Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Singapore
“EDB conducts regular reviews to GIP to ensure its effectiveness in attracting only top-tier business leaders who are interested to drive the growth of their businesses and investments from Singapore.”
“MAS may vary the size of the additional capital requirement imposed on the bank and take other regulatory actions depending on the outcome of ongoing reviews. MAS requires all retail banks in Singapore to ensure that their mission critical systems supporting digital banking are resilient.”
“This question will be answered in the reply to Dr Tan Wu Meng's Parliamentary Question filed for tomorrow's Sitting. [Please refer to "Probe into Recent Disruptions of DBS' Digital Bank and Physical ATM Services and Preventive Measures Implemented", Official Report, 5 July 2023, Vol 95, Issue 107, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Ans…”
“Borrowing from the banks is one of the ways in which MAS carries out MMOs to soak up such excess liquidity. Like other central banks, MAS does this daily through an auction system, enabling MAS to withdraw liquidity through the Primary Dealers that submit the most competitive prices.”
“To mitigate consumer over-indebtedness, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) requires financial institutions (FIs) to implement a range of safeguards when extending mortgage loans and unsecured credit.”
“The Monetary Authority of Singapore imposes on external asset managers the same stringent regulatory standards for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism that it imposes on banks.”
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“(a) Schools monitor the academic performance and progress of all Normal (Technical) students from Secondary 1. Those who display the aptitude and ability for academic courses are coached and given additional assignments to help motivate them to continue to do well in their studies. (b) Since the first graduating cohort in 1997, 6 cohorts* of Normal (Technical) students have completed their secondary education. On average, based on the Secondary 1 cohorts of Normal (Technical) students: (i) About 84% (5,936 students)+ graduate with Secondary 4 (Normal) qualifications; (ii) About 47% (3,519 students)^ later graduate with ITE qualifications; (iii) About 3% (221 students)# graduate with 'O' Level qualifications. ____________________________________________ * Each cohort consists of an average of 7,046 students. + Average of figures for 1994-1999 cohorts (6 cohorts). ^ Average of figures for 1994-1996 cohorts (3 cohorts). # Average of figures for 1994-1998 cohorts (5 cohorts). Secondary 5 (Normal) students sit for "O" level examinations. * Each cohort consists of an average of 7046 students. + Average of figures for 1994 - 1999 cohorts (6 cohorts) ^ Average of figures for 1994 -1996 cohorts (3 cohorts) # Average of figures for 1994 - 1998 cohorts (5 cohorts). Sec 5 (Normal) students sit for "O" levels examinations. APPENDICES”
“First, I should say that the teachers who are involved in teaching sexuality education are specially chosen and specially trained, and they are backed up by a cross-disciplinary team, including Ministry of Education guidance specialists, psychologists, medical and even legal professionals. Obviously, when it comes to a case of actual pregnancy, it is something which requires very specific counselling, and we do refer our students to counsellors who are trained for the purpose. EN-BLOC DEVELOPMENT SALES 10. Mr Tan Soo Khoon asked the Minister for Law whether he will take steps to ensure in cases of en-bloc development sales that (a) all owners of strata units in a development are informed (i) progressively and on a regular basis of the percentage of owners who have given consent for the sale prior to reaching the required approval percentage and (ii) of further developments on the proposed en-bloc sale regardless of whether they had given their consent or not; and (b) a maximum period for the required percentage approval to be obtained be specified, and where this cannot be obtained, a reasonable period should lapse before another attempt to obtain approval is made.”
“Sir, the incidence of teenage pregnancy and abortion among school-going teenage girls is not rising. The number has, in fact, fallen slightly over the last three years for all females aged 17 and below, and remained fairly constant for those aged 18-19. The sexuality education provided in our schools aims to provide pupils with essential knowledge about sexuality matters, including consequences of teenage sexual activity, pregnancy and abortion. It equips them with the skills to make informed and responsible choices on sexuality matters. It also challenges teenagers to re-examine their values and attitudes on issues and persuade them to adopt a more value-based standard. Sexuality education in schools should help, but will not be a panacea. There are many factors involved in teenage pregnancy and abortion. They include a lack of family support and cohesiveness, sexual abuse and a lack of understanding of responsibilities in relationships. It is a complex issue. It is early days to assess the impact of the sexuality education programme. But teachers have reported that our pupils have responded well. Pupils' responses to pre- and post-programme questionnaires indicate significant increase in their understanding of sexuality matters, including the negative consequences of teenage sexual activity. We are also getting good support from our parents. Although parents have the choice to opt their children out of the sexuality education programme, the opt-out rate is less than 1%. We will continue to monitor the overall impact of the programme on pupils' sexual values and attitudes, which will take longer to ascertain.”
“All of them have substantive responsibilities.”
“We created this new appointment because of the grave threat posed by terrorism. The threat cuts across the work of many Ministries, and requires overarching supervision. Dr Tan chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Security and Defence. Dr Tan is also in charge of university education. In addition, he chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Developing Research and Professional Manpower. (4) Minister Lee Yock Suan, as Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, helps the Foreign Minister in policy issues as well as some of his many overseas travels and meetings. The Ministerial appointment in PMO is to reflect Mr Lee's status as a senior member of the Cabinet. It carries more weight when he represents Singapore overseas than the title of Second Minister for Foreign Affairs. (5) Minister Lim Boon Heng is the Secretary-General of the NTUC. Because of the important role our workers play in the economy, the NTUC Secretary-General holds an appointment in PMO. He reflects the views of workers to the Cabinet. In turn, he transmits the thinking of the Government on economic and labour-related issues to the unions. (6) For the same reason, Mr Matthias Yao Chih, Deputy Secretary-General of NTUC, is a Senior Minister of State in PMO. Lastly, Minister Lim Hng Kiang is Minister in PMO and Second Minister for Finance. Within PMO, he looks after the issues of aging population, marriage and procreation, and the attraction of international talent to Singapore. These population-related issues are crucial to the long-term survival and prosperity of the country, and they cut across several Ministries. Mr Lim also runs the day-to-day affairs of the Ministry of Finance. There are no immediate plans to reduce the number of senior political appointments in the Government.”
