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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“It believes in facing difficult and unpleasant issues, such as this, squarely and it will take the trouble to explain again and again why such apparently unpleasant measures have to be brought out into the open and decisions have to be made on them. Sir, I do not think the Member has really brought out anything new in his arguments. I do not think he has understood what the basic concerns and issues are in this policy, which is that all our population should be represented equally in the next generation, that not one sector should be grossly under-represented and another sector of our population should be grossly over-represented in the next generation. We want the population to develop equally and in as balanced a manner as possible.”
“Sir, a lot has been said about this subject yesterday even before the Member stood up to speak. The opinions, he quotes from various articles, are familiar to us. There will always be people who will level accusations, who will be very free with their opinions, who do not have to live in the country against which their opinions are directed. Furthermore, there will be people like that, including the Member for Anson, who do not have to take responsibility for the future direction of Singapore and how our country is to develop and to provide a better life for all its people. And such people, as the Member for Anson has done, are more than willing to make such remarks and at the same time quietly choose to send their own children to the best schools they can find; in the case of the Member for Anson, to British public schools because Singapore schools were not considered good enough for them. So they have two standards - a standard for themselves, a private standard which is convenient, which is within their means, and a public standard which is something else. 6.30 pm The Member said that this matter should be put before the electorate. It is being put before the electorate now. It has been announced. The public knows about it and the public will vote on the performance of this Government and the Party as a whole at the next elections. What I suppose the Member would prefer is that these measures should not be introduced or at least kept in abeyance until the next elections - to be brought out after the elections. But this is not the way this Government works.”
“The Project is called MAPS (Malay for Primary Schools). There is a similar Project Team working for the secondary textbooks under the code name MASS (Malay for Secondary Schools). These two teams have already produced some textbooks which are being used in our schools at the lower levels and they will continue to produce books for the whole of our primary and secondary system. The projects are similar to the CLIPS and the CLIMS projects for teaching of Chinese as Second Language in primary and secondary schools. There are similar project teams for the teaching of Tamil. The primary project team is codenamed TAPS (Tamil for Primary Schools) and the secondary school team is TASS (Tamil for Secondary Schools). So all our Second Language materials are now under development by the CDIS.”
“Sir, I thank the Member for his support and understanding for the changes that we make in the Ministry of Education. I assure him that changes are difficult to make and changes take a long time to implement. Therefore, we do not undertake changes for the sake of changes because they are difficult to make and we do not undertake them lightly. It is only with the purpose of improvement that we go about trying to make changes. 6.15 pm As to his question on the History materials that have been produced for Secon- dary 1 and 2, the history textbook that has been produced is called The Social Economic History of Singapore. He is quite right in pointing out that in the main this book starts off at 1819 with the founding of modern Singapore. The objective of this History series is to trace the progress and the history of how a multi-racial society evolved to become a modern city-state. This is the period of history which touches, I think, our whole population. But reference is in fact made to the earlier pans of Singapore's history in the first chapter of this book, namely, the Kingdom of Temasek, the Founding of Temasek in the 14th Century by Sang Nila Utama and the background to the history of Singapore before 1819. So it is not quite correct in saying that there is no reference to the earlier part of Singapore's history. But, as I said, the main objective of this history is to trace Singapore's development through the last century into this century from a colony into a modern city-state. Regarding his question on the materials produced for the teaching of Malay Language, I would like to inform him that in fact there are two Project Teams at the CDIS working on a new series of textbooks for the teaching of ML2. There is a Project Team working on the primary textbooks.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it is true that the candidates who took the mid-year ML2 exam last year did not do as well as previous batches. But this fluctuation from batch to batch is something that can be expected every year. The important thing is that those who did not do well were able to repeat the examination at the end of the year to better their grades. For the information of the Member for Pasir Panjang, taken altogether, the students who did ML2 at 'O' level in 1983, the overall pass rate was in fact better than the previous year. 92% of them passed. This is above the average for the past few years. So we cannot conclude the standards were such that somehow they did not do so well in the first test because, given a second chance, they did quite well. His other point is on whether students who did well in the mid-year exam would be allowed to repeat at the end of the year to better their grades. In the past, we did not allow students who obtained a grade of four or better to repeat the second language exams at the end of the year because we felt that a grade of four and above is already a good grade and that they should concentrate on all the other subjects that they have to do. But from this year onwards, we have decided to remove this restriction and allow students to choose for themselves whether they want to repeat at the end of the year the examination which they have taken in the middle of the year. From this year onwards, they can decide whether they want to repeat.”
“I am certain that with experience of teaching this subject in our schools and if the need arises, the Ministry would work out further training programmes together with MUIS for such teachers.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the Member for Pasir Panjang for raising these points, giving me the opportunity to provide information to him and to the general public. The selection of teachers to teach Islamic Religious Knowledge is done by the Ministry in conjunction with MUIS. We work very closely in the selection and training of such teachers. To start with, the teachers are trained school teachers who have to undergo a course conducted by MUIS. This is a 45-hour long course. In 1982, 150 such teachers were trained. In 1983, 50 teachers were trained and a further 45 teachers are undergoing training in preparation to teach the course at Secondary 3 and Secondary 4. The materials for the teaching of Islamic Religious Knowledge are prepared by a project team at CDIS. Again, members of the project team comprise Ministry teachers as well as members of MUIS. MUIS is consulted also on the contents. As to his last point on the number of students who are doing Islamic Religious Knowledge, not in Malay but in English, there are 150 such students doing it this year at Secondary 3. Most of these students would be Tamil Muslims.”
“First, they are those who, under the previous scheme, would have remained in Phase 2C or Phase 2D because they have large families and so they remain there. Under the new scheme, it will also be those who are well educated but who choose to stop at one child. They lose out also because they will now come under Phase 2C or Phase 2D. Of course, in the Ministry's press statement, certain provisions are made for those who for medical reasons and so on are unable to have more than one child. This has been taken into consideration. We intend to take a liberal view of interpretation regarding family size.”
