Committee of Supply – Head K (Ministry of Education)

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

Transformation Map for MOE and SkillsFuture

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".

More than 600,000 students are enrolled in MOE-run or supported schools, Junior Colleges and Institutes of Higher Learning. The FY2020 budgeted expenditure for Education is $13.3 billion – the third highest after defence and health; no less.

Education is a unique budget item. Education, when done well, is an avenue of social mobility; a social multiplier; a maximiser of human potential; a character builder; a wealth creator and a passport to countless life’s opportunities.

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On transformation of education, 23 industries in Singapore have developed their Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) under the Future Economy Council. Although these ITMs differ in scope, depth and quality, they share a common value-add. The mapping exercise "forces" industry captains to study the current and future landscape, review their vision and in the process help the rest of the industry and Singapore to understand, support and partake in their future directions, priorities, jobs and skills.

Out of the 23 ITMs, the ones related to education are two – the Early Childhood Education Sector and the Adult Training and Education. The missing piece for the years between early childhood and adult education.

There is merit for MOE to put together an overall Education Transformation Map. Granted, there are news on developments and priorities when MOE chooses to announce either through Ministerial Statements or its annual workplans, but the overall Education Map needs to be developed and articulated. We need to see a map that consolidates the overall vision, the future of education, the developments, the current state of the union, risk assessment, the key pieces it needs to eyeball and move, the challenges and how it can better engage other stakeholders in its work.

We cannot ignore the larger elephants in the room such as the still growing and increasingly market-responsive tuition industry and the continuing excessive focus on the academic rat race. We cannot keep tweaking the system and hope that age-old mindsets and habits will disappear. Many of them cannot be solved by MOE's think tank alone. We need to be bold enough to honestly ask what our education system should look like and decide where we should re-design, re-skill and better resource. We need to bring on board more Singaporeans to help understand the aspirations, the demands and challenges we face and will face.

Therefore, I urge Government to put together a team to develop and articulate an Education Transformation Map for the future.

On vision of education. The fast pace of technology has led to an increasingly shorter shelf life of our knowledge and skills. Staying relevant through lifelong learning is an essential part of life and no longer a luxury. Hence, the SkillsFuture movement is a brilliant strategy but it is now focused primarily on adults and at most, students in the Institute of Higher Learning (IHLs). However, the cultivation of curiosity in learning, self-driving one's learning, digital literacy and learning agility must start young. There is therefore a need to integrate and align SkillsFuture in the adult years with SkillsFuture in the junior years.

Let us be the first in the world to build the first "Lifelong Learning Schools". Let us re-envision MOE as a Ministry of Lifelong Learning and to seriously study what that vision truly means and entails.

Next, on benchmark of education. For years, Singapore has prided ourselves in our outstanding performance in global education rankings such as the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study. PISA ranks our 15-year-olds globally in subjects such as reading, math, science and problem solving – factors viewed as important for boosting economic competitiveness.

Although a good reference point, I believe Singapore can lead and establish a more comprehensive suite of education benchmarks. For one, we know we have to now learn for life beyond the age of 15. Two, surely, we too agree that the purpose of education is more than just to prepare economic beings.

What about physical and mental health? What about citizenship, compassion, learning agility, curiosity, regional and world languages and culture and the courage to take risks? What about the sense of duty to look after one's family, to respect other people who are different, protect our environment including cleaning up after ourselves? What should be included and measure?

I ask MOE, as we expand our old definition of education and success, I wish to seek resources for the Ministry to conduct a uniquely Singapore study of the benchmarks against which to measure the success of our education system

Next, on engine of education, our educators. Amongst all, one key engine of education must be our Educators. I have and still serve with some of the most dedicated, competent and compassionate educators; and I feel for them. We need to nurture and maximize the potential of our staff too.

The days of old when teachers are the key dispensers of knowledge and principals are leaders who know all about education, are over. In fact, the term "teacher" may need to be dropped soon as educators take on the roles of creators and/or curators of content; designers of learning experiences; facilitators and coaches of their students. They need to be exposed not only to things of the school; but also to the world that their students are going to live and work in. They themselves, the educators, too need to be mentally healthy and coached.

What are the ways by which MOE educators including school leaders are recruited and developed to fulfill the roles of future educators? How can we future-proof them through updating and innovating the ways by which they are recruited and developed?

Next on inclusiveness of education, any map of education is incomplete without including those who are at risk of being left out either due to their socio-economic background; or their learning styles and abilities.

Digital Literacy for All

On digital literacy for all, many future of education studies reflect everywhere that digital literacy is the new literacy. As mobile devices become commonly used for learning, students without the financial means may be left out. In situations such as the COVID-19 outbreak, when students are expected to stay home with e-learning, with blended homework packages, those without access to ready IT devices may be deprived.

Besides devices, there are also students who may be left behind in the chase of acquisition for digital literacy due to little access or exposure to digital content or sufficient learning exposure either at home or in school. What are MOE's plans to strengthen digital accessibility and literacy for all and to ensure every student has equal access to the hardware devices, the software applications and supervision, especially students in financially or socially challenged households; and especially students who are not in mainstream school setting such as those in special schools or home-schooling settings?

Special Educational Needs in Schools/IHLs

On student with Special Education Needs (SEN), thanks to the political leaders and several key Ministries such as MSF and MOE, the education of students with SEN specially for the young has grown from strength to strength. However, the outcomes of their schooling will need a deeper dive for further improvement. To this end, I seek MOE's favourable consideration for three groups of students with SEN.

One, for Special Education (SPED) school students who are unlikely to proceed to open employment or further studies, MOE should consider extending the current school years of SPED schools to age 21. This is to enhance the chances that more of them will be more prepared for life after school, the foremost school years and for more of them to work in at least supported employment. Many of them are not ready to exit to the adult world at the age of 18. The alternative is to put them in costly day activity centres for adults or for parents to give up their own livelihoods in order to care for them.

Next, for students with SEN who are able to undertake mainstream subjects whether in Primary schools, Secondary schools or IHLs, MOE should articulate and implement a more effective plan so that they are better supported. For instance, the SEN funds in IHLs are currently only limited to those with sensory disabilities – those who are visually impaired or deaf – and they are not extended currently to those with ADHD, dyslexia or autism.

For everyone with SENs, learning with the appropriate support should not stop after the formal school years. There are insufficient efforts to include the special needs workforce in the SkillsFuture movement. Neither is there enough envisioning of a lifelong learning pathway for this special group of learners. I therefore call for a deeper dive by MOE and other key stakeholders such as the major disability SSAs to address this important need. Failing to do so will incur not only further expenditure in future budgets, but, we as a society would also be for the weaker when we leave them behind.

In conclusion, Sir, in summary, I seek MOE's favourable consideration of my suggestions to one, develop and articulate an Education Transformation Map for the future. Two, to re-envision and re-name the MOE to as a top-notch Ministry of Lifelong Learning. Three, review the benchmarks against which to measure the success of our education system. Four, to future-proof our educators through updating and innovating the ways by which they are recruited and developed. Five, ensure digital accessibility and literacy for all especially those from lower income households and/or with SEN. And lastly, to provide stronger support to the lifelong learning of students with SEN in all settings. Finally, I want to thank everyone who chose to serve in the education sector, your influence stays even after you are long gone.

Question proposed.

Joy of Learning

Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten): Sir, learning in schools should not be a process whereby a student studies simply to pass exams. Many subjects which a student learn in school may not be relevant years later because of new discoveries and technological developments. Yet, many students and their parents continue to obsess over the need to learn to pass exams. Students worry about their academic performance in schools. This has led to unnecessary stress on the students.

For the past years, during the Edusave Awards ceremony, I urge parents to work with the school teachers to inculcate the joy of learning in their children. The students should not be caught up in trying to memorise their textbooks just to score better results. Instead, they ought to be given exposure to discovering new things and finding out more about topics in which they are interested in. Learning must be for life because the world keeps changing and developing over the years.

When I first started legal practice, I had to learn how to use a Phillips word processor. I then attended classes to learn how to use Wordstar and Word Perfect. If I did not keep learning, I would not be able to manage without knowing Microsoft Office today.

I know that MOE wants to encourage the students to appreciate that education should be a life long journey. But, it is not enough for MOE to say so. The school teachers must buy in and not add stress onto the students by having a continuous stream of tests and exams. Regardless of what MOE says, if assessments and tests are graded and counted as your overall results, students will continue to mug for these assessments and these tests.

I urge MOE to consider more options to admit students to their schools of choice; to their courses of studies instead of simply relying on their exam results. Consider relying on aptitude tests or interviews to ascertain a student's interest. In this way, we will be better able to persuade students and parents that it is important to develop a child's interest in learning and enjoy acquiring knowledge.

Update on Learn for Life Initiatives

Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok): Sir, I seek an update from the hon Minister on Learn for Life initiatives following the important announcement made at last year's COS debates about the Full Subject-Based Banding in Secondary Schools. This comes in the wake of other initiatives such as the revamped PSLE scoring this year onwards and enlarging aptitude-based admissions into tertiary institutions.