“MOE would not provide subventions to a privately-funded university, for instance, a foreign university attracted by EDB. Whether EDB provides some incentives for this university or any other educational institution that they seek to attract to Singapore is a separate matter. That is a broader matter of investment promotion and building Singapore as an education hub. MOE does not intend to subsidise the education provided by any private university or any private education provider generally. POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS IN GOVERNMENT 8. Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong asked the Prime Minister (a) what are (i) the reasons for keeping so many Ministers in the Prime Minister's Office and (ii) the duties and responsibilities assigned for each of these Ministers; and (b) whether the number of senior political appointments in Government can be cut to reduce Government expenditures. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (Mr Lee Hsien Loong) (for the Prime Minister): Sir, there are seven Ministers in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), excluding the Prime Minister. Each one has specific duties and responsibilities. (1) Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The Cabinet taps Senior Minister's wealth of experience, knowledge and insights on a wide range of issues. Senior Minister is also the Chairman of GIC, the Government investment management company which invests Singapore's foreign reserves. (2) Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is the Minister for Finance and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He is under PMO because he also looks after the Public Service Division, which handles the personnel matters and policies of public officers. (3) Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan is the Co-ordinating Minister for Security and Defence.”
“I would not at all assume that the students who enter the campus of a foreign university would be superior in quality to those entering our existing publicly-funded universities. I do not have any reason to expect that. In fact, I do not expect that. Assoc. Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang (Nominated Member): Sir, I would like to ask the Minister, in view of international universities coming in, together with our local universities, would there be an accreditation body for universities that will be set up so that we can regulate matters, like quality and curriculum? Otherwise, there will be some disparity over time and it is very hard then to try to make sure that we are of comparable standards. Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: Singapore is a small city. We have only a few universities. I think rather than set up an elaborate system for accrediting the quality of universities, it is more useful if, first, within our publicly-funded universities, MOE works with the universities to establish that they have a good quality assurance system in place. There is a high degree of transparency about the quality of degrees in Singapore. Employers know the universities, they know the different faculties in the universities. We have to ensure that we do not spare resources on ensuring continued improvement on quality within the universities.”
“The Committee, in its study, had assessed the pool of students coming out from our schools and polytechnics and had concluded that catering to 25% of Primary 1 cohort will not diminish the quality we expect to see of our publicly-funded universities in Singapore. As for staff, it is a more fluid matter because the universities can attract staff from around the world. So the key criterion is really the students. Establishing quality undergraduate training in Singapore requires that you ultimately have students who are able to benefit from a rigorous university education and meet the graduate manpower needs of the economy.”
“Sir, the inclusion of community projects does not lead to an increased load of CCA but increased breadth of CCA. It provides students with the opportunity to get involved in things outside the school and that develops in them quite valuable skills as well as valuable attitudes which they will take into life. STRESS IN STUDENTS (Trend) The following Question stood in the name of Mdm Ho Geok Choo - 9. To ask the Acting Minister for Education whether there is a trend which shows that students, especially those in the higher level, are increasingly succumbing to stress arising from relationships and studies and what are the measures being taken to address these issues.”
“By applying the knowledge and skills they learn in schools to their community projects, students engage in activities that benefit the school community and the community at large.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, community service, which includes working with grassroots organisations, has always been a significant part of the CCA programme in schools. This component has been given a renewed emphasis following our review of the CCA Guidelines and Grading Scheme in 2002. This scheme is known as "LEAPS" in our secondary schools, standing for Leadership, Enrichment, Achievement, Participation, Service. It recognises students' involvement in community work as a separate category; in other words, they can obtain recognition for the number of hours they put into community involvement and earn CCA points. A similar scheme exists at the Junior College/Centralised Institutes level, recognising students' voluntary work with the community organisations. Mdm Ho also asked about linking project work in schools to a community setting. The project work that our pre-university students are engaged in requires them to collect and evaluate information from the real world. Their projects typically involve them collecting data through observation, by interviewing people, or through surveys. The design of the project work curriculum therefore helps keep them in touch with the issues and concerns of the community in which they live. At the primary and secondary levels, schools also engage their students in a whole host of projects, including those which involve working with the community. As part of holistic character development for students, many schools have embarked upon Service Learning. Service Learning is an extension of the Community Involvement Programme (CIP). Service Learning integrates the objectives of the school curriculum, both the academic curriculum as well as the CCA curriculum with community service and project work.”
“The total cost incurred by the People's Association in supporting trainers and private operators in the running of the courses is therefore about $8 million a year. This cost does not include the expenses incurred by PA in upgrading the trainers as well as in upgrading the facilities. CC and RC centre course fee collections range from about $15 million to $20 million annually. Therefore, the 10% levy means PA would eventually receive between $1.5 and $2 million per year. In the first year, only half of this amount will be collected. Hence, the collection of 10% levy recovers only a small part of PA's cost in organising the courses. This is just a small sharing of costs by the trainers and operators with the PA. The PA does not think the levy will lead to reduced service or reduced share to the CCs and RCs. Conducting courses at the CCs and RCs remains attractive to the course operators. At 40%, the total levy collected by CCs/RCs and PA remains lower than the private sector. The CCs and RCs continue to give good support to the course operators. As for the course fees, the CCs and RCs have agreed to PA's appeal to hold course fees at current level for at least six months until February 2004. Beyond that, course fees will depend on the willingness of the customers to pay. However, the course operators need not increase course fees to cover the 10% levy if they do not want to, because they could recoup by increasing productivity, such as by taking two or perhaps three additional participants per course.”
“Mr Charles Chong asked the Minister for Community Development and Sports (a) what is the (i) rationale for the People's Association (PA) imposing a 10% levy on the course fee collections from Community Centres (CC) and Residents' Committees (RC) from 1st September 2004, (ii) approximate cost incurred by PA in providing support to trainers and private operators in the running of the CC/RC courses and activities, and (iii) estimated amount that will be generated as a result of the proposed levy; and (b) how does PA intend to ensure that individual trainers and private operators absorb the levy rather than pass it on to residents in the form of higher fees, reduced service or reduced share to the CCs and RCs. The Minister of State for Community Development and Sports (Mr Chan Soo Sen) (for the Minister for Community Development and Sports): Mr Speaker, Sir, the 10% levy was imposed on the course fee collections because the People's Association (PA) has been incurring higher costs over the year providing capital, manpower and operating expenditures to support Community Clubs/Community Centres (CCs) as well as Residents' Committee (RC) centres. It also provides trainers and course operators a wide range of support. These overhead costs are not charged to the trainers and course operators. This is obviously not a sustainable state of affairs. Hence, PA has decided to recover part of the costs by levying a 10% share of course fee collections in two stages: 5% from 1st September 2003, and 10% from 1st September 2004. The current manpower cost of supporting CC and RC courses amounts to about $5 million per year. In addition, about $3 million per year is spent on maintaining facilities needed to conduct the courses.”
