Personal Learning Devices in Schools
12 November 2024
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry has conducted a study into the pros and cons of the use of personal learning devices in schools, incorporating feedback from educators, parents and students; and (b) if not, whether such a study can be conducted.
11 November 2024
Mr Chan Chun Sing: My response will cover the question raised by Dr Wan Rizal, and the questions raised by Ms Hazel Poa and Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim which are scheduled for subsequent Sitting on or after 12 November 2024. [Please refer to “Study into Pros and Cons of Use of Personal Learning Devices in Schools”, Official Report, 12 November 2024, Vol 95, Issue 146, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer not Answered by End of Question Time section; and “Students’ Usage of School-Issued Devices for Non-educational Purposes by Bypassing Restrictions Placed”, Official Report, 13 November 2024, Vol 95, Issue 147, Written Answers to Questions section.]
In addition, I will also address written Parliamentary Questions by Dr Wan Rizal and Assoc Prof Jamus Lim. I invite Members to seek clarifications as needed. [Please refer to “Tools in Managing Students’ Use of Personal Learning Devices and Research Done on Impact of Usage”, Official Report, 11 November 2024, Vol 95, Issue 145, Written Answers to Questions section.]
Since the introduction of Personal Learning Devices (PLDs) to enhance teaching and learning, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has provided schools with guidance and support, and professional development of teachers, on the use of PLDs for teaching and learning. Cyber wellness lessons were enhanced to promote safe and responsible PLD use. Learning resources on developing digital literacies were made available to students.
To further support the safe and effective use of the PLDs, all PLDs were installed with the Device Management Application (DMA). The DMA blocks access to inappropriate content and regulates screen time. Cases of suspected DMA bypass are investigated and appropriate school-based consequences meted should any misdemeanor be established.
MOE commissioned the National Institute of Education to conduct a two-year study starting in September 2022 to understand the impact of PLDs on teaching and learning, as well as students’ development of 21st Century Competencies, cyber wellness and mental well-being. Interim findings suggest that students found the use of PLDs beneficial for their learning, communication with teachers and collaboration with peers. Students also demonstrated good cyber wellness knowledge, including awareness of cyber risks. Students are learning to translate this knowledge into action when using the PLDs, especially during non-school hours.
MOE recognises that parents are key partners in a student’s education journey. MOE recently collaborated with the Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Health Promotion Board on the Parenting for Wellness initiative. To enable our students to use technology productively and safely for learning, the toolbox for parents includes resources to help navigate the challenges of parenting in the digital age effectively, such as setting screen use limits on digital devices. I encourage parents to make good use of the bite-sized practical tips and strategies to support their children’s growth and development.
We will continue to refine our policies on the use of PLDs and support for schools, students and parents with the findings from the study and feedback we receive.
Violence and Bullying in Schools
15 October 2024
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) in each year of the past five years, how many cases of physical violence which resulted in injuries have been reported in primary and secondary schools respectively; and (b) how many of such cases have corporal punishment meted out on students who are found to be violent against others in schools.
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) whether there are standard operating procedures on how schools should handle bullying complaints expeditiously and appropriately; (b) if not, why not; (c) how does the Ministry ensure that (i) victims are protected, treated fairly and not blamed while investigations are ongoing and (ii) appropriate punishments are meted out; and (d) what avenues for recourse are available for victims, especially if the bullying persists in spite of corrective measures, such as counselling.
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) in the past five years, what are the 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles of reported instances of gangsterism and violence in schools annually; and (b) how are schools with higher incidence of reported gangsterism and violence addressing the root causes of these issues.
14 October 2024
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mr Speaker, Sir, my response will address the questions raised by Members Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, Dr Wan Rizal, Mr Christopher de Souza, Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song, Mr Yip Hon Weng, Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis, Ms Hany Soh and Ms He Ting Ru on the bullying incidents in schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), that recently caught public attention on the Internet.
My response will also cover related questions from Ms Hazel Poa, Mr Sharael Taha, Mr Gan Thiam Poh and Assoc Prof Jamus Lim, which are scheduled for subsequent Sittings.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) takes a serious view of all forms of hurtful behaviour, from once-off insensitive remarks to more persistent, intentional acts of bullying and even physical violence. Schools and IHLs have rules and regulations which prohibit any form of bullying. Our schools and IHLs educate students against these negative behaviours and work with families, the community and partners to intervene promptly and address them.
Members Ms Hany Soh, Mr Gerald Giam, Mr Louis Chua asked about the trends in bullying incidents. In the last five years, the average number of bullying incidents has remained steady. For every 1,000 students, there were an average of two incidents in primary schools and six incidents in secondary schools annually for any form of bullying, both within and outside of school. Of these, incidents involving the use of technology averaged less than one incident per 1,000 secondary students and even fewer in primary schools each year.
Members Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim and Dr Wan Rizal asked about how MOE educates our students and equips them to deal with threats of bullying. From young, students learn pro-social behaviours through lessons and role-modelling. Through the Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) curriculum and a school environment that emphasises values and respect, students acquire skills to be kind to their classmates, resolve disagreements respectfully and stand up against bullying.
Students learn what to do when they encounter unsafe situations. Stay calm, do not retaliate, but move away and seek help from adults nearby, and alert their teachers and parents. These lessons extend to the cyberspace. Through cyber wellness lessons, students learn to be respectful and responsible users online. Whether online or offline, they should report any incident of bullying to their teachers or School Leaders.
