I have given a comprehensive update on MOE’s sexuality programme which was widely reported to the public on 21 May 2009 and therefore do not intend to repeat those points. I will address the other queries of the Member.

Teachers and principals are accountable for what is taught in schools. Nevertheless, schools do engage external providers and community groups to run or assist in enrichment and co-curricular programmes ranging from outdoor education camps, to specialised programmes in art, music and sports, and to promote volunteerism and facilitate character development. In this way, schools are able to draw from a wider base of expertise and experiences in the holistic development of our students. Parents and community are also involved either through PSG (Parents Support Group) or COMPASS (COMmunity and Parents in Support of Schools). These are positive developments and should not only continue but MOE hopes deepen over time. As the saying goes, it takes “a village to develop a child”.

MOE agrees with the member that we should ensure “safety, moral and professional standards”, even as we involve more partners. Guidelines are in place for engaging external agencies, and require schools to examine the vendors’ qualifications, track record, programme and training materials to ensure that the services they provide are aligned to the school programmes. A teacher must also be present with the students during these programmes. For example, schools are allowed to engage external instructors to conduct activities in co-curricular activities (CCA). In engaging such personnel, schools post their requirements in GeBIZ (Government Electronic Business) stating the qualifications and experience needed. Schools would then interview the potential vendor and instructors before deciding on their employment. Where the vendor and instructors are new to the schools, their lessons and activities are observed by the teacher-in-charge or the Head of Department. In addition, specialists from the Co-Curricular Activities Branch also conduct induction workshops for service providers on MOE’s expectations in terms of code of conduct, professionalism and safety standards and practices.

In Jingshan Primary, for instance, the school has engaged an external vendor (Acropolis) to conduct a drama programme for Primary 2 pupils. The programme lasts a term and is run once a week. The teachers sit in the classes to supervise and to learn. At the end of the programme the pupils stage a performance for their parents. The school also has a similar programme (by Literacy Plus) for P3 pupils on oral presentations and the conduct of this programme is similar to the P2 drama programme.

Admission to our universities, for both local and international students is based on merit. International students (IS) must meet the entry criteria set by our universities, including academic results and subject pre-requisites, before they are given admission. All international students must also achieve a minimum level of English proficiency. Given that there is a 20% cap on the number of international students our universities can admit, they are in practice subject to more stringent entry criteria than Singaporeans.

Our universities have acquired familiarity and knowledge with the various qualifications presented by overseas applicants, and are able to select top students from different education systems accordingly. Interviews and entrance tests are also conducted to ascertain students̵ aptitude, knowledge domain and suitability for specific courses.

The international students profile at our universities has not changed significantly over the past few years. Currently, 20% of the students enrolled in our three autonomous universities are international students. They comprise mainly students from ASEAN, China and India. The majority of these students are enrolled in Engineering and Science courses.

Timeline of New Regulatory Regime.

A Private Education (PE) Bill will be moved in the second half of 2009 to provide powers to better regulate the private education sector and the set up of the Council for Private Education. Once the PE Bill is passed, the Council for Private Education (CPE) comprising members from the fields of education, quality assurance and business will implement the enhanced registration regime and the voluntary quality assurance scheme, called EduTrust. The CPE expects the first PEIs to be registered under the enhanced framework by the end of fourth quarter of 2009, with all eligible PEIs to be registered within an 18-month time-frame from then. The first PEIs to undergo EduTrust certification can be expected around the first quarter of 2010.

Besides regulation, the CPE will also take on roles of developing the private education industry, including fostering greater industry stewardship and consumer education. This will be a holistic approach to uplift the overall quality of private education players.

Review of private education sector.

Recognising that the challenges in the private education sector require a whole-of-government response, the CPE will be working closely with various stakeholder agencies such as EDB, Spring Singapore and STB on inter-agency collaborations to progressively improve the quality of private education institutions (PEIs) and promote consumer education within the private education sector going forward. Senior representatives from EDB, Spring Singapore and STB appointed to the CPE would further facilitate such collaborations.

