 billion to convert schools into single session schools, to upgrade their facilities and to improve the conditions in these schools. Mr Lau Ping Sum( In Mandarin): Sir, in the debate on the policies of the Ministry of Education, very often we only hear the beginning but not the end. But this year they seem to be well prepared. We hope they will successfully implement their policy. On this note, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.”
“The Ministry is also actively reviewing salary scales and the mechanism for promotions in the Education Service. We think that this is an important part in making the teaching profession more attractive in competition with the many other sectors which are also making demands for the same group of people. The principal, the vice-principal, the heads of departments in school, the professional officers at Ministry headquarters and CDIS, all provide critical professional leadership in the whole of the Education Service. We must therefore find ways to attract the most able of our teachers to assume these positions of responsibility so that together they can raise the professionalism of the teaching profession. The Ministry is looking into this matter. It is also looking into the feasibility of establishing an Education Service Commission in consultation with the Public Service Commission. Sir, as Members will know, the Education Service is one of the largest departmental professional services. It needs the full attention of a dedicated body such as an Education Service Commission. If the Education Service Commission is established, then it will be responsible for the selection, the appointment and the promotion of teachers in the Education Service. I believe that with these concerted efforts now under study or in progress we should, in the course of time, bring more people into this vital service, the Education Service. Only then, can we reduce class sizes, can we do all the many desirable things that we want to do in Education to make it better for our children. Sir, I just want to answer two points raised by Dr Lee Siew-Choh in an earlier speech. One is the subject of streaming. He made an impassioned speech about streaming and its consequences.”