“Over 90% will be enjoying Phase 1 under the new scheme. What about the others who say that they are deprived, they are discriminated against, because graduate mothers have the first priority? Phase 2A, which is a very high priority, is given to parents who have a low educational background and who are prepared to keep their families small by accepting sterilization after having one or two children. I have already gone into the reasons why this is highly desirable for their sake and for the national good. This will put them on a high priority to get into any school of their choice. For those who are graduate fathers but who did not marry graduate women, they enjoy priority under Phase 2A, again provided they have three children. For those with three 'O' levels and above, they enjoy Phase 2B. Under the previous scheme, these parents would have had to join the queue at Phase 2C or Phase 2D. So they have been given some improvement as far as priority for registration is concerned. The same priority applies to those who have school connections, old boys and old girls. That has not changed. As for those who had accepted sterilization in the past because of Phase 2A priority in the hope of gaining priority under Phase 2A, they have not lost in any way because, in its press announcement, the Ministry has said that they do not lose out in priority at all. They will continue to enjoy the priority that they have had in the past. Who are those people who will lose out, so to speak, under this priority scheme? If you say that 'A' level parents and 'O' level parents have enjoyed some advantage in the priority, who are those who will lose out?”
“We cannot wish it away. But we are doing the next best thing as far as the Ministry of Education is concerned. We are giving them a place in school. They will have a place in school and we are giving them a chance for an education. But should we not do what we can to bring those who are likely to have large families in the future in line with the family planning policy for their own benefit as well as for the national good? At the other end of the scale, the issue which was clearly brought up by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education yesterday is the concern for graduate women who are not even marrying, lot alone not producing enough children. That is a dual concern. First, when they marry they do not produce enough children. Secondly, their chances of marriage are fairly small because of the choices that they make and the choices that the male graduates make concerning marriage partners. There is a dual concern there. I do not think we should be mesmerized just by the fact that graduate mothers are being given first priority for children. We should not forget the other concern, which is that, in the first place, graduate women are not even marrying. We have given graduate mothers first priority provided that they have three or more children. For those who feel that such graduate mothers are given a privilege on a plate, let me say that this is not the case. These graduate mothers have to work for it by having at least three children. So it is not giving them something on a plate. In any case, to put things in their perspective, under Phase 1, if you take Phase 1 A and Phase 1 B together, over 90% of those who will have priority under Phase 1 will be those who have a child in a school. In other words, a sibling in a school.”
“Of course, questions have been raised as to why the Government should be involved in this matter. This is a very individual matter. It concerns the individual and his choice as to how big he wants his family to be. It is not the concern of other people. I submit that this is a myopic point of view. On a national scale, if this very disproportionate or disparate procreation pattern were to continue for the next 10, 20 or 30 years, I think there would be consequences which would be undesirable for Singapore. The population mix would change. Take, for example, those who insist on having large families even when they cannot well provide for them. What are the consequences for such families? Their children are undoubtedly at a disadvantage from birth by the very fact that they will grow up in families which are large and which are inadequately provided for. They will not do well in school. They will remain lowly educated, low skilled and low income because of the fact that their families from which they come are large and not well provided for by their own parents. Their education and their health will be heavily subsidized by others. If the trend continues, all the indications are that they are likely to repeat what their parents did. They themselves will have large families and the cycle goes on. Will this be good for our society, and for them ultimately? The answer is obviously no. And so measures, incentives and disincentives, have to be found to encourage such families to plan their families better, to go for smaller families, to boner provide for their smaller families so that the chances for their children are better. For many of them, their children are already here, children coming from seven, eight, nine or 10-child homes. I think we are doing the next best thing.”
“We have brought down the birth rate from a very high rate in the fifties and sixties to 1.75% in recent years. Taken as a whole, this has been a success. But when it is examined in detail, it has become clear that there is a wide disparity in the birth rates of different sectors of our population. I am referring to the highly lopsided procreation pattern that we have. You can analyse it in any way you like, by educational levels, by income of parents, by any criteria. The inescapable fact is this. Those who can least afford to have large families are having large families - five, six, seven or more children. In the 1980 census, 30% of such families have four or more children. In contrast, at the other end of the scale, those who can most afford to,have large families are not doing so. They have none or they stop at one or sometimes two. In the 1980 census 57% of them have zero or one child, and only 1.5% of them have four or more children. We contrast these two groups. 5.15 pm Those who can least afford to have large families are 20 times more likely to have four or more children than those who can most afford to have large families. Those who can most afford to have large families are three times more likely to have no children or one child when you compare them with those who can least afford to have large families. That is the situation that we have. If we do nothing about it, the situation will not correct itself. It will probably get worse. If we do something about it through various measures, perhaps we might restore the lopsidedness. We have no guarantee of success. But one thing is certain, If nothing is done, the situation will not rectify itself. And so we must try.”
“The Members who spoke on this scheme expressed essentially similar points, which is, that it is unfair to the rest of the mothers when priority is given to graduate mothers. It is unfair especially to those who are less educated and there was mention that this might lead to divisiveness. I feel that the First Deputy Prime Minister has already answered a number of these points yesterday in his speech and I would not like to repeat what he has said. I think he had adequately brought out the main issues behind the purpose of the scheme. But it is worth reminding ourselves that the over-riding concern of the priority scheme which has been perhaps misunderstood or overlooked is that of the family planning policy. The earlier scheme that we have had had three main criteria. First, that priority should be given to a boy or a girl who has a sibling in the school provided that he or she is a second child. Secondly, that priority should be given to parents if they should accept sterilization after one or two children. Thirdly, that priority should be given to those with connections with the school, such as old boys or old girls, again with the stipulation that this applies up to the third child and eventually it was brought down to the second child. In each of the criteria that existed in the earlier scheme which was widely accepted, family planning considerations were the underlying and the over-riding concern. The new scheme that we have is a refinement of this but the objective remains the same, namely, that family planning considerations are the underlying considerations. All Members in this House, I am certain, would agree that over the years our family planning policy has generally succeeded.”
