Avenues for Students to Participate in Discussions
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Chandra Mohan K Nair, Nominated MP
Question
To ask the Minister for Education:
(a) whether he will consider creating an avenue for a "students' Parliament" or equivalent where students from secondary schools, junior colleges, polytechnics and tertiary institutions can be motivated and actively involved in politics and current affairs, participate actively in local, regional and international issues and create in our young citizens a keen interest in wanting to get into politics; and
(b) if so, will the Government encourage an annual presentation of their views for debate and even allow their representatives to address Parliament so that the views of our young citizens are given serious thought and their positive suggestions taken up by the Government on a formal basis.
Response
1. MOE encourages students to engage their minds in current affairs. There are many opportunities and platforms in our schools for them to discuss and debate national and international issues. First, as part of the school curriculum itself, such as in History and Social Studies classes and the General Paper for JC students.
2. Some schools also conduct lessons in Parliament style to engage their students, who play roles as Members of Parliament. For example, Dunman High School and Victoria School organise a yearly Moot Parliament for their Secondary 3 students to simulate debate of national issues and the tabling of Bills.
3. MOE also organises the annual Pre-University Seminar for 500 or so students from all our JCs and Centralised Institutes over a period of 6 days. The Seminar provides an important opportunity for students to discuss national issues of importance, to engage Ministers and industry and community leaders, and to throw up ideas of their own.
4. In our polytechnics and universities too, there are more channels for such exposure to national issues. The Polytechnic Forum is organised each year where student leaders from all 5 polytechnics come together to discuss national issues such as the remaking of Singapore. In our universities, students can participate in a wide range of student organisations or attend seminars on national issues. (In NTU, for example, there is a range of societies such as the Current Affairs Society, United Nations Student Association (UNSA), and the Students' Feedback Unit. In NUS, they have the Political Science Society, where students debate national issues of the day.)
5. Likewise for our ITE students, the ITE Student Seminar is held biennially. Each Seminar is organised with a theme where politicians and prominent corporate leaders from both the private and public sectors are invited to speak to the students. The students are given opportunities to engage the speakers as well as interact amongst themselves, exchanging views and making presentations on government policies and current affairs of Singapore.
6. Outside of our schools, our students get involved in other channels to discuss the issues of the day, or contribute their ideas. A good example is Channel I’s “I-contact” programme, which got students to exchange views with ministers on issues that matter to them.
7. MOE will continue to review the various channels through which we can encourage our students to engage and play a responsible role in school and the community.
School Buildings and Land Policy
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Chandra Mohan K Nair, Nominated MP
Question
To ask the Minister for Education (a) what is the future use of the site of the Bukit Timah campus currently under the Singapore Management University; and (b) will the Government allow the National University of Singapore to use this site as one of its campuses and, if so, when.
Response
The Singapore Management University will be moving out of its Bukit Timah campus to its new city campus in January 2006. The URA has re-zoned part of the Bukit Timah campus as an extended site for the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
2. The remaining Bukit Timah Campus site, not rezoned to Park use, is currently zoned for Educational & Institution use in the Masterplan 2003. The site can be used by institutions, including education institutions in the medium term.
3. My Ministry has received proposals from NUS and NTU to use the Bukit Timah campus when SMU moves to its new city campus. We are now evaluating their proposals and we hope to arrive at a decision before the end of the year.
Pre-School Education
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Zainudin Nordin, MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC
Question
To ask the Minister for Education if there are further concrete plans to ensure standard and basic requirements of setting-up a pre-school centre, especially in terms of (i) quality of staff, their qualifications and training and (ii) child-teacher ratio.
And
To ask the Minister for Education how the Government can assist in changing the beliefs and attitudes of some parents with regards to the upbringing of their children since it is a key element in early childhood development.
Response
1. MOE registers kindergartens if they meet the basic requirements in safety, land-use, hygiene, curriculum and teacher qualifications. Since 2001, the minimum qualifications for kindergarten teachers have been 3 ’O’ level credits (including English Language or Mother Tongue Language for Mother Tongue teachers), or equivalent and a Certificate in Pre-school Teaching.
2. To raise the quality of pre-school professionals, MOE, in Dec 2000, announced that all kindergarten principals would be required to obtain a Diploma in Pre-school – Leadership by Jan 2006. In Oct 2001, MOE further announced that all teachers would be required to have Certificate in Pre-school Teaching by Jan 2008 and one in four teachers would be required to obtain the Diploma in Pre-school Education-Teaching.
3. Pre-school operators are responding to these MOE requirements by sending their staff for training. Progress in the last 3 years has been encouraging. In Jan 2004, out of the total number of 3,438 pre-school teachers, 2,216 (64.5%) have received certificate or diploma training. With 1,160 teachers currently undergoing training, by the end of 2004, 84% of pre-school teachers will have been trained at certificate or diploma levels. These new standards, when fully in place from Jan 2008 onwards, will have a positive impact on the kindergartens.
