Impact of Posting Group Banding

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Gho Sze Kee, Mountbatten

Question

To ask the Minister for Education whether schools are resourced and equipped to (i) deal with any possible negative impact of posting group (PG) banding and (ii) promote inclusivity, interaction and friendships across different PGs in the same class.

Response

1. Posting Groups (PGs) are used to facilitate students' entry into secondary schools, and guide students to take subjects at appropriate levels at the start of Secondary One. Students admitted through different PGs may take subjects at similar levels depending on their individual strengths.

2. Under Full Subject-Based Banding (Full SBB), secondary school students are placed in mixed form classes, where they spend around a third of their curriculum time taking common subjects such as Art and Character Citizenship Education with peers from different subject levels and combinations. This approach gives students more opportunities than under the previous streaming system to interact and learn with classmates of different strengths and interests.

3. Outside the formal curriculum, there are other group settings, such as Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) and Values-in-Action (VIA) projects, for students to interact with peers within and across schools.

4. The Ministry of Education is mindful of potential challenges that some students may face, including with social interactions in a more diverse classroom setting. And this is why we provide teachers with resources and professional development opportunities to support students in Full SBB schools. For example, teachers use termly check-in surveys to understand their students' interests, emotional well-being, and peer support networks, which in turn helps them to foster a positive classroom culture.