As part of the registration process in transiting to the new regulatory regime, PEIs would be required to submit and disclose key information concerning their courses, teaching staff, student enrolment, facilities and other business operations. The data submitted by the PEIs will also serve as a useful update on the local private education sector which the CPE can use in its planning, review and oversight activities, in collaboration with the respective stakeholder agencies.

“Bogus” Teachers. A/P Kalyani Mehta is also concerned about “bogus” teachers in PEIs. The new regime will tackle this issue in three ways. Firstly, we will stipulate the requirements for a teacher to possess educational qualification generally of at least one level above the programme he or she will be teaching. In addition, PEIs must ensure that teachers’ degree qualifications are authentic and recognised by education authorities in home countries. Officers of the CPE will follow up with compliance checks when they perform on-site inspections as part of their regular enforcement regime.

Secondly, should investigations uncover instances of teachers who do not meet the stipulated requirements, the CPE would be able to direct PEIs to cease the deployment of teachers who do not meet the stipulated qualifications. If it is found that false information has been furnished or material fact has been deliberately withheld, the PEI will also be guilty of an offence under the new regime.

Thirdly, PEIs who apply for EduTrust certification would also be assessed on how academic staff are recruited, deployed and monitored to ensure teaching quality. Students who want to be more certain of the quality of the teaching and overall standards of the PEI can rely on EduTrust as a mark of assurance.

Interim Measures

Mdm Halimah Yacob asked what interim measures we could take to protect students in the lead up to the new legislation. In this interim period prior to the introduction of the new private education legislation, the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) (which administers the “CaseTrust for Education” certification) is stepping up checks to ensure that certified PEIs remain compliant with CaseTrust’s requirements in student fee protection and welfare, to ensure that the interests of students remain safeguarded during this economically difficult period.

The new regulatory regime represents a substantive change and adjustment for the private education sector. The Council is currently engaging various stakeholders on the proposed regime through a public consultation exercise, which is open till 6 May. I strongly urge various stakeholders to weigh in if there are good ideas and views on how the private education sector here can be improved.

Over the last 5 years, around 12% to 14% of the children who entered Primary 1 had very weak oral English and literacy skills. Their knowledge of the English alphabet was incomplete and they were not able to recognize simple English words. They were also not able to understand very simple oral instructions in English. These pupils are identified in January each year and provided with additional support through the Learning Support Programme (LSP).

The LSP is a specialised early intervention programme. The aim is to teach these children basic language and literacy skills as well as word attack strategies so that they can read and access learning in the regular classes as soon as possible. The LSP is implemented by Learning Support Co-ordinators (LSCs) who are qualified teachers specially trained by MOE in reading intervention.

The LSP was reviewed and enhanced in 2005. The enhanced LSP is currently implemented in all primary schools at Primary 1 and 2. Around 45% of the children in the LSP are able to pass their schools’ English Language examinations and read at a level that commensurate with their age by the end of P1. Another 20% are able to do by the end of P2. The remaining pupils had made considerable improvements in their reading skills although the reading gap had not been totally eliminated. Although the LSP does not extend beyond P2, these students would continue to be monitored and supported by their teachers through school-based supplementary and remedial lessons.

For better results, we believe that we should be working upstream. Data from MOE has also shown that children from lower income households who do not attend pre-school are more likely to experience difficulties. Since 2006, MOE has been focusing its efforts and resources on helping children to attend pre-school, especially those from lower-income families to help them level up opportunities early in life.

Preliminary joint efforts by MOE, MCYS and Grassroots Organisations in the outreach programme to reduce the percentage of children not attending pre-school are bearing results. With the measures and efforts in place, we have reduced the percentage of those entering Primary 1 without any pre-school education from more than 4% to about 2.5%.

