University Places

Name and Constituency of  Member of Parliament

Mr Zainudin Nordin, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC

Question
 
To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether our local universities are producing enough graduates to meet the needs of our industries; (b) what is the average growth in the number of local university places in the last ten years; (c) whether local universities are able to cope with the increase in intake; and (d) whether the local universities' vision to have more international students is being achieved at the expense of local students.

Name and Constituency of  Member of Parliament

Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Hong Kah GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education in light of local students not being able to gain admission to the three local universities despite the increase in the number of places (a) whether he will provide an update on the recent admission exercise for local universities; and (b) what measures are taken by his Ministry to ensure that local A-level and polytechnic students have sufficient places for accredited tertiary education in Singapore.

Response

1. We have increased the number of university places over the years.  The number of places at NUS, NTU and SMU together has increased by an average of 5% each year over the past 10 years.  The proportion of each cohort of local students entering the three universities will increase to about 23.5% this year, compared to 20.8% in 2000 and 15% in 1990.

2.  In addition, MOE is encouraging the polytechnics to link up with Foreign Specialised Institutions to offer degree programmes in niche disciplines. For example, Ngee Ann Polytechnic has tied up with Wheelock College from the US to offer a degree programme in early childhood education, for which Wheelock has a strong reputation.  These specialised degree programmes will provide our students with more opportunities to pursue university education.

3.  We are progressively moving towards the current target of providing subsidised university education for 25% of each cohort of local students.

4. I would like to assure the house also that the local universities’ vision to have more international students is not being achieved at the expense of local students.  University places for foreign students are over and above those that are set aside for local students. 

5. International students play an important role. Their presence help to create diversity in our campuses, gives them a more enriching learning experience and better prepares them for the globalised future. 

6. Turning to Mr Zaqy Mohamad’s request for an update on the recent university admission exercise, the three universities will provide a total of 14,685 places for Academic Year 2007, compared to the intake of about 13,420 students last year.  This is an increase of about 1270 places, or by 10%.  This increase is sufficient to cater to the larger cohort of ‘Dragon’ girls who will enter the universities this year.

7. Each application, including every appeal, is carefully and fairly examined by the universities’ admissions offices.  Each student is assessed on the basis of merit.

New Media Use & Future Schools

Name and Constituency of  Member of Parliament

Mdm Cynthia Phua, MP for Aljunied GRC

Question
 
To ask the Minister for Education with the introduction of the FutureSchools@Singapore programme where students may make forays into chatrooms, blogs and podcasts, (a) what steps are being taken to educate primary and secondary school students on the pitfalls and dangers of misusing the new media; (b) if the Ministry will consider working with parents so that these students can be adequately supervised when they delve into the new media; and (c) if the Ministry has plans for students  who do not have computers at home to complete assignments given after school.

Name and Constituency of  Member of Parliament

Dr Fatimah Lateef, MP for Marine Parade GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education in light of FutureSchools@Singapore where greater emphasis will be placed on the use of information technology, whether there will be any increase in subsidy schemes for needy families and students to purchase personal computers.

Response

1. Blogs, chatrooms and podcasts are increasingly an integral part of the lifestyle of our students.  Many of them participate actively in chatrooms and listen frequently to podcasts. The pervasiveness of new media poses both an opportunity and a challenge for educators.  MOE encourages our teachers to leverage on such technologies to make learning more interesting and engaging. At the same time, we have adopted proactive measures to ensure that our students are educated on the safe and responsible use of these technologies.

2. Schools have integrated elements of cyberwellness into the curriculum to build a strong cyber culture. The Civics and Moral Education syllabus for primary and secondary schools include topics on internet use and cyber-safety. The dangers of Internet Relay Chats are highlighted. The Social Emotional Learning framework launched in 2005 also helps students make responsible decisions and exercise self control over their own behaviour and actions in real and virtual space. In the new English syllabus to be implemented in 2009, students will be formally required to evaluate the reliability of sources and to cite the information sources that they use. Internet content accessible within MOE and schools is also scanned to filter out websites with content that is not suitable for our students such as those containing pornographic materials. Skills on ethical and legal use of ICT are also included in the set of baseline ICT standards which all students need to acquire at the end of their Primary and Secondary education.

3. In addition, some schools have introduced additional programmes to educate students on cyberwellness and cyber-responsibility to help them better understand the potential dangers of technology use. For example, Ang Mo Kio Secondary has incorporated 11 lesson modules for all its students into the Civics and Moral Education framework. These modules cover topics ranging from internet addiction, cyber bullying, internet gambling to intellectual property and hacking.