“I think we have to do both. We do not teach differences. But we do teach every pupil to respect the strength of the traditions that they each come from. When you learn about Indian or Malay civilisation, you are not learning it in order to understand how different an Indian is from a Chinese, or a Malay is from a Chinese. You are learning it so that you acquire a certain respect for the strength of these traditions, how they develop. You are also learning it in order to understand that they all share values and precepts in common. And if you look at our actual syllabuses, civics and moral education, social science, and so on, you see a fair bit of it there, emphasising the common values and precepts that cut across civilisations and cultures. So we are not trying to teach students how different they are from each other. We are trying to teach them to respect each other, despite the fact that they have different backgrounds, religions and cultures. We are also teaching them that there is a lot in common between our different cultures. LEVY ON COURSE FEE COLLECTIONS (Rationale of imposition by People's Association) 5.”
“Sir, I have mentioned at least one course earlier on. There is a range of courses, not just pre-service, but in-service, forums, workshops. Training for Civics and Moral Education has as one of its key modules, issues to do with race, students of different social backgrounds, cultures and religions - how you deal with it, how you sensitise pupils to it, how you raise the level of understanding. I do not have the whole list and exactly how many hours are spent on every course right now. Can we improve? I am sure there will be scope for improvement. And I will be quite happy to take any suggestions on how any particular course or module can be improved. But a lot is being done. Our teachers are being prepared. They may not all be practising what you expect to equal degree. But, by and large, they are sensitive to this and they are trying hard. And they need the support of everyone else.”
“And I get this message all the time from the schools about how they have got to go out of their way to counter the biases and values that pupils sometimes bring into schools. So we have got to take this as a whole community effort, by involving everyone and trying to address the problem. If schools do it on their own, they will go some distance, but they cannot go very far. Everyone has got to be involved.”
“Let me reiterate that we do not have a hands-offpolicy in this matter and we are not closing our eyes to the matter. In fact, we look at it very seriously. We spend time and energy trying to figure out new ways of enhancing racial interaction. The point is that the way to do it is not to impose on schools a set formula, a fixed template. It would not work. It would be artificial, and it would not achieve what we really want. If we want to achieve a degree of comfort that lasts between pupils, it has got to be bottoms-up, guided from the Ministry, encouraged by the Ministry, and our role is to ensure that best practices get exchanged quickly and innovation takes place that way. We will try and raise the water level. But the way to do it is not to pour a little bit into each beaker. The way to do it is to exchange best practices quickly. Where there are egregious examples of prejudice, we take action. We look into it. There may be occasionally a case of a principal or teacher who does not pay sufficient attention to something and those are easily corrected. Because every principal I have met is aware of the issue, keen to address the issue and doing something about it. But we are not perfect. There will always be room for improvement. So when we get suggestions, we take it seriously and we pass it down to the schools. I really have to emphasise the fact, and this comes from teachers and principals that parents bear a considerable responsibility in this process. Pupils bring into the classroom and school values that they imbibe from their parents. They may be direct messages that their parents give or just indirect messages by way of behaviour.”
“That will require another NIE study, Sir, and I am really not qualified to comment on this.”
“We need both, I think. I take the point that daily interaction does lead to a certain sense of comfort that you cannot easily acquire from sporadic or episodic interaction. It is being done in most schools when project teams are formed, for instance, within the classroom or within a standard. Teachers bear this in mind, making sure that there is a good racial mix. More can be done probably. On SAP schools, it may be precisely because they are SAP schools and they are aware of the fact that they have a very largely Chinese population of students, that they tend to think a lot harder about this issue than most schools. They think of all kinds of schemes they can get involved in. They are the ones who have taken the lead in reaching out to the neighbourhood schools - coaching, mentoring, involving them in ethnic festivals. I visited one SAP school a few months ago, Kong Hwa Primary School. They had introduced sepak takraw for their students. While I was talking to a group of students and asking them about their ambitions in life, and so on, one young boy put up his hand and said, "I want to be a national sportsman." I asked him what sport. He said "sepak takraw". He may not become a national sepak takraw sportsman. But something has been planted in his mind. So this is going on all the time. We can include a few more non-Chinese students in SAP schools, but we have got to make sure they remain SAP schools. We have got to make sure that they remain something distinctive, something that retains the diversity in our school system because that is our strength. Let us not go for uniformity, but within a diverse system, create bridges, create opportunities for interaction, where meaningful.”
“There is a whole range of courses. For instance, at the pre-service level, there is a compulsory module where all our teachers go through, on the social context of teaching and learning. It is a compulsory module which includes issues to do with race and ensuring that they have a certain sensitivity towards racial issues. We have our annual principals' forum and National Education Forum. We have a monthly video which we call "News Teach". All of these deal with national issues, and they often cover issues which enhance awareness and sensitivity to race. So it is a whole plethora of courses. I cannot say whether it is enough. If there is any specific feedback on how we can improve a particular module or course, I am sure NIE will look at it.”
“They do not want to over-do it. They do not want to contrive it. But they have it at the back of their minds, encouraging students of different races to get involved in activities which they do not naturally gravitate towards. It is happening and I do not think we want to over-force it. But we should monitor it, spread best practices and encourage our schools on. I do not think streaming is the issue. If anything, through streaming, we have allowed in both our primary and secondary schools a much broader range of abilities within the same school. And if we did not have streaming, we would have more segregation of the races by school, where you have some schools with a much larger proportion of minority students by virtue of academic achievement. That is the reality in some other countries that you can observe. So, through streaming, a sensible approach of being able to match academic courses to abilities of students, we have been able to get a broad range of students within the same school. Every Government school has more than one stream. The issue is how do we ensure that whatever stream you are in, whatever class you are in, you have ample opportunity for interaction within the school, within the clusters of schools, and across schools. It can be done, and it is being done.”
“MOE does not have a hands-off policy on this. We are trying to spread best practices. When we see an interesting idea in one school, we publicise it within the cluster of schools. There is a fair bit being done so that schools learn from each other. They are also seeding some national initiatives. Some of the activities may be symbolic, but taken together they go quite a long way. I think the basic point is that we have got to let the schools themselves come up with innovative ways. There has to be that spark of ownership and innovation in the schools, and it is happening. If you look around our schools, you will be surprised at the amount of innovation that is taking place, not just in general but on ways of encouraging racial interaction. I can give you many examples. For instance, Dunman High, teaming up with neighbourhood primary schools on reading programmes, involving them in celebration of ethnic festivals; Nanyang Girls High teaming up also with neighbourhood schools which have a high proportion of minority students, involving the girls in coaching and mentoring. Two weeks ago, Bukit Panjang Government High staged a Chinese opera at Victoria School. Out of the 30 students in the cast, 11 were non-Chinese. And the lead actress in this Chinese opera was a Faizah Samsudin. Her Mandarin was yi dian dian. But she recited her entire script. Her fellow actors and actresses helped her, told her what the meaning of each phrase or each sentence was, and she did it with aplomb! Last Friday, I was at Bukit Batok Secondary School where it staged an Indian dance. Maybe one-third were non-Indians. And, in my opinion, the best dancer was a Chinese girl - style, and everything! So, it is happening. And I think our principals and teachers have this at the back of their minds.”