As students sometimes prefer to turn to their friends for support, schools have established peer support networks and trained students to help and look out for one another, and in conflict management.
These educative efforts continue in our IHLs, which raise awareness about anti-bullying through modules teaching respect and appropriate behaviour, as well as peer support structures.
Members Mr Yip Hon Weng, Ms Hazel Poa, Mr Christopher de Souza and others asked about the intervention and support for bullying victims and perpetrators, and how schools collaborate with families, community partners and Police to address them. Teachers are trained to create a positive classroom culture, recognise distressed students, and proactively address hurtful behaviours and bullying. All pre-service teachers receive this training, and new teachers are supported by experienced staff and school counsellors. In-service teachers also receive refresher training as part of their professional development.
When any incident of bullying within or outside schools is reported, schools and IHLs conduct thorough investigations before deciding on the appropriate course of action. We adopt a tiered approach based on the severity of incident. In cases arising from careless remarks and misunderstandings, teachers guide students to resolve their differences and reach a common understanding. For cases involving persistent, intentional acts of bullying, serious disciplinary actions are taken in addition to the restorative actions. For cyber bullying incidents, schools guide students to report these to the online service provider. When schools and IHLs come to know of any incident of severe bullying or fights, they work closely with parents and the authorities to ensure students’ well-being and safety. They also mete out the necessary disciplinary consequences and guide students to change their thinking and behaviours so that they can learn to be responsible members of the community.
Similarly, our schools and IHLs consider the seriousness of the incident and take into consideration the profile and needs of the students involved, when taking disciplinary actions. Schools may put perpetrators on detention or even suspend them from attending lessons. Caning is used as a last resort for boys and carried out in an appropriate manner only by authorised adults. For severe bullying or fights, a Police report will be made and perpetrators will face legal consequences in accordance with the law.
Whenever a student is affected by bullying, whether as a victim or perpetrator, the teachers and school counsellors provide emotional support to help the student cope and mend relationships. Students who continue to be distressed will be referred to community resources such as the Response, Early Intervention and Assessment in Community mental Health (REACH) teams for more specialised support.
The objective of these educative and restorative efforts is to help students learn from their mistakes. These efforts are taken to turn the bully around, rather than just “expelling” or suspending them from school. When relationships are affected due to conflicts and misconduct, schools and institutions take steps to educate, discipline and restore relationships in the school community, and these efforts require parents’ support and partnership.
Parental guidance and partnerships are vital in shaping children’s character. Parents guide their children by role-modelling positive behaviour and interaction with others. When a child faces bullying, parents are encouraged to remain calm and provide emotional support, reinforcing pro-social values and coping skills. Similarly, when a child has bullied someone, parents can guide their child to learn from the mistake, apologise sincerely and make amends. As mending relationships and improving behaviour require time and practice, parents are encouraged to collaborate closely with schools to address the situation effectively.
When students witness bullying incidents, they are reminded not to record and share the incidents online to avoid further hurting the parties involved. Similarly, when videos become viral, everyone should exercise care in responding to them. Circulating such materials, trying to doxx the student perpetrators or calling for them to be ostracised, could isolate them even more, drive them to extremes and make it harder for them to mend their ways. The bullying perpetrators often also need help to turn over a new leaf. As a society, we must be careful not to normalise such behaviours unintentionally. Let us stand together to discourage copycats and attempts to out-viral the last bullying video.
MOE will continue to work with schools to share good practices and review the strategies to manage bullying. We will continue to update these education and intervention measures and partner parents to create caring and safe learning environments for our students.
I thank Members of Parliament and members of the public for showing their concern about this issue. With your help to monitor community and online spaces to keep our students safe and to stop bullying incidents among students when you witness them, we will be that village that raises our children well.
Finally, Mr Speaker, Sir, bullying is a multi-faceted issue that defies one-size-fits-all solutions. It requires a nuanced approach that carefully considers the well-being and reform of both victims and perpetrators. We all hold the power and duty to support each other and to foster an environment where healing and change are possible. We want to steer clear of actions that might hinder or deny a perpetrator’s chance for rehabilitation, such as counter-productive social media behaviours. True justice blends punishment with rehabilitation.
Ms Hazel Poa (Non-Constituency Member): The Minister mentioned just now that the trend of bullying in the past five years has remained steady. As trends for social behaviours may take some time, this five-year timeframe may not be sufficient. Does the Minister have figures over a longer timeframe like, for example, 20 years?
Secondly, have there been studies into why children or young people engage in bullying behaviour, with a view to identifying whether there are any ways of pre-empting such behaviour?
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not have the last 20 years of data. I have already explained that in the last few years, the data has been relatively stable. The only thing that we have changed in the classification is that, previously, we did not account for instances that happened outside of school, but more recently, we have also put that into our data. That is about the only change that we have done recently.
On the second issue that Ms Hazel Poa mentioned, this is exactly the point, because it is not about focusing on just the bullying, but the potential causes of why people engage in such behaviours, whether is it children or adults or teenagers, and there are many reasons for this. I think the literature has various hypotheses on this. But for more recent events, one of the things that we watch closely is the impact of the COVID-19 safe distancing measures and the reduction in opportunities for our children to grow up interacting with people, as they would have done previously, and whether this would have an impact on the kind of social or anti-social behaviours that they have.
The second thing that we are watching very closely is what is happening on the Internet. Sometimes, even though the numbers are the same, the virality of some of these instances will then spawn copycats or attempts to “out-viral” the last known instance. That is why when we respond to such instances, we have to be very careful to not aggravate the situation.
