Hansard, 2010-03-10

Under the provisions of clause 2(d) of Article 46 of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, the following Members have been granted permission to be or to remain absent from sittings of Parliament (or any Committee of Parliament to which they have been appointed) for the periods stated: Name From (2010) To (2010) Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat 12 Mar 15 Mar Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed 16 Mar 20 Mar Assoc. Prof. Koo Tsai Kee 20 Mar 21 Mar 24 Mar 28 Mar Mr Wong Kan Seng 21 Mar 23 Mar 31 Mar 07 Apr Dr Fatimah Lateef 25 Apr 29 Apr

ABDULLAH TARMUGI Speaker Parliament of Singapore

Order read for consideration in Committee of Supply [5th Allotted Day].

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Head K – Ministry of Education (cont.)

Resumption of Debate on Question [9th March, 2010],

"That the total sum to be allocated for Head K of the Estimates by reduced by $100." – [Mrs Josephine Teo].

Question again proposed.

Special needs education – MOE oversight

Mr Chairman, Sir, children with special needs presently receive their education in special education (SPED) schools run by voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) with funding from the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS).

One of the objectives of special needs education is to enable the children to function optimally and integrate well into society. I am curious why this task has remained entrusted to VWOs and not integrated into our mainstream school network under the purview of MOE.

SPED schools provide customised educational programmes and training for different disability groups. While the needs of these children are different, I cannot see how this differs from those for our independent schools, specialised schools like the Sports School and School of The Arts (SOTA), and schools with programmes for gifted children and so forth. These schools remain under the purview of MOE. The Sports School is not under the purview of MCYS, SOTA is not under MICA nor the new School of Science and Technology (SST) under MTI. Should not, therefore, SPED schools come under MOE? I have parents of children with special needs in my constituency and they would much rather have a structured school programme run by MOE.

All children, whether or not they have special needs, are sons and daughters of Singapore. We should give every child the best education. MOE is a world-class institution – its expertise should be extended to special needs children.

I understand MOE assists SPED schools with their broad educational policy and direction and provides the majority share of development and recurrent funding, training and professional support to the schools, including advice on mainstream curriculum and pedagogy. I applaud MOE for this but would like to suggest that MOE take ownership of our SPED schools in order to provide education, the recruitment and training of teachers, performance standards, audits and learning outcomes. There is still room after this transition for the "Many Hands" approach where the VWOs will be more than welcome to continue to contribute their expertise.

Additionally, I would like to request for the Minister to share with us the details of the various grants provided to SPED schools and how they have benefited our children with special needs.

Lastly, would MOE consider cultivating a conducive outside school learning environment for special needs children by meeting with parents to explain how they can bring out the best potential in these very special children?

Primary Education Review (PERI)

Sir, at six years, my son enrolled in Primary 1. Then, he was in the first batch to be introduced to the pilot SEED programme which promised a more experiential learning process. The first six months were great. There was much exploration and play in the curriculum. However, by the time we reached July of that year, the school realised that the kids were not up to the mark to sit for the year-end examinations – the traditional paper-and-pencil test. So the students were subjected to assessment paper after assessment paper to get them examination-ready by the end of the year. Gone was the promise of experiential learning. Six years on, as with many other students before him, he is now mugging for the PSLE examinations, raising the stress level of parents like myself and my wife.

Sir, the PERI Committee's recommendations submitted a year ago promised a more holistic primary education system with greater emphasis on non-academic programmes and more holistic assessments to support learning beyond the paper-and-pencil tests. Can the Minister give an update of the progress in implementing their recommendations, particularly enhancements to support holistic education? How can MOE ensure that teachers internalise the values espoused in a new direction of holistic education to prevent them from reverting to focus solely on academic achievements through paper-and-pencil tests, as what happened to the SEED programme I spoke about earlier?

Mdm Cynthia Phua, take both cuts together, please.

Streamlining in secondary schools

Sir, for students in secondary schools, I would like the Ministry to seriously consider introducing a modular system in secondary schools and change the streaming of students according to the subjects cluster. We have done so for polytechnics and universities. Can we review it for secondary schools?