“Many suggestions have been made by the public, the media and Members of Parliament, and we will look at them. But MOE does not intend to impose a common or fixed template on schools on how they should go about promoting racial harmony or racial interaction. We have to let the schools work out their own programmes. Our principals and teachers are the ones who are in the best position to devise innovative and interesting ways of encouraging this. And many schools are also getting their students themselves engaged in thinking through ideas, coming up with ideas, and how they can spur this and get an ease of interaction between the races. But our schools are also mindful that we cannot force interaction or contrive a sense of comfort or friendship between students of different backgrounds. There has to be an element of self-motivation, a certain spontaneity, even a sense of discovery, in any activity that aims to promote racial interaction and racial understanding. Our children have to make friends naturally. I would encourage our schools to redouble their efforts to promote inter-racial understanding and mixing among all their pupils. But schools cannot work alone. Parents and the community at large play equally critical roles. I cannot emphasise this enough. This is why schools have actively reached out to parents and the community to take on the shared responsibility of building a cohesive society. I hope they receive encouragement and support for their efforts.”
“In addition, schools use CCAs such as oratorical contests and debates and various other informal strategies to encourage students to use the English language, especially those students who are not confident in the language. The language pupils speak in school naturally does have bearing on the ease of interaction between pupils of different races. But there is no one-size solution to this issue. We do not, for example, intend to impose common guidelines on our schools on the languages that pupils should be allowed to use outside the classroom. We have a spectrum of schools in our system, with pupils showing quite different language abilities and preferences. In schools where pupils speak mainly in their own mother tongue outside the classroom and have little opportunity to use the English language at home, teachers look for creative ways to encourage them to speak English in school as much as possible. But in schools where pupils speak English most of the time, sometimes all of the time, there are perfectly good reasons why teachers should encourage their pupils to speak their mother tongues, at least part of the time. Depending on the profile of their pupils, schools will have to find the right balance, a sensible balance, between speaking English and their mother tongues. Sir, we have made great progress over the last four decades. We have an integrated, national school system, vastly different both in structure and everyday experiences from the segregated, vernacular school system of the past. Our schools have reinforced this with a range of programmes and informal practices, through the year, aimed at increasing racial understanding and interaction. Can we do more in our schools? Yes, we can.”
“Not every sport or dance attracts pupils from all races, and we may have to do more to interest pupils in activities that they do not naturally gravitate towards. Many schools, in fact, take special effort to ensure a mix of pupils of different races in various CCAs. Dr Amy Khor also asked if we encourage students to volunteer for community projects with multi-racial objectives at Community Clubs and recognise these for CCA points in our schools. Our schools are doing so. Pupils doing community projects, organised by the Community Clubs or the CDCs, are recognised as performing community service and are awarded CCA points. Ms Braema Mathi asked if our teachers are equipped with the skills to handle racial prejudices. All our teachers are trained in a repertoire of classroom and pupil management skills which include handling racial prejudice, if it does occur. There are a number of pre-service as well as in-service training courses, forums and workshops which raise the awareness of principals and teachers and sensitise them to racial issues. Ms Braema Mathi had also asked that we further promote the use of the English language within schools as a common social glue for children. I should first emphasise that the use of the English language and the mother tongues has to be seen in the context of our bilingual policy, and the complex home language environment that we have in Singapore. We have to provide adequate opportunity for students to use both English and their mother tongues in school, and not promote one to the exclusion of the other. English is the predominant language of the classroom.”
“Dr Amy Khor referred to the recent NIE study on inter-racial mixing in our schools. The NIE study was a useful one, and its findings should not surprise us. The findings reinforce our schools' belief in the importance of racial understanding and racial mixing. They also illustrate that nation building is a long and continuing process. Dr Amy Khor asked what we have done to encourage racial mixing and if we will consider further measures. Both MOE and our schools take this very seriously. Last year MOE set up a Committee on Strengthening Racial Harmony in Schools, chaired by Parliamentary Secretary for Education Mr Hawazi Daipi, to provide guidance to schools, keep up the momentum, and help them to share effective and interesting practices. Through both the formal curriculum and a range of informal practices, pupils of different races interact with each other, work in teams, and learn first hand about each other's cultures. Besides the staple events which every child takes part in, like celebration of ethnic festivals, Racial Harmony Day, Heritage Tours, and so on, every school also organises and adopts its own programmes. For example, several schools have organised multi-racial team games, home visits and home stays in which students get a chance to live with each other's families. Others have introduced the learning of another mother tongue as a third language at the conversational level. And there are many other examples. Co-curricular activities (CCA) programmes, such as sports, dance, uniformed groups, provide an excellent platform for students to play together, train together, and build friendships. In many instances, they allow for strong bonding experiences, especially when students have to overcome challenging tasks together.”
“Mr Zainudin had asked how Singapore's education system brand could be used to economic advantage. Education is also one of the areas of high growth potential identified by the ERC. IE Singapore has taken on the role of helping our local education providers export their services overseas. However, the primary focus of the Ministry of Education must remain in the education of students in our national schools. Where our institutes of higher learning, or our independent schools, have developed the capability to export their services, they can do so, as long as they continue to provide high quality education in Singapore and do not divert Government resources meant for delivering education in Singapore. Dr Ong Seh Hong asked about the registration of private schools in Singapore. I share his view that disreputable education providers will not help us develop Singapore as an education hub. However, MOE and the Government are not in a position to review the quality of such programmes. Private education providers offer a diverse range of education programmes, including academic, continuing and adult education and self-improvement programmes, and often in partnership with a wide array of overseas partners. The market is the best regulator of such providers. The range of programmes caters to a diversity of needs as students and employers will ultimately decide on what value they place on their programmes and qualifications. However, there may be some scope for some form of industry self-regulation so as to enhance the branding and image of the private education industry. I believe IE Singapore is currently helping to facilitate discussions among leading education suppliers in Singapore on matters relating to issues such as quality certification and control within the industry.”