Mobile Guardian App Breach
8 May 2024
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) how many parents and staff respectively have had their data leaked in the data security breach incident concerning unauthorised access into the user management portal of Mobile Guardian; and (b) what are the steps being taken to raise the security level on such portals.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: This question has been addressed by Parliamentary Question Nos 28 to 31, as published in the Circular for Written Answers on 7 May 2024. [Please refer to “Probe into Recent Mobile Guardian Data Breach Incident and Impact on Cybersecurity Measures for School Apps”, Official Report, 7 May 2024, Vol 95, Issue 135, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer not Answered by End of Question Time section.]
10 September 2024
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) whether there is an update on the efforts to restore devices that are affected by the Mobile Guardian system glitch and cybersecurity breach; and (b) in particular, whether students taking their national examinations have all been able to restore their devices.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mr Speaker, Sir, my response will cover the Oral PQs raised by Dr Tan Wu Meng, Mr Patrick Tay, Mr Darryl David, Dr Lim Wee Kiak, Mr Christopher de Souza, Mr Sharael Taha, Mr Dennis Tan, Mr Gerald Giam, Ms He Ting Ru and Ms Hazel Poa.
In addition, I will also address two Written PQs by Ms Joan Pereira and Mr Gerald Giam, and I invite Members to seek clarifications, as needed.
Mr Speaker, Sir, Members have asked for the reasons behind the continued use of Mobile Guardians’ Device Management Application, or DMA, after the data breach incident in April this year; details of the technical issue in July; the cybersecurity incident in August; and the support provided to affected students and our approach to using technology for teaching and learning following this episode.
Sir, let me, first, recap the purpose of the DMA.
The DMA supports students, as they learn, to use their personal learning devices (PLDs) safely and responsibly. For example, DMA blocks students’ access to undesirable Internet content, such as gambling or pornography, and sets screen time limits. I will now share what happened in April and the actions taken by the Ministry of Education (MOE).
The incident in April was due to poor password management practice within Mobile Guardian, allowing the attacker to gain unauthorised access to Mobile Guardians’ Management Portal, which led to the data breach. To ensure continued safe use, Mobile Guardian immediately locked down its admin accounts and mandated all account holders to change their passwords. As I had told this House in May, Mobile Guardians’ Management Portal is used for administrative purposes and does not have the ability to change any configuration on students’ PLDs. The Mobile Guardian app was, thus, not affected during the April incident.
MOE immediately registered strong dissatisfaction to Mobile Guardian over the incident and asked that an independent forensic investigator be appointed to evaluate Mobile Guardian systems and processes, and make recommendations to prevent a recurrence. Subsequent findings from the forensic investigator pointed to poor password management practices and Mobile Guardian responded by implementing additional security measures, such as strengthening authentication controls and fixing vulnerabilities.
These enhancements were deployed on 31 May. On the night of 30 May, a member of the public reported a potential vulnerability in the Mobile Guardian app to MOE. Our information technology (IT) security team immediately investigated the report in the morning of 31 May. However, as explained earlier, because Mobile Guardian had rolled out a patch just before, attempts to replicate the vulnerability disclosed by the member of public was not successful.
An independent certified penetration tester engaged by Mobile Guardian to conduct additional penetration tests in June further confirmed that this vulnerability reported by the member of the public, had been closed. The independent test uncovered new vulnerabilities, which Mobile Guardian had committed to fix. However, before it could complete the work, some schools started reporting, on 30 July, that some PLDs had lost the ability to connect to the Internet and, in some cases, total loss of usage.
We quickly established then that this glitch was not related to the April data breach incident, neither was it a cyberattack. Instead, it was due to a human error by a Mobile Guardian engineer, who configured a wrong expiry date, causing the app to stop working. To rectify the misconfiguration, an online update to the Mobile Guardian application was immediately deployed to all iPad users.
Five days later, on 4 August, Mobile Guardian suffered a cyberattack, which remotely wiped out the iPads of some of their global customers, including 13,000 PLDs in our schools or approximately 8% of devices used by our secondary school population. To contain the breach, Mobile Guardian immediately shut down their servers.
As a precautionary measure, MOE embarked on the systematic removal of the Mobile Guardian app from all iPad and Chromebook PLDs the next day. Our priority was to help affected students, particularly those sitting for national examinations, so that learning and revision could continue. We deployed over 300 additional IT engineers and staff to schools to help students restore their devices as well as provided instruction sheets to those students who wanted to troubleshoot their own devices.
All devices have since been restored for use last month. About one in six of the 13,000 affected PLDs lost some degree of data and less than 5% were unable to recover all their data, as their devices had previously not been backed up. During this period, schools made available hard copy learning resources while supporting students who were emotionally affected. Deadlines for assignments were extended and weighted assessments postponed, where needed.
Students can continue to access learning resources on the Singapore Student Learning Space, or SLS. Through this episode, it was most heartening to see many of our students step forward and proactively share their personal notes with classmates and organise study sessions to do revision for their tests and examinations together.
We thank the vigilant members of the public who had flagged the potential vulnerability, our colleagues in the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) and the Cybersecurity Agency (CSA), and also the media community, who rallied around MOE to give the much-needed support, which helped our students learn the positives during this incident.