This year, we are continuing with our efforts to reach out to children who are not enrolled in pre-school. We have sent the list of these children to the Grassroot Advisers and we urge grassroots leaders to conduct the outreach early to provide the necessary assistance to the children and their families.

Besides putting in place an outreach programme to help reduce the percentage of children not attending pre-school, MOE has been providing Focused Language Assistance in Reading or FLAiR to selected second year kindergarten (K2) children since 2007. Under the FLAiR project, trained personnel, called Pro-FLAiR s, provide focused assistance to K2 children who have difficulties with English, as identified by their kindergarten teachers. The Pro-FLAiR s will help the children in speaking, reading and other uses of English daily through dedicated time on a one-to-one basis or in small groups. Feedback from kindergartens and parents has shown that the children have benefited from the intervention. As FLAiR is relatively new, MOE will continue to look into ways to further improve the programme.

The percentage of students who have had their scholarships terminated due to poor academic performance at our universities is small, at about 3%.

Each university and scholarship awarding agency has its own measures in place to support the well-being of their scholars.

For example, in the public sector, the Public Service Commission and MOE Teaching Scholarships Unit have dedicated scholarship officers who look after their overseas and local scholars, contacting them regularly and providing support and guidance. They also arrange for each scholar to pair up with a senior scholar through a “buddy system”, to ensure that they receive additional support from their peers.

I would like to assure Dr Ong that scholarship awarding agencies and universities provide support for scholars who fail to meet academic expectations. They initiate conversations with under-performing scholars, to better understand their problems, and provide advice and counselling where necessary. Scholarships are only terminated as a last resort. For the small number who do lose their scholarships, our universities offer alternative financial support such as study loans and bursaries.

In addition, our universities have counsellors who work hand in hand with doctors, psychiatrists and faculty members to provide pastoral care and support to all students in need. They also train student counsellors to help look out for behavioural changes in such students, and refer them for counselling where necessary.

Our universities also have programmes in place to help all their international students settle in, and adjust to life at the universities and in Singapore. The international student centres organise activities such as orientation programmes for first year undergraduates, as well as international fairs and concerts to make them feel at home.

Most education systems worldwide do show a correlation between academic performance and socio-economic status. This is not unexpected and has been attributed to various inheritable factors as well as circumstances related to social upbringing. For Singaporeans, our education system aims to provide opportunities for all students to go as far as possible, regardless of their family background. Our financial assistance schemes provide more assistance to lower income households. We have programmes that are specifically targeted at children with very weak literacy and numeracy skills in early primary school, to help them level up with other classmates. Able children from lower socio-economic households have done well. One in five of the top third of PSLE students come from lower third of households by home background - i.e lower socio-economic groups and parents with lower educational qualifications. For O levels, the corresponding figure is about one in five of the top third of O level students. These figures have remained stable over the past 10 years. The Member may also wish to know that the top 5% of students in the PSLE do not come only from a few schools and from well-off backgrounds. In fact, they come from 98% of our primary schools and across all socio-economic groups. One in eight undergraduates in our public Universities come from households who live in 1- to 3-room flats.

Our schools provide all students with access to enrichment activities, such as art, music and sports programmes, and overseas trips and competitions which enhance their exposure. Additional funding including that from the Opportunity and Internationalisation Funds are available to help students, especially those from less well-off families. MOE is committed to provide ample opportunities to help all our children aspire to their full potential and succeed regardless of their home background.

Our investment in medical talent should be driven primarily by Singapore’s health-care needs, and not only by the number of eligible applicants to the medical school. To keep pace with needs from an ageing population for example, MOE in consultation with MOH had decided to increase the annual medical intake of the National University of Singapore’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine from 250 to 260 for Academic Year (AY) 2008. There are plans to gradually increase this further to 300 in AY2011. The Duke-National University of Singapore (NUS) Graduate Medical School will also have an intake of 50 students a year at steady state to augment our medical manpower needs. It would also be in Singapore’s interests to ensure a good spread of talent across all disciplines at the tertiary-level to benefit other sectors in our economy.

