Relief Teachers
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.
Financial Literacy
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Michael Anthony Palmer, MP for Pasir Ris-Ponggol GRC
Question
To ask the Minister for Education in light of certain local banks launching or intending to launch credit cards where no minimum annual income is required and targeted at students 18 years of age and above, what plans does his Ministry have to prepare our young adults so that they do not become burdened with insurmountable debts even before they have earned their first dollar.
Response
I thank Mr Palmer for his attention on this subject. He had similarly raised a query on financial literacy in February 2007. Prudence and care in the use of credit facilities, including credit cards, is part of financial literacy. Let me share some of the key actions taken by MOE.
Since January 2004, financial education messages have been delivered through appropriate subjects in the formal curriculum such as Civics and Moral Education and Social Studies at the primary and secondary levels. At secondary level, students are taught why we must exercise caution when we borrow and the dangers when we rely on credit facilities excessively under a module on basic money management. By working with external partners, schools supplement these lessons on financial education with financial literacy board games, workshops and inter-school competitions for their students. A financial literacy enrichment activity entitled ‘SAVING – the Sensible Habit’ has been made available to all primary schools.
Our young should learn the importance of responsible decision making and develop good habits in financial matters from an early age. As they progress to post-secondary institutions such as the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), polytechnics and universities, this is reinforced through various means like mentoring, peer sharing, talks and seminars.
Our efforts have helped our students improve their financial literacy and this topic will continue to receive the attention it deserves in our institutions.