The main advantage is that we can better recognise the talent of each student and for students to take the subject levels suitable to their capability. Recently, I met this girl at a function and asked her about school and later touched on her best subject in school. She told me that her best subject is the Chinese language, but this is not offered at a higher level for her Normal stream.

The other advantage is to allow the students to be able to mix around with fellow youths of different talents and to acknowledge the fact that one can be better in some subjects and some are better in others. Students now gather themselves within their streams of Normal and Express. They do not have the opportunity to argue and discuss matters at different perspectives. Let me illustrate.

I recognise and acknowledge the difference in strength and logical thinking and argument as compared to Minister Ng Eng Hen. We had a discussion in the Members' Room yesterday. I cannot find any answer to his argument. However, I value the opportunity and the exchange as he gave me a different perspective of the matters discussed. My point is – we would not be able to be in the same social circle but the Parliament setting allows us to have that discussion.

Students may take subject modules tailored to their interest and strength. With a greater choice of the subject modules that they like, they would learn better. The present system would tend to categorise the students on these subjects cluster and do not allow flexibility to recognise the talent and ability of our students.

Finally, the present streaming of students in secondary schools have much psychological impact on the youths. The Normal stream is not normal, according to how the students and parents feel. They feel that they are inferior to their academic-better fellow schoolmates. And why do we have a system that makes our youths feel inferior at a young tender age? Have we done a survey of the youths in this stream and ask them of their self-worth, and also interview the parents? I sincerely hope that the Ministry could review the existing education system framework for our youths in the secondary schools.

Secondary school hours and youth support

Sir, as a knowledge-based economy, Singapore's future is largely shaped by our education system. Most secondary schools currently start at 7.30 am, a time considered "cruel" to start school by Oxford University Neuroscientist, Prof. Russell Foster, and I quote: "Whilst students usually require up to eight hours of sleep, teens require one hour more than that".

This starting time will also be closer to that of most parents so that they can leave home together with their children. Their school session may also end later which will leave the students with less idle time to spend on their own. Too much unsupervised time may, unfortunately, cause some students to be enrobed in matters like online gambling, teen sex, gambling activities, loansharks, which have been making headlines in the past months. Hence, a later start in school will result in a later end after school.

If the concern is transport, I can assure Members that between 7.30 am and 8.00 am, the roads are clearer, as I am on the road at that period of time, because my son's school starts at 8.00 am and my daughter's at 7.30 am.

Sports and studies go hand-in-hand. A healthy and active lifestyle help students focus better on their studies. Skills that cannot be taught in a classroom, such as social and management skills, are often developed through sports and CCA. The schools are going for excellence in sports. This is the wrong trend. Being a member of FAS, the sports associations have the means to promote sports excellence, and we should allow them to do so. The sports associations should do their part for mass sports and allow each youth to take a sport and play. Although the Minister has said yesterday that he would sincerely look into it, I continue with this because I want to make an emphasis on this as well.

Presently, the schools are selecting students from sports CCA and allow them based on their interest, and not their ability. The Ministry should put more resources into allowing our youths to take up just one sport, and this is the time that they need to sweat out their energy and need the exercise to build up their body frame as well. And once in love with the sport, they will live for the sport, like many of our soccer friends in this House.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan, take both cuts together, please.

Edusave scholarship (primary school)

Sir, the Edusave scheme was started in 1993 to maximise opportunities for all Singaporean children. This scheme rewards students who have performed well or who have made progress in their academic and non-academic work.

For students in the primary school, the Edusave Scholarship is only given to Primary 5 and 6 pupils who have excelled in their studies and are in the top 10% of their level or stream. This award is valued between $350 and $400. For eligible pupils who are in Primary 1 to Primary 4, they only receive a congratulatory letter signed by the MP.

For the Edusave Merit Bursary, students who are in the top 25% of their level or stream in their school and whose gross household income is less than $4,000 per month, they would receive an Edusave Merit Bursary valued at between $200 and $250. These pupils receive a letter inviting to attend an award presentation and to receive the Edusave Merit Bursary.