“But as for the actual teaching that goes on in these schools, the majority of the teachers and instructors come from the Ministry of Education and from the Ministry of Social Affairs. So, in a sense, these organizations are not unlike the aided schools except that the link between them and the Ministry of Education is a much looser one. I think this is a viable relationship in which we provide as much as we can in the way of resources while the voluntary organizations continue to have the freedom in their curriculum, organization and in the personal care and attention that they can give to the students. I believe that if the Government were to take over these organizations and all their assets and facilities, there would be a loss because voluntary effort would become less and may move away from these organizations. I would ask the Member to ponder upon this point. The Member mentioned that the Education Fund could perhaps be used for urgent medical purposes such as the example that he quoted of the boy who had to be treated for leukaemia. I think the Member's suggestion springs from a very compassionate heart and I commend him for that. But the Education Fund has very specific purposes and all of them are for educational purposes. It would not be a proper use of the fund if it is to be used for medical purposes or for any other purposes. What is commendable about the case that he mentioned is the overwhelming response that came from the children in the school and the public in providing funds at such short notice for this boy, and I think we should continue to encourage this kind of public concern and participation. Sir, may I now turn attention to the priority for registration scheme.”
“I should remind the Member, Sir, that in the reply we gave to him, we showed him how it would be possible to estimate by grouping the three subjects together he would have a very good idea of what the outcome would be. We do not normally compile results grouped in the way that he is asking. The Member for Serangoon Gardens spoke about the Physical Education College and I welcome his suggestions and remarks concerning how the PE College could be further expanded in its objectives and use. Our initial objective is to train physical education teachers who are sorely needed in our secondary schools and junior colleges. As I mentioned earlier, we need about 700 such teachers. We also have an intention to train teachers for the primary schools when we have successfully provided PE teachers for the secondary schools, not to mention the needs of other organizations like the SAF, Police and so on who would look to this College for physical education instructors. I do not think there is any danger that this College will become a white elephant even if the number of physical education teachers to be trained appears to be quite small, Let me just tell him that there are only 555 dentists in Singapore and we still have a dental faculty which is not a white elephant. On his point about handicapped children, Sir, I have answered in this House at length on the question that he raised. I will not go into the details which I have already provided him. But I think it should be realized that the voluntary organizations presently organize and manage these eight special schools. That is to say, volunteers sit on the committees that run these schools and raise funds for the schools.”
“I would suggest to the Member for Anson to ask them whether the education system is a singular failure. He has also touched on the Education report. He feels that a report ought to be made to this House on the progress in education and what has been achieved. A catalogue is brought out each year by the Ministry of Education, and it contains all the reports that are discussed at the Schools Council and at the Ministerial Committee meetings in the Ministry. Todate, 1,500 papers, documents, reports, statistics of all kinds have been published. If the Member is that interested in education, he should perhaps try and get hold of some of these papers. As a matter of fact, I would like to ask him how many papers he has actually called for and seen from this catalogue. I know, the answer is none. He touched on the question of relief teachers. I have explained this before in answer to him that we have about 1,000 relief teachers and we continue to have about 1,000 relief teachers. Recruitment into the education service is not easy. It is in competition with all the other sectors. In any case we cannot do away entirely with relief teachers because in the nature of the service lady teachers go on maternity leave. Teachers do go on short study leave and so on, and we will have to rely on the services of relief teachers. I do not propose to answer his point about the results for the 'O' level, namely, what is the percentage pass for English, Mathematics and the Second Language, because I feel that I have adequately answered him. In fact, we have provided him with a list of all the results last year and I believe even the year before that. We will publish these results when we have them for this year.”
“Their fear is that when they go to junior college, they have to do the General Paper and they run the risk of not being able to do that, whereas in the polytechnics the courses are technical and they are usually strong in Science and Mathematics. They have no difficulty in coping with those subjects. In any case, the students know that after three years at the polytechnic they will got a diploma, and this gives them an opportunity to go to the Nanyang Technological Institute for a further three years to get a degree. In total they would have lost no time at all compared with the route comprising two years at junior college and four years at the university. So they have done their calculations and they feel they can take the second route through the polytechnic. Sir, I would now like to turn my attention to the remarks made by the Member for Anson before I touch on the points raised by a number of Members concerning the priority for registration scheme. The Member for Anson said that "the Ministry of Education is a singular failure." Those were the words he used. Let me tell him that every year several thousand foreign students want to get into our schools and they are prepared to pay between $6,000 and $10,000 as a levy for the privilege of coming to study in schools in Singapore. I think he should ask them whether they think our education system is a singular failure or not. Over the past few years, as a result of the new education policy, there has been a reduction in the drop-out rates in the primary schools of between four and five times and in secondary schools there has been a reduction of about four times in the drop-out rates. If you take the figures in absolute terms, 13,000 students have been saved each year from becoming drop-outs.”
“It will be adequate for him to carry on a conversation or to read popular publications and to write letters. I think these are realistic goals set for the Second Language. There will always be argument that these goals are not high enough and others will argue that these goals are too high. But let me just say this. For those who say that the goals are not high enough and want to see a much higher standard of Second Language in our schools, the consequences of such a policy will be that the failure rate will simply go up. And with a high failure rate, interest in the Second Language will diminish and the very thing that the proponents of high standards fear most would come to pass, namely, that the language will suffer a demise sooner than they fear. So I think we have to teach the Second Language at a realistic level, and we will continue to maintain that level in our schools. I would also like to inform the Member for Leng Kee that the teaching of Language in schools is not just a matter of learning the grammar and the vocabulary, but it also involves the learning of passages from the classics, the imbibing of moral education, the learning of vocabulary that is useful to daily life. So I do not think that there should be any fear that the inculcation of moral values is being neglected in our schools even though most of our students now study Chinese as the Second Language. 5.00 pm The Member for Rochore asked a question about the students going to the polytechnics, and he asked why the 2,000 students who were eligible for the junior colleges chose to go to the polytechnics rather than to junior college, One of the main reasons for this - and there are a number of reasons - is that these are students who are generally weak in English.”
