Progress on Government’s Study on Recognising Singapore Sign Language as Official Sign Language Here
Ministry of Social and Family DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns MP Mr Ong Hua Han's inquiry on the progress of recognizing Singapore Sign Language (SgSL) as an official sign language and enhancing funding for interpreter training and deaf accessibility. Minister Masagos Zulkifli B M M responded that under Enabling Masterplan 2030, SgSL is already used in designated schools and supported by funds in higher education and arts institutes. He noted that free-to-air TV accessibility increased to 60.7% in 2024, with significant national broadcasts requiring interpretation and government websites following international digital service standards. Minister Masagos Zulkifli B M M stated that a study on the official recognition of SgSL is underway to ensure tangible benefits for the deaf community. The Government is also considering improvements in documenting SgSL and training more interpreters to further enhance communication and information access across various platforms.
Transcript
7 Mr Ong Hua Han asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether an update can be provided on the Government’s study on the recognition of Singapore Sign Language (SgSL) as Singapore's official sign language; and (b) what steps will the Ministry take to further enhance accessibility of Government communications and information via SgSL interpreters.
8 Mr Ong Hua Han asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Government will consider increasing funding support to (i) document the Singapore Sign Language (SgSL), (ii) provide more quality training for SgSL interpreters and teachers of the deaf, (iii) provide more professional SgSL interpreter services and (iv) ensure SgSL interpretation is accessible in funded institutions of the Ministry of Education.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: The Government is committed to ensuring that persons with disabilities, including deaf and hard-of-hearing persons, have access to information and communications under Enabling Masterplan 2030.
In education, students who require signing support in schools use Singapore Sign Language (SgSL) as the language for academic instruction and communication for students. These students attend designated mainstream or Special Education schools where they are supported by trained teachers and educational interpreters who use SgSL. Institutes of Higher Learning and the Arts Institutes have funds to support the learning needs of students who require sign language interpretation services.
We provide access to information and communications across digital and non-digital platforms.
For television (TV) broadcasts, since April 2020, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) has required TV broadcasts of significant national and public interest, like the National Day Rally and Budget speeches, to be accompanied by SgSL interpretation. We have also increased the proportion of free-to-air TV programmes with interpretation, captioning or subtitling from 47.6% in 2022 to 60.7% in 2024 and aim to achieve 70% by 2030.
For digital services, Government agencies are required to meet the Digital Service Standards for designing Government websites which follow international web accessibility standards, including ensuring audio and video content is accessible.
The study on the potential recognition of SgSL as Singapore's official sign language is underway. As SgSL is currently already used in practice, it is important to consider how official recognition will bring tangible benefits to the deaf community. As such, beyond studying the potential recognition of SgSL, we are considering how other areas that affect the provision of deaf access services can be improved, including the training of SgSL interpreters and documenting SgSL to facilitate such training.