4. To further expand teachers’ capability to bring about quality learning outcomes, MOE has been conducting workshops, seminars and sharing of best practices for kindergarten teachers and principals. This wide range of professional development opportunities promotes continuous learning among pre-school professionals and is an important part of MOE’s effort to enhance the quality of kindergartens.
5. Besides the quality of the teachers, MOE recognises that the extent of individualised attention given to the children also has an impact on the quality of the pre-school experience. Hence, MOE’s recommended teacher-pupil ratio is:
Nursery : 1 teacher and 1 teacher-aide to 15 pupils
Kindergarten 1 : 1 teacher to 20 pupils
Kindergarten 2 : 1 teacher to 25 pupils
These recommended teacher-pupil ratios are stated in the Kindergarten Manual that has been distributed to all kindergartens. Presently, 83.2% of kindergartens* have met these teacher-pupil ratios. Kindergartens in new housing estates tend to have teacher-pupil ratios that are higher than the recommended guidelines. These kindergartens have been advised to work towards meeting these ratios.
6. What happens in kindergartens, though important, is just one aspect of a child’s development. What happens at home is equally important, if not more so. Parents have a critical role to play in the upbringing of their children, and it is important that they actively take up this challenge and raise their children well. We agree that it is necessary to help some parents understand the importance of developing children in a holistic manner. The best people who can explain this to the parents are the teachers and principals who come into contact with the parents regularly.
7. To support pre-school educators in their efforts to persuade parents, MOE has published and distributed a booklet, “Nurturing Early Learners”. This booklet helps teachers and principals explain to parents what it means to prepare their children for life long learning. Feedback on this booklet has been positive. Many kindergartens have purchased extra copies and have indicated that they will be using them for their orientation programmes at the end of this year or when giving talks to parents.
8. For children in child care centres, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) encourages strong centre-family partnerships in the holistic development of young children. This is achieved through a sense of shared responsibility and common vision between staff and families.
9. In the case of parents whose children are not in pre-schools, MCYS also partners community organizations such as maternity hospitals, libraries, family service centres, Voluntary Welfare Organisations and corporate Family Life Ambassadors in the delivery of parenting programmes. These programmes empower and guide parents to take a proactive role in the proper upbringing and development of their children.
*PCF is registered as one corporate entity. It operates 296 pre-school centres. For the purpose of charting trends and developments, MOE monitors the PCF pre-school centres individually. There are 196 private kindergartens. Out of this total of 492 PCF pre-school centres & private kindergartens, 83 (16.8%) have not met MOE’s recommended teacher-pupil ratios. Of these, 80 are PCF kindergartens and 3 are private kindergartens.
Bicultural Studies Programme
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mdm Ho Geok Choo, MP for West Coast GRC
Question
To ask the Minister for Education (a) how the new programme to groom the identified students as bi-cultural elites will be implemented using the space created by the integrated programme; (b) why are we confining the new programme to only two schools which are supposed to be able to get things ready in a short time; (c) how will non-scholars be assisted to embrace the new programme; and (d) what will be the desired outcomes for these non-scholars.
Response
1. The Bicultural Studies Programme is a key plank in our efforts to groom a core group of students with a confident grasp of the Chinese Language and culture, and contemporary developments in China. It is being introduced in three schools, Dunman High School, Hwa Chong Institution and Nanyang Girls’ High School, from next year. These schools were chosen because they are both SAP schools and offer Integrated Programmes (IPs). They have both a conducive school environment for developing an understanding of Chinese language and culture, and the time and space to run in-depth programmes, including an extended period of immersion in China for the students following the Bicultural Studies Programme. In addition, the 3 schools have strong and established linkages with schools in China, which will be an advantage in their immersion programmes. The three schools were therefore natural choices, and in fact had already been working to introduce various elements of Chinese language and China-related studies into their own IPs.
2. While not all students in Bicultural Studies Programme will be awarded the new SAP scholarships, we expect all of them to undertake a broadly similar course of study, at the secondary and JC levels.
3. The Bicultural Studies Programme builds on our existing efforts to nurture an abiding interest in students for the Chinese Language and to encourage those who are able to master the Language to go as far as they can. First, a significant group of students in each cohort take Higher Chinese Language (HCL), which is offered from the primary to JC levels. Second, we have 25 SAP schools at the primary and secondary levels, each with their own programmes to nurture an interest in the language and culture. Further, we have the Language Elective Programme (Chinese), offered at three junior colleges and catering to about 150 students, which aims to deepen students’ appreciation of Chinese Language and Literature.
4. The Bicultural Studies Programme goes further than these other programmes, but by no means detracts from them. Each of these programmes is essential. In different ways and to different extents, they will groom students with a good foundation in Chinese Language, history and culture, and an understanding of contemporary China. Some students, particularly those on the Bicultural Studies Programme and LEP (Chinese) are also likely to pursue further studies in universities in China. Ultimately, these programmes aim to develop a group of students in each cohort with a lifelong interest in the Chinese language and culture, and the ability to help Singapore engage with China in years ahead.
