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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“Another point, Mr Speaker, Sir, is the request that was made by a parent about the insistence that anyone admitt2to the University must pass the Second Language at 'A' level before he can be awarded his degree. I am told, the problem in this particular case arises because the son, although he has got a pass in 'O' level in Second Language, did not get a pass in the 'A' level in the Second Language. The father is very worried that his son may not be awarded his degree unless he passes the Second Language at 'A' level. May I know what is the reason for this? If the boy has already got his Second Language at 'O' level, why should he be deprived of his degree because he cannot get through the Second Language at 'A' level? Finally, may I just reply to the hon. Member for Serangoon Gardens who was replying to the Member for Potong Pasir about muzzling University students. Perhaps he has forgotten that last year when the Political Association brought out a paper, they were told they could not publish it, and it was handed over to the Students' Union. Well, if that is not muzzling student activity, I would like to know what is?”
“The Minister was talking about the students being a privileged lot. May I remind him that in some countries, Australia comes to my mind immediately, university education is fully subsidized for Australian students. So it is nothing new about subsidizing completely the cost of University education for citizens. But my complaint really is the cost of subsidy of the foreign students in our University. I asked about the number of foreign students in the University last year, and I was told there was quite a number of them in the University. I understand there are now about one foreign student to five students in the University. Yesterday we were fortunate that the Minister for Education presented us with the fees and the subsidies, and he said that foreign students paid 50% more than the fees paid by Singapore students. That would mean that a foreign student studying Medicine only paid 3.76% of the recurrent cost for the study, and a foreign student doing Accountancy and Business Administration only paid 16.8%. May I know why are we subsidizing foreign students to that amount? In Australia, I am told, foreign students have to pay 25% of the cost, and there is a move to increase it now to 45%. Mr Speaker, Sir, there is a general feeling in Singapore that foreigners are getting away with lots of things that Singaporeans can't. I mentioned this with regard to their liability for National Service. Now there is the question of jobs and places in the universities. Why are we paying for foreign students at the expense of our own students? May I know what is the reason for this? It would appear that they were even invited to go on the SDU course free of charge. We should correct this imbalance between our students and foreign students.”
“Secondly about the ruling that was made last year to prevent girls from doing technical studies in Secondary 1 and Secondary 2. This has caused unhappiness, I understand, among a number of families. May I point out, Mr Speaker, Sir, that this is discrimination under our Constitution which says that there shall be equal opportunities regardless of sex. Now, the Ministry's reply, I see, was that boys would also have to do Home Economics soon enough, and they wanted girls to do Home Economics first, making it compulsory for them. The reply misses the whole point of the letter of complaint which is: why should girls be prevented from doing technical studies in Secondary 1 and Secondary 2 if they wish to? We are told time and time again about the importance of technology and technical studies and, here, the Government is deliberately excluding girls from doing technical studies. The reply from the Ministry was that they can nevertheless do it at Secondary 3 and Secondary 4. 1 am told that that is no answer because if you have missed two years of technical studies, it would make it almost impossible to take it up at Secondary 3. So may I ask why is this discrimination inflicted on our girls? It is, of course, one suspects, part of the whole eugenics programme. It was introduced after the Great Marriage Debate began. Now, the third point that I wish to raise under this subhead is the question of foreign students in the University. May I say that I thought the Minister for Education's response to the complaint from the Polytechnic students was more than harsh. May I tell him that the students have a right to know the reason for the increase in the fees. You cannot deny them of that right, and you should explain the reasons.”
“Sir, can I just touch on the point that the Member has just brought up which is not quite true? He said that we do not publish the results of English Language. In fact, we publish the results of the English Language for 'O' level every year. What he was referring to was a peculiar request that he made last year to have the percentage of students who passed in English, Mathematics and Second Language. We do not normally compute a combination of the results, and we were not prepared to spend that extra time to compute these results which were of no particular significance to us. But as for the results of individual subjects, such as English, Mathematics, Science, Second Language, and all the others, these are published and are available to all Members. And to my knowledge, Sir, I do not think the Member has actually requested the Ministry for this particular set of results. Mr Jeyaretnam: Well, I was not aware that the percentage of passes in English was published. Was there? Now, to return to my subject about the standard of English I am going to relate my personal knowledge of this because last Thursday, Mr Speaker, Sir, I took my class in English in my Constituency. I am providing classes for Primary 6 students. And may I say that I was amazed to see how weak they were in English, both written and spoken English, What I would like to know from the Ministry is this: what is the Ministry doing about this very poor standard of English? I was talking to a University lecturer some days ago and he said that it is not just in Primary 6 but even in students who came into the University; their English was not up to standard. Well, I would like to know from the Ministry what steps are being taken to improve the standard of English.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I take note of the points that the Member for Whampoa has raised in addition to the earlier points he made. And I shall look into them. Referring to the point made by the Member for Anson, on the resignation rate of teachers. It is very low. Last year, the turnover or resignation rate for graduate teachers was a mere 2.6%, and for non-graduate teachers it was less than 1%. The shortage is not because of resignation. Sir, the shortage is because our system has expanded as a result of streaming. We have now introduced more classes and smaller classes to cater for the needs of the pupils in the Monolingual stream, the Extended stream. We have given these pupils two additional years in school. All these require classrooms and teachers. This is really provision for pupils of the very type we were talking about earlier, who had these needs. On the special schools and their needs, as I said, grants have been given to them from the Ministry of Community Development. And, no doubt, these grants are used by them for equipment they need. They are also in receipt of financial support from the Community Chest. So I believe that there are enough funds around for their needs, but if there are special needs, they can certainly take it up with either the Ministry of Community Development or Ministry of Education. In fact, we have been providing them with grants to buy micro-computers and so on.”