MOH is currently studying Singapore’s medium and long-term health-care needs carefully and their implications on demand for medical manpower. MOE will work with MOH to determine how we can meet the projected demand for medical manpower. If necessary, we will study various options, including that of establishing another medical school in Singapore.

In developing plans and rolling out new educational initiatives, MOE does take into consideration the needs of staff and students from special education (SPED) schools. However, in any one year, new initiatives or programmes announced may pertain to specific sectors, e.g., primary schools, or particular segments of students, e.g., students offering the Normal Course in secondary schools.

In the area of IT, SPED schools that offer the mainstream curriculum are currently provided with additional funding to purchase resources such as computers, software, assistive devices and specialised equipment to support their students’ learning. The other SPED schools also receive computers which are upgraded on a regular basis. For the Third IT Masterplan which was announced in August this year, appropriate provisions will likewise be made for SPED schools, taking into account how teachers and students would benefit from the enhanced use of ICT in special education settings.

Another key area is training and professional development for SPED teachers. To this end, NIE will be launching a new Specialist Diploma in Special Education and Specialist Post-Graduate Diploma in Special Education for SPED teachers teaching the mainstream curriculum starting from 2009.

Teachers and school leaders from SPED schools who offer mainstream curriculum are also included in MOE’s curriculum workshops on syllabus revisions, and provided with the curricular materials where relevant. For example, we have included 5 SPED schools1 in the pilot programme for the new primary school English curriculum to be rolled out in 2010, and trained their teachers alongside mainstream school teachers. MOE has also worked with Chaoyang School, to pilot a modified version of the same pedagogical framework and principles, targeting the learning needs of its students.

In line with the ‘Many Helping Hands’ approach, MOE will continue working with the VWOs and National Council for Social Service (NCSS) to further enhance the quality of special education in Singapore.

We wish to assure Mr Ong that the Ministry of Education has been working closely with the Junior Colleges (JCs) and Millennia Institute (MI) to ensure that they are ready for the single intake in February 2009.

The move to a single intake will not affect the curriculum. The duration of the new academic calendar is comparable to the existing one, and will provide teachers with sufficient time to cover the same curriculum.

Unlike the JCs and Millennia Institute, the academic year of the polytechnics currently commences in April. We have no immediate plans to change this as the current arrangement allows the polytechnics to conduct several smaller admissions exercises after the main Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) so that they can cater to other groups of applicants, including ITE upgraders.

The number of candidates enrolled in NIE’s Bachelor of Art/ Bachelor of Science in Education programme (BA/BSc programme) has risen from 175 in AY2006/07 to 470 in AY2008/09. On average, about 70% of the candidates enrolled have ‘A’ level qualifications while the rest are Polytechnic Diploma holders. Admitted ‘A’ level candidates have a minimum of 3 ‘A’ level passes. Candidates from the Polytechnics would have equivalent qualifications. In addition, all the enrolled candidates have to clear an interview which seeks to assess their aptitude and interest in teaching.

All candidates admitted into the BA/BSc programme must have at least a B3 in their GCE ‘O’ level English Language Examinations or a B3 in their General Paper or equivalent.

Preliminary joint efforts by MOE, MCYS and grassroots organisations in the outreach programme to reduce the percentage of children not attending pre-school are bearing results. Measures included volunteers from the Grassroots Organisations visiting families with 5-year old children who are not attending pre-school to understand their reasons and to encourage them to do so. Places in PCF kindergartens were offered and help for financial assistance given, if necessary.

MOE has also been working with primary schools to identify 6-year old children who are not attending pre-school at the point of the Primary One registration exercise. Based on self declared information, families were identified and encouraged by the Self-Help Groups to register their children in PCF kindergartens.

With these efforts in place, we have reduced the percentage of those entering Primary 1 without any pre-school education from more than 4% to about 2.5%.