MOE requires our IT service providers to keep our systems and data safe. Our forensic investigations with GovTech and CSA into the 4 August incident, found a new vulnerability in the Mobile Guardian system that could allow an individual to carry out the attack. This is a timely reminder that cyber threats can evolve quickly. While no security test can be entirely exhaustive, MOE expects its contractors to regularly assess and strengthen their system’s security posture.
Due to this incident, MOE has decided to cease the use of Mobile Guardian in all PLDs. MOE has also taken legal actions against the relevant contractors. MOE is currently studying options for an alternative DMA solution for iPad and Chromebook PLDs. We will work towards rolling out the new DMA solution by the new school year in January 2025.
Until the new DMA solution is in place, schools have instituted additional processes to ensure that the PLDs are used safely and responsibly during school hours. MOE has activated web filtering through the Google Admin Console or Chromebook PLDs and through Parents Gateway, shared instructions on how to activate Apple’s built-in parental controls on iPads. This way, parents can set boundaries, like screen time, routines and restrict access to unsavoury sites.
While the recent spate of incidents was highly unfortunate, this must not deter us from delivering education through technology as they enrich our students’ learning experiences. We must learn to embrace educational technology in our teaching and learning so that our students grow up to be digitally savvy, able to navigate digital environments and take on the opportunities and challenges of the future.
All of us can learn from this incident. It is an important reminder for all of us to practise good digital hygiene, including the regular backing up of information.
Ms Hazel Poa (Non-Constituency Member): I would like to ask the Minister whether are there any learning points from this episode with respect to the service provider assessment process?
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mr Speaker, Sir, yes, there are various learning points. When we contract for software as a service, we all know that there will be certain risks involved when we subscribe to any of these software as a service. So, that is a given.
In the selection process, I think one of the things in any agencies, government or commercial, that we must be conscious of is that we can make a choice between two extremes. One is subscribe to a service that is generally available but not customised. It may not meet your needs but it may be more accessible. The other one is that you can try to make it much more customised according to your needs but you require a unique solution.
Somewhere between these two, you must find that balance because both sides have risks, whether you use a widely accessible software as a service solution, which has its pluses and minuses – you can change and evolve much faster because the subscriber base is much bigger, but you may not have all the services you require. If you go for customised service, you might not have all the services and the updates as quickly as you want because it is much more customised, according to your needs. So, somewhere between these two, we must always find the balance, according to the different risk profiles and the different needs.
Fee Discrepancies for Non-ASEAN Students in Polytechnics and Universities
9 September 2024
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) whether the respective fees paid by non-ASEAN international students (i) in polytechnics or (ii) who are undergraduates and who pay fees nett of a tuition grant, are lower than their fees for secondary school and junior college; and (b) if so, what is the justification for such a situation.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: International students pay higher tuition fees than Singaporean and Singapore Permanent Resident students at the same level of study. Tuition fees for international students in polytechnics and autonomous universities are also higher than those paid by international students in secondary schools and junior colleges.
Eligible international students enrolled in the polytechnics and autonomous universities can apply for a Ministry of Education (MOE) Tuition Grant. If successful, they will pay lower tuition fees, but they are required to work in a Singapore entity for three years upon graduation. International students in secondary schools and junior colleges do not receive Tuition Grant nor have such obligations, so the annual fees they pay are higher than the fees paid by international students receiving Tuition Grant at polytechnics and some university courses. However, even with Tuition Grant, the annual fees payable by international students are higher than Singaporean students in the same course.
Tertiary Institutions Grading Students According to Bell Curve
6 August 2024
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) whether tertiary institutions grade students according to a bell curve; and (b) if so, whether there are plans to change this.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: This question has been addressed by written answer to Parliamentary Question No 81 during the Sitting on 2 July 2024. [Please refer to “Bell Curves to Determine Final Grade or Grade Point Average for Students in ITEs, Polytechnics and Autonomous Universities”, Official Report, 2 July 2024, Vol 95, Issue 137, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer not Answered by End of Question Time section.]
Government Scholarships Granted to International Students
2 July 2024
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education in each year since 2019 (a) how many (i) pre-tertiary (ii) polytechnic and (iii) university international students have been granted scholarships by the Singapore Government, respectively; (b) what is the median annual cost for each category of scholarships, respectively; and (c) what is the proportion of undergraduate international students who are (i) on tuition grant only (ii) on a combination of tuition grant and scholarships and (iii) full-fee paying.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: International students on scholarships make up less than 1% of pre-tertiary and tertiary students. The average nominal value of the scholarships depends on their level and course of study. We do not offer scholarships for international students to study at the polytechnics.
About half of undergraduate international students pay fees net of a tuition grant, while a quarter receive both tuition grant and scholarship. The remaining pay full fees as international students. All students who receive the tuition grant are required to work in Singapore for at least three years upon graduation.
Resignation Rates for Teachers
2 July 2024
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education in each year since 2018 (a) what is the overall resignation rate for the entire teacher population; (b) what is the resignation rate of teachers (i) over the first five years of service and (ii) when their bonds end, respectively; and (c) what percentage of teachers who resigned cited workload or burnout as a reason for leaving the service.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: The annual resignation rate of teachers has remained stable at around 2% per year since 2018. The average resignation rate in the first five years of service is 2.5%. The resignation rate among teachers with three to five years of service, the period when the bonds end, is around 4%. Workload or burnout is not a commonly cited reason for teachers leaving the service.