“Mrs Fang Ai Lian has suggested that we allow local students who have returned from overseas to attend foreign system schools in Singapore. As far as possible, we believe that all Singaporeans should be educated together in national schools. That way, they can be imbued with a common sense of identity and a certain commitment to each other that comes from having grown up, played and studied together. It is difficult to expect the same spirit of Singaporean-ness to be inculcated in a foreign system school which will have a majority of foreign students and follow a foreign curriculum. It does not work that way in practice. This is also why we decided that the opening up of the national school system to two to three privately funded schools would be conditional upon such schools having a minimum of 50% Singaporeans in the student population. However, MOE does recognise the broad economic imperative of encouraging Singapore firms to internationalise and Singaporeans to venture abroad and gain experience. We have implemented a range of measures to meet the educational needs of Singaporean children returning from overseas. Parents can apply for leave of absence at their children's current school to reserve a place until the child returns to Singapore. We have also provided boarding awards to allow secondary school children to stay in local school-based hostels while their parents were overseas. We appreciate that some children who have studied abroad for a significant period of time could face difficulties in adapting and fitting back to the education system. MOE is prepared to be flexible and would consider requests for admission into foreign system schools for such children on a case-by-case basis.”
“The Edusave scholarships and awards and Edusave grants to schools are available to all Singaporean children, regardless of their birth order. In 2002, $37 million was disbursed to 141,400 pupils in the form of scholarships and awards. And another $35 million was disbursed to schools in the form of Edusave grants to run enrichment programmes for all their pupils. Mdm Halimah has asked MOE to allow greater flexibility in the use of funds in Edusave accounts. Currently, pupils can already use Edusave funds for the second tier miscellaneous fees. Families facing difficulties in paying fees can approach the school for financial assistance. Various forms of assistance are available through the MOE financial assistance schemes or other sources, such as financial assistance schemes administered by the School Advisory or Management Committees, and community organisations, such as the CDCs and voluntary welfare organisations. No child will be denied an education because of financial difficulties. Further, when the Edusave account holders reach 21 years of age, any unutilised balance is transferred to the CPF Ordinary Accounts and can be used for all CPF approved schemes. Mr Chandra Mohan asked how we are building links with students from the ASEAN countries. There are many students from ASEAN countries studying in our schools and institutions. In addition, schools and institutions participate in student exchanges with other ASEAN countries. Between 2001 and 2002, close to 800 students from Singapore participated in exchanges and attachment programmes with post-secondary institutions in ASEAN countries. Our students have also actively participated in community involvement programmes in ASEAN countries, such as Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.”
“The Government's share of the development cost of Government aided schools has increased significantly over the years, from 50% in 1982 to 95% today. The Government also pays for 100% of their recurrent cost. It is necessary for Government aided schools to continue to raise funds to pay for part of the cost of development of the schools. This is to show that the Government aided schools are committed to the project and that they enjoy the support of their respective communities. If the Government were to pay for 100% of both the capital and recurrent costs of such schools, they would really be no different from any Government school. Aided schools which find it difficult to raise funds may wish to review and reprioritise their plans for non-standard facilities. Mr Ong Kian Min and Mdm Halimah asked the Ministry to reconsider the existing restriction of Edusave accounts to the first three children. Families need to take into careful account the affordability and expenses when deciding to have more than three children. The allocation of Edusave accounts to the first three children remains sensible and is a workable approach. However, I do not want to appear blind to the feelings of Mr Ong's fourth and fifth children. In fact, my own fourth child has already communicated her views to me. So we are prepared to consider suggestions as to how we can better handle and manage feelings of children, in particular those in the higher order birth. I should emphasise, however, that the Edusave account is only one way in which Singapore pupils benefit from the Edusave scheme. Each year, about half of the expenditure on the Edusave Endowment Fund goes to the Edusave accounts; one quarter to Edusave scholarships and awards, and another one quarter to the Edusave grants to schools.”
“Let me first clarify the purpose of the recurrent grant scheme. MOE provides recurrent grants to help eligible non-profit kindergartens to attract and retain better qualified principals and teachers in order to meet the new standards. The grants can also be used to provide better support for teachers, in terms of administrative and teaching resources. In short, the grants are aimed at helping eligible kindergartens to raise quality. In answer to Mr Zainudin, we expect to maintain the grants at this level, but any future adjustments would have to depend on the availability of resources. Financial assistance for families is a separate matter from these grants to kindergartens. To assist low income fami- lies who send their children to kindergartens that provide programmes that meet the quality guidelines, the Government will provide financial assistance of $600 per annum per child to lower income families who are sending their children to qualifying non-profit kindergartens from 2004. Mdm Halimah asked about the Kindergarten Education Bill. MOE is currently reviewing the legislation for the pre-school sector. The Kindergarten Education Bill will be introduced in Parliament within a few months. It will set out the licensing framework and emphasises the importance of having qualified teachers and a sound curriculum. Mr Ong Kian Min raised the issue of funding for the upgrading of infrastructure in Government aided schools. To-date, the Government has spent about $1 billion on the PRIME programme to upgrade 146 schools to the latest specifications. Under PRIME, the Government funds 100% and 95% of the development cost of upgrading Government schools and aided schools, respectively, based on the cost of standard facilities.”
“But we want to avoid premature or accelerated learning of the Primary 1 syllabus. It does not translate, by and large, into the children being able to learn better when they get to the upper primary years, let alone the secondary school years. More emphasis should be placed on development of broader communication skills, such as the ability to ask questions, to begin thinking for themselves, to explore, or to sort out puzzles. We are moving towards a more interactive and child-centred pre-school environment with more room for children to explore and experiment. But we should never be purists in our approach to pre-school education. Good kindergarten teachers adopt more than one orientation, more than one method, and they mix and match as they see fit to meet the needs of their pupils. Not all drills are bad. After all, most kids learn songs and nursery rhymes that way, although we sometimes find our children singing away lustily but mispronouncing the words! The second thrust is to uplift the quality of the teaching force in the pre-school sector. MOE has articulated standards of professional qualifications for all major providers of pre-school education to meet. To answer Mr Gan Kim Yong's question, good progress has been made in the number of teachers going for training. All the major kindergarten providers should be able to meet the target of having all their teachers certificate-trained, and one in four of their teachers diploma-trained. In 2002, 43% of kindergarten teachers were trained staff. By the end of this year, 74% of kindergarten teachers would have been trained. Mr Gan, Mdm Halimah and Mr Zainudin have asked about financial assistance for families, besides the recurrent grants for kindergartens.”