I had the opportunity to review the speech of Minister Ong Ye Kung made in 2018 when he held out elderly learners from our Pioneer and Merdeka Generations imbibed with the "lifelong learning" attitudes as great examples for our children to follow and build resilience in a fast changing global economy.

One such example is Mr Albert Chang, aged 70 years. When he was 14 years old, he left Queenstown Secondary School to work and take care of his family consisting of six siblings, including himself. He joined the Naval Base, which was still managed by the British then, as an electrical engineering apprentice. After the British withdrawal, he became a weapons specialist with SEEL, one of the 2 companies that took over the base and which later merged with ST.

Eager to upgrade himself, he attended night classes after work at the Lembaga which was set up in 1960 to promote adult education. He passed his "O" level exams through this route. With an in-house scholarship from SEEL, he went to Singapore Polytechnic to pursue a diploma in telecommunication engineering. On his own, he pursued a City & Guilds of London Institute course and was issued with a Full Technological Certificate in electrical engineering practice specialising in instruments in 1972. Thereafter, he was employed in several companies. One memorable project he undertook was the installation of the cable car system from Mount Faber to Sentosa as a Project Manager.

During the recession, engineering jobs dried up, he was made redundant, he joined the insurance industry. This was not his comfort zone but he was determined to give it his best shot. He then, through self-study, he became a Chartered Life Underwriter.

However, engineering remained his first love, he went back. In mid-2000s, he pursued a Double Masters in Project Management and Risk Management. He retired in 2015. He still is attending courses and presentations at NTU. He is now focusing on upgrading his IT knowledge, learning Python and so on. The values and attitudes of Mr Chang and the people of his generation were shaped by Singapore's —

The Chairman: Mr Murali Pillai, could you wrap up, please? Thank you.

Mr Murali Pillai: — Singapore's humble economic circumstances in the 1960s and 1970s. The concern for us is how we can replicate their drive for lifelong learning in our children in these times when we are generally well-off.

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Education System Initiatives

Mr Charles Chong (Punggol East): Mr Chairman, it seems to me that the only thing which is constant about the world is that everything will change at some point. Indeed, the rate of change we are experiencing gets quicker and quicker every year. For example, by some estimates, the amount of data in the world doubles every two years.

The difficulty we face is how we get our youths ready for the future when we do not know for certain what the future holds. If we do not know what the future is going to look like, then it makes it immensely difficult to predict the skills that will be needed for the future.

But what is clear is that we need our youths to be resilient, adaptable and have a global outlook. To keep pace with changes in the world, we must teach our youths to keep an open mind and to be willing to learn and re-learn throughout their lives. In short, we need to make lifelong learning second nature for our youths. That seems to be the most effective way to make the next generation of Singaporeans ready for the future.

Could the Minister share what steps are being taken to encourage our youths to learn for life?

Mr Chairman, last year, I spoke about how our education system can better cater to the unique strengths and interests of our students by providing more opportunities for differentiated learning, depending on the student's ability at a particular point in time. Now, I was encouraged by MOE's move towards full subject-based banding (FSBB) which, I understand, is being piloted in 28 Secondary schools this year. The outcomes and the students' experiences in this pilot project will provide useful learning points as the Ministry finally rolls out FSBB to all Secondary schools.

I am interested, however, to hear what the experiences of the 28 pilot schools are and how they have found the move to FSBB. Could the Minister give an update on the pilot and how successful or otherwise this has been?

Finally, Mr Chairman, I would like to address the need for support of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Quality education should be accessible to all Singaporeans, regardless of family background. The Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Taskforce (UPLIFT) was set up in October 2018 to see how we can help address the challenges that children from poorer backgrounds face, so that they are able to benefit fully from our education system and go on to maximise their potential.

As it has already been a year and a half since UPLIFT was set up, I would like to ask the Minister if he could provide an update on the work and progress of this taskforce.

Mother Tongue

Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson) (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Singapore is a multiracial, multi-cultural country with unique history and characteristics. Since independence, the bilingual policy has been the cornerstone of our education system. It helps different races to communicate with one another and also plays an indispensable role in promoting cohesion and harmony within the society.

However, language, as a tool of communication, is only one part of its functions. It is underpinned by culture, which is the key feature of a nation and a key achievement of human civilisation. In order to have a deeper understanding of our culture and reinforce our identity, a firm grasp of our mother tongue is key.

With rapid globalisation, Singaporeans must continue to have a good grasp of two languages and two cultures, and even more languages to stay ahead. This will enhance the competitiveness of Singaporeans internationally and help strengthen Singapore's role as an economic and cultural bridge between different parts of the world.

Furthermore, a good grasp of our mother tongue is beneficial for our personal development. Researchers have found that learning two languages can stimulate our mental development, especially for children learning multiple languages at a young age. Benefits for these children include improved cognitive ability, concentration and memory, and greater flexibility when the brain needs to switch between mental tasks. The variety of vocabulary and expressions in different languages also affects our ability to gain insights about the world. People who speak multiple languages have a more enriched understanding of the world compared to monolingual individuals.

Our country's bilingual policy has undergone several reforms, and has laid a good language foundation for Singaporeans. However, with changes in the world and the global economy, Singapore's bilingual advantage is now being tested and challenged.

I would like to ask MOE: how can we provide a good environment for our students to learn mother tongue and also nurture interest in their mother tongue? We have now moved from nurturing bilingual talents to nurturing bicultural talents, and this signals progress in our bilingual policy. In this regard, what are MOE’s new measures to nurture even more bicultural talents?

Learning of Mother Tongue

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: Because this is a cut on Mother Tongue, let me try to speak in Mandarin. It is going to be a terrible experience, speaking after the eloquent Ms Tin Pei Ling.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] When I was young, I did not speak Mandarin very often, partly because my parents spoke Hokkien to me at home and my brothers and sisters only spoke to me in English. So Mandarin was alien to me. When I was studying law in the University, I read the English law papers every day.

It was a cause of regret for me when I graduated because I did not have a good grasp of my Mother Tongue. When I try to speak Mandarin to my clients, they would say "It is better that you speak English." When I joined the Grassroots organisations, I discovered that if I spoke Mandarin more frequently, I could grasp it too. Several months ago, Prime Minister Lee said more and more people were speaking Mandarin at home. How can MOE encourage our students to learn, speak and use Mandarin more?

(In English): Let me now try to speak in English so that MOE officers can understand what I say.

Sir, when I was young, I seldom spoke in Mandarin. This is partly because my parents spoke to me in Hokkien at home and my siblings speak to me in English. When I was studying in the University, it was worst, because hardly anyone spoke Mandarin at all. We were all reading English law reports.

It is a cause of regret for me when I graduated because I did not have a good grasp of my Mother Tongue. I could not speak Mandarin well to my clients. But, later, when I joined the grassroots organisations, I realised that the more you speak, the more you get confidence in speaking the Mother Tongue.

As more and more people speak English at home, is the learning of Mother Tongue adversely affected? How can MOE help students to become more proficient in learning Mother Tongue?

Would it be better for the students to have a nurturing environment at home or would it be better to have more specialist schools, where the students can be immersed in an environment where more classmates speak the Mother Tongue? May I ask the Minister: how can MOE make learning Mother Tongue more enjoyable and help students better appreciate their Mother Tongue as well as their own culture?

The Chairman: 其实,你的华语讲得很好。掌声鼓励鼓励。Actually, you speak Mandarin well. We encourage you. [Applause.]

Learning the National Language

Mr Chen Show Mao (Aljunied): Sir, I would like to renew my call for the learning of basic conversational Bahasa Melayu to be included in the regular curriculum for all our Primary school children who do not otherwise learn it.

I understand that our school children have a great deal to learn already and we are concerned about their well-being. But, perhaps, they could learn the National Language without the pressure of examinations. I also understand that the school curriculum needs to reflect a balance of many different priorities. But it is precisely because of this that I call for its inclusion. And I do so in different years at our Budget discussions because teaching all our school children Bahasa Melayu speaks to many of our enduring values and our hopes that are reflected in successive Budgets – economic development through regional cooperation, building a strong and united Singapore.

Sir, to begin with, learning Bahasa Melayu 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 rooted in our geography and our history.

Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) in Schools

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar (Ang Mo Kio): Chairman, Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) is an integral part of our education system, complementing our academic subjects with a more value-centric and action-based approach to understanding ourselves and the community and society we live in.

MOE has made significant and impactful changes to the way we deliver CCE to our students, with the last review done in 2014. Hence, it is timely that MOE reviews the CCE syllabus. As MOE does so, I would like to offer three suggestions for consideration.

First, issues related to mental health and wellness should be incorporated in the CCE syllabus even at the Primary school level. Our young students need to be provided with a safe space to discuss issues that may have an impact on their mental health and wellness, such as coping with loss or death in the family, appropriate and inappropriate relationships, bullying among friends, social discrimination or domestic violence. These are difficult issues and I would not expect all our school teachers to be professionally equipped to address them or help students manage these issues well. Hence, it would be useful to have social workers and trained school counsellors work closely with our school teachers to help young students who may be facing these issues.