Despite these improvements, these efforts should be continued and stepped up as the families concerned would have multiple problems, often beyond the need for financial help. MOE, MCYS and the Grassroots Organisations will continue their efforts in the coming years.

For financial help, there are many schemes in place. The Baby Bonus Scheme was enhanced in Aug 2008, and the monies in their Child Development Account (CDA) can be used by parents to pay pre-school fees. Children receive a cash gift and enjoy matching Government contributions in the CDA.

In addition, a number of financial assistance schemes have also been put in place to help children from lower-income families. MCYS provides a fee subsidy under its Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) for children from low-income families. Furthermore, families that cannot afford the initial costs related to sending their children to kindergarten (e.g. registration fee, uniforms) may also be considered for a Start-up Grant of up to $200 per child per year.

Children who attend childcare centres receive a universal child care subsidy. Over and above the universal child care subsidy, working parents with monthly household income not exceeding $1,800 can also apply for the Centre-based Financial Assistance Scheme for Childcare (CFAC).

For those who need further help, community-based support is available through the Grassroots Organisations, self-help groups and PCF kindergartens, to supplement the government subsidies. For example, CDAC and MENDAKI provide additional financial assistance to needy families, under the Pre-School Assistance and Support Scheme (PASS) and Education Trust Fund (ETF) initiatives respectively. Advisers and grassroots leaders can also tap on the Citizens’ Consultative Committees’ (CCC) Welfare and Education Fund, and the ComCare Fund to assist their residents who need financial support to send their children to pre-school.

In short, families who need help will have access to financial and other assistance.

There are no passing criteria set for the GCE ‘A’ Level examination. All students who pass at least one subject in the GCE ‘A’ Level examination will receive a certificate indicating their results.

Last year, the first batch of Integrated Programme (IP) students from Hwa Chong Institution, National Junior College and Raffles Junior College sat for the ‘A’ Level examination. 98.2% of IP students obtained a pass in 3 H2 subjects and General Paper/Knowledge and Inquiry, similar to the performance of the previous cohort of non-IP students in the same schools.

As with previous cohorts from these schools before IP was introduced, there were a few students who did not meet the minimum criteria to apply for admission to the National University of Singapore or the Nanyang Technological University. These students have chosen to repeat their ‘A’ Levels, or apply to overseas educational institutions using their ‘A’ Level and school-based results.

The first batch of IP students from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) took the International Baccalaureate (IB) examination in November 2007. All of them were awarded the IB Diploma, including one student who re-sat for one paper in May 08.

Over the past three years, about one out of every two Singapore citizens who applied to the three local universities received at least one offer from the publicly-funded universities.

Most local students apply to university using the Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-levels or polytechnic diploma qualifications. However, there are a small number of local students who apply with other qualifications. These include students who have International Baccalaureate qualifications, and those who have undergone an overseas education.

All applicants to our universities, whether local or international, must have completed the equivalent of at least 12 years of formal education leading to a high school qualification or equivalent. As such, applicants with international qualifications tend to be of the same age as local applicants. In a few countries, admission to university is possible after 10 or 11 years of formal education. Applicants from these countries may be considered for admission, but only if they provide evidence of very strong academic achievement. In addition, there is a very small number of university applicants who have qualified under special circumstances. For example, a few young talents aged between 14 to 17 have been accepted by the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music for their exceptional gift in music.

Admission to our universities for both local and international students is based on merit. No local student who qualifies for admission to our universities is denied a place. International students must also meet the entry criteria but as there is a 20% cap on the number of international students, non-Singaporeans are, in practice, subject to more stringent entry criteria than Singaporeans. Our universities have acquired familiarity and knowledge with the various qualifications presented by overseas applicants, and are able to select top students from different education systems accordingly.

The current regulatory regime for private education, in place for two decades, is essentially a “light-touch” approach. To be registered, a private school will have to meet basic requirements to have appropriate physical facilities that meet building and fire safety standards. For professional aspects, the requirements are also basic. For example, to teach secondary level subjects, the teacher’s qualification should be at least ‘A’ level or equivalent.