Sir, I received feedback from several parents asking whether it is possible for MOE to give an Edusave Scholarship award to students in Primary 1 to Primary 4 if they have performed well in their studies and are within the 10% of their level or stream. They argued that their children were very happy to receive a congratulatory letter and yet disappointed that there was no recognition for their achievement. In contrast, their fellow pupils who have performed less well in school and are within the top 25%, they were honoured and encouraged when they were invited to receive the Edusave Merit Bursary.

Would the Ministry consider an Edusave Scholarship award of, perhaps, a lower value for pupils between Primary 1 and Primary 4 and this sum could be in the region of $100 to $200? This award would serve as a public encouragement for those pupils who have worked hard in their studies and have made progress but whose families are not in financial need.

Teaching of values

Sir, my next cut is on teaching of values. There are more and more families where both parents are working and the children are looked after by either the domestic help or by doting grandparents. Hence, I am concerned that our young children may not have sufficient opportunities where they can be taught the right values at home by their parents. I was thus most happy to hear from Minister yesterday that MOE will focus on values when nurturing students for the 21st century and that there will be greater emphasis on physical education, art and music.

However, values cannot just be taught and much time must be spent to inculcate the right values in the students. May I ask how does the MOE intend to instil values, like filial piety, humility, loyalty to nation and consideration or respect for your neighbours in these students.

I believe MOE would agree that these values are very important for a young nation like Singapore. I hope that MOE will not make the teaching of values just another academic and boring subject, as such values, if imparted well, maybe there will be lesser cases of elderly parents being abandoned by their children. Or maybe our citizens will be more open to having residents in rental flats living in their midst.

Sir, I visited Dunman High School earlier this year and I was most impressed with the school's motto which emphasises honesty, trustworthiness, moral courage and loyalty. The school takes great efforts to ensure that all its students are imbued with these values throughout their years in the school. Could we learn from such schools? And could we encourage the imparting of values amongst all the schools in Singapore?

Mr Chairman, Sir, Dr Maliki Osman asked for an update on PERI's recommendations.

The Programme for Active Learning (PAL) was introduced to strengthen the emphasis on non-academic programmes within the curriculum. Under PAL, Primary 1 and 2 students would be exposed early to activities that further school efforts in developing character and life-skills. MOE has begun prototyping PAL modules in 12 schools this year, and we have developed some very good ideas on PAL.

New Town Primary School, for example, has implemented a Music and Movement module comprising games, creative movement and singing to allow students to develop body and spatial awareness and improve body coordination. Teamwork and discipline are also strengthened.

Jurong West Primary School has introduced the Gymkidz PAL Programme to enable their students to acquire basic movements and skills in a fun and creative way. A mobile playground has been set up in the school, allowing students to learn a range of movements and skills by manoeuvring around various obstacles, such as ladders, slides and trampolines. The teaching of social emotional competencies is also woven into the programme by incorporating reflection time for the children. Members would like to note that PAL is now built into the curriculum so that it will be institutionalised – the happy and fun way of learning will be institutionalised for our lower primary students.

12.15 pm

MOE has also introduced the Form Teacher Guidance Period within the primary school curriculum time in the 12 PAL prototype schools.

We recognise that form teachers play a central role in shaping the development of their young charges and it is, therefore, important to devote sufficient attention to their development. The additional one period per week gives them time to interact with the students and pay attention to the child's holistic development. MOE intends to introduce the Form Teacher Guidance Period to all primary schools by 2012.

In addition, MOE is working with 16 primary schools to prototype the use of assessment practices that focuses more on developmental objectives. For Primary 1, all 16 prototype schools have done away with high-stakes examinations and replaced them with bite-sized forms of assessments which place greater emphasis on learning rather than grades alone. At Primary 2, the schools have retained the end-of-year examinations while having a range of topical tests and other assessment tasks across Terms 1 to 3.