“Nevertheless, it would be useful for me to give the Member some information on the number of students who were affected before this new NUS policy was announced. In the 1982 'A' level, 3,844 students met the NUS cut-off points for admission. 155 of them, or 4%, did not meet the NUS criteria for Second Language. These data show that the percentage adversely affected are small. I would like to turn to the remarks made by the Member for Leng Kee, also on Second Language, Chinese in particular. I understand his concern and the concern of many other people over the future of the Chinese Language. This is a debate which I am certain will go on for quite some time. The question that he is interested in is, what is the Ministry of Education doing regarding the teaching of Second Language, in this case CL2, in our schools; and how is the Ministry ensuring that our students are learning it adequately. The wider issues, I think the Member for Leng Kee will agree with me, really rest with many other areas in the home, in the mass media, in society itself. So I will confine my remarks to what the Ministry of Education is doing. The basic objective of our Second Language policy is to enable students to be functionally literate in the speaking and understanding of the language, in reading of the language and, lastly, in the writing of the language. These objectives have been reduced to very specific criteria in the syllabuses for the Second Language. For example, in CL2, a student who completes Secondary 4 would have had to study a minimum of 3,000 characters and 200 idiomatic expressions. These criteria are more than adequate for him to read the daily newspaper which uses on the average 2,400 characters.”
“So the first point I want to make is that our students, contrary to expectation, are coping very well with Second Language and are having difficulty in coping with English. If any concern should be shown, it should be in the area of how to improve the learning of English. The Member asked some specific questions in the last Budget debate and I feel that I owe him an answer to his specific questions. He asked what percentage of students have failed to get into junior college after 'O' level because of their second Language. To get into a junior college, a student must achieve 17 points or less in English as a First Language and four other subjects. He should also achieve a minimum grade of 7 in the Second Language. The latest result I have, which was 1982's result, because we have not yet analysed 1983's result, is that 5,457 obtained 17 points. And of that number, 2.5% did not meet the Second Language requirement for junior college. However, even if these students did not meet the Second Language requirement, should they obtain 15 points or better, they were allowed to go to junior college on a provisional basis so that they could continue with their studies and attempt the Second Language while in junior college. As far as the National University of Singapore is concerned, the Member knows that from last November, the NUS has made it possible for students who failed to meet their Second Language requirement to go on to the University provided they meet the cut-off points and other criteria of admission. But before such students are allowed to graduate with a degree, they have to pass the Second Language while they are in the University.”
“Sir, Members have raised a number of quite different issues, and I propose to take them in groups. I would like to touch on the issue raised by the Member for Rochore and the Member for Leng Kee together because they have touched on the Second Language. The Member for Rochore referred to the debate in 1979 and the questions he raised then and which he raised again last year at the Budget debate concerning the Second Language, and the effect this would have on the students going from 'O' level to 'A' and from 'A' level to the University. That is his main concern. I would like to answer the questions that he has raised by giving him some information. I think the Member knows from the data that have been published year after year that Second Language, in particular CL2, is a subject which is not a difficult one if you measure it by the performance of our students at PSLE, at 'O' level, and even at 'A' level. Information has been published over a number of years now and they show quite convincingly that our students generally do not have difficulty, and the majority passed the subject. For example, at PSLE, the passing rate for the Second Lang e CL2 is in the region of 97% or 9 8 % . This has been the case for a number of years. At 'O' level, the passing rate for CL2 is in the region of 88%. At 'AO' level, when the students do it at junior college, the passing rate is about 77%. In fact, in contrast to the Second Language, the passing rate of the first language, ie English, has always been on the low side. And we have also drawn the attention of our schools to this. We have also drawn the attention of our own Curriculum Development Institute to this problem, and the problem is being tackled.”
“As for gifted children, the Member says if you ask parents to stop at two you might be reducing the potential supply of gifted children, particularly if the parents come from a lower educated background. There is no guarantee, Sir, that if you produce 10 or 20 children, you will have gifted children among them. It is not a matter of chance or a matter of lottery, that by producing more children you may hit upon a gifted child. It is much more complicated than that. We have plenty of evidence to show that children of large families generally do worse, as far as PSLE and all the other examinations in school are concerned, when compared with families which have two or three children. So if you take into account influences of nature or nurture and so on, it does not follow from what the Member says, ie, that if you allow people to have large families then you simply have a better chance of raising a bigger crop of gifted children. But I would just like to remind him of one important point that ha?, come out from the first batch of gifted children. I said that 21 came from parents who are University educated and the parents comprise only 1.03% of the cohort. Well, if you want to increase the number of gifted children, one way might be to increase the number of 1.03% to perhaps 2%, or to increase the number of people who have gone to University and you will increase also the number of gifted children potentially in the future.”
“Sir, the first point about bursaries. I think the Member knows that the school advisory committees raise a considerable amount of money every year which they disburse to needy children in their own schools as bursaries, precisely to serve the purpose mentioned by the Member. Not only that, I think the constituencies, the CCCs and so on, themselves are doing this. So there is plenty, as far as provision is concerned. He said that with rising incomes, the $350 margin is no longer realistic. I imagine he is saying that we should raise the boundary. But surely is it not the case that with rising incomes there will be less need for such free textbooks and grants? On question about why men do not want to become teachers, this is a very interesting and difficult question to answer. I have done some opinion survey myself when I talked to friends and colleagues who have sons, and I asked them outright: Would you like your son to be a teacher? The reaction usually is hesitant. Then they think of other things that the son can do. Maybe the son will become an accountant or a businessman or University lecturer and so on. So there are all these alternatives before them. It is not a matter of more publicity or a matter of persuasion. There are all these options before him. A generation ago, our parents, many of whom had little opportunity, found teaching to be one of the best professions. And so a generation ago we were fortunate in having a whole crop of very good teachers in our schools. But as we progress, as job opportunities grow, and career opportunities open up, I am afraid the Ministry of Education, like any other employer, has to compete on the open market for talent.”
“His last point, Sir, is on the incidence of suicide or psychiatric problems. He added as a link that this might be the result of the new education programme. I am not prepared to discuss whether you can relate one to the other. I think in any large group of students, and we have half a million in our schools, there will be a very small number who suffer from psychiatric problems of one kind or another. In the case of suicide, I have no record of any young children that have committed suicide in recent years in Singapore. But, for his information, as far as psychiatric disorders are concerned, the following data was provided by the Child Psychiatric Unit, and this covers three years from 1981 to 1983. The total number of students or pupils referred to the Child Psychiatric Unit in 1981 was 480. In 1982, it was 595 and in 1983 it dropped to 557. There may be a slight increase but there is fluctuation from year to year.”
