Caseload Handled by School Counsellors

10 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Education (a) for each year in the past five years, what is the mean and median number of (i) students handled by each school counsellor and (ii) hours spent with each student by each school counsellor; and (b) if the data is not currently collected, whether the Ministry will consider collecting this data.

Mr Chan Chun Sing: In the past five years, each School Counsellor supports an average of 70 students with social-emotional and mental health issues annually. The time spent on each case varies according to the student's needs and the intensity of support required. The Ministry of Education does not track the time spent on each case and has no plans to do so. Besides counselling students, School Counsellors also work closely with school personnel, community partners and parents on other aspects of the ecosystem of support for students, such as in planning preventive programmes.