Second, in the midst of the current COVID-19 outbreak, it is important to incorporate lessons on personal hygiene as well as personal and community values that shape social responsibility. Such lessons serve as important reminders to our young students about how our personal hygiene practices can have significant and far-reaching impact on the community we live in and on society at large. For instance, when we are ill, it is important to maintain good personal hygiene and exercise social responsibility by minimising going out in public, not sneezing or coughing without due care and maintaining social distancing with others.

In addition, our personal and community values shape our social responsibility. For instance, self-centredness and a lack of empathy for others mean we only think of ourselves and make us less "others-centric". While it is understandable for each of us to want to protect our personal interests and needs, we can still do so and yet look out for others, show our care for them and extend help where needed.

Third, we know that values are more often caught rather than taught. Parents' values, beliefs and behaviours will most certainly shape how their children treat others and how they behave towards others. Hence, parental involvement in the teaching and learning of CCE would enhance its value. I know that schools are already doing this. Other than involving parents in some learning activities to be done at home with their children, parents who have been actively involved in serving the community, doing volunteer work or actively contributing to society can be invited to share their experience and work with a class of students in school. These parents serve as significant adults who can positively influence and shape the mindsets of our young students, which can be important for students who may not always have the best role models at home.

I look forward to hearing the details of how MOE intends to review and enhance the teaching of CCE in our schools.

CCE

Mr Zainal Sapari (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Chairman, Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) has always been at the heart of Singapore's education system. In CCE, our students learn to be responsible to family and community, and understand their role in shaping the future of our nation. The current syllabus was implemented in 2014 and, ever since, there has been new emerging trends and global developments that can impact our society. Last year, the Minister for Education shared that educators expend much effort to continuously improve and refine the curriculum and to make it more engaging, relatable and effective. Could the Ministry provide an update on the review and the enhancements that would be made to our CCE curriculum to ensure our children are anchored on strong moral values?

Mr Ang Wei Neng (Jurong): Chairman, I believe that CCE is an important part of our education. Some students, however, think that CCE is a chore or, worse, think that is merely propaganda. Perhaps, they do not appreciate its relevance, especially if examinations are around the corner.

I urge the Ministry to consider how to make CCE more engaging and robust. One way is to draw from current happenings to start discussions in CCE lessons. For instance, teachers can engage students to reflect on the challenges posed by the on-going COVID-19 outbreak and discuss how best our communities can respond. Students can discuss how everyone can play a part in being socially responsible. This is especially relevant when one of the students in a top school was infected with COVID-19 last week.

When we include more of such relatable content, CCE lessons can become less of a chore to our students. It would also enable teachers to more effectively guide students towards making sound moral judgements and be motivated to contribute to society.

Teaching of Thinking Skills in Schools

Mr Leon Perera (Non-Constituency Member): Sir, aside from teaching our students content and, of course, developing soft skills, character and values, I would argue that nurturing critical thinking skills is of paramount importance. This is particularly so in light of how the world economy is changing and how more basic types of intellectual work are increasingly going to be handled by technology.

In fact, as I referred to in my Budget speech, the authors of the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2019 commented that Singapore has room for improvement in developing skills like critical thinking among its workforce.

Going forward, clarity about the sources of knowledge and higher level thinking are going to be key.

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One aspect of critical thinking which I want to focus on for this cut is conscious reflection on thinking, thought processes, the rules of logic and the principles of knowledge – how we know something is true and the various categories of knowledge. It is important that our students are encouraged to think about thinking itself. For example, they should know how to reduce an argument to its basic form to separate the premises from the conclusion to understand what the tautological statement is to understand the difference between causation and correlation and to be familiar with the various forms of reasoning like deductive and inductive. The International Baccalaureate programme includes a Theory of Knowledge (TOK) module. On the IB website, this is described as aiming to make students aware of the interpretative nature of knowledge, including personal ideological biases, "to reflect critically on diverse ways of knowing and on areas of knowledge; to be aware of themselves as thinkers, encouraging them to become more acquainted with the complexity of knowledge."

The most central question the TOK addresses is, "How do we know?", while other questions include: "What counts as evidence for X?", "How do we judge which is the best model of Y?", "What does Theory Z mean in the real world?" Some elements of this are covered in the Upper Secondary English curriculum, but not all. This goes beyond language and media literacy, and it is really about the philosophy of knowledge. As most of our students are not in the IB programme, I would like to ask if this is currently being addressed in our Secondary school curriculum and, if so, in what ways? And if MOE is examining modules like the IBs TOK, to explore how we might enhance our teaching approaches in this regard.

Improving CCE

Miss Cheng Li Hui (Tampines): Sir, for a long time, our schools have played an indispensable role in anchoring our students on strong moral values. In my speech in the debate on the President's Address in 2018, I mentioned that our CCE syllabus then focused on classroom and theoretical knowledge. I said, "Our young people should walk the talk and we should seed the caring hearts of our next generation. Let them adopt a kindergarten, old folks home, pet shelters and the responsibility of caring for others."

It is important that we look into how we can develop age-appropriate strategies for students at different age groups so as to increase the effectiveness of CCE in schools. Can Minister share if MOE has been looking into this? To strike a chord with students, CCE should also be easily relatable to the students' experiences.

Therefore, is it possible for CCE lessons to be conducted beyond classrooms and even more actively utilise the life experiences of the teachers so that the lessons could be more authentic?

Incorporating Climate Change in Education

Next cut. Sir, last year, I filed a cut on teaching Green in school. We have to inculcate green values in younger generation. Our schools can play a big and important role in educating our students on the importance of Green initiatives and the perils of global warming. They should also be better informed of the sciences and policies in relation to climate change.

We should make it part of the compulsory curriculum. Let us educate them on the Semakau landfills that are running out in 2035, instead of 2045. Schools can also take the lead in the reduction of single-use plastics and instill a recycling mindset, including handing down used textbooks and using recycled textbooks.

Can the Minister share what MOE has done so far and if MOE can consider embedding sustainability into the curriculum?

Character and Citizenship Curriculum

Mr Yee Chia Hsing (Chua Chu Kang): Chairman, I would like to ask MOE if there will be an update to the Character and Citizenship Curriculum since it was last introduced in 2014 and, if so, what are the changes to make CCE more relevant. Like Miss Cheng Li Hui, I would like to ask if there will be changes to increase awareness of climate change and the human impact on both the environment and nature.

This awareness should also be balanced with an acknowledgement of the economic and other constraints that we face, as well as being mindful of the limited impact that we can make as a small country.

Cyber Wellness and Mental Health

Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang): Mr Chairman, mental health issues are silent, invisible killers. Suicide is the leading cause of death for those who are aged between 10 and 29. The second Singapore Mental Health Study by the Institute of Mental Health released in 2018 reveals that one out of seven Singaporeans experiences a mental health condition in their lifetime. The number of young Singaporeans between the ages of 16 and 30 who sought help from IMH's community health assessment team from 2015 to 2017 has seen an increase of 190%. Hence, the rising rates of mental health issues among our children and youths are an urgent national challenge and priority.

There are many possible causes that may exacerbate the mental health issues, such as academic-based (homework, examinations, projects) or relationship-based (friendship and bullying). The rise of social media has also created self-image issues that have led many to have unrealistic expectations.

I would like to propose the following measures to MOE.

(a) Destigmatise mental health issues and increase the number of counsellors in the schools. Make seeing the school counsellor mandatory for all students, instead of only referring those who are suspected of mental health issues to the school counsellors;

(b) Integrate mental health as part of CCA and physical fitness programmes into the schools and rename it as Total Fitness Programme;

(c) Introduce mindfulness and meditation classes to all schools and equip our young Singaporeans with useful skills to deal with stress for life;

(d) Strengthen our cyber wellness programme in schools and equip our young Singaporeans with skills and knowledge to deal with the cyber jungle; and

(e) Further enhance character and citizenship education.

The current occasional talks in schools on mental wellness is clearly insufficient and is only scratching the surface. I hope MOE can seriously look into this urgent national challenge and consider the measures proposed.

Asia-Ready Exposure Programme

Ms Foo Mee Har (West Coast): Mr Chairman, shifts in the global economic centre of gravity towards Asia present immense opportunities for our people. Singapore is well-placed to leverage opportunities from fast-growing Asia, in particular, Southeast Asia. Many Singapore companies see Asia as its marketplace, given the limited growth opportunities in our small domestic market.

So, to prepare our future generation to be Asia-ready, I am really happy that we are reviewing our school curriculum to enable students to develop a deeper understanding of ASEAN, China and India. Deputy Prime Minister Heng announced the "70-70" target for a new Asia-Ready Exposure Programme. I would like to ask the Minister to provide more details about this programme. How can this new programme provide our students with the opportunity to develop deep insights into the Asian economies and their ways of working and living?

I certainly hope this Programme will not just stop at being an overseas trip to the region. Indeed, the programme should instead encompass student involvement in community service engagement with the respective Asian communities, working in close collaboration with foreign embassies and student exchange programmes.