“I do not think the Member should, without any knowledge, cast a slur on a course which has been very carefully developed and planned and is meeting the needs of the special schools. If we take into account all the support that is being given to these special schools, namely, the 73 teachers who are seconded to these schools whose salaries are all paid by the Government, the instructors seconded to the schools whose salaries are paid by the Ministry of Community Development, as well as giving direct grants to these schools, the total amount that was spent from public funds for these schools last year was $3.4 million. This is not a small sum, not an inconsiderable sum. If we divide that by the total number of pupils who are being catered for, it works out to $1,974 per pupil for 1984. How does this amount compare with the amount we spent on every pupil in our primary schools? We spent, last year, $1,311 on each pupil in our primary schools. If you compare it with what we are spending on the special schools, we are actually spending 51% more per pupil for children with special needs. So with the limited manpower resources that we have, I think we are doing our utmost to help these special schools by providing them with teachers, buildings, training and so on. I think I have dealt with most of the points brought up by Members. 3.45 pm”
“We are providing teachers for these schools despite the fact that there is a general shortage of teachers in our normal schools. We are providing 73 teachers to teach 1,700 pupils and the Ministry of Community Development is also providing 11 special instructors specifically for the blind and deaf children. As I said, we are helping the schools with buildings. In fact, five schools have been converted into special schools. As for teacher training, the Institute of Education has started a course on special education to cater specifically for the needs of teachers who teach in these schools. This three-year part-time course which started at the beginning of last year has 39 participants, most of whom come from these special schools. The Member for Anson did not repeat the point today but he certainly made it on Saturday that this course is of a low standard, the quality is poor, and so on. I do not think he was speaking from knowledge or otherwise he would not have made those remarks. This course was worked out very closely between the Institute of Education and the special schools themselves. Their requirements were fitted into the course. So how can he say that the course is of a low standard and of poor quality when it is tailored to the needs of the special schools, and done in consultation with them? In addition to that, the Institute of Education brings in foreign experts for short spells to run specific parts of this course. To-date, they have brought in three experts from Australia and one from Canada, all at the expense of the Institute of Education, to take part in this art-time course.”
“The main thrust of what he says is that the Government is not doing enough and that the Government must do very much more than what it is doing. I am afraid that he is not in full possession of the facts, and I would take this opportunity to explain to him what the Government is, in fact, doing for special education. At present there are not seven but 12 special schools run by seven associations and their total enrolment is 1,717. The majority of this enrolment are in the School for the Retarded and the School for the Educationally Subnormal. Our view has been that there is merit for these special schools to be independent schools run by voluntary organizations with as much help as possible being given by the Government. When these schools are run by independent and voluntary organizations, they are able to shape their own programme to meet their own needs, and the needs of these special schools are quite different from those of normal schools. For example, the School for the Educationally Subnormal or the School for the Mentally Retarded requires very different programmes. Their curriculum is quite different from that of normal schools and the methods employed to teach such children are quite different. The voluntary organizations are able to bring expertise to bear on these problems. Their own members are usually highly motivated people who can give personal attention to these schools. We feel that there are advantages for these schools to be autonomous and to be independent rather than that they should be part of a large bureaucracy dealing really with normal education. Our policy is to support them as much as possible, recognizing their independence and their autonomy and, at the same time, helping them in their needs for teachers, buildings and so on.”
“And if you raise the fees, this will affect children from low-income families. There is a dilemma here. Within the limits of fees, available classrooms and teachers, we are doing quite a good job. In fact, the Ministry did a study of children from the different types of kindergarten in Singapore and how they would perform by the time they reach Primary 3 in school. We found that there was not a great variation in the performance in school. What does this mean? This means that the kindergartens, by and large, are providing for their needs, be it not the ideal. But there is room for improvement here. Finally, Sir, the education for disabled children, ie, mentally and physically disabled children. The Member for Anson spoke on this. So did the Member for Ulu Pandan. The Member for Ulu Pandan made a request, and that is, that there is a need for more classrooms for educationally subnormal children. Presently, the Ministry has worked with the Association for Educationally Subnormal Children and has helped the Association to set up three schools for these children in different parts of Singapore. I will take her request into consideration and ask my officials to see in what way classrooms in Singapore, if they are available, can be made available to the Association for the running of these classes. But it would be still desirable to have schools which are used exclusively by the Association, and we will help the Association to locate one or two more schools that they could use for that purpose. Sir, this subject on what the Government is doing for the needs of those who are disabled educationally has come up every year. The Member for Anson has spoken on this.”
“These schools have been identified, and the Ministry is working with them to try to make their preliminary examinations approximate more closely to the standards expected of the Cambridge 'O' level papers. In that way, pupils who are posted on a provisional basis to junior colleges and pre-university centres on the basis of their preliminary results would be more accurate and there would be less movement when the 'O' level results do finally come out. Sir, I have two more topics that I just want to deal with. First is the kindergarten teachers, the problem of their training an upgrading which was brought up by the Member for Yuhua. I agree with her that we must do what we can to train or provide good training for kindergarten teachers so as to improve the quality of kindergarten teachers. The problem here Sir, is that of staff turnover. As the Member knows, there is a high turnover rate for kindergarten teachers related to the fact that the salaries are not high. Paradoxically, some of these teachers, having received training in the Institute of Education after a short time, resign from their job to look for better jobs. Training has created its own problem. I am not saying therefore that we should not continue with training. We should press on with training. The Institute of Education takes in about 60 kindergarten teachers each year on a part-time basis for training. I believe that with these measures there is a gradual improvement in the teachers that we get for our kindergartens. But the basic problem will still have to be met, which is, how to pay them more adequately for the job. In the case of kindergartens which are low-cost, ie, kindergartens where the fees are very low, there is not much that can be done to better remunerate the teachers.”
“It takes time for them to process and to mark these examination papers, to moderate them and process the results. It does take nearly three months. What are the alternatives to this? The Member has suggested three alternatives. In fact, within the Ministry we have considered those alternatives and we have looked at even more alternatives. Short of reverting or having our own examinations in place of Cambridge, that is to say, a Singapore Examination, which will then have less of a problem with the time factor, there is no easy solution to this. But if we were to move away from the Cambridge examinations and to start our own, there are various matters that must be very carefully considered. First is that the Cambridge examination, unlike the PSLE, is a much more extensive examination. PSLE is concerned only with four subjects. It is a national examination which we run, but the Cambridge examination involves 20 or 30 subjects. That poses immediately the problems of manpower to set and mark these papers, expertise to set these papers and more than that. We have found it useful to have an independent examination body like Cambridge against which we can measure ourselves. I think that should not be dropped lightly. It is valuable that we should have this yardstick to measure our pupils at the end of their secondary school. With regard to his queries on this subject, I am afraid we will have to live with this three-month gap. 3.30 pm [Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair] But what the Ministry has done is to identify schools whose preliminary examination results differ markedly from the Cambridge examination results that finally come out. There are schools whose preliminary examination results appear to be difficult or too strict. There are others which are perhaps too lenient.”
