Co-payment of student activities in schools

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Tan Wu Meng, Jurong GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (Schools) (a) whether the Ministry monitors the number of student activities in schools that involve co-payment by students; and (b) of such activities, what proportion is (i) compulsory (ii) on an opt-out basis and (iii) on an opt-in basis but with 50% or more of eligible students participating.

Response

1. To enhance the learning experience of our students, our schools have discretion to go beyond the core curriculum to provide richer learning experiences for different segments of students. MOE does not actively monitor whether such activities involve co-payment from students, nor do we stop schools from making collections for these activities, as we believe that families should play a part in supporting their children in education as part of their familial responsibility.

2. However, we regularly remind schools that such co-payments should not be excessive, and should be affordable to parents. Students can also opt to pay for these activities using their Edusave accounts. For students from less advantaged backgrounds, schools can further subsidise or even fully pay the cost of their participation using specific funds provided by MOE, such as the School-based Financial Assistance Grant and Opportunity Fund. Most importantly, no Singaporean student will be deprived of an educational opportunity because of his or her financial circumstances.