Allowing Gifted Children to Skip Grades
2 July 2024
29 Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) what is the Ministry’s position on allowing exceptionally gifted children to (i) skip grades or (ii) attend university earlier; and (b) how many of such students have there been in the past five years.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: The Ministry of Education (MOE) will allow the grade-skipping of an exceptionally gifted student in the MOE school system, if he or she is assessed to be ready, both academically and socio-emotionally, for the higher grade level.
For exceptionally gifted students who apply for early admission to our local autonomous universities (AUs), their applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. In the last five years, no exceptionally gifted students skipped a grade in our schools. One exceptionally gifted student gained early admission to an AU.
Counsellors in Schools
2 July 2024
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) what is the current counsellor-student ratio in schools and whether this is uniform across all schools regardless of their size; (b) what percentage of schools have two or more school counsellors; (c) what percentage of students have sought help from counsellors; and (d) how have these metrics changed since 2020.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Schools are resourced with one or two trained school counsellors, depending on need. Schools can also deploy flexi-adjunct school counsellors or teacher-counsellors to augment the support for their students. Since 2020, about one-third of schools have two school counsellors. During the same period, an average of 1.5% of the students have approached their school counsellors for help in each year.
Character and Citizenship Education Lessons on Gaza Conflict
2 April 2024
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) whether he can make public the content and materials of the Character and Citizenship Education lesson on the Israel-Hamas conflict; and (b) whether any teacher has declined to deliver a lesson and, if so, how is such a situation dealt with.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mr Speaker, Sir, these questions have been addressed in my response on the Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) Lesson on the Israel-Hamas Conflict at Ministry of Education’s (MOE’s) Committee of Supply (COS) Debate on 4 March 2024, which can be found on MOE’s website.
I understand that Mr Leong was absent during my speech and our subsequent discussion, while Ms Hazel Poa was around. So, with your permission, Mr Speaker, Sir, may I ask the Clerks to distribute the transcript of my response. Members may also access these materials through the MP@SGParl app.
Mr Speaker: Please proceed. [A handout was distributed to hon Members.]
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mr Speaker, Sir, if I may continue, Ms Hazel Poa may refer to paragraphs 40 to 41 in the handout, on making the lesson materials public; and paragraph 9 as well as paragraphs 18 to 21, on the response of teachers and how we are supporting our teachers to deliver the lessons. Mr Leong Mun Wai may also refer to paragraphs 13 to 16 on how the lesson materials are customised for different levels of students.
Mr Sharael Taha may refer to paragraph 36 on how teachers ensure a safe space for discussion of such issues, and paragraphs 28 to 31 and paragraph 51 on the lesson’s intent for students to learn how to maintain our religious and racial harmony.
Ms Hazel Poa (Non-Constituency Member): The Minister has said that instead of releasing the slides, MOE would prefer to explain directly to the parents. Can the Minister let us know, how many schools have organised such dialogue sessions?
And secondly, I understand that the CCE materials were curated with the help of the other agencies, like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), can I ask the Minister whether there were any prior consultations, given the context of this issue, with community and religious leaders, as well as prior consultation with the teachers who are to deliver these lessons?
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mr Speaker, Sir, on the first supplementary question, the offer stands. All our schools are prepared to engage parents who are concerned with the material. And so far, some schools have received such requests. Most of them have not received these requests. For those schools that have received these requests, they have engaged the parents.
On the second question about consultation, yes, indeed, MOE consult various stakeholders, but I think we have to be clear when we use the word “consult”, what do we mean? Do we mean to consult to do or not to do, or do we mean to consult on the content of what to do? And I can be sure, we all in this House can be sure, that in any consultation there will be a diversity of views of to do or not to do. Ultimately, consultation does not take away the leadership responsibility for us to decide what is right and necessary to do for our own society and our children. So, yes, we consult but, ultimately, we need to make that leadership decision. And that is our responsibility.
Second, on whether we consult on the content, as I have said, in my parliamentary explanation on 4 March, this is not a history lesson and we welcome suggestions from all Members on how we can make the material more targeted, more suitable. But I will be the first one to admit that I think none of us, none of us, not even historians, will be able to come up with what would be considered a fair representation from everyone’s perspective – and that is not our goal.
As I have mentioned before, in my media interview, we are not here to adjudicate between the right and wrong of a conflict that has happened for many years, decades, if not centuries. Each and every one of us will judge the material from our own perspective and come to our conclusion to what is fair or not.
If there are constructive suggestions on how we can simplify the material to make it simpler, better, we welcome that. But I would caution against thinking that any one of us can come up with a set of materials that will satisfy everybody. And that is not our goal.
Our goal is to understand that such differences exist and they have an emotive pull on different segments of our population in different directions. And our goal is to ask ourselves how to help our children navigate through these challenges, come to their conclusions, but, most importantly, not lose the peace and harmony that we have in this land. And it is a work that is in progress, a work that is very much in progress.
Fees and Subsidies for University Students
2 April 2024
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education for students studying all types of degrees at our local universities in 2023 (a) what are the total fees paid by local and international students respectively; and (b) what are the total subsidies including allowances and stipends given to local and international students respectively.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Tuition fees in our Autonomous Universities (AUs) are differentiated by citizenship, with international students paying higher fees than Singapore Citizen students for the same course. The annual tuition fees can be found on the AUs’ websites. Students pay fees to the AUs and the total amount of fees paid is dependent on the student enrolment in an academic year. The Ministry of Education (MOE) does not collect this data.