“For example, 4,700 enrolled in NTC 2 and NTC 3 courses with the VITB as at March, 1985. In addition, firms do request VITB's help to run short skill training courses in their own premises. These are ad hoc vocational courses as well as courses in the VITB itself, tailored to their own needs, and there were 3,500 who were registered for such courses. So, all in all, something like 25,900 people, mostly working people, until March this year have enrolled in part-time courses of one kind or another. So I can assure the Member that there are many opportunities of this kind available. But I take note of his point that we should perhaps look into the possibility of part-time skill training or education courses, beyond BEST, in the premises of employers taking advantage of the location and the convenience. I think this is something which we have started discussing with employers. The Member for Khe Bong spoke about the gap between the sitting of the 'O' levels in November each year and the results becoming available in early March and the problem of this 3-month gap when there is some uncertainty among students as to whether they are going on to junior college or whether they should go on to look for a job. Sir, this is a very long standing problem that we have. I would not say it is a major problem because year after year it is anticipated and students do make their adjustments until the 'O' level results come out in March. Sir, the problem is really related to this 3-month gap and whether we can shorten it. We know that the Cambridge authorities find it not possible to reduce the gap. They conduct these examinations not only for Singapore but for many other countries.”
“The PSC as well as the Ministry's thinking is that we want to encourage teachers who do not have 'A' levels to work towards 'A' levels. In fact, every encouragement is given to such teachers, including time-off for 'A' level examinations and so on. The reward for these teachers who manage to get good 'A' levels is, in fact, the opportunity to go on to the university, with a bursary or scholarship at NUS to get a degree. For the Member's information, from 1975 to last year, there were 578 such persons who had been sent to the university on bursaries to get a degree. So the reward for working for an 'A' level is not so much the 'A' level itself but the opportunity to go on to work for a degree. Sir, the Member for Kuo Chuan asked about continuing education opportunities, especially part-time courses for those who are already in the workforce. He quite rightly points out that a large number of people are taking advantage of the BEST programme and about 40,000 a year are, in fact, going through the different modules, and completing them. The opportunity for them to go beyond the BEST modules, which are pegged at about Primary 6 level, to go to secondary level subjects is there. Let me just provide him with some information on this. Last year, the number of people who enrolled, not necessarily for the BEST programme but generally in the general education courses from Secondary 1 to Secondary 5, and including pre- university as well, totalled 14,000. These are persons working on a part-time basis and in the evenings to better themselves through these courses. Some of them, particularly at the Secondary 1 and 2 levels, would be from the BEST programme. At the same time there were many who registered for part-time courses for skill training.”
“The reason for this adjustment is simply that the budget last year of $85,000 was not fully expended and we feel that $65,000 will be sufficient for this coming year. The allocation of free textbooks is based on, as he rightly points out, the family income. Presently the level is $350 per month. But let me assure him that pupils who are in financial hardship, not necessarily from this type of family, would have no great difficulty in getting support from the school for textbooks. There are other sources of funds, for example, from the school advisory committee. There are also outside sources of funds, for example, from the CCCs, from clan associations, from foundations, who are more than willing to provide funds for needy students in the form of free textbooks. This also applies to bursaries. I believe that in Singapore there is hardly any parent who can say that education for his child is beyond his financial means. We have many sources of funds, not only from the Government but from organizations that I have mentioned, who are more than will- ing to provide funds for children. For example, as Members of Parliament, we do receive queries from our constituents concerning free textbooks. I myself have received such queries and I have been able to help them by writing to the schools concerned. When it comes to bursaries which are larger sums of money, the request from the Members of Parliament to the Ministry actually have been very few. I take that as an indication that this is not a large problem that has not found a solution. Sir, the Member for Geylang Serai asked whether 'A' level qualifications that the teachers have gained should not receive some form of financial incentive. He mentioned that previously, before 1981, there was such an incentive.”
“Extra-curricular activities, the uniformed groups, these are additional channels by which moral education is being taught and exercised within the school curriculum. Sir, the Member for Whampoa brought up two points which I would like to address. The first is that of the Polytechnic graduate who is now serving national service and whose problem is that he is not able to register at the NTI for the second year to do a degree until he has completed his national service. The question that the Member for Whampoa is asking is, why not let him register now while he is still in national service? Well, Sir, the Nanyang Technological Institute's policy each year is to invite applicants to apply for their second year course. Many of the applicants will be those from the NUS who have completed their first year in the Engineering Faculty. But the NTI still have places open to people like the Polytechnic graduate. They take in about 150-180 such people each year, mostly Polytechnic graduates who have had a few years of working experience and who have completed their national service. So if the student that he mentioned has good grades in the Polytechnic, he will stand the same chance of getting into NTI after he has finished his national service. That 2-year or 22 '-year period of national service will not make any difference to his chances of getting into the NTI. The Member for Whampoa also brought up the subject of free textbooks in schools. He quoted some figures from the budget of the Ministry and queried why have the allocations gone down. There is some correction I have to make here for him. With respect to free textbooks, the budget last year was $85,000 and this year it has gone down to $65,000.”