“He brought up the subject of gifted children and asked if children from the lower educated home backgrounds can be selected for the gifted programme or if something can be done to identify and select them for the gifted programme. In fact, in the first exercise conducted last year for the two levels, for the gifted programme there were a number who came from such a background. For example, in the 100 that were selected for the Primary Six/Secondary One programme, nine came from such a background, if you take primary and no education of the parents as the criteria. The selection is entirely on merit and is on an island-wide basis. The first stage of screening and the second stage of testing are done on pure merit and no weightage or bias of any kind is introduced in the test. So in that sense every child stands an equal chance of being considered for the programme. It is correct, from the figures, that in absolute terms, the larger number comes from parents who are not graduates. You can see from the Primary Six selection, that out of the 100, 21 came from parents who are graduates, whereas 79 came from parents who are not graduates. His observation is correct, in that sense. But I think he should also note that the 21 who came from graduate parents, as far as the overall cohort is concerned, only 1.03% of all parents of that cohort are graduate parents. So it is clear that they are over- represented or that they are more highly represented in the gifted programme than children of other background. We will continue to administer this programme in an impartial and in a fair way, based entirely on merit. I can assure the Member that there will be children who come from such a background who will get into the programme and benefit from it.”
“It is a problem faced by most other developed countries. As the Member is an economist, I think he understands full well the reasons for this because with so many employment opportunities available to the young men and women, particularly young men, teaching is only one of the many options that they have, even though the salary is comparable with that of many other jobs outside. But it is not necessarily a bad thing that there should be more women teachers than male teachers particularly in the primary schools. Because in the case of young children, the rapport that can be established between the teacher and the children is as important a part as that of pedagogy and teaching. 3.45 pm Nonetheless the Ministry is looking into this situation. In the selection of trainees for the Institute of Education, all things being equal, a little bit more preference is given to male applicants than female applicants in the selection for training. His fourth point was that of resignation of teachers because of ECA. We have no record of such a resignation, although it is possible that somebody has given it as a reason when he spoke to the Member for Whampoa. But as far as official reasons for resignation are concerned, nobody has ever put it doWn that it was because of ECA. It is possible that some male teachers feel that having to do ECA in the National Cadet Corps or the National Police Cadet Corps is a bit onerous. But there is a release scheme for teachers who have served as officers in these Corps for a number of years to be released from the Corps so that it is not seen as a life-long commitment. Since the introduction of this release scheme, there has been a steady gradual change of officers, a renewal of officers when new ones become available.”
“Until today in the case of primary schools, the whole sum of $50,000 has not been expended. Only $30,800 was spent. In the case of secondary schools, $25,900 was spent out of the $50,000. So in the provisions, we have provided for $35,000 which we feel is adequate. The conditions under which pupils can apply for this fund are quite straight-forward. They are related to the income of the family. In the case where the total income is less than $250, the school principal can approve such grants. And in the case where the income is less than $350, the application has to come to the Ministry for a final decision. On bursaries for school children, in the case of primary school children as the Member knows, primary school children do not pay school fees. They only pay miscellaneous fees. So there is no question of a waiver on fees for primary school children. But there is a half payment of miscellaneous fees again for children who come from needy families. The rules for this are well laid down. It can be made available to any member of the public. On school tuckshops, the rules governing the employment of people or allocation of tuckshop places are again very well known. They are available to any Member of Parliament who wishes to get hold of them. The guidelines are very similar to those laid down by the Housing and Development Board and by the Ministry of the Environment. Hardship cases are taken into account in some of these applications. His next point is that of female teachers. He is quite right in observing that something like two-thirds of our teachers are female teachers, more so in the primary schools than in the secondary schools. In the first place, this is a world-wide problem .It is not something that is peculiar to Singapore.”
“Thank you, Sir. May I first reply to the points raised by the Member for Kebun Baru? He is quite right that my Ministry has decided to implement the dollar-for-dollar scheme to help secondary schools to increase the number of micro-computers for their computer clubs. In fact, approval has been given by the Ministry of Finance for the funds. So we are going ahead with this scheme. And if the Member can inform the principal of the secondary school who was turned down to come back again to the Ministry, I am certain he will receive a very sympathetic hearing. As far as the donations from the community are concerned, of course we encourage the community to help schools as much as possible in this project, and not only in this project but also in other school projects. For his information, there is, in fact, tax exemption for such donations if they are channelled through the School Advisory Committee in the case of Government schools. In the case of the aided schools, tax exemption is possible if the donations are channelled through the education fund but made known that they are for the computer clubs or for any other purpose for the school use. Sir, I hope I have answered the Member's queries on this point. I would like now to turn to the points raised by the Member for Whampoa. His first question concerns free textbooks. He asked why it is that in the budget proposals the Ministry has reduced the allocation for free textbooks. I would like to refer to the amount of money that we gave to pupils for free textbooks in the financial year that has just passed. Last year, a sum of $50,000 was allocated for free textbooks for primary schools and a similar sum for free textbooks and textbooks for loan in secondary schools.”
“The Bill accordingly seeks to give effect to such reciprocal arrangements between Singapore and Brunei Darussalam. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Prof. S. Jayakumar]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. ROAD TRAFFIC (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 2.58 pm”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the Member for Anson has a very narrow view of education. We take a much wider view of education in which we believe that education embraces all curriculum matters in school. It embraces sports. It embraces education in social responsibility and citizenship. So whether we have put the word "sports" before "education" in the Act or whether we have put the words the other way round, I do not think there is any doubt at all in our minds what our objectives for the Institute of Education are, and the Member can rest assured that we will not lose sight of these objectives. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Dr Tay Eng Soon]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 2.55 pm The Acting Minister for Labour (Prof. S. Jayakumar): Mr Speaker, Sir, on behalf o the Minister for Law, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code provides for reciprocal arrangements with Malaysia relating to the execution or service of a Magistrate's warrant or summons. Such a warrant or summons issued in Malaysia against any person who is believed to be in Singapore may, if endorsed by a Magistrate in Singapore, be executed or served in Singapore. Similar provisions exist for the execution or service in Malaysia of a Magistrate's warrant or summons issued in Singapore. Brunei Darussalam has proposed that similar arrangements be made between Singapore and Brunei Darussalam. This proposal has been accepted by the Singapore Government.”
