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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“Sir, when problems arise, the Counsellors and Emergency Behaviour Management Officers do work closely with the parents. They are trained principally to deal with the students, but they look at the case in its totality and they operate in close dialogue with the parents as well.”
“Sir, yes, the programme exists. This is in fact what our teachers are trained for and, in particular, the specialists within the schools and within the clusters are trained to monitor behaviour, to detect problems early, where we can, and to follow up case by case with the students concerned. Mr Gan Kim Yong: Sir, could the Senior Minister of State explain whether there are any programmes that will help to counsel the parents in managing their expectation of the students?”
“Parents can help their children to set realistic expectations for themselves and to develop strength of character in them which will enable them to cope with life's challenges. Schools and parents need to work together to achieve this.”
“To clarify, Sir, I was not talking about smaller class size as such, but I was talking about the way in which project work is implemented, that project work is not a whole class activity but is an activity pursued by groups of students within any particular class. STUDENTS FACING PSYCHOLOGICAL PRESSURE (Counselling/support services) 5. Mr Gan Kim Yong asked the Minister for Education what counselling or support services are available in the schools or in his Ministry to help students in the primary and secondary schools cope with the psychological pressure they may face from time to time. Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam (for the Minister for Education): The Ministry of Education adopts a comprehensive approach towards addressing the social emotional needs of pupils. There is a comprehensive pastoral care system in all schools. All pupils are taught lifeskills, which cover topics relating to personal and interpersonal effectiveness. All teachers in schools are trained in basic counselling skills and emergency behavioural management skills to equip them to be first-line caregivers. Support within the school is given by two Teacher Counsellors in every school, and Emergency Behaviour Management Officers who have received advanced training in counselling and crisis intervention. Since last year, at the school cluster level, we have also introduced a system, what we call the School Counsellor Scheme. We have trained retired education officers in counselling, and they provide an additional layer of support to the schools. Further, schools may refer serious problems to the Ministry of Education's Guidance Specialists or Educational Psychologists. While schools provide support for the pupils, the support from the home is of paramount importance.”
“Sir, this subject is worth several dissertations. I am not capable of even half a dissertation on the subject but, from the very little I know about the way we have sought to incorporate these traditions or Asian cultures in our curriculum, I have no reason to think that it will stifle creativity. There has to be a certain tension between retaining ballast and the desire to explore something new, and the desire to explore something new is given strength by how much ballast we have. If it is all exploring the new, the future or the next big thing, I think we can easily fall flat. We have to retain a certain core of what represents eternal truths, eternal principles, in order to explore what is new. So I do not think we need feel defensive about learning about tradition, understanding it well, understanding what is weak in our past traditions as well as understanding what is strong.”
“Project work, when it is fully implemented, will be part of the curriculum. In other words, it is not an enrichment activity taken entirely outside of regular hours. As to class size, project work is not conducted in a full-class fashion. It is conducted by teams of students in small groups, as has to be the case, given the nature of project work. It is an applied exercise. So it is conducted in small groups. Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State whether he agrees with the hon. Member for Potong Pasir that teaching of Asian cultures and traditions such as Confucianism in schools will stifle creativity.”
“Sir, as I mentioned earlier, I really do not have the specifics with me on the details of what elements of Confucianism are in our curriculum. But I would not be surprised if Confucianism, like the other Asian traditions, remains in our curriculum and for good reason. There is Confucianism and there is Confucianism. It is a broad subject. You are able to pick elements out of it which you feel are important for children to understand, appreciate and imbibe and which remain as relevant to our future as they have been in our past. I do not have the specifics on exactly which elements remain in our curriculum. But I do not think the Ministry needs to be defensive about having elements of a very important Asian philosophy and tradition remaining in our curriculum.”