“It is only with industrialization that we have had to give more emphasis to the so-called useful subjects to enable people to learn skills and knowledge to go into the economy to work. But otherwise moral education has always had its important place in education. 3.15 pm In our system, we have likewise placed emphasis on moral education. Today, from Primary 1 to Secondary 2, we have moral education as a compulsory classroom subject. For Secondary 3 and Secondary 4, we have introduced Religious Knowledge to provide further reinforcement to moral education. But whatever the syllabuses, whatever the materials that are produced for this, I would say that the most important element in moral education is the teachers themselves, the example that they give to their young charges. All of us, I think, can look back to the days when we were in school and can remember teachers by name, particularly those who left a deep and permanent impression upon us. These were the teachers who affected us as individuals, who shaped our character, and in that sense they were our moral education mentors. We may even have forgotten what they taught us in school in terms of the subjects that they taught us, whether it was geography or mathematics or whatever. But the deep impressions they created upon us, because of the way they dealt with us and the example they gave us, I say that that is the heart of moral education. This is something which we try to impress upon our teachers, and I have no doubt that there are teachers in our school today who are able to reach out to the students in that way. But this is very much a personal commitment on the part of the teacher.”
“For example, we have prepared audio-visual material for presentation to 'A' level school leavers, university undergraduates who are finishing their final year, to tell them what the teaching service is all about, to remove some of the myths or misconceptions that they may have and to present to them the career opportunities in teaching. That is a positive step we are taking. In the intake into the Institute of Education (IE), the Ministry has had a dialogue with the Public Service Commission to streamline some of the criteria that the PSC uses for the admission of people into the Institute of Education and eventually into the teaching service. Sir, quite rightly, the PSC insists on very high standards for recruitment into the IE and into the teaching service. The Ministry agrees with this, that we should maintain these standard-s. To compromise standards means to put at risk future generations of our children because we have reduced the standards of intake for teachers. So I want to assure the Member for Anson that we are doing everything we can to recruit teachers to remove the shortfall in the teacher establishment. The Member for Bukit Batok ctslas also touched on the subject of moral education. I could not agree with him more that one of the priorities of education must be on moral education. In fact, if one were to look back in history, a large part of education historically in many societies have been concerned with moral education. I think the schools that Confucius had were entirely devoted to moral education. Education which is concerned with knowledge or science and technology is a modern day phenomenon.”
“We have also started in-service courses for those who are already in service as principals, a two-week residential course at Frasers Hill and other places, seminars, all with one objective, to help the person to be as good a head of a school as possible. On the question of adequate number of teachers, I know the Member for Anson has touched on this subject every year. I thank him for bringing it up because this is a topic which concerns us. It is not something that we are overlooking. It is not something that we are ignoring. In fact, as I said, we are very concerned about the shortage of teachers. Perhaps with the slight recession that we are experiencing in the Singapore economy today, it might be easier for us to recruit teachers. Because, Sir, the education service has to compete in the open market with all other employers and all other sectors for young men and young women for the teaching service. As we have progressed, opportunities of all kinds of employment abound for young people with good 'A' levels or with degrees. These are the very same people we are trying to attract into the teaching service. It is not because our salaries are in any way inadequate. In fact, the salaries for our graduate teachers are the same as those for other professionals employed in Division I of the Civil Service and the salaries for non-graduate teachers, 'A' level people, are perhaps one of the best in salary terms for non-graduates. So it is not the salaries which are inadequate. It is simply that there are so many opportuties which attract the young person today and teaching is only one of the several options that he has. Nevertheless, the Ministry is taking positive steps to recruit more aggressively.”
“Every year, there are a few principals who retire from the service, others who step aside from being principals because of health reasons, and yet others who are asked by the Ministry to step aside to make room for other people who are better principals. I think this is a natural turnover of principals. The implication of what the Member said was that perhaps the Ministry is harsh in some of these changes that it is making, and that it should be very careful in the selection of people for principals. I could not agree with him more that we should be very careful in the selection of people for principalship. In fact, he gave the example of a particular principal of a school that his son goes to. That is an example of a good principal, and it is people like that that we are looking for to become principals in our schools. Sir, many studies done in our own schools as well as overseas show without question that the principal as a chief executive of a school, both as the professional leader as well as the chief administrator of the school, plays a crucial role. He can make a difference to the school's morale in the leadership that he gives to his colleagues, the staff as well as to the pupils. So the Ministry places very high premium on the choice of principals and on the training that we should give to such people to better equip them to become heads of schools. For the information of the Member for Bukit Batok, we have, in fact, started formal training courses for potential principals, namely, the Diploma in Education (Administration).”
“Sir, in fact, those who are not knowledgeable about education or directly concerned with the professional aspects of education, do bring up all kinds of points on how to make education more effective. For example, the size of classrooms or the conditions of the buildings in the schools and so on. Let me just deal with the size of classrooms. It is no secret, Sir, that in Singapore some of our best secondary schools, ie, the secondary schools to which many of our most able pupils after PSLE choose to go to are also schools which have very large classes. F6r example, Raffles Institution has 44 pupils per class. At the same time, there are schools which are not popular which have 25 pupils per class, or even less. Let me say that there is no correlation between the size of the class and the results that the pupils finally attain at the end of their secondary education. This is not only our experience. It is the experience of many other countries that the size of a class is not a critical factor, unless we are prepared to go down to very small classes of about 15 or even 12 pupils per school. Then it is almost like private tuition. We do not have the resources to do that. And so the question of the size of classes where we have between 30-35 pupils on average, and in the more popular schools as many as 44 pupils, will not affect adversely in any way the education that our students receive. But the important factors that do affect the education of our children are the principals of the schools and the teachers who teach in the classroom. Sir, the Member for Bukit Batok drew our attention to principals in our schools and mentioned that towards the end of last year, there were some principals who were redeployed to become teachers in other schools. This is an annual exercise.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I really do not mind the Member withdrawing the amendment but there are so many points to be answered. I am grateful for the opportunity at any rate to answer the points that were raised by other Members of the House during this morning's debate on education. My Minister has dealt with the main issues which concern the fundamental policies of the Ministry which were touched upon by many Members who spoke this morning. So I do not propose to venture into those areas which have been very adequately answered by my Minister. But there were other points that were raised by hon. Members concerning personnel in the Ministry, concerning moral education and so on, which I feel I should address. Sir, several Members spoke about the question of principals in our schools as well as the recruitment of teachers for our education service. These are matters which are of great concern to the Ministry. I can assure hon. Members, because the heart of our education system really rests with the people who carry out the whole of education in our schools, namely, principals and teachers. And therefore this is a subject which the Ministry is continually concerned about and is continually looking for ways and means to improve the situation. I thank hon. Members for bringing these issues up, not only at this Budget debate but year after year in previous Budget debates, and I assure them that we have never overlooked this matter. Some people feel that other factors in school are important, for example, the size of the classes, the number of pupils per class. The Member for Potong Pasir touched on this point.”
