Committee of Supply – Head K (Ministry of Education)

The Chairman: Head K, Ministry of Education. Ms Denise Phua.

Sacred Cows in Education

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng (Jalan Besar): Chairman, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head K of the Estimates be reduced by $100".

Chairman, I applaud MOE for the many changes it has made to better our education system. For such a time as this, when disruptions come fast and furious, we have no time to waste to ensure that our education system will indeed deliver the self-directed, self-motivated lifelong learners we need for not just a good economy, but also for a caring and inclusive society.

What would our education system look like if we were designing it from scratch? What are the sacred cows that should be examined, modified or slain, if no longer relevant?

I wish to talk about five cows today, namely, Streaming, Gifted Education Programme, Competitions, PSLE and Tuition.

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First one, on Streaming. Jack Neo, in his 2002 movie, "I Not Stupid", one of the highest grossing local films, revolved around the lives of three students in the then EM3 academic stream, showing the ill effects of labelling. Then, the negative effects of streaming were affirmed again by a 2018 social experiment video "Regardless of Class" hosted by Senior Minister of State, Dr Janil Puthucheary. In it, youths from the Integrated Programme, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) streams shared frankly, sometimes painfully, how they perceived each other due to the labelling.

[Deputy Speaker (Mr Lim Biow Chuan) in the Chair]

Sir, doing away with streaming does not equate to putting everyone in the same class for every subject, ignoring the need for each to learn at their own pace and own method. Far from it. One good solution is Subject-based Banding and MOE has done it and shown good results from it.

This is not the first time that MOE has done away with streaming and labelling. In 2004, MOE decided to merge the EM1 and EM2 steams and in 2008, announced that the EM3 academic stream will be scrapped. I therefore recommend that streaming be abolished and replaced by Subject-based Banding for both academics and non-academics subjects.

Next, the second sacred cow – Gifted Education Programme (GEP). I think it should be scrapped if Subject-based Banding can be introduced. What is the point if academically gifted children only mix amongst themselves or with the academically strongest? Why do we not provide natural settings to let them interact and appreciate each other and other people, unlike themselves? GEP should be abolished and students who excel in specific subjects or learn differently can be clustered in subject-banded academic programmes that suit them. For other subjects such as PE, CCA, let the GEP candidates mix with their peers. It will make them better leaders and better human beings.

The third sacred cow I ask for examination is the MOE's "best teacher/best student/best school" Competitions. In the spirit of raising and celebrating as much excellence as possible, MOE should review the underlying principles and workings of the "Best Teacher", "Best School" and "Best Student" type of recognition schemes. If we are aiming for every school indeed to be a good school in its own right and for as many excellent educators as possible, then these schemes should be reviewed. For instance, there are so many great educators out there – more than 30,000 of them, and selecting one or a few of them as the best is not only a challenging task. It does not do justice to the good work of MOE. So, let us take reference from models such as the Malcolm-Baldridge Quality Assuarance Schemes, which does not put a cap to the number of winners; but is a system that welcome as many as possible who can meet the bar of excellence.

Next, on the PSLE – the fourth sacred cow, which was delivered in 1960. The PSLE has been around since 1960. Sir, views even amongst educators, including school leaders, continue to be split over whether it should remain. Even with the latest removal of exams in Primary 1 and 2 and some transitional years, parents and others in society are not blind to the fact that there is still a high-stakes exam at the end of six years of the Primary school education. So, there are good reasons why we should seriously pilot a 10-year through train system from Primary 1 and slain the PSLE sacred cow: (i) it removes the unnecessary step of prematurely sorting children through a high-stakes exam at the age of 12, many of whom are still developing; and (ii) removing PSLE frees up substantive PSLE preparation time which are often hot-housing time to crunch a few selected academic subjects such as English, Math, Science which do not reflect a holistic education.

Abolishing PSLE will provide real space to provide students to become the curious, agile and more self-directed learners that the future economy needs. Removing PSLE will also release some of the self-inflicted pressure and stress in students, families and teachers who have to choose between educating, learning or teaching to the test. Removing PSLE will also remove a reason to feed the ever-growing tuition industry.

Sir, I disagree with Ministry's stand that PSLE is important to "gauge how students have done". There are other ways of conducting formative and summative assessments at any age, in any intervals. Government can carry out the change in a safe manner; by allowing for a cluster of pilot schools with an opt-in option for those who believe that it is time for an alternate system. We can refer to the best such as the Yun-Ku school set up by AliBaba founder Jack Ma.

Finally, on Tuition. MOE should not ignore this elephant in the room and resign to this shadow $1 billion education industry. The tuition industry is more nimble and responsive to the needs of its customer base and MOE can learn from them. MOE has started its own online learning platform to increase the access of good learning resources to all but new online on-demand tutoring platforms have already started in the tuition industry. I believe that if MOE puts its heart to it, it can find ways by which it can take on the tuition industry and remove the excesses of the over-reliance of tuition, especially for students who do not need it.

The Chairman: Ms Phua, can you round up your speech?

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: I, therefore, seek Ministry’s consideration to examine, to diagnose and to consider slaying the five sacred cows I have mentioned today – Streaming, GEP, Competitions, PSLE and Tuition.

Question proposed.

Subject-based Banding

Mr Ang Wei Neng (Jurong): Thirty years ago when I was an undergraduate, I worked as a relief teacher at Bukit Batok Secondary School. Ms Belinda Charles was the principal then. I taught students from both the Normal and Express Streams and the students from both Express and Normal Streams were using the same textbook. However, certain segments of the textbook were not meant for the Normal stream students.

As a young and idealistic teacher at that time, I tried to interest the students in Science no matter which streams they were from. Even when certain sections were not supposed to be taught to the Normal Stream students, I continued to teach them because I wanted to interest them. However, the Normal Stream students were quick to dismiss most of what was in their textbooks. They said, "We are taking the reduced syllabus, so no need to learn." There was a sense of resigned acceptance and defeat. That left a deep impression on me.

After the lesson, one Normal Stream student came to see me for advice. She told me she had a deep interest in Chinese and she would like to study Chinese at the level that was the same as the Express Stream student. I snapped at her and told her to work hard to get herself into the Express Stream. Otherwise, she would not have the chance to learn Chinese at the higher level. She left very disappointed. That left another deep impression on me.

Streaming has been a part of our education system since 1980. It was introduced with good intentions, to allow every student to learn at a pace suited to their abilities. However, the biggest drawback is labelling. Students in the Normal Stream often feel defeated and that limits their potential.

To address that, Subject-based Banding (SBB) was introduced, and it was very good. Students doing SBB had done well and clearly, SBB has shown that sometimes we pigeon-hole and stream our young too early. They have potential which can be unleashed though avenues like SBB. Thus, I will like to suggest that MOE to seriously consider expanding SBB further to blur the distinction between the Normal and Express Streams students.

Streaming and Subject-based Banding

Mr Charles Chong (Punggol East): Mr Chairman, streaming of students into groups and bands has its advantages, both for students as well as for teachers. Students can learn at a pace with others who are at the same stage of learning while teachers have to worry less about going too quickly for some students, while going too slowly for others.

However, streaming can have a negative impact and create a class-divide between those whom our education system deems to be academically able and those who are less so.

Over the years, we have seen the impact of streaming on students' self-esteem. Some students in the Normal Stream lose motivation over time, thinking that the label "Normal" means that they cannot excel or even improve. That is plainly wrong! We must recognise that our students' abilities, readiness and motivation can be developed and strengthened over time, and not everyone is cut out to excel at academic learning even if they are excellent in other non-academic areas. Just because someone is not so good in class in certain subjects, it should not define them or lead to a loss of self-esteem.

In Primary school, Subject-based Banding has replaced the old EM2, EM2 and EM3 Streams since the mid 2000s. And it has proven to be effective. Subject-based Banding now allows Secondary school students from the Normal Stream to take certain subjects at a higher academic level. Is it time for us to take the next step? Would the Minister consider replacing the Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) Streams for our secondary schools with an alternative which recognises a wider range of abilities to better cater for the unique strength and interest of students and help build our students' confidence and develop an intrinsic motivation to learn for life?

Abolishing Streaming

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Sir, in my Budget speech, I shared my concerns about streaming and how it might lead to social stratification. I spoke about the immobility in our education system where a student who enters the Normal (Technical) Stream has little chance of leaving this stream. I spoke about how streaming can discourage some students. How is MOE addressing the concerns of social stratification due to streaming? Will MOE consider abolishing streaming in Secondary schools and focus solely on Subject-based Banding which is what we are doing in the Primary schools?

The Chairman: Dr Intan, you have two cuts. Can you take both together?

Academic Streaming

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar (Ang Mo Kio): Thank you, Chairman. Academic streaming was first introduced in our mainstream primary schools in 1979 and in our mainstream secondary schools in 1980 under the then New Education System as a result of the Report on the Ministry of Education published in 1978, or what is popularly known as the Goh Report.

It has been 40 years since we started streaming our students in schools according to their academic abilities – into Normal Bilingual, Extended Bilingual or Monolingual Streams in Primary school, and the Gifted, Special/Express, Normal (Academic) (NA) or Normal (Technical) (NT) Streams in secondary school. Some of us may argue that streaming is necessary and helps to ensure that teaching can be pitched appropriately to students' learning aptitudes and at a pace suited to their academic abilities.

As an academic, I can attest to that utilitarian purpose of academic streaming. However, as a former Secondary school teacher who taught students across the Express, N(A) and N(T) Streams, I must also attest to the undesirable effects of academic streaming.

I was a form teacher and a Mathematics teacher of a Secondary 3 to 4 Normal (Technical) class in 1999-2000. I faced difficulty in getting my students to take an interest in Algebra or Trigonometry. Between my cajoling and scolding, one of my students said to me in exasperation, "Cher, we cannot do Maths. We're Normal Tech". That broke my heart. Not because they really could not do Mathematics. But because they believed they could not. To this day, those words are still so vivid.

I have spoken about academic streaming many times before in this Chamber, and each time, I have called for us to abolish academic streaming. It has been 40 years. It has served its purpose but it is time for us to move on and recognise that academic streaming places self-limiting beliefs on students who think they are only as good as the stream they are in.

The reality is that each of us has abilities and intelligences in different areas and to different extents. Some of us excel in Languages, others excel in Mathematics or the Sciences, while others excel in Sports or the Arts. However, there are still parents, employers and members of public who believe that certain academic streams are inferior and will treat students from those streams with lower expectations, typical of what academics term the Pygmalion or Rosenthal Effect.

With our recognition of the multiple pathways to the different peaks of excellence, and with the implementation of Subject-based Banding for differentiated teaching and learning, and ability-based pedagogies, it is time to reconsider academic streaming and look at ways in which we can remove the academic streams and more importantly, remove these labels that lead to self-limiting beliefs and self-fulfilling prophecies. Subject-based Banding already allows students to take different subjects according to their level of competency, and this is more than sufficient, without the unnecessary labelling.

I hope to see the day when a student's examination transcript and graduation certificate no longer indicates the academic stream that they were in, or if the student took the GCE O- or N-Level examination. Instead, it will indicate the student took English and Mother Tongue languages at the Higher Level, Mathematics and Science at the Standard Level, or Humanities and the Arts at the Foundation Level, as an example.

I hope to see a student's examination transcript showing that the student has a diverse range of abilities in different subjects as well as their strengths in specific ones, and where you can, in no way, discriminate one student from another because of perceptions of their potential based on past abilities in high stakes examinations.

On a related note, I would like to once again, implore the Ministry to reconsider the Express stream academic requirement for students admitted into the Specialised Independent Schools (SIS), the Sports School and School of the Arts (SOTA). There are students who excel in Sports or the Arts but who may not excel in their academic studies because they do qualify for the Express Stream. They are unable to gain admission into the Sports School or SOTA.