“Sir, to take a couple of steps back, why have we introduced project work? We introduced it because we are trying to reduce the extent of the emphasis on written examinations. And I am sure everyone agrees that that is a good thing. How we go about putting it into practice is important. We are going to put it to practice in a sensible fashion where we are going to accord it the weight it deserves, not too much weight. We are going to make sure that how teachers guide students, how students actually go about the process, is going to reflect the spirit of this whole exercise which is not just to accumulate marks as easily as possible, but to really use the exercises as an opportunity to gain new skills of enquiry and experimentation. There is no guarantee that any form of assessment is not going to lead to stress or pressure. There can be no guarantee. But it is not our intention that it be the case.”
“I have no doubt that our junior college students will take any form of assessment seriously. I do not think we can help that. But if we did not assess this and we did not attempt to measure performance, then given the same culture of taking seriously only what is assessed, people will simply not pay too much attention to project work and will not pay too much attention to the process skills that we are trying to cultivate. So we have to assess this and that provides the incentive for students to take project work and process skills seriously.”
“On the Member's first question, Sir, it is not the intent that project work should create a new source of stress, nor do we think that that will be the outcome. We are monitoring this carefully at the pilot stage. We want to make sure that project work is not an add-on to the existing assessment system, but is really a complement to the existing assessment system. Taken together, we want to make sure that the overall workload of junior college students does not increase. I think the Member's fear is a natural one. It is not without basis because we know how things work out in practice quite easily. So we have to watch this carefully and make sure that work pressure does not go up and stress levels do not go up unnecessarily. It is not the intention that they should. What is the Member's next question?”
“If the Member's question is on how project work is reducing the emphasis on written examinations, if that is what he meant, I think it will. Project work looks at process skills, and is a very useful supplement to the existing system of written examinations. Like I said, it is early days. We are still improving the process but the Ministry of Education does feel that the project work is going to be an integral component of assessment system in the future.”
“Details of the assessment methodology are being finalised. Assessment is not done by the universities. It will be done within the existing framework of our 'A' level examinations, the Singapore-Cambridge 'A' level examinations. It is a rigorous procedure, with care taken to ensure that there is no bias in the assessment of students' projects. So I do not think we need to worry about the integrity of the process.”
“Sir, on the first question of whether adequate time is provided during school hours for project work to be done, I do not think we would want to have a situation where all project work is done during school hours in the primary schools. It would crowd out something else. We have a heavy enough curriculum. We want project work to enrich the curriculum. If we try and do it all during the same number of hours, then something else has to fall off, and that is typically something else that is valuable. I see nothing wrong in project work at the primary school level being done partially outside school hours, at home. I do not think we should worry too much if the mother or the father is providing some guidance. It is the spirit of project work that is important at the end of the day and teachers will have to assess whether the child is actually capable of the project work he does. On the second question of Mathematics problems, I take the Member's point that we would like Mathematics to be taught and assessed in primary schools, or at any level, in a way which recognises that there are different methods to the right answer. This is not a matter of the curriculum or the syllabus as much as teaching methodologies in individual schools. I have come across anecdotal examples that are raised where there might have been too rigid treatment of a particular problem and teachers are not sufficiently forgiving of different methods. These are problems on the ground that are to be expected. On the whole, I do not think we have a severe problem. Our teachers, by and large, try to encourage children to understand the principles behind the Mathematics problem. But I would not deny that there are instances that we come across.”
“Sir, I would not be surprised if what the Member described is not at least partially true. That is a social rather than an educational phenomenon. Project work at primary school, however, does not count in the overall assessment system. At the junior colleges where it is going to count, the safeguards are in place. The project work is done by a team of students in the school under the supervision of a teacher.”
“Sir, our project work at junior colleges - I think this is what the Member is referring to - is currently at the pilot stage. It is still early days. We have put considerable effort into preparing the teachers. So far, the pilot stage has been proceeding well. Teachers are learning as they go along. When we are confident that the junior colleges are able to implement project work to realise the intent of the scheme, we will be implementing it as a requirement for university admission.”
“Sir, I do not have the particulars of the syllabus. I do not know whether Confucianism in some form is still part of the curriculum. But I would not be surprised if all the Asian traditions are still present in our curriculum in one form or another.”