The bulk of MOE’s $2.65 billion budget for AUs in FY2024 will go towards supporting the education of Singapore Citizens. International students at the AUs receive lower subsidies than Singapore Citizens. International students also form a small proportion of the total undergraduate student population (about 10%¹ ) at our AUs. [Please refer to “Full-fee Paying vs Tuition Grant-receiving Non-Singaporean Students in Government-funded Autonomous Universities”, Official Report, 12 September 2022, Vol 95, Issue 67, Written Answers to Questions section.]
Note(s) to Question No(s) 24:
¹ The Member can refer to the reply on the proportion of international students enrolled in our AUs (at the undergraduate level) at the Parliamentary Sitting on 12 Sept 2022.
Separate Sittings of National Examinations
6 February 2024
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) whether students are able to combine results from separate sittings of (i) GCE O-level examinations when applying for admissions into educational institutions like polytechnics and junior colleges and (ii) GCE A-level examinations when applying for admissions into universities; (b) whether the same arrangement will apply to the planned Secondary Education Certificate examinations from 2027; and (c) whether the same arrangements apply to international students.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Under the current Joint Admissions Exercise, applicants from the Ministry of Education (MOE) schools may combine results from two separate sittings of the GCE “O” level examination when applying for admission to Junior Colleges (JC), Millenia Institute (MI), polytechnics or the Institute of Technical Education. This arrangement will continue under the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate examinations from 2027.
For admission to Autonomous Universities, applicants from JCs and MI are required to use the results from their H2 content-based subjects and General Paper/ Knowledge and Inquiry taken at the same sitting of the “A” level examinations. They are allowed to combine these results with their results from Project Work, Mother Tongue Language and H1 content-based subjects from a separate sitting.
These arrangements and requirements apply to local and international students from MOE schools.
Students Admitted to ITE
6 February 2024
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) in the past three years, what is the annual number of students who apply to ITE; (b) of these, what is the number of students who gain admission to ITE broken down by (i) O-level qualifications (ii) N(A)-level qualifications (iii) N(T)-level qualifications and (iv) other qualifications.
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education with regard to admissions into Institutes of Technical Education (a) how is the allocation of places between O-level and N-level students decided; and (b) how are the grades on subjects taken at the different Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) levels taken into account when computing the points for admission.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Between 2021 and 2023, around 12,700 secondary school students from all streams applied to Nitec and Higher Nitec courses at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) each year. Subject grades taken at different levels are converted to ITE aggregate points, which are then used for admission. Each year, around 10,900 students enrolled in ITE. Most of the students who did not enrol in ITE were Normal (Academic) students who progressed to other pathways, such as Secondary 5 or the Polytechnic Foundation Programme.
The Ministry of Education will continue to cater sufficient post-secondary places for all secondary school students across the different pathways.
Noise Regulations in Public Schools
10 January 2024
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) whether there are noise regulations relating to public educational institutions for both during and after their operating hours; and (b) if so, what are these regulations.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Public educational institutions follow the same regulations and guidelines for noise as other entities.
Integrated Programme Students Taking GCE ‘O’ Level As Private Candidates
7 November 2023
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education whether students in Government, Government-aided and independent schools, such as (i) students on the Integrated Programme who wish to sit for GCE O-level examinations and (ii) students who wish to register for subjects not offered by their schools, are allowed to register for GCE O-level examinations as private candidates.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Students in Government, Government-aided, independent and specialised schools are not allowed to register for the GCE O-Level examinations as private candidates, as they will already register as school candidates. However, schools have the discretion to register students as school candidates for the O-Level examinations in subjects not offered by the school. Schools exercise this option judiciously and consider the overall curriculum and assessment load, aspirations and well-being of their students.
For students in the Integrated Programme (IP), we encourage them to pursue broader learning experiences using the time freed up from preparing for the O-Level examinations. They are allowed to take the O-Level examination as school candidates in some instances, such as to fulfil the national policy on mother tongue language, if they are in the Third Language Programme or in the Art/Music Elective Programmes. Beyond this, allowing IP students to take the O-Level examinations as private candidates would go against the intent of the Integrated Programme.
ITE Students Proceeding to Polytechnics
3 August 2023
Ms Hazel Poa (Non-Constituency Member): I would like to seek a clarification from the Minister. Given that the GPA has been increased from 2.0 to 2.5, each year, how many ITE students with a GPA of between 2.0 and 2.5 enrol in the polytechnics? Was there a study done into how they fare in their polytechnic studies? For example, what percentage was able to successfully complete their polytechnic course?
Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman: The group of students with a GPA of 2.0 to 2.5 is very small. As it is, they apply to get in and, based on the number of places available, most who get admitted would already have gotten a GPA of 2.5 and above. Those with a GPA of 2.0 to 2.5 do complete their polytechnic education, but we notice that their completion rates may not be as good as those with a GPA of 2.5 and above.
But I just want to say that those who have a GPA of 2.0 and above have access to other diploma courses. Today, ITE provides diploma courses in the form of a work-study diploma as well a technical diploma. These are diplomas provided by ITE and these are more hands-on.
We notice that for some of these students, they do better in hands-on-related courses that are offered at the diploma level for our students in ITE. The employment outcomes for the technical diploma as well as the work-study diploma are equivalent to the outcomes of students who receive a diploma from our polytechnics.