Most importantly, to support our students, it is to expand their language skills to include those of the region. I would like to ask the Minister whether the Government would support the setting up of MOE-funded ASEAN language schools and whether the mastery of these languages can form part of the mainstream curriculum and be credit-bearing?

The Chairman: Mr Teo Ser Luck. Take your two cuts, please.

Asia Ready

Mr Teo Ser Luck (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Chairman, I have two young staff in their late 20s who are working for me. Since then, I have worked with them very closely on different projects. And because my companies, we build our offices regionally, so the two of them I empower them to take on some of those projects. I must say that the two of them have a lot of promises and one of the common things I found was that they are very comfortable discussing about developments in Asia and being very resourceful about getting certain things done, even if it is beyond Singapore's shores.

So, countries we talked about are China, Malaysia and Indonesia. I am quite pleased with their performance but I know it is hard to keep them. One of the common things I found was that they were exposed to cultural exchange programmes way back in school, starting from Secondary school. I will credit that as the first exposure on a regional basis that makes them feel comfortable in their working life later on.

One of them actually had an Internship overseas as well. And that stint of about one and a half months he actually did really well. He did really well and you can tell from the knowledge that he has gained. I was quite glad that Deputy Prime Minister Heng announced about the "70-70" Asia-Ready Exposure Programme because I believe that when we give more of our students more of those exposures, it would help them in future, not just in their career, but companies that operate in Singapore or Singapore companies that want to venture overseas. This Asia-Ready Exposure Programme, if it can go beyond just cultural understanding and differences, it would really help to make that leap forward, and that leap forward is going beyond understanding about the culture, appreciating the culture, but to be able to make that leap into something more.

And that something more, I will look at it this way – three points, mindset change. And a mindset change creates a certain attitude towards the region and the dare to venture abroad. Secondly, it is to be able to apply that learning. After learning about a culture, learn to apply that within the workforce or within their scope of work in future and to take on additional responsibilities from there. And, of course, hopefully, they are all willing to venture abroad. And that is the part I find it the hardest to persuade. I believe it is the comfort of Singapore as well that they are unable or unwilling to really venture abroad on a longer term basis to actually see what is out there, broaden their horizon.

Global Ready Talent

I think that is extremely important because if we want to do an Asia-Ready Exposure Programme, we might have to think beyond just understanding of cultures. Start them young right, but actually push them a bit further. I know that MTI has a Global-ready Exposure Programme and the Global-ready Exposure Programme was about internship and maybe offer a through train from Asia-ready to Global-ready; from cultural understanding to internship opportunities.

Have companies offer those positions for them. But have the schools take them on in the beginning to understand that and then offer it later that they can actually intern overseas as well. Give them a chance to do so, so that, in future, Singaporeans will be more competitive, not just in Singapore, but overseas as well.

Learning ASEAN Languages

Mr Murali Pillai: Sir, my Parliamentary colleagues, Mr Teo Ser Luck and Ms Foo Mee Har, had just highlighted Deputy Prime Minister Heng's "70-70" target in his Budget Statement as well as the Asia-Ready Exposure Programme. This comes on the heels of measures already announced this year and last year for enterprises to take advantage of business opportunities in fast growing Asia and, more specifically, ASEAN.

To help our students take full advantage of these opportunities, I wonder if the Ministry is prepared to extend to students an opportunity to learn ASEAN languages. Currently, the MOE Language Centre provides Malay (Special Programme) and Indonesian languages as Third Languages. These options are only open to students ranked in the top 10% of their PSLE cohort.

I would suggest that less rigorous spoken ASEAN language courses be extended to interested students, including students from IHLs. Such measures, I believe, will greatly facilitate the students' learning experience and enhance job opportunities for them in the ASEAN region.

Digital and Information Literacy

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: Chairman, in helping our citizens navigate their way through numerous online falsehoods and fake news, we have to start our public education campaign upstream and begin with our school students. In last year's Committee of Supply (COS) debates, it was announced that the Government would establish the "Our Singapore Fund for Digital Readiness", which aims to support community initiatives that promote digital readiness. Beyond community initiatives, we also need to equip our school students with digital literacy, as well as information literacy.

Digital and information literacy is the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.

This combined set of literacies is crucial in this current age, as our students should not only know how to use new information and communication technologies but, more importantly, know how to source for, evaluate and use information that is disseminated and accessed, regardless of the medium in which it exists.

Hence, as MOE reviews the school curricula and syllabi in order to incorporate teaching and learning activities for digital readiness, I would like to propose two areas for consideration.

One, digital and information literacy should be part of our school syllabi, taught and learnt within a specific subject or as part of a school project. Digital and information literacy essentially involves applied skills and knowledge. Hence, they cannot be taught in silo and has to be contextualised. I would further propose that MOE work closely with the National Library Board which has, for several years, implemented its S.U.R.E. programme, which stands for Source, Understand, Research, Evaluate.

NLB has extensive experience in the area of digital and information literacy and has recently set up a Digital and Information Literacy Community of Practice (DIL-CoP), which brings together academics, practitioners and experts in the area of digital and information literacy to share experience, theory and practice in strengthening policies, research, strategies and initiatives in the area. Here, I must declare my interest as Special Adviser to the DIL-CoP.

Two, in order to facilitate the learning of digital and information literacy, the access to and use of information and communication technologies, have to be in place. As such, students need to have ready access to and use of technological devices such as laptops, tablets, and smart phones – all with internet access and wireless fidelity capabilities. How will MOE ensure that our students can have their own technological devices and ready Internet access, particularly for students who come from less privileged backgrounds? What support and provision will be made available?

I look forward to hearing the details of how digital and information literacy will be implemented in our schools.

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Digital Literacy in Schools

Miss Cheng Li Hui: Chairman, digital technologies have progressed tremendously and are very much part of our lives. They could allow us to achieve more than ever before if we are able to harness their potential and use them wisely with good purpose.

Cyber crimes and online scams have been on the rise and it is not surprising with majority of Singaporeans accessing the Internet everyday across different platforms.

In 2016, I filed a MOE cut on cyber education. Our children are tech savvy, but they may or may not be Internet savvy. They may forget there are real dangers lurking in the cyberspace. Cyber bullying, online predators and online scams are just some of the dangers youths face.

It is important that we introduce and equip our young Singaporeans with digital literacy in schools. We have made a good start and laid a strong foundation over the last few years when schools started allowing students to use tablets in class. This allows for more enriching classroom experience where learning is now more interactive, interesting and personal.

Will the Ministry consider providing additional subsidies for students from lower income family to purchase devices? Will the Ministry also be developing guides or courses for teachers to impart and deepen digital literacy among their students in schools?

We need to better prepare young Singaporeans for an increasing number of sectors that require advanced AI-related competencies such as digital finance and cybersecurity. Can the Minister share what is in the pipeline to deepen digital capabilities especially in our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs)?

Digital Training

Mr Ang Wei Neng: Chairman, please allow me to declare my interest as CEO of ComfortDelGro Taxi business. Over the last decade, digital technology, including but not limited to mobile phone applications technology, has significantly impact on our daily life. Digital technology has disrupted many business models but has also created about new business models.

In ComfortDelGro Taxi business, we have embarked on digital transformation since 2018. We have formed agile squads, hire data scientists, hire people with digital marketing skills, hire millennials with user experience or user interface skill sets, hire project managers that can manage the IT programmers that are based at the offshore development centres in India, Myanmar and so on. We are hiring many Infocomms or ICT talents but we cannot get enough local ICT talents. We are not alone. Many technology-based companies and companies that are embarking in digital transformation are finding it hard to recruit local ICT talents in the areas of data analytics, artificial intelligence, automation and other cutting-edge technologies.

As we transform our economy to be digital-focused, we need our six local universities to produce more ICT talents. Thus, I will like to ask the Minister how many ICT graduates have our six local universities produced in the last three years? Moving ahead, are the local universities planning to produce even more ICT graduates? How are our local universities equipping the non-IT undergraduates with skill sets to interpret data and basic ICT skills so that they can better survive in this digital world? For that matter, how is MOE developing plans to better equip students from Primary to Secondary school to be digital ready?

Online Learning

Mr Chen Show Mao: Sir, the COVID-19 outbreak will likely give a critical lift to the growth of technological applications that seem ripe for wider adoption now and in all likelihood will remain more widely-adopted post-COVID-19, for example, video conferencing. Sir, may I ask for an update of the Ministry’s views on how online learning fits into the education of our school children and the Ministry's plans relating to its development?

Professional Development of Educators

Miss Cheng Li Hui: Sir, education is an entire eco-system consisting of key stakeholders such as teachers, schools, parents and the wider community. Our educators are at the frontline where they deal directly with the students for many of their formative years to impart knowledge, share experience and, most importantly, lead by example. Therefore, supporting our teachers is key to developing and sustaining a good education system in Singapore.

With new developments and trends in the education field such as the increasing use of e-learning, computational skills and inquiry-based learning, we need to stand ready to ensure that our teachers and educators stay ahead of the curve. It is an important and never ending process so that our teachers are well-equipped to nurture future-ready learners. Can the Minister share how will MOE support the professional development of our teachers?