MOE will share these best practices with all primary schools starting from the middle of this year and regularly provide schools with more assessment exemplars as they are developed. We will also create a dedicated "holistic assessment" website to enable all teachers to access these resources easily. Over the next three years, we expect all primary schools to embark on the holistic assessment journey.

We have also made progress on infrastructural enhancements. This year, seven more schools moved to single session, bringing the total number of single-session primary schools to 83 out of 178 schools. Twenty-eight existing primary schools will proceed with their upgrading plans this year, while five new schools will be ready in 2012.

We are currently refining the new-generation primary school building norms, which will be rolled out in phases to all primary schools. Here are two examples of the new facilities. First, is a Fitness Playground, which provides a safe environment for students to learn basic movements, develop their physical skills and play together. Second, is a Teaching Laboratory, which facilitates lesson observations and professional sharing among teachers. The classroom is also being redesigned with more effective layouts and fittings to support pedagogical needs.

These "hardware" and "software" enhancements will put us in good stead to deliver holistic outcomes in primary education. Mr Lim Biow Chuan's suggestion of extending the Edusave Scholarships, which reward academic achievements, to lower primary students, hence, may not be optimal as this would work against PERI's recommendation to rebalance the curriculum towards skills and character development. Lower primary students who have shown good improvements, or those from lower-income households who have performed well, can continue to benefit from the Good Progress Award and Edusave Merit Bursary. To have the scholarship for the top 10% of Primary 1 and Primary 2 students means that we have to rank them, we have to subject them to examinations, and so on. So, really, that goes against what we are trying to do at the lower primary.

On values, character building, role of parents and community, sexuality education and secondary school start time that Members have brought up. Mr Lim Biow Chuan, Mdm Cynthia Phua, Mrs Mildred Tan and Ms Irene Ng asked about the teaching of values and character building. We fully agree that these are fundamental to holistic education, which was a key theme of my Minister's speech yesterday. Civics and Moral Education (CME) is one of the key platforms for delivery within curriculum time. School programmes, such as CCAs and Community Involvement Programmes, provide opportunities outside curriculum time as well. And to cater to different student interest, schools have, on average, about 30 to 35 CCAs with at least eight to 10 sports and games. And as my Minister said yesterday, more opportunities will be created for students as more emphasis is being placed on PAM.

I would like assure Members that there are opportunities for the development of soft skills embedded throughout the total curriculum. MOE has also developed a Character Development Award framework to encourage schools to integrate character development into the school culture and processes. In other words, we want school management, school leaders, to pay attention and institutionalise the processes.

Mdm Cynthia Phua asked about secondary school hours. Schools already have the flexibility to decide on the start and end times of their school day, taking into account local conditions as well as stakeholders' considerations. As she has pointed out, she has two children, each having different school start times, which shows that there are already flexibilities allowed in the system. Schools can plan their CCA schedule around the school hours.

But while schools play an important role – MOE acknowledges that – the inculcation of sound values and good character in our students must be the primary responsibility of parents, as Mrs Mildred Tan correctly pointed out yesterday. Schools will continue to engage parents through Parent Support Groups and Parent-Teacher Associations, and MOE will continue to engage stakeholders through the COMPASS initiative. The COMPASS Parent Ambassadors Taskforce formed last year would help to encourage parents to play an active role in the education of their children. Mrs Tan suggested a tripartite mechanism to address issues such as teenage sexuality and gambling. We can consider this suggestion using COMPASS as the platform.

As Mr Viswa Sadasivan suggested, schools can tap on community resources to support students' social and emotional development. And I totally agree that alumni can be a helpful resource for schools, and we in MOE appreciate the contribution of the alumni. In fact, I would like to inform Members that in 2008, COMPASS led by Mrs Mildred Tan, had actually compiled a very lovely book on alumni. It celebrates the many bonds that alumni have with their schools. The book has, on its cover, the tagline – "it starts with the passion, it ends with the ties that bind" – describing vividly how many of us felt about our alma mater. Therefore, we encourage alumni to step forward and we will do whatever we can to encourage the formation of alumni associations with the schools. And COMPASS will continue to harness the involvement of the community and parents in support of our schools.