With multiple options beyond Secondary school, students who qualify for the Normal Stream should be allowed to be admitted to the Sports School or SOTA where they can still carry on their educational pursuits in the ITE, Polytechnics or through other SkillsFuture related pathways, thereafter. We cannot judge or limit a student's abilities in one area based solely on their abilities in another area, because of current limitations in our admission criteria.

High Stakes Exams and Tuition

Our current high-stakes examinations such as the PSLE and the GCE N-, O- and A-Level examinations, have led to an obsession with grades and scores, and the mistaken extrapolation of attainment to mean achievement and capabilities. As a result, there seems to be an over reliance on tuition, sometimes guised as enrichment classes.

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Some tuition centres implement rote learning and drill-and-practice methods to ensure their students can ace examinations, while other tuition centres have pre-admission tests to ensure only the most academically able students are admitted into their tuition programs, further embellishing their tuition centre’s track record.

As a result, these tuition centres continue to charge premium fees for their apparent ability to produce examination top scorers. What is of concern is that students from less affluent families will not be able to afford to learn some of these examination-acing techniques and will seemingly fall behind when examination results are used as a benchmark for achievement and capabilities.

For the Ministry, this is a difficult matter to address. MOE cannot ban tuition or eradicate similar practices in the private sector, which is driven by consumer demand. But what the MOE can do is to re-align the focus on achievement and personal development rather than attainment alone.

Admission requirements to our schools and IHLs need to continue to be reviewed and expanded to look beyond the results of high stakes examinations alone. Admission to Secondary schools can incorporate student portfolios in addition to their PSLE results, while admission to IHLs should continue to look at the applicants’ community contribution, prior work experience, co-curricular involvement or leadership skills, beyond their GCE or other similar high-stakes examination results.

Building Resilience among Students

Mr Leon Perera (Non-Constituency Member): Sir, our students are growing up in a world that will be very different from the one my generation grew up in. The low-hanging fruits of economic growth would have mostly been picked by the time they are grown up.

Productivity-driven growth would be key. And what drives that? Innovation, yes, but what lies behind innovation is experimentation, trial and error, the discipline to reflect on our experience to learn and to do better, and better, and better.

As Aldous Huxley said, "Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you do with what happens to you". That would be our young students' – and our country's – journey as adults.

In that journey, failure is a friend and teacher, not something that should be avoided at all costs. Lionising only success or people who are only successful may deter risk-taking.

Right now, in schools, published class rankings have been dropped, there are awards for most improved students, and participation activities like competitions is recorded even if it did not lead to victory.

Can we do more on two fronts to stoke the flames of resilience among our youth?

Firstly, recognise students who did not just bounce back from failure, but also those who did reasonably well in spite of far greater odds that most students face. Such stories do surface in the media from time to time, and some schools have been known to highlight students who have this profile. But can we not entrench the showcasing of such examples of students as a regular practice in the cultural DNA of all schools?

Secondly, in Primary school social studies and Secondary school history, can we highlight more examples of inspiring figures – both globally and locally – who bounced back from failure, who did some good in spite of great odds and who were late bloomers in life? Not only big global and national heroes but "everyday heroes".

Sir, never under-estimate the power of stories. They can feed the rich tapestry of our children's imagination and give them hope to rise up from failures one day in their lives. They can help them learn that people may put you down today. And tomorrow. But each of us should not only rise up from that but learn from that to become stronger, better people.

Infrastructure of Junior Colleges

Mr Ang Wei Neng: Chairman, when Junior Colleges are merged, one campus is picked over another as the site for the new merged college. The rationale for some of these selections has been quite puzzling.

When Yishun and Innova Junior Colleges were merged in 2019, the chosen site was Yishun JC, which is older with aged facilities. So, why not Innova?

When Jurong and Pioneer JC were merged in 2019, the chosen site was Pioneer JC. However, the site of the old Jurong JC will be near to a new MRT station when the Jurong Regional Line opens in 2026, which in that case would improve the connectivity for the students who are studying at the site of old Jurong JC. Would not the old Jurong JC site be a better site? I hope the Minister can explain the rationale.

Also, many of the current JC buildings are old and dated. Does MOE have plans to upgrade the JCs which are more than 20 years or 30 years old?

Improving Junior Colleges' Environment and Facilities

Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok): Sir, the first Junior College in Singapore started in 1969. This introduced a lecture and tutorial system, akin to the university model, for students pursuing a two-year A-level course to gain entry into Universities.

Fifty years later, this remains one of the most direct routes to universities. Since then, more JCs were built. Today, the bulk of our JCs are more 30 years old. Over this period, the JC curriculum has been reviewed and enhanced. For example in 2002, it was reported in this House that the curriculum was broadened to include Project Work to develop flexible thinking and a creative bent amongst our students.

This may be an opportune time to consider whether the older JCs have adequate facilities to deal with the expanded curriculum requirements and desired educational outcomes for the future. What are the development plans that MOE has to ensure that older JC campuses are adequately resourced and conducive for their students and teachers?

Special Educational Needs Support in Secondary Schools and IHLs

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: Mr Chairman, Sir, one of MOE’s biggest achievements, in my book, is the enhanced support of students with special educational needs (SEN) in the mainstream schools and Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs), through the Allied Educator (AED) Scheme and the setting up of Special Educational Needs support offices in the IHLs.

As a volunteer, I have met many SEN professionals from Primary to higher education. Many are very dedicated and put their hearts into helping their students with SEN. They are critical to ensure that our education system is an inclusive one. There are, however, challenges faced in this relatively new education support space.

First, on the challenges in the mainstream Primary and Secondary schools.

Student Outcomes. As much of the focus in mainstream schools is on completing the academic curriculum, important non-academic life skills required for students with SEN, like social relationships skills and daily independent living skills, are either not covered or placed at low priority. When these foundations are not set, deficits in such skills are highly likely to present themselves as problems in higher education or at work.

The capacity of AEDs is also a challenge. The number of allied educators are grossly insufficient with an average of one to two in all Primary Schools. Many Secondary schools do not even have any Allied Educators.

Besides capacity, there is a need to systematically raise the capability and the skills of the AEDs as the range of needs are diverse covering various forms of disabilities requiring varying types and degree of support.

Capability of Educators in general, the teachers, is also a challenge. These teachers might generally have an awareness of special needs education but usually not skilled enough in mainstream schools to handle such cases. Although a whole-school approach for SEN support is said to be adopted in the mainstream schools, the implementation leaves much room to improve.

The access to Specialist Support is also quite limited.

Next, challenges in SEN Support in the IHLs. The challenges I shared in Primary schools and Secondary schools are multiplied in the higher institutions as the SEN support system is relatively new, and the IHLs tend to be more autonomous. Not all of them view SEN to be of priority; some may even view it to be not integral to their mission. Unless Government, the key funder of education, insist that SEN support is an important fundamental feature of a progressive educational system, Singapore may belong to the first world economically but its IHLs in this aspect, will be perceived as less than first-world.

My observations in the IHLs are these.

There is now inconsistent support levels in different IHLs – different processes depending on the vision, commitment and diligence of school leaders, faculty members and SEN officers. Many of the faculty members see making a curricula accessible as "additional work".

There is also the risk of Low Rate of Disclosure for fear of stigmatisation by the students or being bypassed in course offering, internships or employment.

There is also inconsistent structured support across these institutions in course selection, project work, internships and career guidance.

There are eight recommendations I would like to make for the schools and the IHLs.

First, adopt a system that ensures a structured whole-school, whole-institution approach with ownership and responsibility from school leaders to all educators and faculty members to allied educators and Special Needs Officers (SNOs) to parents and students – make it clear.

Raise the capacity and recruit more AEDs and SNOs in each education institution.

Raise capability by ensuring a skills-based training roadmap for all target groups to deepen their needed capabilities.

Increase availability and access to more specialist support from MOE and disability VWOs.

And especially for the IHLs, set up a support function at the MOE level to ensure the proper resourcing and the support of these students. This function should look at the sharing of resources and best practices across all the institutions.

And most important of all, MOE should actively seek out schools and institutions who are inclusive and doing good work in this area. Recognise and reward them generously —

The Chairman: Ms Phua, I am afraid you have to convey the rest of the points to Minister of Education directly.

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: — And encourage more people to join this league.

Inclusivity in Our Schools

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: Mr Chairman, our mainstream schools are generally inclusive, and made up of students with diverse abilities and backgrounds. However, we still have some mainstream schools that are specially catered for specific groups. Examples include schools meant for students who qualify for the Special Stream or Normal (Technical) Stream only, and schools meant for students who are gifted in sports or the arts; all with Government funding.

While we understand the need for differentiated teaching and learning, and ability-based pedagogies, we must strive to provide a more diverse and inclusive environment for our students, to better reflect society at large.

Students with special needs are usually enrolled in special education schools. While our mainstream schools have made strides in admitting students with mild special needs, these numbers are still relatively low.

Will MOE be able to provide more funding support and the provision of more trained teaching and support personnel, such as Allied Educators or subject Teachers trained in Special Needs Teaching, in our mainstream schools so that they can be more inclusive towards students with mild special needs?

Can classrooms in our mainstream schools be made more friendly for students with special needs such as having barrier-free access as well as more teaching tools and resources to support students with visual or auditory challenges?

Can our curriculum also be revamped to allow for more hands-on learning and less pen-and-paper or drill-and-practice exercises, and with more outdoor learning incorporated in the main curriculum?

Enhancing Special Educational Needs Resources in IHLs and ITEs

Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Sir, as an inclusive society, we want to give our Special Education Needs (SEN) children and youth, regardless of abilities, every opportunity to help them maximise their potential. What this requires is for us to look at all our educational institutions, including ITE, Polytechnics and Universities, particularly the ITE, to see how can we get this group of students to integrate into the curriculum and develop themselves along the way. The teachers would need to understand the learning disabilities of the students, how they are to be taught differently. Or, these students may need some additional tools to enhance their learning environment. The point is not everyone learns in the same way.

I would like to ask the Minister, how are we preparing ourselves to provide this group with the educational needs they require, particularly in the ITE? Are our educational institutions, such as ITE, sufficiently prepared, not only from the infrastructure point, but equally important with the IHL and ITE teachers who are trained to engage these students? How many teachers do we have who are trained to cope with the learning needs of these ITE students? How are our institutions of higher learning being prepared to take in these students, and do we ensure that internship for SEN students in the ITEs, for example, are sufficiently appropriate, so that they would not be disadvantaged when they go out into the market to seek opportunities?

Special Tertiary Educational Needs Care

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong (Non-Constituency Member): Chairman, last year I met a resident whose son has special educational needs. The young man had strong support from counsellors and teachers in his Primary and Secondary schools, and did well to graduate to a Polytechnic.

However, the transition to the Polytechnic was too drastic. The same understanding and support from lecturers and administrators were lacking. It seems that Special Educational Needs (SEN) support has improved in Primary and Secondary schools, but there is a big jump when graduates go on to tertiary educational institutes. Unfortunately, the young man withdrew from the Polytechnic because of the escalation of an incident.

The Ministry should look into increasing the capabilities and authority of SEN support officers at Polytechnics. The SEN Support Office should be tasked to train and advise specific lecturers and staff members when there is an individual student with special educational needs enrolled in the department, so that support can be customised.

The SEN Support Office should also be consulted when there are incidents involving students with special educational needs.

The Chairman: Ms Denise Phua, you can continue with your eight points.

Lifelong Education for Students with Special Educational Needs

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: Mr Chairman, SkillsFuture, the movement to transform Singaporeans to become self-directed lifelong learners is growing from strength to strength. However, unlike the vibrant SkillsFuture scene for the typical workforce, the lifelong learning outlook for persons with special educational needs (SEN) is bleak. The prognosis of students exiting from the Special Education (SPED) pathway is not optimistic.