Mental Well-being

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong (Non-Constituency Member): Chairman, Sir, youth suicides seem to be on the rise. In 2018, the figures spiked to 94 youths, between the ages of 10 and 29. MOE and MSF were very concerned with the spike, though both Ministries noted that it was not a trend yet.

Obviously, we do not want this to become a trend as lives are at stake here. We need to do more than to closely monitor the issue.

At the same time that youth suicides are on the rise, we see more young people talking about mental illness and turning to Mental Health Services for help. IMH has reported the young people seeking help has jumped by 190% from 2015 to 2017.

I am aware that there are initiatives such as the Youth Corps programme to mobilise volunteers to provide peer support. There also many community initiatives responding to the impending youth mental health crisis. The Government can and must do more. We need to tackle mental health issues upstream and this is why I am bringing this up under the MOE heading because our schools and Institutes of Higher Learning are the headwaters of this issue. It is not just that the stress of school work creating anxieties and problems with self-worth but young people are so caught up in social relationships and the search for identity in the setting of schools.

A lot of the initiatives on the ground now are oriented towards creating awareness of the issue. This is important as we need to correct persistent prejudices and ignorance. Singapore is specially equipped to tackle this issue because we have a centralised education system and MOE can do so much more.

Firstly, mental health education should be a top priority and made mandatory. It should not be just a topic in character and citizenship education, or during the form teacher's guidance period but a subject in its own right in Secondary schools in which basic psychological knowledge can also be imparted so that young people can have the tools to understand what they might be going through.

Secondly, we will benefit from input from young people themselves. One of the reasons for the jump in young people seeking help is that they are starting to open up mental health issues. It is time for us to listen to young people. We could learn from other jurisdictions such as Scotland, which has established a Youth Commission on Mental Health. It comprises young people from ages 16 to 25 to make recommendations to Government.

Professional Development of Teachers

Mr Murali Pillai: Sir, hon Members will agree that the positive education outcomes and results achieved by our children are in large part due to our corp of dedicated and high-quality teachers – past and present.

To ensure that we continue to have these positive outcomes, it is imperative that we provide strong support to allow our teachers to deepen their skills and expertise as part of their professional development.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng highlighted in his Budget Statement this year that with shorter technology cycles, skills acquired need to be constantly refreshed. This is applicable to teachers, too.

Also, the recent policy shifts in our education system such as the "Learn for Life" initiative will also require our teachers to undergo some level of re-tooling.

With respect to how professional development is conducted, I have received feedback from teachers that attending courses per se would not necessarily result in a positive classroom impact. This is backed by empirical studies on teacher development going back 30 years. They, instead, suggest that the teacher development courses be structured less formally and allow for more interaction, collaboration, reflection and feedback between teachers to refine their skills.

The courses should also be tailored and differentiated in accordance with the experience of teachers, subject, ability of students and specific strengths of the teachers.

It would also be good for a ground-up approach to be employed; allowing teacher leaders to find out what is required by his unit and then collaborate with and hold peer discussions on the areas identified. These leaders should also be able to reach out to resources for help outside their school, if necessary.

Finally, the courses should also be planned in a way that the teachers are not required to miss lessons. If that happens, the teacher will have to conduct a make-up lesson or get someone to cover him or her. This may not be ideal. Perhaps, an appropriate number of days should be set aside from the outset for professional development so that such time would be taken into account in the teacher’s schedule. This will also manifest a tangible investment in our teachers' professional development.

SkillsFuture and Work Readiness

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: Chairman, since the introduction of SkillsFuture in 2015, there have been numerous initiatives and programmes launched to ensure Singaporeans have access to a whole spectrum of training and learning opportunities.

While there are SkillsFuture schemes meant for working adults to ensure their continued employability, such as P-Max Place-and-Train and the Professional Conversion Programmes (PCP), there are also Train-and-Place SkillsFuture initiatives targeted at students to prepare them for the workforce, such as the Work-Study Diploma or Degree programmes.

The recent Budget announcement by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat gave us a sneak into the Next Bound of SkillsFuture. Among the specific initiatives under the Next Bound of SkillsFuture are the increased capacity of SkillsFuture Work-Study programmes; partnership with Queen Bee companies to better support training of potential and current hires; and the deepening of workplace learning capabilities, including the expansion of the National Centre of Excellence for Workplace Learning (NACE) to two more Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs).

Hence, I would like to find out more about the plans on how the SkillsFuture Work-Study programmes will be expanded; what are some Queen Bee companies that SkillsFuture Singapore will partner with; which two IHLs will be appointed to house the new NACEs; and what are the plans in expanding opportunities for workplace learning? Will there be plans to recognise training courses or certifications to allow them to be stackable components or modules leading to accredited or recognised qualifications that can lead to career promotions or better employment opportunities? I look forward to hearing these details from the Ministry.

SkillsFuture Movement

Ms Foo Mee Har: Mr Chairman, I would like to declare my interest as the CEO of Wealth Management Institute, a training provider.

The SkillsFuture movement received a boost of support in this year’s Budget with generous SkillsFuture Credit.

Sir, together with the heavily-subsidied course fees that SkillsFuture courses provide as well as support from Adapt and Grow programmes, Singaporeans are well supported to confront the profound structural changes taking place in the labour market and economy. The SkillsFuture measures should motivate them to beef up their skills, re-tool themselves and chart their own future career. This round of top-ups must be utilised before 2025 – a condition that should signal urgency and spur many into action, especially those aged 40 to 60.

So far, the inertia in take-up can be attributed partly to perceived relevance of SkillsFuture courses and the challenges faced by mid-career workers in navigating the thousands of courses available. For the next phase of SkillsFuture movement, more focus should be placed on building strong connections between employability and CET courses. There should be clear linkages between job opportunities, the skills required and the CET courses.

We should roll out an online SkillsFuture Career Guidance tool to help individuals assess their own competencies and credentials against skills required in job vacancies in growth clusters, and direct them to relevant CET courses to develop proficiency in the required competencies. In the process, they can also be directed to career coaches for support and guidance on their learning journey to better understand career prospects in the identified sectors.

There should be strong incentives for CET providers to establish links between their training courses and on-the-job performance and employment outcomes.

Sir, training is most effective when it is closely linked to specific job requirements. The initiative to identify up to 40 large anchor enterprises to support training for their sectors and value chain partners, is indeed very timely. This initiative can potentially transform the entire supply chain, helping to raise the skills of workers in SMEs who form an integral part of the supply chain. Sir, I am really keen to hear the Minister in providing more details about this Anchor Enterprise programme.

I have been a strong proponent of Work-Study programmes, as they can be very effective in preparing our students to be job-ready in the world of work. I am also heartened, like Dr Intan, to hear the ambitious goal to make this a mainstream pathway, with the declared ambition of 12% of each cohort. Work-study pathways can only be successful with strong industry partnership, commitment on the part of employers and their management teams to make workplace learning meaningful and impactful.

What plans are in the pipeline to build that necessary infrastructure and eco-system for impactful work-study programmes? What support will companies receive to enable their effective participation in work-study programmes?

Post-Secondary Education Account

Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied): The Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) is a useful mechanism for young individuals to help defray the cost of their education. However, I am perplexed by the strict limitations placed on PSEA usage.

In a recent Parliamentary answer, MOE has said that the Ministry was concerned about the quality of the courses, the relevance to the industry and the outcomes to the graduates. Although this is fair enough, it should be remembered that we are talking here about an individual's account balances, and not about subsidies.

I recently came across a resident who needed to use his PSEA funds for a course in an aeronautical university that has collaborations with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, the Air Force and Singapore Airlines.

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With such extensive local industry partnerships, quality and industry relevance should be less of a concern. The resident was in the final year of his course, when his father, who sponsored his studies died suddenly. As his father had remarried, the funding for his studies was abruptly cut off after his death. His mother was of limited means. He had hoped that MOE would enable him to tap on the more than $3,000 balance in his PSEA to pay his remaining course fees, but this was turned down.

Monies that are left unutilised in the PSEA when the account holder turns 31 will be transferred to his CPF Ordinary Account. MOE confirmed in January that over the past three years, about 90% of PSEA accounts had balances transferred to the CPF.

Although the amount of the balances transferred appears modest, tapping on these sums to complete tertiary studies would be welcomed, especially for those less well-off. It seems a waste to channel the balances for housing and retirement when its primary purpose was post-Secondary education or the account holder is young. I hope MOE will at least look at case-by-case applications and appeals.

Lifelong Learning for a Gig Economy

Mr Png Eng Huat (Hougang): Sir, some of the workers in the gig economy today are former professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs). Some of them are mature workers who could not get back into the workforce after losing their jobs.

In a survey reported in the Straits Times last November, nine in 10 full-time gig workers were looking for other jobs, and six in 10 were undergoing training or skills upgrading. Seven in 10 were worried about losing their gig jobs. Thus, the concerns of workers are relatively the same, whichever economy they are in.