“Sir, a few Members, Mr Gan Kim Yong, Mdm Halimah and Mr Zainudin, have rightly commented on the importance of the pre-school education sector. There are basically two thrusts in MOE's approach to uplift the quality of pre-school education. First, we have developed a pre-school curriculum framework, emphasising a holistic approach to development and enhanced interaction between teacher and pupil. The curriculum framework is not prescriptive in detail, and MOE does not intend to make it a formal requirement for all kindergartens. Kindergartens are, instead, encouraged to use it as a guide to design their programmes. This approach encourages diversity and experimentation as each kindergarten operator strives to shape practices to meet the needs of its pupils, and to make a mark. The basic idea of the new curriculum framework is to develop and nurture the child in totality, including his ability to relate to others, to communicate and to develop an enthusiasm for learning. I am glad Mdm Halimah mentioned parents, and I agree with her fully on the need to reach out to them. Kindergartens should engage with parents and give them the confidence that the changes they are making are in the interest of the child. MOE will help where it can. Mdm Halimah's suggestion is a useful one, for wider publicity of the views and comments of parents who have found that their children are keen to learn and have benefited as a result of the new approach. Parents are not wrong to be concerned about their children's future performance in primary school and to expect that pre-schools provide a good foundation for their children's schooling. Basic academic skills like reading, writing and numerical or mathematical skills are important in the pre-school years. They should not be overlooked.”
“Briefly, the mechanisms are there in the schools. Our teachers go through some basic training on how to identify these problems. And the teacher counsellors and specialist counsellors are quite well trained to handle this. I am not sure that we are finding every student who has a problem, probably not. But we are doing a reasonable job.”
“Of these, about 4% concerned mental health problems or psychiatric illnesses. The incidence of cases referred to the Child Guidance Clinic has increased, but it remains low, certainly lower than that of most of the advanced societies. All societies have children who face stress-related problems of one form or another. What matters is that we have the mechanisms in place to help the children. Members have previously been informed of the counselling and referral system that we have in place in all schools, supported by trained Teacher Counsellors, School Counsellors, and specialist support from MOE's educational psychologists and guidance specialists. I should point out too that an increase in referrals need not always be seen as a negative development. It also means that more students are being counselled and helped where they might not have been helped before. It would also reflect greater awareness of potential problems amongst parents and teachers, and more resources becoming available for counselling in schools.”
“Ms Braema had asked about what MOE was doing to help our Secondary 4N (Academic) students make the transition to Secondary 5 where they take the 'O' levels. The Normal (Academic) syllabuses are generally subsets of the `O' level syllabuses. They are designed such that Normal (Academic) students who are capable of going on to offer the `O' levels are able to progress smoothly to the `O' levels in three years from Secondary 3. A review of the curriculum was conducted in 1999 which helped to reduce the assessment gap between the 'N' levels and the 'O' levels in various subjects. For example, the History paper now focuses more on questions requiring thinking skills and the application of concepts instead of content knowledge. Inevitably, even among the Normal (Academic) students, there will be differences in the abilities of the students in our schools. The teachers recognise this, and adjust their teaching methods and pace to suit the needs of different groups of students. Teachers may decide how much to teach based on the ability of the students. This difference in the scope of coverage means that the weaker students will be prepared sufficiently well to pass the 'O' levels, while the more able students will probably perform better. Our Secondary 5 students are, by and large, coping quite well with the `O' levels. About 66% of the students progress on to our post-secondary educational institutions. Of that 66%, 45% do well enough to qualify for either the polytechnics or 'A' levels. Dr Maliki also asked about stress and the incidence of psychiatric illness or psychological problems among our students. According to statistics from the Child Guidance Clinic, the total number of new cases seen in 2002 was about 2,000.”
“There are several examples of students who are already doing this, outside the formal curriculum. For example, Tan Chun Ghee, who graduated from RJC last year. While in JC1, he spent six weeks at the Centre for Excellence in Education at MIT in the US, under an attachment programme arranged by the MOE. Chun Ghee's project, while he was at MIT, won him three awards at the Intel Science and Engineering Fair in Kentucky, US, that year. Dr Warren Lee raised the matter of the teaching of life sciences. We agree with his observations. MOE is taking the life sciences seriously, not because we are bedazzled by recent discoveries, but because this is a revolution in knowledge, one that will transform many disciplines, and will change how we live. It is a new language of science that all students will find useful even if they do not plan to pursue the life sciences as a career. Topics and approaches that enhance the learning of the life sciences have therefore been incorporated into the primary, secondary and pre-university syllabuses, not only in the science subjects, but also in other subjects. We are not putting all our eggs in the life sciences basket. We agree with Dr Lee that other areas of knowledge remain quite essential. While the number of students opting for "A" level Biology has increased to 20% last year compared to 13% in the year 2000, it is not disproportionate compared to, say, the candidature for Physics, which is 66%. And with the review of the JC curriculum, science students will also be required to take at least one humanities subject. So we are broadening our students, broadening the curriculum, as we inject the life sciences into the curriculum, not narrowing them.”
“Cooperative societies, which are recognised CCAs, have been formed in some schools to develop business acumen in pupils. Other schools have started Young Enterprise Clubs as core CCAs to develop and nurture future entrepreneurs. The NYAA is free to assist schools in setting up entrepreneur clubs, which are also recognised CCAs. MOE will continue, of course, to give schools the autonomy to decide on the setting up of such clubs as part of their overall school programme. Dr Tan Boon Wan raised the perennial problem of heavy school bags. I would like to assure him that MOE and the schools have been working at this. We have made textbooks thinner by dividing them up into separate volumes for each module. Schools have lockers for children to keep their belongings. Teachers look out for young pupils who seem to have heavy bags, and sometimes even check their bags. Schools will continue to work at this problem but parents must also supervise their children in packing their bags. Miss Penny Low commented that we should nurture students' passions for particular subject areas. We quite agree. There is a whole host of programmes, in our schools and within school clusters, to cater to students with special talents and interests, in the arts, music and the sciences. At the JC level, the new curriculum will provide more space for this. In other words, within the formal curriculum, we want to provide more space for this. Students with a special interest and ability in a subject will be able to take it further as an H3 subject - if Members recall the terminology. They can do it by either taking research under the mentorship of university professors or researchers or in some other forms which we are working out.”