Official school years for SPED students now end at age 18 or 21. However, the reality is that the education of these students is not complete at the age of 18 or 21. Many of these students need to be schooled in literacy and numeracy or the mainstream academics that we know. But they also need time throughout life, to learn a host of skills that are often picked up more naturally by their typical peers – skills such as self-management, home and community living, sexuality education and skills on how to navigate in a VUCA world that is rapidly changing.

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If we address this lifelong learning need well in a systematic and systemic manner, more of these students will take on regular or part-time employment to address the challenges of the shrinking local workforce. Even if they do not work, they can lead better quality lives requiring lesser support from others.

I have three recommendations for MOE.

Number one, set up a Skills Council for Persons with Special Education Needs. This Council should comprise MOE’s SkillsFuture and SPED units; SG Enable; Workforce Singapore, e2i and the top VWOs representing the major disability groups. It should develop a Lifelong CET System for Persons with Special Needs that will be regularly updated and extend the curriculum framework currently used during the SPED school years with a good balance of academic, vocational and life skills. Skills Council.

The second is appoint promising special schools with track records to set up training centres in their locations to provide the identified training solutions for SPED graduands in the major disability groups. Tap on the special schools’ existing ICT and classroom facilities and teaching workforce to facilitate the required trainings with partners from the community and industries. Start with regular part-time courses on a weekly basis. Make these CET centres financially viable through a revenue mix of Government grants, donations and fees.

Three, start small with SPED school alumni members. For a start, target alumni of special schools and their family care-givers including domestic helpers, who can help reinforce learnings after training.

In conclusion, the lifelong education of every Singaporean is critical; and even more so for persons with special needs who otherwise will definitely be left behind. The cost of not training this population is going to be far higher than equipping them. Let us continue to train and equip them for life. I seek MOE’s favourable response.

The Chairman: Well done, Ms Phua!

Hybrid Early Childhood Education

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong (Non-Constituency Member): Mr Chairman, the MOE Kindergarten Programme seeks to provide affordable pre-school education and pilot teaching and learning resources focusing on holistic development. Recently, a resident shared the concerns of sending her son to kindergarten as he suffered asthma and severe eczema. As the boy had difficulties attending kindergarten daily, she sought an alternative for the son to attend kindergarten a couple of days a week. For the rest of the week, she wanted to home-school her son using the materials that she hoped the kindergarten would share with her. I helped her to contact MOE Kindergartens which was very helpful and opened to discussing with the mother the options. In the end, the resident decided to look for other options due to the distance to the nearest MOE Kindergarten. Nevertheless, this points to a need. Would MOE consider piloting a hybrid programme to cater to parents who wish to home-school their children part of the week. MOE Kindergartens can provide resources for home-schooling as well as dedicated teacher's support. This will make early childhood education accessible to all.

School Home Partnership

Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Ang Mo Kio): Sir, it has often been said that it takes a village to raise a child. Indeed, while the main responsibility of bringing up a child belongs to the parents, our schools and the community play important roles as well.

So far, the partnership between homes, schools and communities had been informal and not so structured. Hence, I am pleased to note that the Ministry had recently launched a set of guidelines for School Home Partnerships, which suggest actions that parents and schools can take to help our children develop their self-management skills.

Parenthood does not come with introduction manuals and I am sure parents will find the systematic approach helpful. I understand that these guidelines have been well received so far.

The Guidelines for School-Home Partnership are not just for parents, it is a guiding principle for schools, the community and other stakeholders as well. I am curious to know under this framework, how collaborative partnerships between the community and the school help them learn to be responsible and active citizens while building confidence in themselves.

Would the Minister share details and examples of how the joint effort nurture character, impart core values and help them acquire skills outside the curriculum? At the same time, how do these projects and programmes serve and meet the needs of the community?

Mental Health Education

Ms Anthea Ong (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, there was one to two suicides a month in 2016 between 10 and 19 year olds. Number of young Singaporeans seeking help for mental health issues jumped by 190% in 2018. Depression affects up to 18% of youth in Singapore. Almost half of the teenagers polled in a local research attached negative labels to people with mental health issues. Fifty percent of mental health conditions develop in children of age 14 or below, according to global studies.

The Minister agrees in his response to my recent Parliamentary Question (PQ) that "mental health is an issue to be taken seriously". Stigma poses a huge barrier to seeking help. With greater awareness, more people are stepping forward to seek help. Encouragingly, the 2016 Singapore Mental Health Study found a narrowing in the treatment gap, noting a decrease in the percentage of those not seeking help from 82.1% in 2010 to 78.4% in 2016.

Mental health education plays a big role in re-scripting public narrative and understanding of mental health. Our current vocabulary of mental health is heavily influenced by the medical model which can pathologise human experiences. Increasingly, we have been moving towards a recovery-oriented culture. This demands a new language to be taught. The recovery language and one anchored upon strengths and resilience must be learnt and permeate our vernacular.

Mental health literacy is not a frivolity but a necessity. In the absence of which, we find rampant misconceptions that mental illness is “contagious,” “weakness” and unfairly engage in victim-blaming. With greater understanding and support, help-seeking need not be shrouded in secrecy or looked upon as being shameful.

We can do more beyond the occasional assembly talks on mental health, optional enrichment classes on wellness and offers of counselling as interventions for behaviour modification, often construed as punishment by students. We can teach the recovery language and encourage dialogue to dissolve stigma. Our children and our youths can be the mental health first aiders of every household.

Mandating mental health education in our schools and Institutes of Higher Learning is the surest signal to normalise mental health, together with providing support structures for parents and families to be equipped with emotional management skills, coping mechanisms, and problem solving skills to help our children and youth better navigate stress.

Partnering social service agencies and mental health professionals in the curriculum curation and provision of mental health education in all schools must be a way forward. How does the Ministry plan to make mental health education accessible for all, whether students, teachers, administrators, parents and care-givers?

Bilingual and Bicultural Talents

Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson): (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Singapore is an ethnically diverse country and bilingualism has been a cornerstone of our education system. From 200 years ago to Independence, our forefathers had settled and rooted here and bring with them their cultural heritage. Today, youths are immersed in our highly connected, cosmopolitan city. It is inevitable that they become estranged from their own cultural heritage. Therefore, having a strong command of our Mother Tongue is the key to better understand our culture and fortify our sense of identity.

With the rapid development of Asia, the ability to communicate in our Mother Tongue gives us competitive advantage and opens up new opportunities. As the Chief Executive of Business China, I have seen that many of our companies are able to seize business opportunities because our people are effectively bilingual and bicultural. This is reflected in a popular saying amongst my Business China colleagues, “Bilingualism offer boundless opportunities.”

It is important that we continue in our efforts to cultivate bilingual and bicultural talents. I would like to ask the Minister for Education: how will MOE collaborate with parents and community to complement the efforts of our schools? What else is MOE doing to ensure that our students develop an appreciation of our Mother Tongue languages?

National Language Proficiency

Mr Chen Show Mao (Aljunied): Sir, this Budget speaks of strategic plans for building a strong and united Singapore. It is important – a united Singapore is not only important to our future, but also to our sense of ourselves, who we are and how we make our way in the world.

Can we take the opportunity to complement these efforts with an increased focus in our schools on teaching Bahasa Melayu to all our schoolchildren? It is our National Language and a language of the region in which we are rooted. Can we help all our students attain some basic level of proficiency in our National Language?

Sir, last year I gave the same speech when the Budget spoke of plans for economic development that focus on regional cooperation in ASEAN. This year again when the Budget speaks of strategic plans for building a strong and united Singapore. Year after year and this is because teaching all our school children Bahasa Melayu speaks to many of our enduring values and hopes that budgets try to address.

Learning Malay will be good for the cognitive and intellectual development of our children who learn it as a third language. It will also protect and preserve our multiculturalism, and promote national integration and a sense of identity.

I understand we currently have conversational third language programmes for Malay at the Primary school level as Enrichment but not as part of the regular curriculum. As learning languages is best done when young, could the Ministry look into making the conversational third language programme part of the syllabus for all our Primary school students who do not otherwise learn Malay in school? Perhaps included as part of the regular curriculum for every Primary school student, but without the pressure of exams?

Regional Studies Programme (RSP)

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied): Sir, the Regional Studies Programme or RSP, in short, and scholarship was introduced in 2008. In Ministry's reply to Parliamentary Question on this programme in September 2018, I quote, "The objective of the programme is to nurture a segment of non-Malays in each generation who are comfortably conversant in the Malay Language and able to engage with regional countries effectively."

Under the current setting, only Malay and Bahasa Indonesia are offered as a Third Language. It was also said by the Ministry that apart from learning languages, I quote "students also have the opportunity to experience school-based enrichment modules on understanding Southeast Asia and participate in learning journeys as well as take part in cultural camps and immersion trips to Southeast Asian countries."

Sir, in Minister Heng's Budget speech, he shared that the 10 economies of ASEAN are projected to become the fourth largest the world by 2030 and working together with ASEAN nations can maximise our potential. Sir, as mentioned earlier, the objective of Regional Studies Programme is to nurture our students with the knowledge of our ASEAN counterparts, cultures and practices so they are able to engage regional countries effectively.

Heading towards 2030 where ASEAN is projected to be the fourth largest economy in the world, I believe the inclusion of other ASEAN languages in the Regional Studies Programme will be timely and a step in the right direction.

Making CCAs Available to All Students

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Sir, CCAs are an integral part of our students’ holistic education and play an important role in reducing social stratification. As MOE has stated “CCA also promotes friendships among students from diverse backgrounds as they learn, play and grow together.”

Students can choose the CCA of their choice but I understand that for “Physical Sports” and “Visual and Performing Arts Group” CCAs, places are often limited and given to those who do well in those areas and can represent the school.

My concern here is that this again might lead to social stratification if only students who do well in certain areas can pursue those CCAs. A student who loves basketball and wants to pursue this interest should be allowed to, rather than be told that he or she is not good enough and should choose another interest to pursue.

Can Minister share what plans the Ministry has to ensure that places for CCA are available to all students and not just those who represent the school in competitions?

The Chairman: Miss Cheng Li Hui, you have two cuts of four minutes, please take both together.

Recognising CCAs Outside School

Miss Cheng Li Hui (Tampines): Sir, for many of us, some of the best memories from our schooling days involve our CCAs. CCAs allow our students to learn new skill, pursue their interests and passion. They also make like‐minded friends from diverse backgrounds as they learn, play and grow together.

I recently met two boys who did Wushu in Primary School. And a big factor behind their choice of their Secondary school was it offered Wushu as a CCA. However, upon their enrolment, the school decided to stop offering Wushu. One of the boys then tried to transfer to another school, and also asked other schools in the neighbourhood who offer Wushu to allow him to join their Wushu CCA. Such was his passion.

I also sometimes hear from students that they did not get into a particular CCA because they did not have the prior background from their Primary school days. Other Primary School students shared with me that their parents chose a less time-consuming CCA on their behalf so they can focus on their studies. If they decide that they have interest in a sport later in Secondary school, they may not qualify without experience.

I believe there is scope for more flexibility in the organising of CCAs for our students. Can MOE consider organising certain CCA activities at division, GRC or even district level? In this way, we can use the expertise and resources of national-level sporting bodies and associations to conduct these CCAs.

The combination of students within geography will also allow for more social mixing. Some students participate in activities outside of school on their own time, for example, football activities or training organised by the local grassroots Community Sports Club. Can MOE recognise this involvement as their official CCA?

5.45 pm

Students who take their interest seriously often find that they do not know where to continue their interest after they graduate from Secondary school. Having CCAs outside of school gives them a chance to continue their interest in community sports organisation. I hope MOE can work with PA and Sports SG to develop some CCAs that can be pursued at post‐secondary level.

Sir, I fully support CCAs as they play an integral role in providing our students with a holistic education. I urge MOE to look into my suggestions so that we can help students enjoy a more enriching CCA experience.