So, while we are advocating lifelong learning for our salaried workers to remain relevant in a changing world, we should do likewise for workers in the gig economy, in particular, the mature workers, so that they too, can have a decent shot at moving up the value chain while earning their keep as freelancers.

I am particularly concerned about mature gig workers because ageism would have compounded their struggle to get back into a 9-to-5 routine. Staying in the gig economy could be their only option to make a living for a while. And the reality is, the longer they remain in the gig economy, the harder it will be for them to find a day job. So, having the right certifications may open doors to better paying gigs, which in turn, may help these mature workers find meaning in life in the gig economy.

Recently, I came across a freelance trainer who wanted to upgrade himself to become a master trainer. But to get there, this person would need advance certification, and subsidies for those expensive courses are only made available for sponsored employees. That would mean that this person would need to work for a company or find a company that is willing to sponsor him. This resident is in his early 60s and was running a regional outfit before he was retrenched. What are the chances of him getting either one of the funding options?

Since gig workers are on their own, can the Ministry look into introducing a surrogate scheme so that these mature workers in the gig economy can take up specialised courses under similar funding model that sponsored employees are currently given?

Member of Parliament Mr Patrick Tay has made a call for the surrogate scheme to be brought back and I second that.

SkillsFuture

Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Ang Mo Kio): Chairman, the SkillsFuture programme is a wonderful initiative which provides tangible support for Singaporeans to learn new skills at every stage of their life. When it was rolled out in 2016, many Singaporeans made good use of the opportunity to pick up new skills. The range of courses is impressive from languages to healthcare, culinary skills to information technology and more.

I appreciate the $500 SkillsFuture Credit top-up for Singaporeans aged 25 and above and the additional one-off SkillsFuture Credit of $500 for every citizen aged 40 to 60. In the event that the COVID-19 outbreak deepens, there might be some workers laid off in the next few months. Would the Ministry consider allowing this group to utilise their SkillsFuture Credits earlier, before the commencement date of 1 October this year?

Many employers, especially our SMEs, are busy dealing with the here-and-now and have limited bandwidth and time to plan for their future. However, rapid technological advancements and disruption require them to continually innovate and seize new opportunities. Their workers need to keep up with the changes too. So, training is very important. What measures or incentives does the Ministry have to help our employers develop stronger workplace training capabilities?

One potential benefit from attending similar SkillsFuture training courses is networking among employees in the same industry. Such opportunities could be a chance for workers and staff from different SMEs to collaborate. They could share best practices or even form small working groups where they could brainstorm and exchange ideas. These are all developmental opportunities for workers too. Such collaborations could increase the chances of our SMEs moving up the value chain, to become more innovative and competitive. Does SkillsFuture have a role in assisting such companies and facilitating industry collaborations? If so, could MOE elaborate on this?

Finally, it is important that courses and programmes associated with SkillsFuture meet high standards and live up to their accreditation. Otherwise, potential employers would have doubts about the training credentials of applicants and the programmes might eventually lose their value. We also want to ensure that the SkillsFuture Credits are used wisely. What measures does the Ministry have to ensure that the content and teaching standards of the courses are of a high standard and to prevent fraudulent use of SkillsFuture Credits?

The Chairman: Mr Lim Biow Chuan.

Bursaries for Higher Education

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: Sir, in the recent Budget Statement, Finance Minister announced that there would be increase in the quantum for pre-universities bursaries, from $900 to $1,000. There will also be more transport subsidies and school meal subsidies. The bursaries for students in Polytechnics and Autonomous Universities would also be increased.

I support this move by MOE. Providing good education to our students will help families break out of the poverty cycle and level out the inequality in society. The primary question is how to ensure that our students who can qualify to further their education are not deprived of doing so just because they lack the funds.

May I ask the Minister, in the last three years, how many families have been helped under MOE's financial assistance schemes? Is the process for applying for financial assistance cumbersome? Are school teachers taught to look out for students in need of financial assistance? Has there been any feedback that students at that age may feel embarrassed to stretch out their hands for financial assistance?

Once we identify those students who require financial help, will we also find out more about whether the families also require Public Assistance or ComCare?

May I ask the Minister: how can MOE make the process of applying for financial help less embarrassing for the lower income students who are in need?

The Chairman: Mr Leon Perera.

Social Impact Bond (SIB) for Retraining

Mr Leon Perera (Non-Constituency Member): Sir, I have argued previously in this House for exploring social impact bonds (SIB) as policy tools to ensure that public spending achieves reasonably successful policy outcomes, reducing the risk of wasted public spending. SIBs, well implemented, enhance results-oriented public spending.

By one estimate, as of July 2019, 132 SIBs have been launched in 25 countries raising more than $420 million in investment to address social challenges. A few SIBs have been launched in the UK and one in Columbia to target skills training towards those who are unemployed, vulnerable and not in education, employment or training.

With this cut, I would like to suggest exploration of SIBs as a tool that could be used to direct training towards Singaporeans facing employability issues.

National Internship Framework

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied): Sir, at the moment the process of securing internship and apprenticeship positions is largely decentralised, relying primarily on either the hiring entity or a small number of private jobs clearing houses. Moreover, most programmes tend to focus on highly skilled disciplines, such as finance or technology. These two facts mean that the benefits of internship and apprenticeship training tend to accrue only to a select segment of the workforce. In particular, many beneficiaries of such programmes tend to be highly educated students or graduates majoring in STEM-related courses and who possesses the means to seek, identify and apply to such opportunities.

There is substantial evidence that internship and apprenticeship not only contribute to enhanced knowledge transfer and more efficient production but can also play a role in reducing the extent of labour market polarisation, which is becoming a growing concern in Singapore. However, such systems tend to be more successful when operating within the rubric of a larger institutional framework. Such national level institutions help establish the standard roles behind each party's commitment, promote worker firm matching and encourages the movement of journeyman to other firms once they have completed their formal training.

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

The Government has already started in this direction with the Asia-Ready Exposure Programme being introduced at this Budget. I would like to go further and advance the idea of a national internship framework that can be built off the MyCareers job portal.

Importantly, by taking the lead in establishing such a nationally-recognised internship framework, it not only enables voluntary, progressive acquisition of certification for future PMETs, but also enables the Government to qualify an apprenticeship culture that opens up the substantial benefits of such experiences to a much wider range of candidates, such as non-academic pursuits like the culinary arts, music and sports, artisanal practices, such as furniture-making and other skilled crafts and professions that rely on experience and on job training rather than book smarts alone.

This allowed the Government to be a stronger advocate for Singaporeans that have ambitions to contribute to that traditionally and deserved sectors of the economy that nevertheless are paths to meaningful middle-class secured jobs.

Skills for Future Workforce

Mr Douglas Foo (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, in the global competitiveness report by the World Economic Forum in 2019, Singapore is ranked third for skill-sets of the current workforce but 28th for the skill-sets of the future workforce. This is concerning, as this shows that there is still much to be done for our workforce to be future-ready. The gap could possibly be with the existing employed workforce whom might like to gain in-depth knowledge on new disciplines like data analytics, software engineering, cybersecurity, information security, process automation and more.

In the latest future of job study by the World Economic Forum, employers surveyed estimated that by 2022, no less than 54% of all employees will require significant re-skilling and upskilling. Of this, 10% will require additional skills training of more than a year. We are starting to see that this will be a strategic concern for employers in the very near future.

While we have IHLs who have already have in-depth curriculum available for skills in these new industries, what are the Ministry's plans to raise awareness of existing curriculum and to make these courses more accessible to companies and the workforce, and how can trade associations and chambers play a role in this?

Train-and-Place Programmes

Dr Lim Wee Kiak: Sir, can I take my two cuts together?

The Chairman: Yes.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak: Mr Chairman, the Next Bound of SkillsFuture comes at an opportune moment. The forces of globalisation and technological advances are reshaping industries and jobs at an accelerating pace. And with new jobs emerging and requirements of existing jobs changing, there is an increasing need for Singaporeans to continue to re-skill and upgrade.

I would like to applaud the SkillsFuture movement for supporting Singaporeans in their lifelong pursuit of skills mastery.

I stand in support of the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package. This is a much-welcome initiative to support our 40 to 60-year-old workers to up-skill, transition to new careers and stay employed.

Over the years, the Government has put in place many measures to ramp up career transition and re-skilling programmes. However, many of these programmes, such as Professional Conversion Programmes, Place-and-Train programme and sector specific re-skilling programmes require individuals to be employed first before they are able to access training. The placement requirement, which is helpful to secure jobs for individuals, may also limit the number who can benefit from training.

Given the goal of doubling the number of job placements of workers in their 40s and 50s, I would like to suggest to the Ministry to consider complementing this approach with a Train-and-Place programme instead to more comprehensively support re-skilling and career transition of the workers.

After-school Care for Primary Schools

My second cut on after-school care service for Primary schools. In Singapore where most families have both parents working and not everyone is fortunate to have their grandparents or domestic helper to look after the school-going children, the reliance on after-school care service becomes very important. This is especially so for low-income families where they are able to benefit from very good subsidies from the Government.

