Budget Allocation and Curriculum Review for Character and Citizenship Education Programmes
Ministry of EducationSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the determination of focus areas, review cycles, and budget allocations for Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) in schools. Dr Hamid Razak asked about the criteria for CCE content, its review frequency, and the proportion of expenditure spent on vendors and school programmes. Minister Desmond Lee stated that CCE is based on age-appropriate development across six content areas and undergoes a comprehensive review every six to eight years. He emphasized that the curriculum is delivered through both classroom lessons and extracurricular activities to ensure relevance to societal shifts. Minister Desmond Lee further explained that the Ministry of Education does not track expenditure by specific subjects as costs are integrated across various departments and programmes.
Transcript
37 Dr Hamid Razak asked the Minister for Education (a) how does the Ministry determine the focus areas of Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) at each educational level; and (b) how frequently are these areas reviewed to stay relevant to emerging societal issues.
38 Dr Hamid Razak asked the Minister for Education for each of the past three years, what proportion of total expenditure on Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) was spent on engaging vendors to deliver programs and conduct activities related to CCE.
39 Dr Hamid Razak asked the Minister for Education what proportion of a school's annual budget is typically allocated to programmes and activities under Character and Citizenship Education.
Mr Desmond Lee: In designing the curriculum for Character and Citizenship Education (CCE), broad learning outcomes for each educational level are identified based on age-appropriate indicators of moral and social-emotional development. CCE currently comprises six content areas, namely, mental health education, national education, family education, cyber wellness, education and career guidance and sexuality education.
CCE is enacted through classroom lessons as well as out-of-classroom activities, like Co-Curricular Activities, Values in Action initiatives and cohort camps. For CCE lessons, developmentally appropriate topics, based on the content areas, are chosen to provide authentic and relevant contexts for students to learn and demonstrate sound values, social-emotional competencies and citizenship dispositions.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) conducts a full review of the CCE curriculum every six to eight years and may review sub-components in the intervening years. Curriculum reviews factor in broader trends in society as well as shifts in the needs of our students. MOE also consults educators, students, parents, academics as well as other experts and community partners, to ensure that our students are prepared for an increasingly complex and dynamic environment. Apart from the systemic reviews, lessons and resources are regularly updated.
We will continue to improve the teaching and learning of CCE, ensuring that it stays responsive and relevant. We do not track expenditure by subjects, as the teaching and learning of a subject involves expenditure that can cut across departments and programmes.