“Sir, point of clarification. I would like to ask the hon. Member whether that letter is an anonymous letter or a letter signed with a name and address.”
“Jeyaretnam asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) if he will give the number of foreigners employed in Singapore on employment passes as at 1st August, 1984, in the following sectors: (i) oil industry; (ii) manufacturing industry; (iii) construction industry; (iv) transport, services and other related activities; (v) banks and finance companies; and (vi) business houses; and (b) if he will state what considerations govern the granting of employment passes.”
“The Member for Anson has not comprehended the issue. There is no change in the criterion of allowing a pupil to go on to Secondary 5 Normal to attempt his G.C.E. 'O' level. It stays at 8 points to be based on the first language and two other subjects, with a minimum of grade 3 for the first language. The change announced on 29th August, 1984 concerns only the criterion to allow a pupil to repeat his G.C.E. 'N' level examinations in school. The criterion recommended by a committee of principals was based on an aggregate of 12 points for first language and 2 other subjects. Subsequently, studies based on the results of specimen Cambridge G.C.E. 'N' level papers administered to our pupils showed that the criterion should be changed to 9 points. The timing of the announcement before the examinations would not have adversely affected the pupils. The announcement was concerned only with the criterion for repeating the G.C.E. 'N' level in school. No student preparing to sit for an examination would be doing so just for the purpose of repeating it. A survey carried out by the Ministry of Education among the Secondary 4N students before the announcement showed that two-thirds of the students were in favour of either going on to skill training or joining the job market. Many school leavers today recognise that vocational training will lead to a good job and a career as a skilled worker. With or without the announcement, many would be opting for vocational training. FOREIGNERS ON EMPLOYMENT PASSES 5. Mr J.B.”
“Most of the teaching staff in the Junior Colleges and Pre-U Centres are graduates, i.e. 92% and 88% respectively. The pupil-teacher ratios are also similar, namely 16.6 to 1 in Junior Colleges and 22.8 to 1 in Pre-U Centres. Students in Junior Colleges are taught en masse in lecture theatres and in tutorial groups of 20-25. In Pre-U Centres, students are taught in class groups of up to 40 per class. All Junior Colleges and Pre-U Centres enjoy the same scale of provision for their libraries, namely, 15 books per student. RULING ON 'N' LEVEL STUDENTS TAKING 'O' LEVEL EXAMINATIONS 4. Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education (i) if he will give the cogent reasons for the recent ruling that only students who scored an aggregate of 8 points in the G.C.E. 'N' level examinations would be allowed to take the G.C.E. 'O' level examinations against the advice of school principals that it should be 12 points; (ii) why was the announcement delayed until two weeks before the students took the 'N' level examinations; and (iii) whether the ruling would result in the transfer of more students to vocational training.”
“So long as they are not sited on land required for development purposes, the farmers will be allowed to remain on them. Should they wish to continue with pig farming, they will, at some future date, be required to satisfy Environment's pollution control standards. Otherwise, they will also have to convert to non-pollutive farming. This principle also holds for the large commercial farms. The Member for Punggol may like to note that the Government will compensate commercial pig farms for the expenditure incurred in relation to the design and construction of pig waste treatment plants. The total amount of compensation will not be known exactly until all claims have been assessed. It is likely to be in the region of $25 million.”
“The option for voluntary clearance will be given so long as farms served with clearance notices are sited on land not required for development purposes, ie the option for the 71 TOL farmers. Such farmers who choose not to exercise the option can remain on their farms. They can continue with pig farming so long as they can maintain pollution control standards when these are set by the Ministry of the Environment. Otherwise, they will have to convert to non-pollutive farming, such as vegetable farming or fish farming. The Government will assist them in their conversion from pig farming. The cessation of pig farming is not synonymous with clearance from the land. Farmers whose farms are not sited on land required for development purposes will not be served with clearance notices. They can remain on their farms and continue pig rearing for the time being. When the Ministry of the Environment sets pollution control standards, they will be required to comply, failing which they will have to convert to non-pollutive farming. Every assistance will be given by the Primary Production Department for them to do so, As regards the second part of his Question, 85 medium-sized TOL farms in Punggol were advised by the Primary Production Department during 1983 to amalgamate into larger commercial units so as to qualify for the capital grant to build pig waste treatment plants. 54 of them have since been merged into 36 commercial farms. While topographical surveys have been carried out on them, little development work has been undertaken. With the rescission of the Capital Grant Scheme for the construction of pig waste treatment plants on 22nd June this year, the rationale for these farms to convert into commercial farms no longer exists.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, from the figures I have just quoted, the vast majority of people are receiving places under the priority as in previous years, and the number who come from the category of graduate mothers is not large in comparison. PIG FARMING (Phasing out) 4. Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, in view of the bleak future of pig farming in Singapore, (a) if he will allow the phasing out of the smaller pig farms which was carried out last year to be continued so as to enable these farmers to use the resettlement benefits to look for alternative means of livelihood, allowing those who wish to remain to do so; and (b) whether he will state his views on the future of those medium-sized pig farmers who were encouraged by the Primary Production Department to extend their farms to a commercial basis and as a result spent large sums of money on such extensions and of those large commercial pig farms which have incurred expenditure of millions of dollars on improvements and developments which are in various stages of completion. The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education (Dr Goh Keng Swee): Mr Speaker, Sir, I presume that the Member for Punggol is referring to the 71 pig farms on Temporary Occupation Licences in his constituency for which resettlement proceedings had been suspended pending the Government's review of pig farming policy in Singapore. Resettlement proceedings for these farms had since resumed on a voluntary basis. 59 of them had opted for voluntary clearance. They will receive full resettlement benefits averaging at about $190,000 per farm.