“About one-third raised their hands. That is not bad. I think it is much higher than it would have been 2-3 years ago. So the flame is lit, and it is glowing. Even our primary school students are being infected, in their own fashion. There are many examples. Students in Rulang Primary School have grown a spice garden and have successfully sold their produce to school staff and parents. I am assured that they donated all proceeds to the SPCA. But developing an entrepreneurial spirit goes beyond teaching students the skills and technical knowledge involved in starting or running a business. The second and a key part of MOE's approach is to focus on key traits that underlie entrepreneurship: resourcefulness, persistence in the face of difficulty and the habit of innovation. These are traits that are useful for all our students, not just those who might eventually go on to run a business. We want our students to be willing to work out new perspectives, have the boldness and self-conviction to try another way, take a different road and, occasionally, break the mould. Efforts to develop these traits will be manifest in various facets of our school programmes, starting even in our primary schools. MOE has already made major changes in this direction, but agrees that more can be done. We are currently undertaking a comprehensive study to see how we can better nurture the spirit of enterprise and innovation in our students. We should not aim for quick results and we will not, as Dr Wang says, produce bus-loads of entrepreneurs. But we can and will produce generations of Singaporeans who are able to face the future with confidence, try more diverse paths, persist against the odds and thrive. Mr Singh has suggested introducing entrepreneurship as a CCA.”
“We changed the syllabus and examination format for the `A' levels to reward students who are able to apply the principles they have learnt and to think on their feet. In 2006, MOE will likewise be taking greater control over the `O' levels. This will help ensure that the secondary school curriculum meets our educational goals. It allows us to place greater emphasis on thinking and process skills, while retaining Singapore's high standards. MOE agrees fully with Dr Wang and the other MPs on the need to develop an entrepreneurial spirit amongst our young. There are basically two sets of skills and instincts that matter here, and that are reflected in our approach to developing this spirit among our students. The first comprises practical business-related skills. Our schools have been actively promoting this through co-curricular activities (CCAs), such as entrepreneurial clubs and business clubs of one form or another. There are many examples of schools whose students have started business ventures such as co-operatives or part-time businesses in schools. Last week, South West CDC and NTU organised a camp for 120 students from the JCs and ITE in the CDC and the Singapore Polytechnic. The students interacted with prominent local entrepreneurs and CEOs, visited several SMEs, and developed their own ideas on how to enhance the marketing efforts of the companies. I spent the afternoon with them with Mdm Yu-Foo and must say I was impressed by the freshness of their ideas and the gusto with which they went about presenting them. They were serious about what they were doing - so serious that they worked till 4 o'clock in the morning. I asked them how many would seriously contemplate setting up a business at some point in the future or doing so with a few friends.”
“Third, we provide overseas training opportunities for our Chinese language teachers to learn best practices which can be adapted to suit our own requirements. MOE also brings in outstanding teachers from the PRC to provide demonstration lessons and sessions to our teachers. Fourth, MOE has also been sending outstanding students on undergraduate teaching scholarships aimed at breeding future Chinese language teachers. 22 local scholarships and 20 foreign scholarships were awarded over the last five years. Fifth, MOE is supportive of our Chinese language teachers as they pursue other tertiary opportunities that are available to enhance their knowledge of the subject. Examples of available courses include the undergraduate programme with Wuhan University, which was initiated by the Singapore Chinese Teachers Union (SCTU), and the Beijing Normal University Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language and Literature programme which is offered at the Singapore Institute of Management. Many Chinese teachers are taking advantage of these new opportunities to upgrade themselves. 4.15 pm Mr Nithiah Nandan, Miss Penny Low, Mr Inderjit Singh, Dr Wang and Mr Chandra Mohan asked what we are doing to promote creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit. MOE completed a review of the school curriculum at all levels not long ago, in year 2001. Content has been reduced to free up more time for learning activities that foster critical and creative thinking. There is greater emphasis across the subject curriculum on process and thinking skills. We are also aligning our assessment modes with these learning objectives. Last year, MOE assumed greater control over the Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'A' level Examination.”
“Dr Wang also suggested that we enhance the profile of our outstanding teachers, eg, those who win the Presidential awards each year. I think this is a good idea. Our teachers are not show-biz stars, they are very modest people, but I think a greater profile, through the course of the year, will enhance awareness of the real value of the teaching profession. Mdm Halimah and Dr Maliki have asked how MOE was helping teachers cope with stress. It is not a trivial matter. MOE conducts many courses to enable teachers to handle stress. Some are specific to stress management, while others are on general well-being that help equip teachers with skills to handle stressful situations. Through the Teachers Network, MOE also provides counselling for teachers who experience stress, although it has to be said that not all stress encountered by teachers is work-related. Mdm Halimah also asked about teachers' nodules. It is an issue, and we have been addressing it. MOE in fact provides 10 courses on voice care each year, each 20 hours long. MOE is also collaborating this year with Tan Tock Seng Hospital to organise a voice symposium for teachers. Some teachers do indeed use microphones. If I keep going on about everything we are doing to help teachers keep their voices, I think I will talk myself hoarse. Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon raised the issue of training for Chinese language teachers. Our Chinese language teachers have a wide complement of training and development opportunities open to them. First, there are currently 25 in-service training courses each year and 13 workshops for Chinese language teachers. Second, Chinese language teachers can apply for MOE-sponsored Diploma courses and post-graduate studies in relevant courses in local and overseas universities.”
“The IP schools themselves have announced various features of their respective programmes and started discussions with parents of their students. MOE intends to produce information kits to reach out to more parents on the changes to the education system. We have also briefed our schools on the changes so that they can advise parents who approach them on the choices available to their children. Several Members have rightly raised the subject of teachers, since they are critical to everything we do in education. Dr Wang and Dr Amy Khor asked about sharing of best practices amongst teachers. Professional sharing is a key aspect of teacher development and has gained a fair bit of sway in recent years. The Teachers Network was set up precisely for this purpose. Each year, it organises workshops for some 4,000 teachers to learn and share innovative strategies and practices. We also have an annual teachers conference which showcases action research, experimentation and successful teaching practices. When we launched the second phase of our IT Master Plan last year, more than 7,000 teachers took part in activities over a few days, which showcased the best practices in the use of IT in education. At the zone and cluster levels, there are now numerous platforms for discussion and sharing best practices, including the centres of excellence that had been set up. To give just one example at the zonal level, Science Exploria in East Spring Primary School. More than 500 teachers have attended learning sessions at Science Exploria since it started 14 months ago. The Centre intends to publish the lessons that have been developed by the teachers so that they can be shared more widely with teachers of other schools.”