18 September 2023
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education for each year in the past five years (a) how many ITE students attained a Grade Point Average of between 2.0 and 2.5; (b) how many of these students proceeded to enrol into polytechnics; and (c) what percentage of these students successfully completed their polytechnic courses.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: In the past five years, around 300 Higher Nitec students with a net Grade Point Average (GPA) of between 2.0 and 2.5 progressed to the polytechnics yearly. The performance and completion rates of ITE graduates in our polytechnics generally correlate with their GPA obtained, with students obtaining a GPA above 2.5 doing better than those below.
Starting Salary of Foreign Graduates
9 January 2023
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) in each of the last 20 years, what are the numbers and percentages of foreign graduates from local universities and local polytechnics who entered our workforce respectively; and (b) what is the median starting salary of these foreign and local graduates respectively.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: The proportion of international students in our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) has been 10% on average. Their employment outcomes and wages are similar to the local students.
Citizens Who Apply To Read Medicine But Are Rejected
7 November 2022
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) in the past five years, how many Singapore Citizens applied to study medicine in our local Universities but were rejected due to (i) not meeting the entry requirements (ii) meeting the entry requirements but there were not enough places in the University and (iii) other reasons, and what are these; (b) what are these entry requirements; and (c) how do these requirements compare with those of foreign universities whose qualifications we accept for medical practice in Singapore.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Admission to Medicine programmes in the Autonomous Universities (AUs) is a rigorous process based on merit. Applicants are required to meet minimum academic prerequisites as stated on the AUs’ websites, and present personal portfolios with positive referee reports. Shortlisted candidates are required to undergo interviews, where they are assessed not only on academic ability, but also attributes, such as care for others and good communication skills.
The medical schools at NUS and NTU attract applications from many highly-qualified Singaporean students. Of the Singapore Citizens who applied to Medicine in NUS and NTU in the last five years, about 2,400 applicants per year, on average, were rejected. About two-thirds of those rejected did not meet the admissions criteria as determined by the respective medical schools.
The list of foreign medical schools whose qualifications are accepted for medical practice in Singapore is governed by the Medical Registration Act, which is publicly accessible. We do not track admissions criteria in overseas universities.
To meet manpower needs in the medical sector, the Government has increased the pipeline of locally-trained doctors over the last 10 years by raising the combined intake in the medical schools by about 60% from around 320 in 2010 to 510 in 2019.
We will continue to balance and cater to the manpower needs of the various sectors across the economy. To ensure a fair share of talent to meet the diverse needs of the various sectors, all manpower planning must be considered holistically as a system in totality and not in isolation.
SkillsFuture Training and Job Offers
7 November 2022
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) how many Singaporeans and Permanent Residents have received SkillsFuture training to date; and (b) of those who receive training, how many have been offered jobs, broken down by age group and sectors, respectively.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) publishes the number of Singaporeans and Permanent Residents who benefited from SSG-supported programmes each year. In 2021, the number was about 660,000 individuals and, in 2020, the number was around 540,000.
SSG-supported training goes towards fostering upskilling and reskilling for the broad swath of Singaporeans across ages and career stages. This includes workers who are in-employment and picking up skills that are relevant to their current jobs, as well as individuals who are looking to make career transitions and hence picking up skills for the job they aspire to move to.
Individuals who were offered jobs are, typically, those who make career transitions. For this group, the SSG-supported Train-and-Place programmes are designed to equip individuals with industry-relevant skills coupled with employment facilitation. During the pandemic, these were ramped up as the SGUnited Skills (SGUS) and SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme – Company Training (SGUP-CT) to support jobseekers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over 26,000 Singaporeans and Permanent Residents participated in the SGUS and SGUP-CT programmes as of end-March 2022, that is, FY2021. Around 64% of those below aged 40 and 56% of those aged 40 and above found employment within six months after course completion. The largest number of placements were in the Information & Communications, Healthcare, and Professional Services sectors.
With the recovery of the economy, SSG has transited the SGUnited programmes to the steady state SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme which was officially launched in April 2022. These courses will continue to support mid-career workers in transitioning into in-demand sectors. As courses are ongoing, data on placements are not yet available.
Student-initiated Learning
4 October 2022
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education since the introduction of Student-Initiated Learning (SIL) (a) how many schools have implemented SIL; (b) how has it been implemented; and (c) what has been the outcome of the implementation.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: At the end of May 2022, more than eight in 10 Secondary schools and pre-University institutions have implemented Student-Initiated Learning (SIL) as part of regular Home-Based Learning (HBL) days. SIL is a component of HBL days where time is set aside for students to pursue their own interests and learn outside the curriculum. This is to encourage students to be more curious and self-directed in their learning.
Schools have the flexibility to implement SIL in ways to better support their students’ interests and needs. For example, some schools have facilitated the grouping of students with similar interests, so that they can explore their interests together. Some schools have provided students who needed more guidance with suggested activities or resources at the start and will reduce the scaffolds over time.
Students have responded positively to SIL, pursuing interests such as learning foreign languages, learning to play musical instruments, programming, cooking or serving the community. Preliminary feedback indicates that SIL is valued by schools and students. We will evaluate the outcomes when the initiative is fully implemented.
Training for Foreigners
3 October 2022
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) whether there are any Government-subsidised training schemes available to work pass holders, long-term visit pass holders and dependant pass holders; and (b) if so, what are these schemes and what is the amount of subsidy spent on each group in each of the past three years.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Continuing Education and Training (CET) schemes and subsidies provided by the Government primarily benefit Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. These schemes seek to support our local workforce in upskilling and reskilling to improve their employability, as well as to meet the industry and enterprises’ skills demand.