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in answer to his first question, out of the 157 who applied, 147 were given places. As to the second question regarding Phase 1B, which is just over, there are basically two groups of pupils involved. There are those who have brothers or sisters in the school that they are applying for and they are getting priority as in previous years under Phase 1. This comprised the vast majority of applicants for schools under Phase 1. They totalled 9,053 and they were registered in 146 primary schools. The second category under Phase 1 B are graduate mothers with two children. A total of 403 applied for and were offered places in a total of 55 schools. Mr Ng Kah Ting: Sir, would the Minister of State assure the House that such a scheme will not in any way affect the priorities of others?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, a total of 157 graduate mothers applied under Phase 1A for Primary 1 and Pre-Primary places under the new registration scheme. They applied for places in a total of 36 schools. The schools ranged from the better known ones such as ACS, Nanyang Primary School and Catholic High School, to lesser known ones such as Sembawang Hills Estate, Kong Hwa and Canberra Primary School. The number of pupils registered under Phase IA in any of the 36 schools do not amount to even half a class. They will not affect the chances of those coming in later phases of the scheme. The Member has asked how long the new scheme will last. As I have explained previously in this House and elsewhere, we are faced with a dual problem, namely, that many of our graduate women are not marrying and when they do, they are having very small families. The purpose of the registration scheme is to draw attention to this problem in the hope that over a period of time the very lopsided procreation pattern that we now have will rectify itself. It is too early for me to say how long this will take.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, my Ministry is looking into various ways and alternatives in which this problem of the reversal of enrolment of bright students in the polytechnics can be corrected for the future. ADMISSION TO SCHOOLS (Priority Registration for Graduate Mothers) 3. Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education (a) how many graduate mothers have registered their third child for Primary One in 1985 under the priority Phase 1A scheme and what were the schools of their choice; (b) whether such priority scheme has affected the chances of those in the other priority schemes of registration to be carried out later; and (c) how long will this scheme last.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, out of 3,202 students with 10 points or less in the 1983 'O' level examinations, 403 opted to join the polytechnics instead of the junior colleges. They comprise basically of two groups. One group who are from the Chinese stream would have to pass ELl at 'O' level at junior college to qualify for admission to NUS. They expressed lack of confidence to do so as the main reason for opting for the polytechnics. The second group are students who do not have confidence in passing the General Paper. They have the miscomprehension that a Pass in GP is essential for admission to NUS. Except for the Law Faculty, NUS does not require a Pass in GP, although GP does count for points. Most of the 403 students came to a counselling session on 7th April, 1984, organised by my Ministry, Ninety-two of them opted for the 'A' level course after. the counselling. My Ministry considers it a loss that good students should opt to take a diploma instead of going to 'A' level and then to the university. Furthermore, such students are taking up places at the polytechnics which could better go to those who are unlikely to make it through 'A' level and the university. For example, altogether, 2,026 students with 17 points or below who are qualified to join the junior colleges opted for the polytechnics this year. On the other hand, 821 students who wanted to join the polytechnics could not do so because of lack of vacancies and instead had to join the Pre-U centres. It would be preferable if more of the students with 17 points or below joined the junior colleges, thus releasing places for those who instead had to go to Pre-U centres.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I must have your permission before I speak because this is not really my budget. He should have spoken up at the budget debate last Tuesday when he had the full opportunity to do so. The Chairman: All right then. Are you going to withdraw your amendment, Mr Jeyaretnam?”
“The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education (Dr Goh Keng Swee): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Primary Production Department has so far issued 63 licences for marine cage net fish farms covering a total sea area of 35 hectares. These farms are located off the coast of Pulau Ubin, Serangoon, Punggol and Lim Chu Kang. The estimated annual production of fish from these farms is about 1,500 tonnes or 2% of the total estimated annual consumption of 72,500 tonnes. Thus, marine cage net fish culture's contribution towards meeting the demand for fish has been small. The extent to which the contribution will increase depends on the fish farmers themselves. Marine cage net fish culture is capital intensive and, for this reason, has been used primarily to farm high-valued fish and prawns for sale to restaurants and hotels. I have outlined in reply to a previous question the Government's current thinking on pig farming. The Government's policy is to encourage liberal trade practices which will facilitate the import of food supplies from the cheapest source. What applies to pig farmers applies equally to producers of poultry and vegetables. They must compete in order to survive. PROFESSIONAL VISIT PASSES (Numbers) 4. Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam asked the Minister for Home Affairs if he will give the number of foreigners working in Singapore on professional visit passes as at 1st March 1984 in the following sectors: (i) Oil industry; (ii) Manufacturing industry; (iii) Construction industry; (iv) Banking; and (v) Business Houses.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the answers to the hon. Member's question would require several tables. I would be happy to provide them to him later. I will instead highlight a few of the points raised by his question. Over the past five years, the recurrent cost of education at all levels has doubled. The main increase has been due to salary adjustments. In 1983, the cost for educating a child in primary school was $1,255. At secondary and junior college levels, the costs were $2,067 and $2,974 respectively. Since school fees are very low, school education is highly subsidized by the state. At the VITB and Polytechnics, the average costs to train a student are $4,400 and $5,800 per annum respectively. At the university, the average cost is $14,200 per annum. This varies widely, ranging from $8,000 for Accountancy and Business Administration students to $43,300 for the Medical students. Again, as the fees charged by the institutions are fairly low, the cost is highly subsidized. In 1959, it cost $125 per annum to provide a place for a child in primary school and $4,600 per annum to educate a student at the then University of Malaya. These costs have, of course, gone up over the years with inflation. CAGE FISHING AND SUPPLY OF POULTRY, VEGETABLES AND PORK 3. Mr Yeo Choo Kok asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education (a) what is the total number of licences issued by the Primary Production Department for cage fishing to date; (b) to what extent this type of fishing has contributed towards meeting the local demand; and (c) whether the Department has any plan to ensure the constant supply of poultry, vegetables and pork at stable and reasonable prices.”
