Parliamentary Replies
Bilingual Education
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong, Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC
Question
To ask the Minister for Education if his Ministry has plans to chart a blueprint for bilingual education that maps out its direction for the next 10 years.
Response
I have appointed a Mother Tongue Languages (MTL) Review Committee headed by the Director-General of Education to chart a road map for the next 10 to 15 years. The Committee commenced its work earlier this year, and has been studying best practices around the world. In the coming months, the Committee will continue to consult our educators, parents and community stakeholders.
While the review is still in progress, the Committee’s preliminary scan of local trends and best practices overseas, has shown that in order for language instruction to be effective for students with a broad spread of linguistic abilities, we have to make teaching more customised to the range of student abilities, and make learning more relevant in different real life situations. Our assessments and examinations will also have to be aligned. This is a long term endeavour, as we will need to recruit more MTL teachers, re-train existing ones, and develop new instructional materials. We are also mindful that any future changes will have to be phased in carefully.
The Committee will complete its review by the end of the year.