Training subsidies for MOE/SSG-supported modular courses and Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) courses that Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents enjoy are extended only to Long-Term Visit Pass Plus (LTVP+) holders, who are eligible foreign spouses of Singapore Citizens, in recognition that they are likely to remain in Singapore, contribute to the financial support for their families and contribute to our economy.
Since October 2021, the expenditure on CET subsidies for LTVP+ holders enrolled in modular courses and WSQ courses is less than 0.02% of the total CET subsidies that SSG provides for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents.
Non-Singaporean University Students
12 September 2022
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) what is the current number of non-Singapore citizen students in each Government-funded autonomous university; (b) what are the absolute number and percentage of non-Singapore citizen students who are paying full fees versus those receiving tuition grants; and (c) whether the Ministry has similar data on autonomous universities in countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand and, if so, how do the data compare with each other.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: The proportion of International Students (ISes) enrolled in the Autonomous Universities (AUs) at undergraduate level has remained at around 10% in recent years, while the proportion of Singapore Permanent Residents (SPRs) has been less than 5%.
The proportion of ISes in the AUs who are paying full fees has been around 20%. The remainder are recipients of tuition grants, which require them to work in Singapore for at least three years upon graduation, as part of their service obligation.
The proportion of international students and fees that they pay varies across other countries, and some may also administer financial aid. We do not track the data.
Discriminatory Statements by HCI School Counsellor
2 August 2022
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education with regard to the staff in Hwa Chong Institution who delivered discriminatory content (a) what are the duties that he is retaining; and (b) what safeguard is in place to ensure that such incident does not happen again.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Following the incident, the school counsellor, who is an employee of Hwa Chong Institution (HCI), has been suspended from all duties, pending further investigation by the school personnel board.
Parents and students have been given the assurance that the views expressed by the counsellor do not reflect that of the school. The school has also emphasised the importance of respect and care for everyone in the school community.
The school has been watching out for students who may be affected by this incident. Teachers have been vigilant in monitoring their students’ well-being, and students who have concerns or require support have been encouraged to approach the School Leaders or a trusted adult in school.
The school is reviewing its processes to ensure alignment with MOE’s curriculum and guidelines.
Home-Based Learning
4 October 2021
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education whether the Ministry will consider moving schools to HBL in view of the spike in the number of COVID-19 cases.
The Minister for Education (Mr Chan Chun Sing): Mr Speaker, Sir, can I have your permission to take Question Nos 21 and 22 together?
Mr Speaker: Yes, please.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: MOE’s approach has been to keep schools safe so that they can remain open as far as possible. We recognise that home-based learning (HBL) cannot be a full substitute for the school-based learning experience. On a prolonged basis, it comes at a cost not just to students’ learning but also their socio-emotional development and mental well-being. It also imposes a burden on families and society. Moreover, not all students have a home environment conducive to HBL.
The past few months have given us greater confidence that we can strike a balance by taking a more targeted approach to ringfence cases and their close contacts. For example, rather than resorting to full HBL across all schools, or the entire level, we would only place affected classes on HBL in response to a confirmed case, if there is a possibility of transmission within schools.
To reduce the possible disruption to the PSLE cohort and as an additional precautionary measure for Primary schools, we had placed all our Primary schools on HBL from 27 September to 6 October. Subsequently, when the national posture tightened, this was extended by a day to include 7 October, effectively covering Term 4, Week 3 to 4, or two weeks, given that Children’s Day on 8 October is already a school holiday.
Schools mitigate the impact of HBL by using technology to minimise disruption to curriculum coverage and maintain social connections. Teachers use online platforms and resources to ensure that students who are away from school can continue learning and conduct regular check-ins with these students to monitor their well-being. Schools have sufficient computing devices and Internet-enabling devices to loan to students and remain open for high needs students and those without alternative caregiving arrangements during HBL.
We will continue to review the need for further periods of HBL, based on the prevailing COVID-19 situation and national posture.
GCE ‘A’ Levels in Integrated Programme
1 March 2021
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) in 2020, what is the number of Integrated Programme students; (b) what is the average class size; (c) how many of them took the GCE “A” levels in 2019; and (d) how many of them could not meet the entry requirements for local universities.
Mr Lawrence Wong: Around 4,000 Secondary 1 students enter the Integrated Programme (IP) each year, which is roughly 10% of the PSLE cohort. The average class size in IP schools is similar to that of other secondary schools (for IP Years 1 to 4) and JCs (for IP Years 5 and 6).
IP students may obtain the GCE A-Level certificate, International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma, or NUS High School Diploma at the end of the six-year programme. About 3,300 IP students sat for the 2019 GCE A-Level examination, with similar numbers doing so in 2020. Of the IP students who sat for the GCE A-Level in 2019, more than 95% qualified for our local Autonomous Universities.
Private Candidates
16 February 2021
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education whether any financial assistance is available to students not attending Government, Government-aided or Government-funded schools but who are preparing for national examinations like the PSLE, GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ Levels as private candidates.
Mr Lawrence Wong: MOE’s financial assistance schemes are available to eligible Singaporean students studying in government and government-aided schools, specialised schools, independent schools and special education schools. In addition, fees for the four national examinations (i.e. PSLE, GCE N-Level, O-Level, and A-Level) are waived for all Singaporean students studying in these schools.
Students not enrolled in these schools and who require financial support can approach their nearest Social Service Office or other community organisations for assistance.