Teaching Green in Schools

Singapore is proud to be a clean and green city. This concept extends beyond merely planting trees to being environmentally friendly, with many green initiatives ranging from green buildings to the 4Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Refuse. Despite the various steps that have been taken so far, I believe that more can be done, especially on the part of individuals.

Our schools can especially play a big role by educating our students on the importance of green initiatives and the perils of global warming. Make it part of compulsory curriculum, as early as possible. Teach them what is recyclable, what is the correct way to recycle. Educate them on the Semakau landfills and incinerators.

Schools can teach our children to make green actions a habit and lifestyle. Take the lead in reducing the use of single use plastic, such as straws and plastic bags. Re‐use textbooks by handing them down when students leave school.

Today's Straits Times also carries an article on water conservation camp. Schools can organise camps, talks and activities on eco practices that involve parents and family members, so that such green habits can be extended beyond the school. There are so many potential ideas that can be brainstormed.

But most importantly, let our young understand what’s happening to our planet, the perils of global warming, how our future generation will suffer the consequences more than the current generation, and allow them to explore and decide how they can all be a part of the solution. May I ask the Minister for Education if he will support such initiatives?

Aptitude-based Admissions

Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang): Mr Chairman, the Early Admission Exercise (EAE) was introduced as part of our efforts to reduce emphasis on grades and focus on a more rounded education. It was extended to the ITE last year with no limits on the number of admission by EAE. For polytechnics, the limit for intake was increased from 2.5% to 12.5% due to overwhelming response. It seems that students who look on the EAE favourably. However, I would like to ask what is the MOE's experience with EAE? Has it really been effective in helping students in finding their niches and in realising their aspirations? Are EAE students able to cope with the demands of the course work? By this, I do not just mean academically but do they find themselves enjoying it and wanting to learn more. Are there statistics on the number of EAE students who drop out or switch courses midway?

The other concern is that aptitude testing usually produces outcome that not are as clear as an examination script. With exams, a grade is a grade. But with aptitude testing things like interview, portfolios can be quite subjective. And students will find more reasons to appeal against unsuccessful applications.

In fact, according to a report last year, with EAE, Polytechnic principals have been receiving more appeals from students and parents then before. Has MOE done any survey on the challenges of implementing EAE? How can the fairness of EAE testing procedures and outcome be ensured? What more can be done to recognise the students' interests, aspirations during admissions. Perhaps one day we can see aptitude testing replacing grade-based admission for our schools.

Equity in School Application Process

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: Mr Chairman, Sir, over the years we have done well to upgrade the standards of graduates from our ITEs. Today they are taking their place of pride in our workforce and a good number even making their presence in our other Institutions of Higher Learning. The success is in many ways due to the way we brand the ITE and of course the level of competence of the graduates.

The question I would like to raise is the opening of application for ITE graduates. Currently they apply to Polytechnics after the GCE O-level students have applied. ITE applicants can apply after the Joint Admission Exercise for Polytechnic and JC applicants. Under the JPAE, the ITE grads are seen, or at least that is the public perception, that they are only given admission only after any remainder seats. We need to address this and tweak the system so that ITE graduates are not only treated as equals but also seen to be treated as equals under the admission exercise. Can MOE clarify the JPAE and consider tweaking the process?

Every Autonomous University is a Good Autonomous University

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira (Nominated Member): Chairman, I declare my interest as a faculty member at an Autonomous University (AU). Sir, our six Autonomous Universities compete to offer high quality education and research to Singapore and the world. Because higher education is now accessible to all, we must ensure that every AU is a good AU.

There are significant differences between AUs in prestige and resources. AU endowments range from about $400 million for SIT and SUSS to about $4 billion dollars for NUS. On a per undergraduate basis, this ranges from about $28,000 at SUSS to more than $400,000 at SUTD. These differences mean the more well-resourced AUs are able to spend more on faculty, teaching, and research, even if they get the same Ministry tuition grants. While this estimate includes non-student spending, annual expenditure per-undergraduate ranges from about $38,000 at SIT to about $100,000 at NUS and SUTD.

Sir, does this affect graduate outcomes? Consider Accountancy, which all AUs except SUTD offer. The Graduate Employment Survey shows median gross earnings were similar across AUs at about $3000 a month. However, Accountancy graduates of the more established AUs earn much more at the high end. The 75th percentile ranged from $3000 for SUSS to about $4000 for NUS.

We cannot conclude from differences in earnings that the more established AUs provide greater advantages, because AUs differ in how they select students. Nonetheless, we should understand why the more resourced AUs are associated with higher earnings.

Sir, I am not asking to take from the rich and give to the poor. But greater cooperation and resource-sharing could improve efficiency and equality of opportunity.

First, I suggest greater sharing of library resources across AUs. Because knowledge is now so specialised, there is a ‘long tail’ of books, journals and databases needed for teaching and research. It is wasteful for all AUs to stock the same materials and the less-resourced AUs will not stock them at all. We should study establishing a common tertiary electronic library and seamless interlibrary loan system. This can follow the model of the University of California, which operates one library system across 10 UC campuses.

Second, I suggest the AUs offer greater flexibility for students to take courses across the different AUs, to make better use of our national experts, and increase the breadth of course offerings. This is very important for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses, because the right expertise may only be found in a few professors in Singapore. This will also help make education more stackable and flexible.

What can we do to ensure "Every AU is a Good AU"?

Work-learn Pathways

Mr Ang Wei Neng (Jurong): Chairman, I understand that the ITE Work-Learn Technical Diploma has been popular. I would like to declare my interest as I am part of the senior management team in ComfortDelGro.

ITE Work-Learn Technical Diploma is successful mainly because of its partnership with the industry players, providing structured on the job training. Thus, I would like enquire whether MOE has plan to expand the programme.

Secondly, I would like to ask MOE to provide an update on the status of Institutes of Higher Learning (IHL) providing more short courses covering emerging technologies such as Digital Marketing, Big Data Analytics, and so on.

Thirdly, I would like to ask if SkillsFuture Singapore and Workforce Singapore is prepared to partner private companies to train their workers at their workplace. Many established companies have training wings to train their own workers. How could SkillsFuture Singapore and Workforce Singapore partner with these companies to not only train workers for their respective companies but also to train workers for the entire industry? In this way, the two statutory boards can tap on the training resources of the private sector to reach out to more workers. At the same time, it also allows the private companies to upgrade their training capabilities to better align with the common goal of life-long learning.

Develop Robust Eco-system for Continuing Education and Training (CET)

Ms Foo Mee Har (West Coast): Chairman Sir, I would like to declare my interest as CEO of Wealth Management Institute, NTU, a CET provider.

Three-point-six billion dollars has been set aside over the next three years to help workers adapt to changes and acquire new skills. This is not a small sum. If deployed well, it can offer meaningful support to workers to build deep capabilities that are relevant to their fast-evolving jobs and meet their careers aspirations, including transition to a more attractive job or a different industry.

Since launching SkillsFuture five years ago, there is now significant awareness on the need for lifelong learning amongst our citizens. Based on my own experience and observations of other countries’ efforts in continuing education and training (CET), there are best practices that can be adopted to accelerate the impact of SkillsFuture even further, in order to turn it into a real competitive advantage for Singapore.

Sir, there are over 30,000 courses funded by SkillsFuture Singapore, offering generous subsidies of up to 70% of course fees. Based on the latest figures from SkillsFuture Singapore, 465,000 Singaporeans from 12,000 enterprises have benefited from training subsidies. A recent survey of 3,500 trainees indicated that 80% of them found the training helpful. Even as we are cheered by this finding, the measurement of training outcomes remains difficult, as acknowledged by the CEO of SkillsFuture Singapore.

Hundreds of relatively small training providers, with uneven quality, have been accredited under SkillsFuture. This makes it difficult to select the right training partner. It is not clear how trainers are qualified, nor how training content is curated to meet industry and job market developments. It is also unclear how training is linked to the attainment of distinct quantifiable skills, career advancement and wage growth. I often hear the frustration of residents, particularly those have been retrenched, that their efforts to attend training courses are not commensurate with the recognition accorded by prospective employers. Many would say to me, “‘I already go for many training courses but still cannot find job”.

Employers themselves have shared their own frustrations. Many are at a loss as to how to structure their training programmes so that the courses will have a meaningful impact on their business. Many smaller employers lack in-house Learning & Development support, and do not know where to begin to identify those training programmes best suited for their employees, from amongst the very long, long list of SkillsFuture courses.

Sir, I would like to offer some suggestions for a CET framework for the Education Minister to consider.

First, perhaps the Minister can consider developing a structured partnership model to determine key training road maps by industry sector, perhaps clustered along the 23 Industry Transformation Maps. This partnership should consist of key stakeholders within that industry, including the lead Government agency, union, trade associations and chambers, and representative companies and workers. They could form a SkillsFuture Industry Committee (SIC), and be the authority to chart the skills and competencies required for current and future needs of the sector, including a certification framework that lays out systematic skills ladder for that sector. Certification level against the skills ladder can serve to guide career progression in the sector.

Second, appoint a Lead Training Provider (LTP) to partner SIC in developing the skills and certification framework and practice-based training programmes, highly customised to meet the skills and competencies required in the sector. The LTP’s appointment will be based on their depth of knowledge of the industry and their capability to develop and deliver very specific industry programmes, to be evaluated by SIC. LTPs can either be a Singapore Institute of Higher Learning or private training provider, and be selected through on a competitive tender process. To help the LTP develop strong capabilities and scale to serve its sector over the long term, they will have access to programme development grants to support the curation of customised programmes for the sector, according to a set of quality and price criteria.

Third, support the LTP to develop scale, perhaps through preferential programme funding, to support their investment in deep training expertise and capabilities to deliver best-in-class training programmes. The LTPs should serve as the respective industries' centre of excellence for training and education, so that training may be concentrated amongst a few high quality LTPs, whose capabilities and delivery are subject to close scrutiny by SIC and SkillsFuture Singapore.

Perhaps their mandate as LTP is subject to review say every five years to keep the sector dynamic.

Sir, I believe the above LTP framework will help nurture a core of highly specialised and quality CET providers, which is absolutely necessary to support impactful lifelong learning.

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The Chairman: Mr Zainal Sapari, you have two cuts. Can you take both together.

Supporting Companies and Workers

Mr Zainal Sapari (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Sir, our Government has been very supportive in encouraging companies to adopt technology. There are many technologies available that can improve productivity by helping workers to do things cheaper, better and faster, but they also demand fundamental change in the ways that work is done in organisations. Companies need to change their business processes and workers need to learn new skill sets.

It is important that support must be given to companies and workers in this new environment. With the need to re-skill constantly to keep up with the demands of the job as companies undergo structural and business transformation, there will be a higher demand for Continuing Education Training opportunities in our polytechnics.

Hence, MOE must facilitate the direct admission of adult learners into polytechnics. Could MOE share on the efforts to increase the provision of Continuing Education Training (CET) opportunities, and at the same time, recognising the skills and knowledge that adult learners have gained in their workplace?

SkillsFuture Movement

My second cut. SkillsFuture is a national movement to provide Singaporeans with the opportunities to develop their fullest potential throughout life, regardless of their starting points. It hopes to inculcate a mindset of continually striving towards greater excellence through knowledge, application and experience.

Regardless of which stage you are in life, a variety of resources has been developed and made available to help you attain mastery of skills. Could MOE provide an update on efforts to help employers deepen workplace training capabilities and promote lifelong learning among workers to sustain the momentum of the SkillsFuture movement.

Efficacy of SkillsFuture Programmes

Prof Lim Sun Sun (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, I declare my interest as a Professor at the Singapore University of Technology and Design. The SkillsFuture programme has systematically introduced adult learning into our education landscape and implanted the idea of lifelong learning in the minds of Singaporeans. Given the considerable investment in SkillsFuture at both the National and individual levels, we must seek to better understand how effective SkillsFuture courses have been for individuals with a genuine motivation to upgrade themselves.

