Flexible work arrangements for teachers

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang, Nee Soon GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) for each year in the past five years, what is the number and percentage of schools that offered (i) flexible work arrangements for their teachers and (ii) staggered working hours for their teachers respectively; and (b) whether the Ministry intends to collect this data if such data is not available.

Response

1. MOE offers part-time work options to teachers in all schools to help them manage their work and personal commitments. Teachers can discuss with their school and agree on a part-time work arrangement which meets both the school's and officer's needs. On average, about 3.6% of our teachers in schools were on a part-time work arrangement between 2017 and 2021.

2. School Leaders also have the autonomy to implement other types of flexible work arrangements where operationally feasible. These include allowing teachers to report or leave at staggered hours if they have no lessons or duties at the start or end of the school day; or to work from home on a day where they have no in-person classes or other duties requiring their presence in school. Schools can determine how to implement such arrangements based on their specific needs, and do not need to keep MOE HQ informed.

3. MOE is committed to supporting our teachers' well-being while fulfilling our responsibility to students, including through flexible work arrangements.