Supporting Teachers with Limited Public Transport Options to Reach School on Time

96 Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik asked the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry will consider providing teachers who face persistent delays in reaching school on time due to limited public transport options with some form of support or allowance; and (b) in areas where bus services during morning peak hours are infrequent or unreliable, whether the Ministry will consider providing flexible reporting times or other assistance to affected teachers.

Mr Desmond Lee: All schools start no earlier than 7.30 am. The Ministry of Education (MOE) also generally deploys teachers to schools that are located within one hour of travel by public transport from their homes.

Teachers can request for a change in posting to schools nearer to their homes. MOE will support a change, where possible.

All schools have the autonomy to implement flexible work arrangements, where operationally feasible. These include allowing teachers to report for work slightly later, if they have no lesson or duty at the start of the school day. Where teachers face persistent challenges to report to work on time, we will further review how best to support them.