The hon Member for Tanjong Pagar, Mr Melvin Yong spoke last week about the issues of the relevance and scope of courses. The often considerable costs involved and time investment needed that workers may be unable to spare. I too, have heard similar feedback from my former students and professional acquaintances. I would therefore like to ask, how MOE measures the efficacy of SkillsFuture provisions in terms of meeting changing industry needs.

In addition, what processes have we put in place to review the content and quality of courses and instructors in general but also to ensure that industry perspectives are taken into account.

The Chairman: Dr Intan, you have two cuts. Can you take them both together?

SkillsFuture and Private Education

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar (Ang Mo Kio) : Thank you, Chairman. It has been four years since SkillsFuture was first announced and implemented. Since then, many programs and initiatives have been introduced to help Singaporeans hone their work-related skills as well as life skills that help them stay active, relevant and carry on learning for life. Our private education providers – whether the Private Education Institutions (PEIs) or other private organisations – have also come on board the SkillsFuture national movement and offer a slew of creative and interesting courses, both formal programmes and Continuing Education and Training. However, several cases of fraud by private organisations and some PEIs with regard to SkillsFuture training provision, have marred the perception of PEIs and other private organisations that provide SkillsFuture training or certification.

Can the Ministry share updates on the SkillsFuture movement that provide options for lifelong learning, as well as updates on the measures to streamline systems and regulatory processes for PEIs and other private organisations that form part of the overall SkillsFuture movement?

Supporting Underprivileged Students

Second cut. While we recognise the central role of the family in ensuring that our young grow up well with desirable values, and that our old can age well and live a meaningful life in their golden years, we cannot underestimate the effect of inadequate support that underprivileged or low income families receive. This becomes more pronounced when children from underprivileged or low income families do not have adequate family or social support and do not receive the necessary attention or love to help establish their sense of self-esteem, self-worth and the ability to trust others.

Where the family is not able to step up, the community has to step in. Within our mainstream schools, our after school care provision and programs and collaboration with community partners, are some examples of how the community has to step in and help underprivileged or low income families of our students.

However, all these need to be well-coordinated with extensive inter-agency support. What are some plans in supporting underprivileged or low income families of our students? How will these plans help in minimising the gap with students from more affluent or privileged families?

Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Task Force (UPLIFT)

Mr Charles Chong (Punggol East): Sir, like the speaker before me I would like to address the concern of ensuring that the needs of children from disadvantaged background are properly understood and what we can do to help. Sir, in October last year, the Government announced that they were setting up an inter-agency task force. The Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families (UPLIFT) Taksforce to help understand and address the difficulties faced by such children. As a Member of Parliament, I have seen firsthand how education has the power to change families and I think it is extremely timely that this task force has been set up to ensure that we understand what keeps some students from the most disadvantage backgrounds from benefiting from our education system.

We have a world class educational system which is accessible to all Singaporeans and it is therefore vital to ensure that all our children, even those from poorer background have a good start in life so they can go on to maximise their potential and lead meaningful lives. This would ultimately benefit not only the students themselves but also their families, the community and Singapore. It will provide a springboard for the next generation of Singaporeans to build on, but we must start some where.

I would like to ask the Minister about the work and the progress of the UPLIFT taskforce since it was set up and if some preliminary findings could be shared. In particular, has the task force identified the main issues faced by the disadvantaged students. And are there any strategies that we can pursue to better support these students. If any of these areas have already been identified, perhaps we can work on it immediately and not have to wait until the task force has completed its work and submitted its report.

Update on UPLIFT

Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok): Sir, Singapore’s meritocratic system has served us well. Over generations, our families have moved up the social ladder through their children's pursuit of education.

Minister Heng Swee Keat, in his Budget round-up speech last week made the point that currently, nine in 10 persons have completed post-secondary education. This compares to two in 10 for the Merdeka Generation and one in 10 for the Pioneer Generation.

Notwithstanding our achievements, I think we all can agree that there is a still a need to address why some of our children are underperforming and how we can help them. With the rapid rate of the transformation of our world, if these children do not equip themselves with skills for the jobs of future, their own future is likely to be bleak.

Each of these children, even though they, cumulatively, do not represent a big number, are not mere statistical digits that can be ignored. Each one of them, if they are provided with adequate motivation and support to overcome challenges and uplift themselves, they will be, as Mr Charles Chong just said, add value to themselves, their families as well as Singapore and be part of our success story. This must be our aim since we are focused on building an inclusive society.

This task, however, would not be easy as generations of families have already taken advantage of our meritocratic system to forge ahead leaving behind families which have more serious issues. It is in this context that I had welcomed the Government’s announcement in November last year that it has set up UPLIFT, headed by the hon Minister Ms Indranee Rajah, to find meaningful ways to support children from disadvantaged homes who are underperforming.

I have gathered that in some of these cases, it is, ironically, the parents who do not provide support for their children’s education. These parents, by reason of their personal circumstances, may not have the requisite parenting skills or motivation to look after their children’s needs. There could also be situations where children’s homes are not conducive for learning.

I made the point previously that the current statutory levers do not provide for interventions where parents do not give their children reasonable support for their educational pursuits. I would like to seek an update from the hon Minister on the task force’s work and, in addition, how she proposes that UPLIFT deal with the challenges that I have identified.

Fighting Absenteeism

Mr Leon Perera: Mr Chairman, Sir, early intervention programs like KidSTART may flounder on the rocks of parental non-co-operation, an issue I have raised in this chamber before. How do we deal with this? My parents were teachers in neighbourhood Primary schools. I remember my mother’s stories about how some students would not turn up to school for days or weeks and how she would go to their homes to follow up. She would tell us the stories of some of the families she met on those trips, who faced multiple challenges, usually linked to poverty.

In Singapore, a 2015 media report, cited in Karyawan in June 2018, the magazine of the Association of Muslim Professionals, cited concern about high absenteeism rates among students from low-income families. Absenteeism can snowball and lead to a vicious cycle of disengagement, lack of confidence and worsening educational performance downstream.

One media report said that in 2017, 7.5 Secondary school students out of every 1,000 were absent for 60 days or more without a valid reason. But this data does not appear to be published on a regular basis.

I suggest, echoing the call made in the Karyawan article, that we compile and regularly publish statistics on long-term and chronic absenteeism in schools, so that as a society we can debate what more can be done to move the needle.

Well over 1,000 students are affected by chronic absenteeism in secondary schools alone, not counting primary school and pre-school. Clearly there is a need for co-ordinated social work interventions to address this problem among all levels of students, one that involves MOE and MSF working with schools and pre-school centres as well as VWOs and NGOs. We should not leave these kids behind.

The Chairman: Miss Cheng Li Hui, you have two cuts, can you take both together.

Fighting Absenteeism

Miss Cheng Li Hui: Sir, A few years ago, during a house visit, I asked a 14-year-old resident where he was studying. He said he had quit school and was looking for a job. He asked me if he could go to Shatec as he always wanted to be a chef. We appealed but was not successful. Shatec said they required 10 years of formal education which he did not have. Last year, I visited again and learnt the boy was now working at a handphone accessories shop. I told him we will follow up again when he is older and see if we can find a tradesman to teach him a skill. He is the only child of a blue collar couple.

I had thought that was a one off case until I met another girl, who did not attend the first month of her new Secondary school posting. She was afraid to as none of her classmates got posted to the same school. Her father said that unless we could get her into the school of her choice, she would not have to attend school. “She is a girl. She can just get married,” he said.

From my earlier experience with the boy, I was worried that she too would drop out of school as well. We contacted both the Primary and Secondary school principals and managed to find schoolmates that she knew and got her back to school in mid February. Even then, we were worried she could not cope after missing the first month of school. After all, it could be quite intimidating to jump from four to eight subjects. Thankfully, the school helped her to settle in.

Sir, thereafter, I filed a Parliamentary Question (PQ) on making Secondary school education compulsory. I was told the numbers of drop outs was small. I believe it is so important to keep our young ones in school, for them to continue learning, participate in new activities, mature in their thinking and explore their passion and interests. Secondary education is an important stepping stone for students in our education system as it positions them for their future. It is an important transition period from childhood to young adulthood.

While secondary education is not compulsory, it is crucial that we really counsel and help the students who want to drop out or have high absenteeism. I would like to ask the Minister, what are the long‐term absenteeism and drop out numbers. And whether MOE has a formal system in place to counsel students who want to drop out of Secondary school education.

Sir, Last year, I also raised a cut on pre‐school absenteeism as Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) only requires them to attend one day of class per month for them to qualify for the subsidy. I would also like to ask if MOE intends to make pre‐school education compulsory?

Uplifting Pupils

Sir, I appreciate what the MOE is doing to better support the needs of children from lower income families. Schemes such as the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) and the School Meals Programme help to ease some of the financial burden faced by these children. However, I believe that more can be done to ensure that all our children are given a good start in life. I would like to bring up two points – after school programmes for Secondary school students and the handing over of students from Primary to Secondary school.

When I first went to Tampines, I regularly noticed Primary and Secondary students loitering at void decks, even after 10.00 pm. The problem got worse during school holidays. Therefore, right after General Elections, I started a free bowling clinic for Financial Assistance Scheme students during the school holidays to keep them engaged, pick up a new skill and interact with students from other schools. Today, the program is going strong with seven Tampines Primary schools participating in it. Each session has over 100 children, including children with special needs.

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Through the programme, I met a girl, Jess, not her real name, who is active, popular and bright but she was one of the 10 students in her school who had a tendency to self‐inflict harm. When I asked her principal what was the handover process of such cases to Secondary school, she said they would inform the principal of the Secondary school and they would try to engage the students. However, soon after, in Secondary 1, Jess was found smoking at the void deck by my volunteers and, despite our attempts to reach out to her and invite her back, she refused.

In my interactions with young people, they begin to discover their freedom and independence in Secondary school and feel that they have grown up. But they may still be naïve and gullible. I feel that more can be done to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds not fall into bad company at such a young age.

Children from such backgrounds face a variety of challenges growing up. Their parents might also have to work shifts, long hours, or take on multiple jobs in order to meet the needs of the family. In such cases, the children have to spend most of their after‐school hours without adult supervision. They might not have the support they need to help them study effectively.

For such children who face difficult circumstances at home, after‐school care becomes even more critical. A structured care environment outside of schooling hours is an important form of support which will enable children to develop good habits and routines from young.

For many of these children, the challenging circumstances they face persist as they become teenagers. It is thus important that we continue supporting them as they make the transition from Primary to Secondary school. Some of our Secondary schools have begun running after‐school programmes to engage students from disadvantaged backgrounds. I would like to ask the Minister for Education what are the outcomes of these programmes, and does MOE have any plans to scale up such programmes across more schools? Furthermore, how does MOE ensure that there is a proper handover of these students like Jess from Primary to Secondary school?

Person-centric Learning Approach

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap: There are several reasons that are attributed to a student's grade performance in his or her studies, such as learning ability and situational factors, to name a few. Some of these attributes are beyond one's control, whereas there are some which can be managed and enhanced.

One such attribute is learning style. Learning styles refer to differences in how people learn based on their preferences, strengths and weaknesses. The differences may pertain to various elements of the learning process, such as taking in, comprehending, memorising and recounting information. Many observations suggest that the learning process is most effective when it is in line with our learning style preferences.

Sir, studies have shown that everyone has a mix of learning styles. Some people may find that they have a dominant style of learning with far less use of the other styles. Others may find that they use different styles in different circumstances. There are also studies that suggest a person's learning style is correlated to his or her personality.