The parents would prefer to send their children to a school-based after-school care service as they do not need to worry about transport between the school and the after-school care service. They are also reassured that the child would not only be given meals but there would also be nap-time, playtime and even time set aside for tuition as well as other meaningful learning activities.

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However, for parents, finding a place in the school-based after-school care service is not easy because many of the schools do not have sufficient capacity to cater for all. Hence, many school-based after-school care service have a long waiting list. Then, there are parents whose child may be under-performing and require special care for them to stay on course.

Can the Minister give the House an update on what is the average wait-list for school-based after-school care service?

I urge MOE to consider to increase the capacity of school-based after-school care service to catered for at least 50% of the Primary 1, Primary 2 and Primary 3 cohorts in each Primary school. Also, how is the Ministry supporting disadvantaged students in Primary schools through the school-based after-school care service and the UPLIFT programme?

Career Transition for Mid-career Workers

Mr Zainal Sapari: Chairman, I am supportive of the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package for locals in their 40s and 50s to help them stay employable. While a target has been set to double the annual job placement of those in their 40s and 50s to around 5,500 by 2025, what efforts are being taken to scale up career transition programmes for mid-career switchers?

What will MOE be doing differently next, compared to current approaches that would make these career transition programmes for mid-career switchers to be more effective in helping these mature workers with job placement? If we do not do things differently by thinking differently, then most likely, we would get the same results and be unable to achieve the desired outcome of the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package.

I think, for a start, I would like MOE to consider increasing the capacity of re-skilling programmes such as the Professional Conversion Programme under the Adapt and Grow initiative, career transition programmes delivered by Continuing Education and Training (CET) centres, and those offered by sector-specific programmes.

In addition, while a lot of efforts have been taken to outreach to mid-career workers and professionals, many are unaware of the help they could receive. I would like to suggest to MOE to increase awareness of the help and support that could be provided to these mid-career workers.

Mental Health Education

Ms Rahayu Mahzam (Jurong): There is an increasing awareness about the need to monitor the mental health of our young and provide the necessary support that they may need as they navigate through life's challenges. I am happy that MOE has made many efforts to comprehensively look at ways to support the mental well-being of our students in schools, such as incorporating lessons on mental health in the curriculum, equipping teachers with mental health literacy, having counsellors in schools and promoting peer support programmes.

Indeed, mental health is a multi-faceted issue that needs to be addressed through different approaches and platforms. I believe that it is important not just for schools, but also parents, peers and the community to play a role as well as make a concerted effort to create awareness and reduce the stigma. MOE, however, could play a critical role in coordinating upstream efforts. Can MOE share and elaborate about its efforts to help students who are in need of mental health support and how it intends to further develop mental health education in schools?

Could MOE perhaps do more to leverage on social media, the youths' preferred mode of communication and work towards building an eco-system within which all stakeholders could work together to aid early detection, encourage students to seek help when needed and provide pervasive and holistic support in and outside school?

Microaggressions in Schools

Prof Lim Sun Sun (Nominated Member): Being called bodoh, stupid or 笨蛋 by your teacher, having your teacher throw your homework into the trash in full view of your classmates, seeing your name and wrong test answers flashed on the screen for the entire class to see, having your teacher tell you, loudly and harshly in front of everyone that you will never amount to anything, being screamed and yelled at for giving wrong or incomplete answers, enduring blame from your classmates for depriving everyone of your teacher's promised treat because you failed to score the minimum grade like everyone else.

These are the aggressions and indignities some of our students suffer in school. These naming and shaming methods are harsh and destructive, sabotaging our ability to build positive and edifying learning environments. Such tactics humiliate and demoralise poor performers and also create a toxic and competitive environment where peer-to-peer support becomes collateral damage.

I am confident that the majority of our teachers undertake their jobs with professionalism, care and dedication. Indeed, many are role models who go the extra mile for students in need, encouraging and inspiring our students. But I have received considerable feedback from parents and students that a minority do commit such aggressions that while seemingly minor, nevertheless, have considerable impact on our students' well-being and motivation to learn.

Google commissioned a study to identify why some of their teams perform better than others. They found that a consistent feature of their most successful teams was the concept of "psychological safety". Psychological safety is the feeling that you will not be humiliated or jeered at for the ideas you propose, for asking questions or admitting to mistakes. When adopted in the classroom, students have no fear of looking stupid because the entire class knows that asking questions and making mistakes are vital to learning.

When students do not enjoy psychological safety in school and worse, feel stressed and anxious in the presence of teachers who employ harsh classroom tactics, their ability and passion for learning will be extinguished. In light of our students coming in tops for fear of failure, psychological safety in our classrooms is something we must pay closer attention to and invest in.

As I make this call, I can already hear the keyboard warriors lambasting me for helping to create a generation of strawberries. I have no doubt that I will attract such comments as, "Attitudes like this will make our kids soft! If they are never scolded, they will never understand failure." I can only conclude that these individuals must have suffered aggressions themselves. Even in the working world, there is increasing recognition of the importance of psychological safety to improved performance and effective learning. What more the importance of psychological safety in our schools and classrooms?

I believe that even these teachers who engage in petty aggressions are well-meaning. Their actions are symptomatic of the broader pressures that teachers themselves face in delivering results. Be that as it may, they must be made to realise that such disparaging treatment of students must be abhorred, that shaming and humiliation can exact a considerable toll on students' self-esteem, and will ultimately kill their interest in learning.

As many of my fellow Members of Parliament have emphasised, issues around the mental health of young people are on the ascent. I had mentioned in my Adjournment Motion on the fear of failure, that we must make our schools feel like safe spaces in which to fail, and to try again. Hence, I would like to ask the Ministry what efforts have been made to equip our teachers for the socio-emotional aspects of teaching? Do the teacher preparation curricula in NIE's diploma programmes include such training and competency building?

Finally, I reckon that these teachers who commit such aggressions are themselves under stress and pressure, and I wonder what support is provided to our teachers to engage in self-care to deal with the strains of their professional duties and performance targets. Parents have also shared that when they provide feedback on such aggressions to the school leadership, the teachers are excused for being "old school" and that their approach should thus be tolerated. Hence, I would like to ask what more we can do to educate our school principals on recognising the harms of such aggressions and how they can effectively intervene to manage such teachers?

Let us strive to foster a positive learning environment to ignite the spark for learning, not just for school, but for life.

Debate in Committee of Supply resumed.

Mental Healthcare in Schools

Ms Anthea Ong (Nominated Member): Sir, first, I want to thank our school counsellors for their role in supporting our students despite their small numbers. Based on the data provided to a Parliamentary Question on counsellors, I estimate the counsellor-student ratio to be approximately 1:800, which seems to pale in comparison to some Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) education systems. Is the Ministry planning to improve this ratio to better provide first-line mental health support to students?

MOE currently deploys part-time MOE-trained school counsellors, para-counsellors, Flexi-Adjunct School Counsellors and Teacher Counsellors to augment school counsellors. Could the Ministry clarify on the choice behind deploying these staff instead of directly increasing the number of school counsellors?

Thirty-five percent of respondents from the public consultation on mental health that my team and I did mentioned quality in school counselling as a key concern. One respondent shared that her experience with school counsellors has not been helpful. I quote, "One completely dismissed me when I told her about my symptoms, and another one recommended exercise as a form of weight loss for someone with an eating disorder."

Teachers must have relevant subject matter expertise before attending teacher training at NIE. However, I understand that applicants for school counsellors on the "Applicants Without Counselling Training" track need only hold a university degree. Would the Ministry consider giving the same value and rigour to the role of counsellors by ensuring that all candidates have appropriate competencies, experience and/or professional qualifications before attending the necessary school-specific training? Could the Ministry also share how it assesses the competency of school counsellors and how this is aligned with national competency assessment frameworks for counselling professionals?

Despite a general consensus that early detection leads to better health outcomes, and the need for regular assessment of students' needs and health called by the Health Promoting Schools Framework, free health screenings for students currently focus exclusively on physical health.

Yet, according to WHO, half of mental health illnesses start by 14 years of age. MOH reported that studies in Singapore suggest depression alone affects up 18% of youths. Moreover, WHO has found that late detection of mental health conditions is known to result in "increased morbidity, mortality and the adoption of life-threatening and life-adopting self-treatments".

As currently practised in schools like Yale-NUS College on admission, will the Ministry consider putting in place mental health screenings every year? In a whole-child approach, there is no health without mental health. The screenings are not meant to be diagnostic in purpose, but to increase the channels where teachers, counsellors and parents can identify students who need more help to adopt upstream preventive measures. I believe this mental health check will better support the engagement and feedback process between teachers, counsellors and parents.

Enhancing Financial Support for Students

Mr Zainal Sapari: Chairman, education is the best social leveler. Hence, it is important to give emphasis on what we can do to help children from low-income families in terms of education. A key approach to this is by offering financial assistance to ensure no child will be denied of a good education due to the family’s financial situation. Hence, I am heartened at the announcements to enhance MOE Financial Assistance Scheme and bursaries for higher education.