“Opportunity is also taken at this time to move several other amendments to the Institute of Education Act, the most important of which is the composition of the membership of the Institute of Education Council. The amendment allows the Minister in charge of the Institute of Education to appoint members in their personal capacity instead of the present provisions in which members are appointed as representatives of specific organizations. This will give more flexibility to the Minister to appoint members to the Institute of Education Council. The amendments will not in any way affect the powers of the Institute of Education Council nor the position of the Director of the Institute of Education as the Head of the Statutory Organization. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 2.50 pm”
“Our major constraint is not enough qualified physical education teachers. At present, we have only 60 physical education teachers who have undergone full-time courses overseas. A well-run physical education programme in our secondary schools and junior colleges alone would require 700 full-time physical education teachers. To meet this need, my Ministry has decided to set up a College of Physical Education. An autonomous college would be able to focus its full attention on all aspects of physical education. It will not only be training teachers for our schools. It will also be working with bodies such as the Singapore Armed Forces, the Singapore Sports Council, the People's Association and the Police to meet their physical education manpower needs. As leisure needs in Singapore increase in the future, it is conceivable that coaches, sports club administrators and others will be in demand. The Physical Education College would have a growing role as a centre for training and research. The planning for the new Physical Education College is in an advanced stage and key personnel have been appointed. The first intake of about 50 students will take place in July this year. The College will be located at the Institute of Education campus at Bukit Timah Road with which it will be sharing facilities. The proposed amendments to the Institute of Education Act are to enable the Institute of Education Council to establish autonomous colleges such as the Physical Education College in addition to the Institute of Education. The college or colleges will be directly responsible to the Institute of Education Council and the head of the college will be a member of the council.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The amendment to the Institute of Education Act is connected mainly with my Ministry's plan to set up a Physical Education College. In 1969, Professor Sasaki, a Japanese expert in Physical Education, visited Singapore to study our school physical education programme. Among some of his observations of our school children, he noted that they were not getting enough strenuous exercise. Many of our school fields were empty compared with Japanese school fields. He also commented: "Compared to Japanese children, there are many slim boys and girls in Singapore." He was referring to their thin arms and legs. That was in 1969, 15 years ago. Today, with better diet, our children are not as slim as when Professor Sasaki saw them. But the need for a proper physical education programme in our schools continues to exist. The need is not only to improve the physical fitness of our urban flat-dwelling children and to prepare the boys to be more fit for National Service. Good physical education would improve overall the health of our people and cut down on our national health cost. The recreational and social aspects of physical education would have far-reaching benefits as our society becomes more affluent and can afford leisure activities. Professor Sasaki recommended that a physical education college should be set up to train full-time physical education teachers if we wanted to give physical education its due priority in our schools. Unfortunately, we had many other more pressing matters in education in the years after the Sasaki report. However, three years ago, we decided to address the problem of physical education and to give it due priority in our schools.”
“There is no insuperable difficulty to compute the results requested by the Member for Anson - only that it costs time and money. The data requested by the Member for Anson will cost the taxpayer $1,300 to extract. Unless the information serves a clear purpose, the Ministry does not carry out analyses of the type requested as there is great pressure on computer time for priority work. The Member for Anson can readily estimate the results he requires from the data provided to him on 20 Dec 1983. The passing rates for the subject combinations can be easily estimated by making use of a well-known probability formula. Thus, for example, given that the passing rate for EL1 and Maths C are 43.8% and 73.3% respectively (in 1982), the passing rate for EL1 and Maths C taken together is around 32% (i.e. 43.8% X 73.3%). But in fact there is a positive correlation between passing EL1 and Maths and in this case the combined pass rate is higher at around 38%. The passing rate for EL1, Maths C and CL2 taken together can be similarly estimated. The main point is that EL1 is the weakest subject and hence any subject grouping including EL1 would be pulled down by the EL1 results. MEALS FOR CLASS 'C' PATIENTS 2. Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam asked the Minister for Health whether (a) under the new scale of hospital fees Class 'C' patients will only be charged for meals actually taken by them whilst in hospital or will they be charged a flat rate as under the previous scale regardless of whether they take their meals from the hospital or not; and (b) patients will be allowed to have food brought from their homes if they think the cost of meals at the hospitals is prohibitive for them.”
“The Member for Nee Soon has asked whether the suffix "2" could be dropped from CL2, ML2 and TL2. For the next few years, there will still be many students in our schools doing L1 and L2. Dropping the suffix at this stage may create confusion among the schools. At a later date, if necessary, it would be possible to do so. MR PHEY YEW KOK (Steps to secure return to Singapore to stand trial) 4. Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam asked the Minister for Home Affairs what further progress has been made by the police to obtain or secure the return to this country of the former President of the National Trades Union Congress to stand trial upon the charges instituted against him and on which he jumped bail or have the police closed their file on this and given up all efforts to find him and bring him back.”