“For 'O' level subjects, there are about 6,000 persons attending evening classes preparing themselves for one or more 'O' level subject examinations. For the 'A' level classes, there are 2,300 registered with VITB preparing themselves for one or more 'A' level subjects as private candidates. The next biggest group are people who are registered for industrial skills courses run on a part-time basis in the evenings and at week-ends at the VITB. There are nearly 14,000 of such people, that is to say, 26% are attending these courses. Some of them would be those who have completed their BEST programme and who are going on to skills training. I must say that at the moment such people are very few. In fact, from surveys which have been carried out with BEST students, the majority are more interested in going on to secondary level academic education courses than skills courses. They see that as a more worthwhile or preferred course. That is their choice. But the point is that once a person has completed Module 4 in the BEST programme, the door is open. They can go on to these part-time skills courses or they can go on to secondary level adult education classes. I hope I have answered the Member's points.”
“The programme will improve with time because the materials that were used last year have been revised and improved upon. So we can expect that this large number of people in our work force, around 300,000 to 350,000 who can benefit from the BEST programme will be reached in a period of something like seven years, in the case of those who are in large firms and about 14 years in the case of those who have to come to centres run by the PAP or the NTUC. But we are pressing ahead with this. I would like to take this opportunity, Sir, to clear one point which was raised yesterday by the Member for Rochore regarding adult education because it is also related to this. It is related to the point that the Member for Pasir Paniang had raised regarding the follow-up on of opportunities for people who have undergone the BEST programme. It is not true that, with the winding up of the Adult Education Board in the early 1970s, adult education has therefore been dropped and neglected. On the contrary, in fact adult education is thriving. It is under the responsibility of the VITB and I would like to provide some statistics to inform Members how active adult education is in Singapore. 7.30 pm. At present, the total number of people who are registered with the VITB and undergoing various kinds of courses, such as part-time skills training courses, academic courses for Secondary 1, 2, 3, 4 and so on, is 52,000. Compared With last year, this is an increase of 13%. So there is a gradual increase. Let me give a breakdown of these 52,000 persons. About half, 50%, of these people are registered for academic education courses, namely, they are attending evening classes for Secondary 1, 2, 3, 4 and pre-university level subjects.”
“Barring any unforeseen problems, we expect that this programme will continue to attract our workers who want to better themselves. There is one slight area of concern. At the end of last year VITB contacted new companies to get them involved in the BEST programme. They went to 200 new firms with 100 or more employees each. In that contact, only one-quarter of them, 25%, came forward to take part. The other 75% for various reasons did not come forward to take part. We are not pessimistic because we will go back to these firms and get them involved in the next session, if not the session after next. There are valid reasons why some firms are not yet ready to take part, but given the interest and the demand for such classes by the workers, I am certain that most employers will respond because they can see tangible benefits for their workers to participate in company-based classes. Already some employers tell VITB that the running of these classes has really improved the relationship between workers and their personnel department. This is a direct link. The personnel department is responsible. It has helped them in the setting up of QC circles so that discussions on technical terms and so on become easier. The one limit to how fast we can expand the BEST programme is the availability of teachers because we are dependent on school teachers who are willing to take on this extra burden. They are compensated for it but still it is an extra load. And also members of the public who are prepared to come forward to teach these BEST modules. I am glad to say that in fact we are not depending only on school teachers. Quite a large number of BEST teachers are members of the public and company personnel themselves who are teaching in these classes.”
“Sir, I thank the Members for their support of the BEST programme. Let me first say that the pilot phase which was carried out in 1983 to test the usefulness of the materials to rouse public interest in the BEST programme and to give experience to VITB on how to organize BEST courses on a large scale proved to be very successful. The pilot phase had hoped to take in about 10,000 trainees. But in the event 22,000 workers responded and came to attend BEST classes. I should mention that companies who were approached to run BEST classes responded overwhelmingly to run classes in their premises for their workers. So last year, 88 companies came forward. Similarly, the PAP-NTUC centres responded extremely well. Forty-four centres were set up and organized in constituencies to provide classes for people who found it more convenient to attend constituency-level classes rather than company-based classes. So altogether we are quite satisfied with the pilot phase, and we are able to recommend to the Government that we should now move ahead on a full scale with the programme. Starting this year the BEST programme is on full steam. The target for this year is to take in 40,000 workers to be trained in two batches, first half and second half of the year. Members might like to know that in the first half the target has been met. Over 20,000 workers are registered in BEST classes. The number of participating firms and PAP-NTUC centres have all increased. 136 firms are taking part, 63 PAP-NTUC centres are involved. The Armed Forces have their own centres for national servicemen who need the BEST programme. VITB itself is running BEST classes in school centres in the evenings.”
“But beyond the school context, I think there is plenty of room in the mass media, television. Even travel, more and more of our people are affluent enough to travel to the surrounding countries. Places like Taiwan and Hong Kong are very popular. That sort of travel exposes them to Eastern culture. So I hope my answer satisfies the Member for Bukit Batok.”
“So one safeguard to cultural development in Singapore is the fact that we have our bilingual policy which lays stress on mother tongue. And hopefully through teaching of the mother tongue in the schools and, as I said earlier, it is not just the teaching of language but also the teaching of passages from the Classics and examples which have to do with moral education, and so on, our students who leave our schools will not be unaware of some of the historical events that took place in the cultures that are being taught through the mother tongue. 7.15 pm. He has made a suggestion that English-medium teachers should perhaps be given some grounding in the oriental history, China, India, Southeast Asia and so on. I think there is merit in his suggestion but I am not sure how feasible it is to run such courses. But we must bear in mind that more and more of the teachers who are joining our teaching service, particularly the younger teachers coming out from the university, coming out from 'A' level to join the IE, are people who have been through our bilingual system, who have imbibed what the bilingual policy hopes that they will imbibe. If you talk of teachers who are in the teaching service in the English-medium who joined the service perhaps 30 years ago, during the colonial period, well, that is something else because they went through a system where they learned very little of their mother tongue culture. But I am saying that more and more of our teachers, especially the younger ones, will have been through the bilingual system that we have, will have been exposed to aspects of mother tongue culture. And this can only improve the passing on of Asian culture. This is within the school context.”