I believe we can do more for ITE students because they are at a phase of acquiring important vocational skills. Could MOE share what further efforts are being taken to enhance financial support for our students, specifically on the bursaries for ITE students?

MOE's Financial Assistance Scheme and Edusave Awards

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap: Sir, currently, Singaporean students in the six full-time madrasahs are not eligible for MOE's Edusave Awards as well as its Financial Assistance Scheme.

At this juncture, I would like to declare that I have a child who is studying in a full-time madrasah.

In 2015, I asked MOE through a Parliamentary Question to consider extending Edusave Awards to madrasah students. The Minister responded that, "Edusave Awards recognise secular academic and non-academic achievements in the context of MOE-funded schools. It would not be appropriate to extend awards to private schools, including those in the six full-time madrasahs that offer a total curriculum that comprises both compulsory religious and secular subjects."

During 2012's COS debate, I and another Member requested to have Edusave account and contributions to be extended to Singaporean students who are studying in non-public schools. MOE declined this request and explained that the Ministry's policy is to encourage all Singaporean children, as far as possible, to enroll in national schools with the objective to forge social cohesion and common national identity.

Nonetheless, Prime Minister in his 2013 National Day Rally speech announced that Edusave accounts and contributions would be given to all students of school-going age, which includes full-time madrasah students. The Prime Minister mentioned, "This is a signal that we value every child and we help with a sense of solidarity among the next generation."

Sir, on the very basis of valuing every child and a sense of solidarity as mentioned the Prime Minister, MOE should consider to extend Edusave Awards and its Financial Assistance Scheme to Singaporean full-time madrasah students.

On MOE's considerations of not awarding Edusave Awards to madrasah students due to madrasah offering a total curriculum that comprises both compulsory religious and secular subjects, this can be addressed by only granting the Edusave Award for secular subjects.

Subsidies for Non-Singaporean Students

Ms Anthea Ong: Sir, Singaporean Primary school students from lower income families have their tuition fees heavily subsidised. In addition, they also receive free textbooks and uniforms as well as some pocket money.

However, these benefits do not apply to students with foreign passports, even if one of their parents or legal guardians is a Singaporean Citizen or PR.

Will the Ministry consider extending the same subsidies and benefits to such students under our UN Convention for the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) obligations?

7.30 pm

Financial Assistance for Students in IHLs

Mr Ang Wei Neng: Chairman, we have been encouraging Singaporean students to upgrade and the Government has also increased the capacity of the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs). But tuition fees at the IHLs have been on the rise since 2010.

At Universities, the fee hikes for local undergraduates for previous years have ranged from 0.6% to 8%.

CNBC estimated that Singapore University costs have risen 38% since 2007. Most recently, in August 2018, all six local Universities have raised tuition fees. Students in the Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs) and Polytechnics were also similarly subjected to higher fees in 2019.

It is important that students from under-privileged families can enrol in IHLs to use education as a lever to uplift themselves. With an increasing cost of living, we hope MOE can increase the financial assistance to students in IHLs. I will also like to urge MOE to consider disbursing more targeted bursaries which award different quantum depending on the student's family income level and socio-economic background.

Enhanced Support for ITE Students

Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Mr Chairman, over the years, the Ministry has done well to ensure that our ITE adequately prepares students for career in a knowledge-based economy. There are bursary to support students in need and scholarship to affirm the good work of students. Through this and other measures we have raised the standard of ITE graduates. Many of whom contribute meaningfully to our country and economy.

I welcome the enhancements to the Government bursaries for ITE students as announced in the Budget Statement and would like to ask if MOE can share more details on the enhanced support, including the expected number of students who will benefit from this enhancement and how they can apply for it.

Secondly, it was announced during the Budget Statement that there will be more overseas internship programmes and youth development initiatives with a new target for 70% of local graduates from Institutes of Higher Learnings to have overseas exposure. Such programmes will be extremely beneficial for students in today's globalised interconnected world.

The question I would like to raise is whether these programmes and initiatives will also cover ITE students. We need to ensure that ITE students also have access and can benefit from these opportunities. It will serve as a form of encouragement, an eye-opener to develop further interest in their course.

CCAs and Social Mixing

Miss Cheng Li Hui: Sir, during 2018 President’s debate in this house, I spoke about CCAs being the place for students to pick up non-academic knowledge and skills. I have met several students who were very disappointed that they could not join the CCA of their choice because they lack relevant experience.

I am heartened to read in the news in Jan 2020, that MOE has started a pilot with several Primary schools to remove selection trials. This is excellent. Let our children pursue sports or other interests they may have. CCAs should be for student to build friendships based on interest and passion.

We should also have inter-school CCAs to encourage social mixing and bring down barriers of class. Inter-school CCAs can also bring together students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds and hone their interpersonal skills. Teachers will also have a good platform to introduce the concept of social inclusivity.

I hope the Minister will look into my suggestion to introduce inter-school CCAs so that our students can enjoy a more enriching CCA experience.

The Chairman: Mr Terence Ho, can you take both cuts together.

Arts Curriculum in Schools

Mr Terence Ho Wee San (Nominated Member): Chairman, as part of holistic education, our students are exposed to arts programme, music and aesthetics lessons. While there is a good range of arts programmes in schools today, they are largely ad hoc and may not be part of a longer term vision for how the arts can play a more integral role.

From the existing music syllabus, there is currently no mention and teaching of Singaporean compositions, local composers, musicians and artistes in the music curriculum. For example, there are 126 Cultural Medallion recipients, but how many of our younger generation are aware of their achievements and are inspired by their works?

Furthermore, can MOE consider to include and introduce our ethnic traditional instruments during music lessons? If we do it strategically and interestingly, this could lead to the interest to participate in the school band and orchestra. And, provide a pipeline to build a vibrant performing arts ecosystem in the school. Music and arts curriculum should not only be held within the classrooms. Teachers and students should step-out to indulge in the atmospheres of the arts at the different locations.

Therefore, I propose for MOE to consider. One, allow our students to pay visit to national arts companies, watch theatre shows, musical performances and even concerts. Arts groups and companies can host these students on one-hour learning journeys. Two, involve artist and musicians in curriculum planning; allow them to have dialogue sessions and conversations with the community and arts sector, to build a robust curriculum.

Arts exposure at any early age continues to be important, supports the holistic development of the child, seeds the development of future audiences while increasing the social commons. At the same time, an education in and through the arts helps students appreciate other cultures and develop Singapore pride. In Mandarin, Chairman.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Arts can stimulate curiosity and encourage creativity amongst students. Besides the teaching of knowledge, schools are also involved in the character education and holistic development of students. Therefore, making arts classes part of the curriculum for every student is a component of holistic education. When youths display talent and aptitude for the arts, we can provide more professional training platforms for them, with the hope that they will become world-class artists in the future.

In order to develop local artistic talents, we should promote local arts through education. I hope MOE will consider including more local arts resources in the planning of music and art curriculum in schools. I also hope MOE will consider inviting past recipients of the Cultural Medallion and Young Artist Award to share their creative journeys and experience. These inspirational teaching materials and personality profiles could become the cradle from which the next generation of artists can be nurtured.

In addition, there are many artistic historical buildings in Singapore. As the teaching of music and the arts should not be confined to the classroom, schools can consider organising field trips for students to visit these historical buildings, to stimulate their interest and enhance their cultural knowledge. Arts groups can also conduct dialogues and workshops for students to interact close-up with artists.

I would also like to suggest that MOE engage local artists and Cultural Medallion recipients during the process of curriculum planning, in order to design an arts curriculum with a stronger local flavour. This will help promote local arts and culture. We must make arts and culture accessible, and ensure that the essence of Singapore’s arts and culture is passed down from generation to generation, creating a sustainable ecosystem for the arts.

Arts University

(In English): My second cut on Arts University. The Arts University will serve the purpose to fill up jobs in the market contributing to the employability of these graduates. By transforming and upgrading our art academies, this will draw local and overseas talents into enrolling into these institutions. Graduates from the Arts University can contribute not only to the arts and creative industry, but they are able to bring Singapore into a more competitive design and creative market in the global economy.

From a survey, "Passion" was the most critical factor that drew workers to the arts sector; it is also the main reason why these workers remained in the sector. Arts workers also saw themselves as contributing positively to the arts and the wider society through their work.

For example, the Government can consider developing a research centre with the future University, to grow our creative industry in performing arts and visual art. We have to nurture our local talents. These efforts will help create vibrancy in the arts scene, heighten motivation among the expected.

In conclusion, Singapore should be mature enough now as a country to give its own degrees in the Arts. Why should we depend on Universities in other countries to say how good our teaching is? Two, If we can have Singapore degrees in other subjects, why not the Arts? Three, the quality of the teaching and curriculum at NAFA, Lasalle and Intercultural Theatre Institute are recognised by overseas Universities. MOE should allow a system to let Singapore academics and industry practitioners recognise the quality and approve the award of degrees.

As an aspiring Arts Nation, I believe that we should have our own Arts University.

The Chairman: Leader of the House.