Reducing the administrative workload of teachers

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang, Nee Soon GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry will consider reducing the administrative workload of teachers by hiring more members of staff to do administrative work and plan events; and (b) if not, why.

Response

1. All schools have a School Administration Team that performs administrative and operational functions. Schools are also given additional posts and funding which they can use flexibly to meet their needs by hiring more staff, including on an adjunct and casual basis, to help with administrative duties. However, there are natural limits to expanding schools' administrative workforce, given national manpower constraints.

2. MOE has increased our support for schools in recent years in a number of ways to better manage the administrative workload. First, we have reduced administrative work by strengthening centralised services provided by HQ to schools where possible, such as providing one-stop support for more complex procurement and finance issues. Second, we have provided better support for our teachers in some of the administrative duties that they have to perform such as taking attendance or organising learning journeys and overseeing outdoor adventure camps. For example, teachers can use Parents' Gateway, an IT system, to collect consent forms and disseminate information to parents. MOE also provides funding for schools to engage vendors to help with event planning and conducting after-school enrichment activities and camps, though teachers will still need to exercise oversight and provide the duty of care for their students. While these activities extend beyond classroom teaching, these are an important part of a teacher's responsibility and should not be totally outsourced, as they contribute to the holistic development of our students.

3. We will continue efforts to keep administrative workload manageable for our teachers, including through the use of technology and streamlining of processes. We will also equip school administrative staff with the necessary skills and support them centrally from HQ where possible.