“NUS has set up a steering committee, chaired by its Provost, to implement the Mathematics and Science School that will provide a 6-year education from Secondary 1 to JC 2. On the question of a specialist arts school, MITA Minister, David Lim, will be updating Members later in the COS debate. Private schools. MOE is also working out the detailed criteria for approving up to 2-3 reputable privately funded schools that could add value to our education system. We expect to invite proposals around the middle of this year. In the meantime, a few parties have expressed interest in setting up such schools. Mr Chandra Mohan had asked if we should not extend the concept of private schools to the primary level. This is something we studied carefully last year as part of the JC and upper secondary review, and we decided against recommending in favour of primary schools being opened to the private sector. Our schools are the most important route in Singapore for cultivating a common sense of identity amongst the young. We have just introduced compulsory education, implemented this year for the first time, for the very reason of ensuring that all our young go through an essentially common shape of experience in their primary school years, and form similar instincts regardless of social background. We agree fully with Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang on the importance of educating the public on the recent changes to the educational landscape. They may have appeared complex at first glance, but they can be simplified and explained quite clearly to the public. Information on the proposed changes has already been communicated via the media, which has been doing a good job, I think, on the subject, as well as MOE's Internet website.”
“So the array of choices in the school system has widened considerably. It is better that we focus on implementing these changes well and allow them to work through the system and be digested by parents and students before considering if we should introduce any further fluidity in the school system. Next, the integrated programmes. At last year's debate on the JC and upper secondary review, Members will recall that MOE has said that we expect to have up to 6-8 integrated programmes eventually, catering to the top 10% of each cohort. We do not expect to get there immediately. Schools that are ready and confident of delivering an integrated programme of quality, that adds value to the system, will go first. The four families of schools which have already received approval to offer integrated programmes, plan to start enrolling students for these programmes next year, 2004. They are currently developing their programmes and will be releasing more information in July or August, in time for this year's Primary 6 students and their parents to make informed decisions about whether to apply for the programmes. MOE has also recently received two additional proposals from schools which are keen to offer integrated programmes, and is evaluating them. Next, specialist independent schools. We are making progress on the proposed specialist schools. The Sports School which is overseen by MCDS will open its doors in 2004. Several Members have asked about the admission policies of the Sports School and I will leave it to the Minister for Community Development and Sports to address the questions, because MCDS is the parent Ministry.”
“I am glad that Dr Wang Kai Yuen, Mr Gan Kim Yong and Dr Warren Lee have referred to this. Mr Inderjit Singh has asked if we should extend the flexibility or unstructuredness of the new JC curriculum to the secondary level. This is an important issue that was studied carefully in last year's review by the JC and Upper Secondary Education Review Committee. The key issue at the JC level was over-specialisation. This problem does not exist at the secondary level. The lower secondary curriculum is already broad-based. At the upper secondary level, all express students must take at least one science, one humanities subject, mathematics, and two languages. In practice, among science students who take 8 `O'-level subjects, 62% of them take at least two humanities subjects and two languages, besides mathematics and science subjects. It is therefore not necessary to make significant changes to the secondary curriculum. However, I think the spirit of Mr Inderjit Singh's question is right. We are indeed seeking to introduce more flexibility and choice in the secondary school system. That is why we are creating new and different pathways for our students by introducing the integrated programmes, allowing the establishment of specialised independent schools in sports, arts and science, and allowing for a few privately funded secondary schools. These schools will be free to structure a curriculum that suits their objectives. We have also opened the door to mainstream schools that wish to adopt an alternative, internationally recognised curriculum. Further, we have introduced flexibility in the Normal (Academic) stream, as Minister Teo has just mentioned. And all schools have the autonomy to develop niches of excellence in their chosen areas.”
“Madam, let me first provide an update on the implementation of the changes to our JC and upper secondary school system, which Members had approved last year after debate, and which several Members have spoken on. First, the shift to a broader and more flexible JC curriculum. MOE has set up a steering committee chaired by the Director-General of Education to oversee the implementation of this exercise. It is a major education undertaking, requiring careful design, planning and roll-out. There is no foreign system that we can borrow or import, no easy fix. This is because the new JC curriculum seeks to provide not just greater flexibility and choice - more subjects, different levels of subjects - but also wants to retain the trademark rigour and high standards of the Singapore system. Dr Amy Khor and Mdm Halimah have asked about preparing teachers for the changes. This is key to the successful implementation of the educational reforms. Specific training will be provided to teachers who are involved in the new curriculum, either in the teaching of new subjects, like Knowledge and Inquiry, or the new levels of subjects that we are going to introduce. We will spare no efforts on this. Our teachers are not, however, starting from scratch. While MOE will continue to train and update existing teachers and new teachers on the new curricula, I would like to emphasise that our teachers are already trained with a core of knowledge and skills that enables them to respond to changes in subject design and to adopt new modes of teaching. Many Members who have joined in the visits that we have organised for MPs recently to the NIE would have seen for themselves and got a good sense of the quality of education and training the NIE now provides.”
“Sir, I have responded quite thoroughly on the issue, not just on business costs as a whole, but specifically to do with Government taxes, fees and charges. Overall, we are competitive, and Government taxes, hidden or not hidden, direct taxes and indirect taxes, when you total them all up, they are lower as a proportion of GDP, and they are lower as an imposition on business, than in most other countries.”
“Separating electricity and water billings and collections is not a sustainable solution. At the end of the day, the arrears and utilities charges must still be paid. The crux of the matter is that households in difficulty will have to control their consumption of electricity and water. Those in hardship should also seek assistance from their relatives or from the CCCs and CDCs. As for Dr Maliki's suggestion of using stored value cards and other measures, the Energy Market Authority will look into any creative solutions that will help.”
“MTI is studying the legislative frameworks, practices and experiences of other countries. We are mindful that the Singapore economy is small and open and will adopt features of laws that we see elsewhere that best suit our circumstances. Our aim is to develop a legal framework that will enable us to further maintain and promote vigorous competition among firms, without adding unduly to business cost. Finally, on Singapore Power, Dr Maliki had asked how Singapore Power manages utilities accounts in arrears, and if utilities can be billed separately for water and electricity so that households who can only afford to pay for their water bills will not have their water supply disconnected. Singapore Power Services (SP Services) is flexible in working with households on suitable instalment plans to help them tide over their difficulties. Utilities are only disconnected after SP Services has made numerous attempts to get the households to pay their arrears and to commit to an instalment plan. If they do not contact SP Services to work out a payment plan, they will get their electricity disconnected. If they continue to default on payments, PUB will install a thimble in the household's water-pipe to limit, but not halt, the flow of water. This thimbling of water is not done until at least five months after the initial default. If the household is still in default after another six months, in other words, eleven months after the initial default, then the water supply is disconnected. So the water supply will not be disconnected if these households pay, at least, their current utilities bills, which would then only comprise water and refuse charges. In effect, the result is what Dr Maliki wanted.”