“I take it to mean that these teachers feel that their services are not needed there and they are not being given enough work to do. I would welcome feedback from the Member and, if possible, to give me the names of these schools concerned. The reason why we have sent extra Chinese language teachers to these schools is that these schools are weaker in the mother tongue, Chinese in this case, than the average school in Singapore. We feel that the extra Chinese language teachers, who can run remedial classes and who can also take smaller classes, would be a help to the students in these schools which are generally weaker in Chinese language. I am therefore surprised to hear that some of these schools are not making good use of the teachers that we have provided them. I would welcome a feedback from the Member so that we can take necessary action. He also raised the question of a much wider issue which is that of culture and cultural development in Singapore in the years ahead. I do not think it is correct simply to link this to 1987 when the Chinese stream schools would have been phased out and all our schools become national stream schools. I do not think it is simply a one-to-one relationship that because that has happened, then something drastic would happen to cultural development in Singapore. I think the first point to note is that the bilingual policy continues and more and more Singaporeans upon leaving our school system will be bilingual. I quoted statistics from the 1970 census and from the 1980 census which show that over a 10-year span, there has been a 21/2 times increase in the number of Singaporeans who are truly bilingual, and this number can only increase with time.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Member for Bukit Batok has raised two points. First, the Chinese language teachers in our schools today. What would ha on to them as the Chinese medium course winds down in the next few years? The Ministry is well aware of this problem and, in fact, is implementing various measures to help these teachers to convert into the teaching of other courses or to redeploy them in places where the need for their services is high. For example, since 1980, about 400 Chinese medium teachers have undergone courses to enable them to teach Mathematics and Science in English. These are teachers who were teaching Maths and Science in Chinese before. They are not Chinese language teachers as such. So this point that the Member for Bukit Batok has brought up of teachers who teach subjects in Singapore but who are not Chinese language teachers themselves, we have recognized this. And we have tried to convert as many as possible to teach Maths and Science in English. This is possible because the subjects are not language subjects and a person who knows Mathematics and Science well would be able to put the subject across in English after proper training and preparation. Presently, around 100 teachers in the Chinese medium are undergoing courses to enable them to teach Home Economics in English and also to teach Music, Art and Physical Education in Chinese. There is no necessity that these other subjects should be taught in English because they can be taught in the mother tongue. So that conversion course Is going on and more are planned. He mentioned that there are teachers who have been sent to certain English-medium aided schools and do not feel welcome in those schools.”
“I think the staffing of any college, especially a college which strives to be a very high quality college, depends on the quality of the staff. Of course, the locally-trained physical education teachers or lecturers who can contribute to the teaching staff of this College will be selected to become staff members of this College. But the College will be recruiting from outside Singapore as well.”
“Sir, the conversion of existing teachers who want to become PE teachers is something which has been done before and will continue to be done. When the PE College is set up, it will also provide in-service training for teachers who want to become PE teachers.”
“Sir, I thank the Member for Pasir Panjang for his support for the PE College. I know that each year at Budget time he supports the plans of my Ministry to promote physical education. He is quite right in noting that the intake for the PE College is 50 although the requirement at the end is about 700 for secondary schools and junior colleges alone. But I assure him that the figure of 50 is only an initial intake. As the College develops, gains more experience, and has more trained teaching staff, then the intake for the College can be expected to expand. As I have said earlier, the priority is for secondary schools and junior colleges. But eventually, when we have met that need, we will extend our physical education programme to the primary schools. Again, all this expansion involves manpower, whether the PE College can attract enough able students to come in and who want to be trained as physical education teachers, is something which only time can tell. It will also depend on the quality and training and standing of this College in the eyes of the public. Sir, I hope I have given him the assurances that he seeks. 7.00 pm.”
“Sir, my Parliamentary Secretary is here listening to the Member's remarks. I am certain he has taken note of what the Member has said.”
“I can assure the Member that the PWD who have been building many schools all over the island, are quite aware of all these problems and they try to fit each case as far as possible. Sometimes it is not possible to do so because of the peculiar location. So compromises have to be made in those circumstances. Finally, on the provision to store AVA equipment for use in schools which were built before 1980/81, it was only in 1981 that the Ministry decided and obtained a vote of about $50 million from the Ministry of Finance to equip all our schools with audio-visual aids. For schools built before that time, it is of course necessary to retrofit the schools with whatever is necessary. Unfortunately, in some of these cases the retro-fining may not be as aesthetic as we would like them to be or if they had been planned in the first place.”
“Sir, the Member has raised three points: first, the naming of schools, secondly, the specific problem concerning access to the schools in his Constituency, and thirdly, the provision of audio-visual aids in schools. Concerning the first question, the naming of schools is, in fact, carried out by a committee chaired by my Parliamentary Secretary. The Member of Parliament of the Constituency where the schools are located is involved in the choice of names and in the decision taken to name the schools. So I am certain that the Member for Kaki Bukit has been involved in the naming of all the schools in his Constituency. I cannot guarantee him that, having named a school after a certain constituency, the Constituency boundaries will not be changed in the future. When they do, the anomalies that he has mentioned will, of course, occur. Perhaps, even some constituency names may also be changed. This is something which is not entirely possible to plan for. Secondly, on the question of access to the two schools which he has mentioned, Min Xin Primary School and Yu Neng Primary School, the PWD has, in fact, provided additional entrances and an additional access road to these two schools, making it easier for students to get in and out. Generally, when the PWD design schools and locate them on sites, they take into account the major roads in the area. They also take into account the noise factor and try to locate the schools as far away as possible from the main road, leaving the field between the school and the road. They also take into account the east-west direction in orienting the schools so that there is not an undue amount of heat from the sun affecting the schools during the day.”
“Sir, I do not know how the Member for Anson can say that we have not come to grips with the problem. We have come to grips with the problem. We have proposed a new scheme and, as the First Deputy Prime Minister said yesterday, it may be necessary to have other measures to encourage the restoration of this balance in our population growth. As far as the Constitution is concerned, I do not think it is a matter for debate in this House. I do not think it is a matter to be settled by debate here in this House as the Member, who is a lawyer, should know. It is a matter for the High Court to decide.”