Basic coding as part of primary school curriculum

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Leon Perera, Non-Constituency Member of Parliament

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (Schools) whether the Ministry will consider introducing basic coding as a part of the curriculum in our primary schools to create a strong childhood grounding in technology in light of the UK, Belgium, Finland, Netherlands, Estonia and Australia's Queensland state having done so.

Response

1. All our students in primary schools build strong foundation in the fundamental skills that will prepare them for future learning, such as literacy, numeracy and 21st Century Competencies. Some of the skills needed for computational thinking, such as problem solving, logical reasoning and data-handling are developed through the learning of subjects like mathematics and science.

2. We expose a broad group of students to basic coding and technology through enrichment programmes and co-curricular activities. We work with IMDA to offer programmes such as ‘Code for Fun’, ‘Lab on Wheels’ and the ‘Digital Maker’ programmes. Since 2014, 73,000 students have embarked on the ‘Code for Fun’ programme.

3. Most of our primary schools also have robotics clubs or info-comm clubs that engage students who are passionate about this area in coding and other computing-related skills, such as developing mobile applications, creating animations, designing computer games and programming robots.