“Between the 1970 and 1980 census, the total percentage of Singapore Chinese who are bilingual rose from 11.8% to 29.6%, an increase of 2,3-fold. Thus, the number who are bilingual is growing steadily each year. I would now like to turn to the specific questions that the Member for Nee Soon has asked. A student who has completed CL2 at Sec 4 would have mastered about 3,000 characters. This should readily enable him to read the daily newspapers and general books, to discuss general topics in Chinese, and to write letters and short essays. As I mentioned in my reply to the Member for Boon Teck, my Ministry has taken a number of measures to ensure that the teaching of CL2 is improved. The standard of CL2 is carefully specified in the CL2 syllabus and in the new textbooks produced by CDIS. The syllabus prescribes a minimum of 3,000 characters and 200 idiomatic expressions that must be learnt by a student by the time he reaches Sec 4. The 'O' level CL2 examination is set and moderated by an independent panel from the Chinese Studies Department of NUS to ensure that the standard is maintained. The number of periods given to CL2 in primary and secondary levels is also prescribed. In primary schools, it is 8 to 10 periods per week depending on the level, while in secondary schools, it is 6 periods per week. Schools are, however, given some latitude to adjust the number of periods up or down by one period per week depending on the particular need of individual classes in the school. Thus, for example, many schools run extra remedial classes for their weak pupils. Extra Chinese language exposure time is also given to the pupils through subjects such as moral education and art and craft.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, first of all, I want to thank the Member for Nee Soon for raising specific questions concerning the teaching of CL2. This gives me the opportunity to clear some doubts which have arisen in the media concerning the standard of CL2. But before I answer his questions, I want to take this opportunity to clear up two misconceptions which have arisen since the recent announcement that by 1987, all our schools will be of the national type teaching ELl and mother tongue as second language. The first misconception is the belief by some that the mother tongue, especially Chinese, is now no longer important. This is not so. CL2 is important. The bilingual policy remains unchanged. CL2 will continue to be given due weightage at PSLE and 'O' level for progress into secondary and Pre-U levels. At the NUS, students who are admitted without the pre-requisite of D7 in CL2 will have to pass a Chinese proficiency examination before they are allowed to graduate. The second misconception is that the termination of the Chinese medium stream by 1987 means that the future of Chinese language in Singapore is in doubt. This again is not so. The bilingual policy will ensure that Chinese is taught and learnt to the same level as it is today. Over the past decade, the majority of our school leavers have been through the bilingual system. Today, mote people than ever before are bilingual, especially the younger generation. Let me quote some statistics from the 1980 census. For those aged 40 and above, only 7% are literate and bilingual in English and Chinese. For those between 30 and 39 years of age, 19% are bilingual. For those between 15 and 29 years of age, 35% are bilingual.”
“To ensure that the language is relevant to daily life, the textbooks also contain topics related to social and economic aspects of life, To encourage the use of the mother tongue, all moral education classes are taught in the mother tongue in the primary schools. At the secondary level, moral education classes are taught either in English or in the mother tongue. Recognizing that there is a shortage of supplementary reading materials in the mother tongue languages, CDIS as well as private publishers are producing a growing list of new titles. Schools have been encouraged to organize their own "Speak Your School Languages" campaigns, including the mother tongue. I can therefore assure the Member for Boon Teck that my Ministry is aware of the need and is making every effort to encourage the teaching and the use of the mother tongue in our schools. CHINESE LANGUAGE 2 AT 'O' LEVEL (Standard of Pass grade) 3. Dr Koh Lip Lin asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education (a) what is the standard of a passing grade in Chinese Language 2 (CL2) at 'O' level and whether a student who has passed CL2 at 'O' level be able to read Chinese newspapers and general books and write reasonable Chinese; (b) what steps his Ministry has taken, with the introduction of a new national stream education system, to ensure that the quality of teaching and the standard of CL2 will not decline in future; (c) whether there is a minimum number of hours assigned to the teaching of CL2 in schools; and (d) whether his Ministry will consider replacing the names CL2, Malay Language 2 (ML2) and Tamil Language 2 (TL2) with CL, ML and TL, respectively.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, for the vast majority of our pupils, the learning of the mother tongue as a second language is not difficult. Last year, the passing rate for CL2, ML2 and TL2 at PSLE was around 97%. At 10, level, the corresponding passing rate was around 87%. Therefore, there is no decline in the interest or ability of our students to study the mother tongue in the vast majority of cases. Nevertheless, my Ministry has taken a number of steps to further improve the teaching of the mother tongue and to promote its use in our schools. The main improvement is in the new textbooks, audio visual materials and teaching methods which have been and are being developed by CDIS. Project teams have been formed for CL2, ML2 and TL2. For example, the teaching of CL2 in primary schools has been significantly improved by the use of the new CLIPS materials for primary schools. The CLIPS materials are a major departure from earlier materials. Apart from being more interesting, the materials also give greater emphasis to listening, speaking and reading skills in addition to writing skills. Studies by CDIS and the Institute of Education show that, on the whole, pupils taught with the CLIPS approach score about 12% higher than those taught by non-CLIPS methods. The CLIPS series has reached Primary 6 level this year. Similar projects are in progress for secondary CL2 materials and for the ML2 and TL2 courses. The second language textbooks are not just grammar books. They also contain many stories taken from the classics which are intended to impart moral and cultural values. As much as 77% of their contents are on moral and cultural topics.”
“Sir, I would welcome an invitation, but it is a matter of time before I can comply. We have over 450 schools, and I have been visiting some schools. LANGUAGE PROGRAMMES IN CHINESE, MALAY AND TAMIL (Measures to enrich) 2. Mr Liew Kok Pun asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education what measures are being taken or will be taken, in view of the rapidly declining enrolment in non-English streams, to enrich the language programme in Chinese, Malay and Tamil and to promote their study in schools in order that they be given their proper place and that future generations of Singaporeans are not culturally uprooted.”