Sir, I would like to suggest that the Ministry conduct a feasibility study in implementing what I term as a person-centric learning support programme. This programme can be conducted after school hours, maybe during remedial classes, for students who have not been performing well. Psychometric tests, such as Myers Briggs type indicator (MBTI) or C-Vat, for those non-performing students to find out their dominant learning styles. Through this identification process, students who have similar or near similar dominant styles of learning can be grouped together and be supported with remedial lessons using appropriate teaching methods that can fit their dominant learning styles. I believe such targeted approach will be able to produce a more positive outcome in assisting our weak performing students.

Coordination between Schools and Community

Mr Ang Wei Neng: Saranya is a student at Yuhua Secondary School, staying in a 3-room flat in Jurong West. She is the youngest in the family. Her mother is ill and cannot work. Her father is the sole breadwinner in the family and is earning less than $1,000 a month. So, the family is receiving financial assistance from various Government agencies and she used to have low self-esteem.

I met Saranya during one of the events in the Jurong Community Club when she narrated her situation to me. We invited her to join the Jurong Central Student Assistance Scheme where we provided her with $50 vouchers every month as pocket money. On top of that, we arranged for her to attend free tuition as her school results were not very good. Our volunteers run a monthly mentorship programme with the youths based on learning theme focus, such as building character, leadership, ownership, serving with heart and to excel. The volunteers also brought her along with other students in the same scheme for outings, such as Kidzania, River Hongbao and so on. Her self-esteem grew and she passed her Mathematics test for the first time after joining the scheme. Eventually, she did well enough in her GCE N-Level examinations and is now studying for her GCE O-level examinations.

It used to take a village to raise a child in the past, but now it takes a division to raise a child. Saranya is one of the 50 students that have benefited from the Jurong Central Student Assistance Scheme (JCSAS). JCSAS is one of the two programmes that we help children from challenging families in Jurong. Over the years, we realised that it is not enough to provide financial assistance to children from low-income families. We need to dive deep and provide one-to-one mentorship, to monitor, guide and encourage the children to try harder. We are fortunate that a few kind souls have donated $250,000 over five years to fund JCSAS so that the scheme can be sustainable. We are also blessed to have a team of dedicated volunteers who care for the students.

However, we cannot do all these in isolation. We need to collaborate with the schools. For the schools in Jurong Central, they are supportive and provide us with information on how the students are performing in school. This is because our grassroots leaders are sitting in the respective School Advisory Committees. For schools that are not in Jurong Central, it is a challenge for us to obtain such information. They often cite Personal Data Protection Act as a reason.

I would like to suggest that MOE make an effort to recognise the labours by the community to help students from challenging families as part of the larger ecosystem of support for these children. This will enable the schools to open up to us, sharing information about the students and have a more targeted and holistic approach to assist the students. At the same time, we can reduce duplicated efforts and make best use of our limited resources.

The Chairman: Mr Zainal Sapari. You have three cuts. Can you take all three together?

Uplifting Lower Wage Workers

Mr Zainal Sapari: Sir, workfare is a permanent feature of our social security system and has been in place since 2007. It is our Government’s approach to help vulnerable workers in a sustainable manner is by encouraging work, levelling-up skills, and raising productivity and wages of lower wage workers. This is based on the core premise that having a job is still the best welfare, and full employment is still the best protection for our workers.

Currently, Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) not only provides income supplement to boost take-home pay, but also channels funds towards CPF savings for retirement adequacy. One of its objectives is also to incentivise older workers to join the workforce. The WIS payout that an eligible person receives depends on his age and income. In general, older employees or those with lower income receive higher payouts than younger employees, or those with higher income.

While I welcome the increase in the WIS income criteria and WIS annual payout, I am still of the view that we should do away the differentiation of the payout by age. Currently, the maximum WIS payout is for a worker aged 60 years and above and earning $1,200. WIS can supplement a person’s income, it may not be necessary for the payout quantum to be differentiated based on age to encourage the older workers to work.

Alternatively, the Government can consider increasing the cash payout to 80% without affecting the budget allocated. This would then help the workers have a higher disposable income for their living expenses. Given that the scheme was implemented since 2007, could the Government also share how has the WIS scheme helped to raise incomes of our lower wage workers? How can we encourage lower wage workers to stay employed?

Improving Working Conditions for Lower Wage Workers

My second cut. I applaud the Government for working closely with NTUC to help low-wage workers. Measures to help low-wage workers must be seen in totality. I sincerely welcome the enhanced Workfare Income Supplement that would put more cash in the hands of these workers and help built up their CPF savings. Our Government has also been generous in providing subsidies under the Workfare Training Support to enable low-wage workers to upskill and pick up knowledge relevant to their work that could enhance their productivity and perhaps wages.

Many low-wage workers are also being helped through the Progressive Wage Model. It is my fervent hope to see more industry associations coming forward to work together with NTUC as a tripartite initiative to develop a Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for the industry.

Apart from improving wages, we should, as a society, aspire for our workers, including low wage workers, to have jobs not only with decent wages, but also decent working conditions. Government’s support to make changes the Employment Act and issuance of the various Tripartite Standard has also helped to make the working environment better for the low wage workers. Requirements for every worker to be issued with pay slips and employment contracts, guidelines on term contract workers and others have ensure our low-wage workers can be better protected from unscrupulous employers.

Everyone in society has a role to play. Employers and building owners should provide reasonable working conditions, especially proper rest areas, for their workers. You and I can also play our part to treat our lower wage workers with dignity such as helping cleaners by returning our own trays and treating them with respect. I would also like to know what other plans do the Ministry have to further improve working conditions for low-wage workers?

Review of WSQ in Progressive Wage Model (PWM)

Mr Zainal Sapari: My third cut. The Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) is a national credential system that trains, develops, assesses and certifies skills and competencies for the workforce. Training programmes developed under the WSQ are based on skills and competencies validated by employers, unions and professional bodies.

Under the mandatory PWM in cleaning, security and landscape, workers are expected to complete certain WSQ modules. However, it is left to the discretion of the employers to choose which WSQ modules for the workers to take. Most employers would then choose the WSQ modules which could be completed in the shortest possible time which may not necessarily be the best module to equip workers with the relevant skills and competencies.

I would like to propose that a review be made to the WSQ modules for the mandatory PWM sectors to specify compulsory modules the workers must take that will equip them with the relevant skills and competencies to increase their productivity.

Lower Wage Workers

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: There have been several initiatives and programs to help our lower-wage workers, such as the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) and the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS). I am heartened that in this year’s Budget, an Enhanced WIS is introduced where more of our lower-wage workers will benefit including receiving higher maximum annual payouts.

While I am heartened by the introduction of the Enhanced WIS, I wonder if the PWM has scope to be extended to more sectors to benefit more lower-wage workers to have better wages and better career prospects. Apart from improving wages, as a society, we should aspire for our lower-wage workers to have jobs not only with decent wages, but also decent working conditions. One example of decent working condition is the provision of proper rest areas for lower-wage and outsourced workers such as cleaners, security officers, food and beverage service staff, and dispatch riders. Some may feel that requiring proper rest areas is a trivial request, but it is not so, not when you work mostly on your feet and the only time you get to sit and rest is during your lunch or tea breaks.

The irony is that because these workers are mostly on their feet, it is somehow overlooked that they also need a place to sit and rest and experience some sense of well-being while at work. I would like to request for MOM to explore if proper rest areas can be mandated for lower-wage and outsourced workers as I have shared earlier. These rest areas should be well-ventilated, well-lit and have proper tables and seats for the workers to have their meals and to rest. Other than rest areas, there must be proper lockers where personal belongings can be stored safely while they work.

All in all, beyond decent wages and decent working conditions, every one of us has a role to play, including employers, in providing decent and more pleasant working conditions for our lower wage workers. For instance, as fellow human beings, we can treat our lower wage workers with dignity and respect, and not treat them as invisible beings. We can also help make their lives a little bit easier with small acts of kindness and thoughtfulness, such as cleaning up after ourselves, disposing of our litter and not leaving our litter behind, or by returning our own trays at hawker centres or food courts. As the saying by John Ruskin goes, “A little thought and a little kindness are worth more than a great deal of money.”

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Public Rentals

Mr Ong Teng Koon (Marsiling-Yew Tee): Sir, home ownership remains a cornerstone of our policies, but there are segments of society that, through no fault of their own, may struggle to get up the property ladder. It was heartening to see that the Fresh Start Housing Scheme was introduced in 2016. This was designed to help second-time families to own a home. Applicants include those who have been divorced or widowed, for example. These homes were more affordable because they were on 45- to 65-year leases.

With the recent debate around the residual value of HDB flats at the end of the leasehold period, could the Ministry share more information about the take-up rate of this Fresh Start Housing Scheme? There was a number of conditions which were imposed on applicants. For example, one of the applicants must have been in stable employment for 12 months.

Will the Ministry be reviewing the scheme to allow more people to qualify for it? And beyond the Fresh Start, what measures is the Ministry exploring to better support public rental households towards homeownership?

Supporting our Lower Income Families

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: Sir, some residents have lived in rental flats for years, sometimes, for more than a decade. I know that some young residents have lived in a rental flat since they were a baby, grew up in the flat and until they get to secondary school, they still do not have a place to call home.

It is quite concerning that some of these families appear to be stuck in a perpetual cycle of poverty, so much so that they cannot afford a home under the Fresh Start Housing Scheme, which is specifically designed to help families living in public rental flat. My heart also goes out to the elderly sick, who seem destined to spend their twilight years in a rental flat.

What are the reasons for these households to fail to break out of their current circumstances? I note that one of the requirements to qualify for the Fresh Start Housing scheme is to not accumulate three or more months of rental arrears in the preceding 12 months that they have occupied the rental flat. Is keeping up with rent a challenge face by long-time occupants of rental flats? What more is the Ministry doing to support rental households towards home ownership?

Home Ownership

Mr Teo Ser Luck (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Sir, some years ago, a resident approached me at a hawker centre seeking help for employment. He lives in a rental flat with her daughter and he was sharing about how difficult it is to get employment, but his daughter is doing well in school. So, we managed to get him employment and started him off somewhere.

We kept in touch. A few years on, he is still living in a rental flat, but the good thing is his daughter is doing well in school and will probably graduate soon. He has told me that he is trying to have a proper home for her daughter and probably owns a home of their own. I suppose his way out of rental and in this situation will all depend on his daughter, through her education and through his daughter doing well in school.

But there are many who may not be in the same situation as him, where the children can be independent and make good through education. Many of them are from dysfunctional families. Owning a home provides security and assurance which are so important to keep the family intact, giving them the piece of mind to focus on their future. It provides hope and create dreams. So, what are the plans of the Ministry to help public rental tenants progress to own their own homes eventually?

Home Ownership for Public Rental Tenants

Mr Zainal Sapari: Sir, last year, HDB shared that 3,000 rental flat tenants bought their first homes over the last five years. These flat tenants could do so because they were aided by substantial housing grants.

Given that we have more than 56,000 rental units, the number of those who progressed onto home ownership is still relatively small. All of us know that owning a home is important. A home is an asset and paying a mortgage is akin to investing in your asset, which is better than paying rent which is basically an expenditure with no returns. How does MND help public rental tenants to eventually own their own homes?

The Chairman: Mr Seah Kian Peng. You have six minutes.

Support for Singaporeans

Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade): Mr Chairman, today I would like to make a specific point – what are the Government's plans to support Singaporeans from the low-income groups, particularly those with little or no family support?

One of our key pillars for Singapore's welfare model is family as the first line of support. But for one reason or another, family members may not be able to care for each other. If we do a rough typology of family and care, we have two lines – able and willing – and we see that they fall into four categories.

Able and willing – no problem and no business of the Government. Another group – unable and unwilling – is also beyond policy consideration. A third group "able but unwilling" – has traditionally been the concern for social policy making. This group has been subjected to a wide range of interventions, including counselling, means testing for public service and at the very last resort, legislation against neglect such as the Maintenance of Parents' Act. We have seen over the years, how, even when they are able, some children do not care for their parents.