4. Schools will continue to engage parents as partners in guiding our students on the use of new technologies. For example, many schools leverage on existing Parent Support Groups to inform parents on the issues surrounding the use of new technologies, and actively work with parents to monitor, supervise and advise their children. Schools, such as Junyuan Secondary, have also conducted workshops for parents on internet gaming, blogging and instant messaging.

5.   All schools are provided with ICT grants for them to acquire a wide range of ICT resources to support their educational programmes.  Schools are given the autonomy to use these funds to integrate ICT into their teaching and learning approaches.

6. MOE has also taken steps to ensure that no student is disadvantaged because he has no computer at home.  Firstly, schools provide free access computers in open areas, computer labs and school libraries, where students can use the computers after school hours to complete their assignments. In addition, some schools have notebook computers available on loan for students to use for assignments and research at both school and home. Secondly, schools have financial assistance schemes in place to help students from low-income families to acquire a home computer. The Infocomm Development Authority (or IDA) offers the NEU PC Plus Programme to help students from needy families to acquire personal computers.  With this scheme, students can purchase a personal computer complete with 3 years of broadband access at a subsidized price of $285.   Poor students can have their co-payment further subsidized by the Opportunity Fund.  This means that they pay even less than $285.

7. The FutureSchools@Singapore initiative leverages on ICT on a school-wide level to bring about more engaged learning for students.  Like all schools, FutureSchools will ensure that their needy students too have access to ICT and will similarly tap on the Opportunity Fund and other sources to help them purchase computers for use at home.

Name and Constituency of  Member of Parliament

Ms Eunice Elizabeth Olsen, Nominated MP

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) what are the stringent criteria the Ministry sets in the recruitment of teachers and relief teachers; and (b) how much autonomy do Government schools have in choosing their relief teachers.

Name and Constituency of  Member of Parliament

Mr Siew Kum Hong, Nominated MP

Question

To ask the Minister for Education  (a) what are the criteria for the  hiring of relief teachers; (b) how many applicants to be relief teachers have been rejected in the past five years; and (c) what was the reason for rejecting the application of Mr Alfian Sa’at, who had scored A1s at the GCE ‘O’ Levels

Response

1 Teachers are in a unique position of authority and have great influence over the children they teach; engaging hearts and minds and shaping their attitudes and perspectives.  Whether permanent or relief, teachers are expected to conduct themselves in a manner which befits this role and to uphold the integrity of the profession, both in a personal and professional capacity. 

2 To be engaged as teachers, applicants need to have the requisite educational qualifications, an acceptable level of content mastery of the subjects that they intend to teach and demonstrate the aptitude and a genuine passion for teaching. The values they hold and espouse are also an important consideration as they are role models for our children. 

3 Applicants for relief teaching can apply directly to MOE.  Annually, MOE receives about 3,000 applications for first time registration as relief teachers and about 3% of these are rejected.  Once provisionally accepted, their names are entered into MOE central database of registered relief teachers and schools in need of relief teachers can approach them directly.  Schools can also engage relief teachers who have met minimum criteria but are not registered in the central database.  Schools would then recommend these relief teachers to be registered with the Ministry. 

4 It is not appropriate to discuss individual cases of teachers or relief teachers in this House.

Posting outcomes of O level perfect scorers

Name and Constituency of  Member of Parliament

Ms Ellen Lee Geck Hoon (Sembawang GRC)

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) in 2007, how many 'O' level students with perfect scores could not be admitted to junior colleges or polytechnics of their choice; and (b) what steps will the Ministry take to avoid such situations.

Response

1. Students take different numbers of GCE ‘O’ Level subjects, with most taking 6 to 9. So for the purpose of answering your question, I will define a GCE ‘O’ Level student with “perfect score” as one with the best possible L1R5 score of 6 points, comprising his/her first language and 5 relevant subjects. 745 students attained this score in the 2006 GCE ‘O’ Level Examinations and opted for JCs as their top choices. 95% (710 students) were posted to their first-choice JCs.
 
2. In the case of students who opted for polytechnic courses, the best possible score is 5 points, comprising English Language, 2 relevant subjects and 2 best subjects. 7 students who applied to polytechnic courses attained this score in the 2006 GCE ‘O’ Level Examinations. All were admitted to their first-choice polytechnic courses.
 
3. While a student exercises his own choices of institution and courses of study, entry to JCs and polytechnics is through open competition and is based on merit.  The outcome is the result of competition among all applicants for the available places. It would not be possible for MOE to guarantee every student with a perfect score a place in his/her first-choice JC/polytechnic course.

4. Nevertheless, MOE will continue to regularly review the number of places in popular JCs and polytechnic courses, taking into account the aspirations of our students and the needs of our economy.