“Another fear was that the children might become arrogant. These concerns have arisen in gifted programmes in other countries, With proper curriculum, teaching methods and close cooperation between teachers and parents, they can be overcome. Some parents have asked how teachers are selected and trained. There are, in fact, very few formal courses anywhere on teaching the gifted. The teachers will be working very closely with the project team and the project consultants. This is the approach used in other countries, such as Israel. The teachers have been selected on the basis of their teaching ability and their commitment to the programme. OPERATION SENJATA 6.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the selection examinations at both Primary 3 and Primary 6 levels have been successfully carried out. One hundred Primary 3 pupils have been selected. Offers have been made to the parents of these children for them to join the gifted education programme. The results of the Primary 6 selection examination are being processed now. Pupils who have been selected for this programme will be informed sometime during this week. The schools involved are ready for the programme. The 30 teachers for the gifted classes have been selected and will undergo an induction course with our consultant, Dr Phua Swee Liang, towards the end of December. Teaching activities for the gifted programme have been worked out by the project team. The team members, together with the project consultant, will be working very closely with the teachers in the implementation of the programme. Concerning representations and reservations expressed, these have come mainly from parents whose children are involved in the project. The main concern of many of the parents of the selected Primary 3 pupils was the distance of Rosyth and Raffles Girls Primary Schools from their homes and the difficulty in arranging for transport for their children. The pupils come from all over Singapore, ranging from Woodlands, Pasir Ris and Jurong. However, since this is a pilot project and the number of pupils involved is small, it is not possible to have more than two schools involved at this stage. The Ministry is arranging chartered buses for these children. Some parents also expressed concern about the possible harmful effects of the programme on their children. This may arise if the children are given too much to do or if they are over-pressured by their own parents.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, we will favourably consider the request of the Association for Educationally Subnormal Children when they approach us. "GIFTED CHILDREN'S PROJECT" (Progress report) 5.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Government has given and will continue to give assistance to voluntary organizations in the education of the educationally subnormal and other handicapped children. The Government's policy is to encourage the efforts of the voluntary organizations which are running the special schools and to support them wherever possible. The Ministry of Education seconds teachers to the special schools at the rate of one teacher for every 25 pupils. The Ministry of Social Affairs provides instructors for the School for the Blind and the School for the Deaf. The Ministries of Social Affairs and Health give annual grants to the special schools to meet part of their recurrent expenditure. Presently, 66 Government teachers, five relief teachers and 11 instructors are deployed to the special schools. Seven of these teachers are in schools run by the Association for Educationally Subnormal Children. The total Government subsidy per pupil in the special schools taking into account the grant provided, the teachers and instructors provided, is $1,879 per pupil in 1983. This is 47% more than the subsidy of $1,274 per pupil in the regular primary schools in 1983. In terms of physical facilities, three school buildings have been made available to the special schools at nominal rental. Two of these schools are run by the Association for Educationally Subnormal Children, At the request of the Association, the Institute of Education will be conducting a course for special education teachers, including teachers of the educationally subnormal from January 1984. The course is a three-year part-time course leading to the Certificate in Special Education.”
“The number of foreign students (both undergraduate and postgraduate) who are enrolled at the NUS for the academic year 1983-84 is as follows: Faculty Total Total no. of % Enrolment Foreign Students (as at 25 July 1983) Arts/Social Sciences 2841 338 11.9 Science 2431 621 25.5 Medicine 967 179 18.5 Dentistry 156 22 14.1 Law 606 94 15.5 Business Admin/ Accountancy 2840 254 8.9 Architecture/ Building 874 184 21.1 Engineering 2314 611 26.4 _____ ____ ____ 13029 2303 17.7 ----- ---- ---- SINGAPORE GOVERNMENT EQUITY PARTICIPATION IN COMPANIES 2. Dr Toh Chin Chye asked the Minister for Finance a list of companies which are private or quoted on the stock exchange in which the Singapore government has equity participation, the paid up capital of these companies and the percentage share of the government in their equity.”
“Thank you, Sir. Sir, given that the Member for Anson has come up with a hotch-potch of issues on education betraying his lack of depth of comprehension of education, all I can say is that he needs some education himself. We will be happy, as patiently as possible in the future, to educate him and enlighten him on any aspect of the education system that we have. We have an open system. We are prepared to explain all our policies in public and we have done so in this House repeatedly. The Question having been proposed at two minutes past Six o'clock p.m. and the Debate having continued for half an hour, Mr Deputy Speaker adjourned the House without Question put, pursuant to the Standing Order. Adjourned accordingly at Thirty- two minutes past Six o'clock p.m. to a date to be fixed.”
“Read the blue book. Has he read the Goh Keng Swee Report of 1979? I would pass it to him now. It does not just contain recommendations. It contains also the history of our education and the issues on education. I think it would be very educational for him.”
“I think it is a typical approach that this Member has taken in this House on almost any issue that is beyond his comprehension. He calls for a commission, a tribunal, to look at the whole thing.”
“And they come at a period of time which meets the needs because in the first month or so of any school year, there are adjustments that have to be made because of the movements of students from one school to another from the previous year and also of transfers of teachers from the previous year. So their service is indeed welcome for that one month or so. On the whole, relief teachers are doing a pretty good job in our schools. In fact, many of them do go on to join the Institute of Education to become trained teachers. Roughly, about half the number of students taken in by the Institute of Educa- tion each year to be trained as teachers have had relief teaching experience in the past. So this is an indication that the relief teachers who are in our schools are persons of some ability. Granted there are relief teachers who do not have the minimum requirements for entry into the Institute of Education. There is a very small number of them. Their service in teaching is not long-term. They do leave. The Member spoke about charging $3 for primary school pupils and $9.50 for secondary school pupils, as if this is something which is very wrong; as if it is wrong for Government to charge students a nominal fee to come to school. Let me inform him that the $3 that is paid by primary school pupils goes into the School Fund. It is called Miscellaneous Fees and it is used for many of the things that go on in the school, for ECA activities, for art materials and so on. This is something which no parent would grudge because it is going immediately to the pupils for their benefit. I reject completely his suggestion that there should be a commission of inquiry on education or a commission on education.”
“There has been a three-fold reduction in the number of primary school pupils dropping out of the system. In the secondary school system which has only reached Secondary 1 and 2 as far as the new system is concerned, there is already a five-fold reduction. We are beginning to see improvements. He talks of the old system as being wonderful and so on. It had its flaws because it went through rapid evolution. There was loss due to failure. I think he does not know what he is talking about when he tries to make comparisons between now and the past. On the subject of relief teachers, I do not believe that there is any education system in the world that does not have to have relief teachers to meet their contingencies and their needs. It is not a situation that we are entirely happy with because, first, it represents a shortage of teachers that we have. Secondly, even if we do have the full complement of teachers, the need for relief teachers will still exist because we have teachers who have to go on maternity leave, we have teachers who have to go on sick leave, study leave and so on. These short-term interruptions in staffing have to be met, and one of the ways is to have relief teachers. The selection of relief teachers is done with some care, minimum 'O' level. In fact, the majority of relief teachers who join our teaching force have 'A' levels. They are students. Many of them have 'A' levels who are waiting for entry into the University. For the six months of the year, they are available as relief teachers.”