Today I would like to consider the fourth group – willing but unable. How can we better support this group who want to do more but have little? This House recently debated over the motion of CareShield Life. As we do so, I am reminded of the case of one of my residents, a man I would call "S" and his younger brother. As their parents have passed away, "S" is left to care for his brother who suffers from cerebral palsy and is also wheelchair bound. The expenses for the two of them is about $2,000 a month. The family is receiving help from SSO and also from other help schemes each month, but there is still a deficit of about $800 a month.

Mr "S" has problems looking for a full time job as he also has to look after his brother – the domestic helpers that he manages to employ tend to leave after a couple of months. Care-giving challenges coupled with financial challenges is such that the case management for Mr "S" and his brother requires a customised and personalised case management which current policy does not appear to address adequately.

So much of care-giving currently also rests on domestic helpers. We talk about respite for care-givers but these are mainly for family members and relatives. Yet much of the heavy lifting – quite literally, in the case of Mr "S", because they would have to carry and bathe these elderly or immobile patients – and this is borne by domestic helpers.

This is especially true in light of our ageing population. Within the span of 17 years, the proportion of individuals aged above 65 years old grew from 7% (in 2000) to 13% in (2017). And by 2030, we all know that one in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above. As of 2004, there were alrady more than 210,000 caregivers in Singapore tending to the disabled, elderly, physically and mentally ill.

Currently within Singapore, there are support groups, community programmes and services within the social service sector that is providing help and assistance to care-givers in tending for their beloved ones. Given the rising need for care-giving in Singapore, the Government has in recent year mobilised action to provide greater infrastructural and services support to care-givers. The Government has planned for increases in day care and home care space from 5,000 and 8,000, to 6,200 and 10,000 respectively, in 2020.

However, we have a dilemma of long-term care in Singapore. For instance, while there is a demand for institutions and services to support long-term care, money and space for such institutions are both limited. We need therefore to provide greater support for this "willing but unable group" to allow as many Singaporeans as possible to be care for and housed by their own families. This includes domestic helpers who live in the same house.

What can be done to ensure the same respite and welfare for these helpers? For example, when we go to the Homes to visit some of these patients, we should also find time to speak with and interview the domestic helper. Another way is to touch-base with them during their medical check-ups. We now have a compulsory medical examination for helpers – can we also include a psychological examination for those who are caring for the elderly or the physically challenged?

Many helpers may not be given their days off, with family citing that they pay them in lieu. But money does not compensate for a day off from the day grind.

Another group of Singaporeans facing challenges are those who stay in rental flats. MSF had earlier announced the plan to set up social service hubs in and around rental precincts. How will this initiative better support families living in rental flats, and how can the community play a part?

Finally, Prime Minister Lee at his post-National Day Rally dialogue, said that Singapore must not allow social stratification to harden. To do so, will of course, require us to start at MOE. But we need also to remember that MSF has a large part to do, to ensure that Singaporeans who are less fortunate, people like my resident "S" and his brother are not left behind.

Of this latter group, I urge the Minister to give greater attention to the group of "willing but unable". This is a special group which holds a resource that no state intervention can substitute – the genuine love and care of a family member.

Narrowing Inequality

Mr Mohamed Irshad (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, Sir, in the past year, we have seen much debate on the topic of inequality, sparked in large part by the publication of Teo You Yenn's book "This is What Inequality Looks Like". The book and subsequent commentaries suggest that the system today is a major contributor to why poor families cannot break out of poverty.

There seems to be widespread acknowledgement and acceptance that social inequality, including but not limited to income inequality, is a serious issue that we need to address as a society. But there does not seem to be agreement on the root cause and what policies, or actions will actually maximise the chances to reducing income inequality. And overall, there seems to be a dearth of robust discussion on this. Many views are advocated without strong basis or justification. The book itself is a compelling read and has helped raise awareness of the poor in Singapore. It also advocates universal welfare as a solution to the problem but did not discuss the trade-offs and alternative approaches.

The Government too, does not seem to have directly responded to much of the discussion or the positions proposed. Much of the ensuing debate, save a few thoughtful pieces, has seemed to have consisted of different views being presented but without much substantiation. For instance, some forum letters in the Straits Times said, that indeed the problem must be the system and prevailing policies. Others have said that the problem must be the low earning individual or family itself. Two opposing views that cannot be reconciled in the absence of constructive dialogue and discussion.

In July 2018, there was a symposium on the interim housing project for low-income families, speakers included Minister Desmond Lee, Senior Minister of State Maliki Osman, and the Executive Director of PAVE, Sudha Nair. I understand PAVE was the organisation that worked directly with the families in the interim housing project. In November, a book entitled "How Working Together Matters" and edited by Prof David Chan, was published.

This book seemed to suggest that the system is not in itself the problem and that individuals themselves can be deciders of their own fates. In fact, in his book, Prof David Chan seems to warn against reading without discernment – "Therefore, be careful and calm when you do all kinds of survey studies, when you read articles in social media or in the mainstream media poll reports, and even scientific surveys or ethnographic interviews. Sometimes, the data, findings, interpretations, and conclusions are not as reliable or rigorous as they claim or appear to be."

We have in the course of one year two books with two different positions, with many resounding expressions of support on both sides, and not much of a response from the Government, at least thus far, on a topic that is critical and important to us as a nation and society now and in the years ahead.

Would like to ask the Minister what his views are on this matter and how we should interpret the differences in views, and more crucially, what it all means in terms of what we should actually do and how we should move forward as individuals in a collective society?

Supporting Singaporeans Facing Challenges

Dr Lily Neo (Jalan Besar): Sir, I want to continue the conversation on the topic of inequality and poverty in our society. One of the best ways to mitigate this issue is giving more support to Singaporeans facing challenges. An integrated case management approach focused on development of the human capital, which I suggested in 2008 in this House, is even more relevant today.

Prime Minister Lee said that Singapore must not allow social stratification to harden. As my parliamentary colleague said, Mr Seah Kian Peng, "I wish to repeat my call for a comprehensive assistance package, for low-income families, focused on human capital investment." The package includes employment-upgrading opportunities for parents, new employment opportunities for unemployed spouses and continued assistance and hand-holding for these parents. Helping needy families with jobs, upgrading them and encouraging them to stay at employments will assist them to support their family members especially their children better.

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We need to address holistically the many complex and intertwining problems that many of such families face. These are: financial difficulty, balancing low-paying jobs with family responsibilities, childcare facilities, housing and healthcare needs and so on.

These problems are compounded in single parents or foreign spouse households. We have to tweak our policies to favour Singaporean children regardless of the residency status of their parents. One example is to allow foreign mothers to place their Singaporean children at childcare with full subsidies and to allow these foreign mothers to find employment.

Children from such families face a greater challenge participating in the education process. Thus, we should assist in childcare, kindergarten, after-school care placement for them, as well as individual hand-holding approach and follow-up for those with more educational needs. Many of these children, especially the youths, may be at risk of falling into bad company. How can MSF intervene early and better support these children and youths so that they can seize opportunities and achieve success.

Improvement of delivering assistance to those in need is core to helping this group. Unless we have these good outreach, the intention and whatever good schemes there are will be wasted. We need to identify and reach out to those in need, even if it means incurring expenses in manpower to do so. We can tap this information of those in need from data with social service offices, grassroots and VWO referrals, house-to-house visits and so on. There are many schemes available to help those in need; but they are mostly incomprehensible and untapped by this group. In order to reap the desired outcome, MSF can coordinate and facilitate those in need to apply and to tap from the various schemes at a “one-stop service center”. This will ensure that such families will not fall through the cracks. This would in turn contribute to our goal of pursuing a sustainable approach in helping lower income Singaporeans becoming more upwardly mobile.

What are MSF’s plans to support Singaporeans from the low-income groups to help individuals and families improve their circumstances? MSF had earlier announced the plan to set up social service hubs in and around rental precincts. How will this initiative better support families living in rental flats; and how can the community play a part?

The Chairman: Second Minister Indranee Rajah.

The Second Minister for Education (Ms Indranee Rajah): Mr Chairman, I thank members who spoke on MOE Kindergartens (MKs) and students with special educational needs (SEN) for their encouragement, as we continue with our efforts to support these students.

Let me first address Assoc Prof Daniel Goh’s suggestion for MKs to support partial home-schooling. MKs offer a coherent curriculum through a daily four-hour programme. The MK curriculum resources are developed by MOE for trained MK educators to plan and carry out specific learning activities. The curriculum nurtures children holistically, in a social setting, so that they are confident, demonstrate strong social skills and have a good foundation in literacy and numeracy. Partial use would not be optimal for the child. As such, we would strongly encourage parents to send their child to the MKs daily.

Miss Cheng Li Hui asked if we intend to make pre-school education compulsory. Today, almost all Singaporean children aged 5 to 6 years are enrolled in pre-school. To further make pre-school education compulsory for the early years may not cater to the different developmental needs of young children. Instead, we are taking a more targeted approach through KidSTART and other outreach efforts to reach out to the more disadvantaged groups and level up opportunities for all.

Let me now share about what we are doing to promote inclusivity and support students with SEN throughout their educational journey and entry into the workforce.

MOE is committed to ensuring that children with SEN receive a proper education. It is in this spirit that children with moderate-to-severe SEN are now included under the Compulsory Education framework.

Where possible, we encourage students with SEN to attend mainstream schools. However, for students who require intensive specialised assistance, they will be better supported in Special Education schools (SPED schools).

To encourage inclusivity, understanding and empathy between students with SEN and their peers, SPED schools have forged close partnerships with mainstream schools and organised activities to promote closer interaction and integration between their students. For instance, Assumption English School, Assumption Pathway School, Fajar, Greenridge, Jurong and Zhenghua Secondary Schools together with Rainbow Centre, a SPED school, have come together for a Visual Arts Collaboration programme. Last year, the students created a 3D artwork from recycled materials titled "Skyline of our Community". The students bonded over their shared love of Art and the collaboration enriched them in many ways.

Within mainstream schools, students have opportunities for inclusive interactions. Students have shared that they learn useful life lessons from their peers with SEN, such as resilience to overcome daily challenges. They also realise that it is important to be there for one another.

This was echoed by Benjamin Loh, a Primary 4 student from Nanyang Primary, who was assigned as a buddy to a classmate with SEN.

Benjamin said, “By being a buddy to a friend with special needs, I’ve learned how to take care of people better than I used to. I’ve also learned that he can’t do some things, but he’s really good at other things. He is really good at Art and draws very well. My advice to other kids who might be worried about having a classmate with special needs is, don’t worry! They are very nice. When they are frustrated or sad, tell them you’ll help them.” For Benjamin and his classmates, learning together in the same classroom environment is beneficial in fostering healthy, inclusive interactions with one another, whatever their perceived differences.

Ms Denise Phua, Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar, Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Assoc Prof Daniel Goh asked about the quality and accessibility of resources for students with SEN in mainstream schools and IHLs.

As our education system develops to cater to a wider spectrum of students, the support and resources we provide have been improving in tandem. Our mainstream schools have introduced infrastructure accommodations and teaching tools to support students with SEN. For example, assistive learning devices are provided at no cost to students with hearing loss, visual impairment and physical impairment. These devices include Frequency Modulation equipment, Braille notebooks, computer systems with specialised features, talking calculators, voice synthesizers, customised furniture and specialised software.

More importantly, we have a strong network of support to guide students with SEN in their educational journey, from enrolment to graduation. Across mainstream schools and IHLs, our staff provide an eco-system of support for students with SEN. For instance, they work with parents and the previous school to better understand the student’s needs, and facilitate smoother transitions in their educational journey.

In mainstream schools, we have our Allied Educators (Learning and Behavioural Support), or the AED(LBS), who have all undergone a customised NIE Diploma programme in Special Education. They can also attend a range of in-service professional development modules and conferences to strengthen their knowledge of special needs support. Over the last five years, we have grown the number of AED (LBS) by over 40%.

