Improving Student Suicide Prevention Efforts and Evaluation of "Be A Samaritan" Programme

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Gabriel Lam, Sembawang GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education with youth suicide remaining as the leading cause of youth deaths (a) how is the Ministry working with partners to improve early identification and referral of at-risk students; and (b) whether the Ministry has evaluated the "Be A Samaritan" and "Be A Samaritan Junior" programmes in terms of behavioural outcomes such as peer referrals, help-seeking rates and suicide ideation disclosures.

Response

1. MOE studies best practices on suicide prevention and intervention from other systems, consults mental health professionals and collaborates with partners to strengthen support for students in schools.
2. MOE has tapped on the expertise and resources of relevant agencies and organisations, such as MOH, the Institute of Mental Health and the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS), in our suicide prevention efforts. Helplines and services, such as the national Mindline 1771 and those from SOS, are made known to our teachers and counsellors. We have also involved these partners to raise the awareness of teachers and school counsellors in mental health and suicide prevention. For example, in June this year, SOS hosted a group of MOE educators on a Learning Journey, introduced the "Be A Samaritan" programme to them. The participants found this useful in deepening their appreciation of how individuals can play a part in suicide prevention.
3. Suicide prevention efforts are multi-faceted and involve working with many partners in different ways and with various strategies and programmes. As such, it may not be feasible to evaluate each individual programme.