Private education institutions can also choose to register their external degree programmes with MOE. Only registered programmes are allowed to enrol foreign students. To be registered, the university awarding the degree must be either accredited by a national accreditation body in its home country or recognised by its own government. As at end-2007, there were 1,100 registered external degree programmes offered by universities from 20 countries through the private schools. As there exists a wide variety of such registered degrees, across countries and even from within the same country, universities and standards do differ considerably. MOE has been careful therefore to inform the public through various platforms that registration does not represent endorsement or assessment of the quality of the external degree.

Private schools or external degree programme providers do use the label “registered by MOE” but MOE ensures that they cannot substitute registration for any other term that may suggest quality or convey more than what registration stands for.

The current “light-touch” regulatory regime may have been appropriate for a budding private education industry with a few players. However, given the growth of the private education industry in recent years, MOE intends to strengthen the current regulatory framework. This was announced this year during the Committee of Supply debate in March.

As announced, a new Private Education Bill is being drafted for the introduction of an enhanced regulatory framework which will comprise three components: the establishment of an independent Council for Private Education; an enhanced registration regime; and a voluntary certification system called EduTrust for those that meet higher standards.

Under the enhanced registration regime, registration will have a specified validity period. Private schools will be required to provide early notification of changes to the recognition and accreditation status of their foreign university partners. To better deal with private schools that violate conditions of registration, graduated penalties, including fines, would be introduced. Imposing penalties that are in proportion to the severity of the breaches would serve as useful deterrence against poor standards or behaviours, while giving errant schools the opportunity to rectify their violations. Schools that have repeatedly violated conditions will risk being de-registered and not allowed to operate.

One area which we will seek to address more effectively is misrepresentation by private schools in their advertisements and promotional material. We intend to set clearer rules under the new regulatory regime to curb false and misleading advertisement. This will cover the proper use of quality labels, symbols and trademarks by private schools in advertisements and for these schools to refrain from untruthful claims about the school and its courses. The Council will also be given the necessary powers to direct corrective measures if operators publish misleading advertisements.

As a benchmark of higher quality, the EduTrust certification scheme will be introduced. Private schools can apply to be certified, if they can satisfy certain academic, financial and student welfare requirements. This serves as a useful incentive for better quality private schools to differentiate themselves in the market place.

Aside from implementing an effective regulatory framework, the Council will also play a facilitation role to promote a better understanding of the private education sector through consumer awareness and public education programmes. Such efforts aim to help potential students be more discerning about various educational options available and to make informed choices.

These enhancements to the private education regulatory framework will enable Singapore to better position itself as an education hub. For prospective students, it will provide more information about the quality of the provider and degrees offered. MOE intends to move the Bill in 2009, after providing for a sufficient period of consultation with stakeholders.

Pupils with special needs are enrolled into mainstream schools if they can benefit from its curriculum. They include children with mild learning disabilities, such as dyslexia and mild autism and a smaller number of pupils with physical and sensory impairments.

All pupils with special needs in the mainstream schools have access to Physical Education (PE) and Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs). Similar to their peers, the extent to which they are able to develop their skills in sports does depend on their interest and aptitude.

To facilitate, the schools do customise CCA and PE activities to enable better participation. For example, for pupils with mild autism, the use of simple visual cues can enable the pupil to follow the routines and games instruction more effectively.

In addition, schools consult closely with parents of pupils with physical disabilities to understand the comfort and safety level of physically disabled pupil when engaging in sports or physical activities. This is to ensure that we do not place undue harm to the pupil or his peers.

For secondary schools designated to meet the needs of students with sensory impairment, the visually impaired (VI) and hearing impaired (HI) students who join these designated secondary schools are provided with an alternative CCA programme.

MOE and the schools also work with the Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC) to organise activities and competitions for the disabled students.