In addition, a core group of teachers in all Primary and Secondary schools are equipped with deeper knowledge and skills in supporting students with special needs, through a Certificate level training in Special Needs at NIE. These are known as Teachers Trained in Special Needs. While we will continue to recruit and train these school personnel with deeper experience and skills, one of their key roles is to equip all their colleagues to better support students with SEN and their families. This creates a network of support for our students.

About two-thirds of academic staff in our Polytechnics and ITE have undergone basic training to attain awareness and basic skills to support students with SEN. All our IHLs have a SEN Support Office on campus which employ full-time staff professionally trained to support students with SEN. For example, the Learning Support Specialists in ITE have at least a Diploma in Special Education.

What happens next for students with SEN, after graduating from school? To prepare them for transition into the workforce, the IHLs work on building up their confidence and independence while still in school. This helps them develop strong coping and management skills for life and to take charge of their own learning needs.

Education and Career Guidance Counsellors and teachers work with the students, to help them identify their strengths and find work-related opportunities that interest and suit them. Likewise, the IHLs collaborate closely with SG Enable and other Voluntary Welfare Organisations to support persons with special needs through internship and mentoring programmes.

The benefit of strong collaboration between schools and workplaces can be seen from the example of Rachael, a former student from Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore School. She is hemiplegic and has weaker functions on the right side of her body. Despite her special needs, Rachael is confident, hardworking and has a passion for helping others. These traits positioned Rachael for success, when she started her community-based work experience while at school. Rachael was partnered with potential employers for month-long work attachments at various businesses, such as a supermarket, a laundry factory and a cafe. Her teachers and job coaches taught her to travel independently from her home to the various work locations.

She was also supported with customised, on-the-job training opportunities. For example, Foreword Coffee, one of her employers, provided visuals and labels to help her remember steps to take for certain tasks. To accommodate her reduced motor skills, they provided Rachael with an electric whisk to stir drinks. Rachael completed a further six-month internship with Foreword Coffee and after graduating, she now works there as a part-time service crew member, whipping up spiced chai latte, hot chocolate and the like.

We acknowledge the significant challenges that persons with special needs face in adult life, and the need for them to receive timely and relevant vocational and life skills training.

Today, MOE already has various incentives to enhance lifelong learning for persons with special needs, beyond the regular Continuing Education and Training subsidies and support available to all Singaporeans. For example, we have launched the SkillsFuture Study Awards for persons with special needs, to enhance employability by developing and deepening relevant competencies and skill-sets.

We will continue to partner with community stakeholders to support lifelong learning for persons with special needs, including those from SPED schools.

Over the years, our education system has evolved to provide greater support for students with SEN and equip them for work and life upon graduation. MOE will continue to work closely with students, parents, community partners, Government agencies and employers to help students with SEN realise their full potential.

However, being truly inclusive goes beyond what MOE or Government can do. It also requires society at large – employers, peers and the community – to be part of this.

I would like to encourage employers to be open to employing persons with special needs and to design workplaces and processes to accommodate them. Workplace colleagues also have a role to play in creating an environment that is welcoming and supportive of persons with special needs.

Most importantly, I would like to encourage all to look beyond disabilities and think more in terms of what their strengths and talents are. See them as people who – just like everyone else – have hopes, dreams and aspirations. We should accept them as they are, and include them.

Only then can we be truly inclusive.

The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat.

The Senior Minister of State for Education (Mr Chee Hong Tat): Mr Chairman, the SkillsFuture movement seeks to build a nation of lifelong learners. To do so, we are working in partnership with Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), private training providers, employers and Trade Association and Chambers (TACs), as well as workers and unions. I would like to give an update on SkillsFuture, the outcomes we have achieved and our future plans.

First, on increasing quality and industry-relevant training courses through IHLs and private training providers; second, on enabling business transformation through skills upgrading for workers; and third, on supporting individuals for lifelong learning.

7.00 pm

Let me start with the IHLs. I agree with Prof Lim Sun Sun that IHLs must continue to focus on teaching quality and ensure their courses are relevant to the industry. Besides getting feedback from students, IHLs work with business leaders to review course offerings and content, and collaborate with industry partners on research and student projects.

With Continuing Education and Training (CET) now forming part of their expanded mission, IHLs have significantly increased the range of high-quality CET programmes.

The number of work-learn programmes has increased from 15 in 2015 to 123 in 2018, benefiting over 3,500 individuals. We will introduce more work-learn programmes with different modalities. The IHLs have also provided more SkillsFuture Series courses. Today, we have about 1,300 courses across eight emerging and priority areas.

Sir, the IHLs have made good progress in ramping up their CET offerings. This is a challenging task, involving changes to the way they organise and conduct their courses. I want to place on record my appreciation to the staff and management of the IHLs, for their hard work and perseverance. The changes will benefit many Singaporeans.

We have also been working with our training providers to develop industry standards and expand overseas. Existing adult educator training requirements for Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) courses will be extended to SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG)-funded, non-WSQ certifiable courses. These requirements will take effect by 1 January 2021.

SSG and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) supported a pilot initiative by the Strategic Association of Professional Training-Consulting Organisation (SAPTCO) to develop and export training programmes referenced to WSQ standards, starting with India and Vietnam. This will help our training providers to export their services to overseas markets. You do not have to be a member of SAPTCO to participate in the pilot. I encourage interested training providers to get in touch with SSG.

Dr Intan asked about streamlining of regulations for private education institutions (PEIs) and other private training providers. We want our regulations to be pro-business while maintaining quality training standards. SSG is reviewing our rules to reduce compliance costs and make it more convenient for private training providers seeking different types of regulatory approvals, and will be making some changes later this year.

First, to reduce the number of fees for PEIs from nine to three, with an annual cost saving ranging from $380 to $640 per provider.

Next, to harmonise requirements and streamline processes for training providers offering WSQ and private education programmes. This will simplify the licensing process for providers offering both types of courses. A risk-based performance management system will replace the current Continuous Improvement Review process for WSQ Approved Training Organisations.

Third, to reduce the cost incurred by WSQ training providers to issue e-Certificates. This has been an on-going effort since 2014. So far, we have reduced the certificate fee from $2.60 to $1.20. SSG is trying to further reduce this fee through regulatory streamlining and process review, so that training providers can enjoy more cost savings. Of course, I hope they pass this through to the students.

Mr Baey Yam Keng and Mr Lee Yi Shyan spoke about the need for pro-business regulations during MTI's COS segment earlier today. We believe that smart regulation is an important enabler for supporting innovation and entrepreneurship, and will help our training companies to grow and export their services overseas. It can be one of Singapore’s competitive advantages. But we must not assume that smart regulation will automatically happen. I agree with Mr Ang Wei Neng that government agencies must be open to feedback and listen to feedback from the industry, listen to proposals from the industry.

Mr Zainal Sapari asked about involving employers in worker training, and promoting lifelong learning amongst workers.

As companies restructure and transform with technology, they should also build capabilities in their workers to help them move up the value chain. Transformation must be "technology driven, people led". Using technology alone is not adequate if the workers are not trained to optimise these tools. If we do it well, enterprise transformation should result in higher profits for the company and higher pay for our workers – a win-win outcome.

During MTI’s COS, I announced enhancements to the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG). Companies that qualify for PSG can apply for additional training subsidies, which will cover 70% out-of-pocket training expenses up to $10,000. The training subsidy will be provided via a PSG (SkillsFuture Training Subsidy). This is additional funding, above the existing training subsidies of up to 90%, to provide extra support for companies. We also want to reinforce the message that worker training and skills upgrading are critical elements for business transformation.

Companies can use the training subsidy for training that is aligned with their industry’s Skills Framework, to support business transformation and meet their training needs. I have asked MTI and MOE colleagues to keep the application process simple, so that more companies can benefit from PSG and the training subsidy.

Mr Zainal Sapari and Mr Ang Wei Neng asked about efforts to deepen workplace learning. Companies can work with the National Centre of Excellence for Workplace Learning (NACE) to develop structured training plans for workplace learning.

Gardenia, a company that makes bread, is one such company. Its workers operate on 24/7 shifts, 365 days a year. This makes it challenging for them to attend external training. By working with NACE to develop a workplace learning blueprint, Gardenia is looking to bring training to its workers within the factories. It has also implemented structured workplace training for production coordinators under work-learn programmes.

Besides Gardenia, 26 other companies have successfully implemented basic workplace learning systems with the help of NACE. Many of them are SMEs, with more companies in the pipeline. We will continue to work with TACs and the companies including on-going collaborations to train workers for the wider industry, a point that Mr Ang Wei Neng made in his speech.

Ms Foo Mee Har made a key point that while employees upskill themselves, employers need to recognise these skills. I urge employers to recognise and support skills-based hiring. SSG has rolled out 27 Skills Frameworks and engaged over 2,500 enterprises so far. These Frameworks are jointly developed by employers, industry associations, unions, government agencies and training institutions. Employers can use these Frameworks to develop career maps, articulate job requirements, design training programmes, and recognise skills for hiring and career progression.

Ms Foo also suggested appointing lead training providers. SSG has started doing this through our CET Centres. There are currently 36 CET Centres, including the IHLs and a good spread of private training providers. We will take on board Ms Foo’s additional suggestions as we study ways to further enhance the services provided by these Centres.

To sustain a strong eco-system of CET, lifelong learning needs to be part of our cultural DNA. We have made encouraging progress, with SkillsFuture benefiting about 465,000 Singaporeans through a wide range of programmes in 2018. For example, 96% of approved SkillsFuture Credit claims are for work-related courses.

Prof Lim Sun Sun asked about the efficacy of SkillsFuture programmes. We have been tracking the progress of SkillsFuture since its launch in 2015. Training participation rates have increased from 35% in 2015 to 48% in 2018.

We are also encouraged to see positive training outcomes. From a survey of 3,500 learners who attended work-related training in 2018, more than 80% said they were able to perform better at work six months after the training.

We do additional longitudinal studies to supplement these surveys, as we know surveys do have their limitations. A recent study by MTI found that for individuals who were not in employment, WSQ training increased their likelihood of securing employment by up to 3.5 percentage points in the year after training. The same study showed that employed individuals who attended WSQ training enjoyed a real wage premium of up to 5.8 per cent on average in the year after training.

Sir, please allow me to share a story in Mandarin about Mr Jeremy Fong, who is Managing Director of Fong’s Engineering and Manufacturing and the past-Chairman of the Singapore Precision Engineering and Technology Association.

The Chairman: Please go ahead.

Mr Chee Hong Tat: Thank you, Sir.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Jeremy Fong is a literature and history student, but he also chose to pursue a Diploma in Business Management and take modular courses on mechanical engineering at ITE and private education institutions.

With developments in technology and markets, Fong's Engineering and Manufacturing Pte Ltd has gradually transformed its business. Just as how Mr Fong has taken it upon himself to reskill, remain relevant and lead transformation in his business, he also applies the same philosophy to his employees. He believes that transformation and training need to take place together in order to achieve the best outcome.

Mr Fong retained all his workers after he transformed and automated his processes, and redeployed them to other areas of work within the company. Over the past three years, his company also participated in the SkillsFuture Earn-and-Learn Programme, providing Polytechnic and ITE graduates with internship opportunities at the workplace.

It is heartening to see employers like Mr Fong taking ownership of skills development, and using skills to support company transformation. He is a good role model.

(In English): To conclude, Sir, SkillsFuture is a journey that we must take together with our partners and all Singaporeans. SkillsFuture is essential to our economic transformation, but it is more than a programme or an initiative. It is a movement to encourage lifelong learning and continuing education. It is to nurture a passion for deepening skills and a curiosity for new knowledge. What we want to achieve is for lifelong learning to spark a lifetime of joy in our people.

The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat, it is almost 7.15 pm. Would you like to report on progress?