Mrs Mildred Tan brought up the issue of sexuality education and, specifically, she mentioned a case about a 9-year old girl who became pregnant. I believe she was referring to a newspaper article published in 2007. I would like to inform Members of the House that in response to that article at that time, in March 2007, MCYS had a discussion with the counsellor and journalist who published this story. And it turned out that the counsellor was neither able to verify the identity nor the age of the girl who was supposedly pregnant. The counsellor was not medically trained and was not able to verify the pregnancy either. Consequently, we should not speculate on conclusions on this case. It is really as it stands – a hearsay. Nevertheless, we agree with the Member's point that this is an issue that we should focus our attention on, and that our children must develop a sense of right and wrong. This is something that parents and families need to take a lead on as values and morals are sensitive issues that are best decided by parents. MOE's sexuality education programme aims to complement parents' role in helping students make informed, responsible and values-based decisions regarding sexuality.

Our framework for sexuality education reflects the mainstream views and values of the Singapore society. We promote abstinence but, at the same time, teach forms of contraception to protect youths against diseases and unwanted pregnancy. We have put up more information on the MOE and schools' websites to inform parents about the programmes conducted in schools.

Ms Irene Ng raised the issue of developing political awareness in our students. This is currently done through the Social Studies curriculum, where students learn about governance, the Singapore election process, the concept of nationhood and national identity, including the significance of national symbols such as the Pledge. Case studies of other societies are included so that students learn about the principles of governance in different contexts. On the teaching of History and Literature, our current syllabi do present opportunities for students to explore moral dilemmas that shape the outcome of events, issues and actions. Students learn to exercise moral judgment, think critically and draw conclusions about national issues. Students also learn about our founding fathers, like Mr S. Rajaratnam, and political figures like Lim Chin Siong and Lee Siew Choh, to understand Singapore's journey towards for self-government and independence.

Ms Josceline Yeo is right in saying that the quality of learning is much more important than the quantity of learning. This is, in fact, embodied in the Teach Less Learn More movement (TLLM), which seeks to bring about more effective and engaged learning. As part of TLLM, judicious reductions have also been made to the curriculum content, up to 30%, to provide teachers with more scope for innovation in their teaching, and to give students more time to take part in learning activities that would hone critical thinking and other key 21st century competencies.

Ms Denise Phua asked about the sharing of online resources. MOE already has edumall 2.0, an online repository that provides teachers with digital resources. It also allows schools to share their good ICT classroom practices and lessons. In addition, school clusters have their own resource repository – i-Share – for school-created teaching and learning resources.

I will next touch on the teaching and learning of Chinese Language, which several Members, like Mrs Josephine Teo, Mr Ong Kian Min, Mr Baey Yam Keng and Mr Low Thia Khiang, have spoken about.

Sir, in Mandarin, please.

(In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] As Minister mentioned earlier, our approach to teaching Chinese Language (CL) must take cognisance of the diverse language abilities of our students and the increasingly varied language backgrounds. The proportion of Chinese Primary 1 students from predominantly English Language (EL) speaking homes has increased over the past five years. At the same time, more able students are pursuing CL at a higher level. There is therefore a need for a more customised CL teaching framework that would recognise the different starting points of students, devise different teaching strategies to help everyone become more proficient and confident in the language, and to reach as high a level as they are able to.

There are concerns as expressed by the hon. Members and the public on whether we will address the problem by lowering the standards across the board and, if not, how we will motivate high-ability students to go further. How to develop talents needed by our companies? I would like to assure Members that MOE will maintain our efforts to help everyone learn the language to as high a level as they can go. We must acknowledge differences in starting points, abilities and hence also what standards different students can attain within 10 to 12 years of education. Mr Teo Siong Seng has expressed how businesses are yearning for Chinese language talents. We will redouble our efforts and put in the resources to help those students who are able to progress as far as they can, eg, through the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools and the Bicultural Studies Programme (BSP). Our SAP schools are doing well and are attracting many good students who wish to benefit from a strong Chinese programme. MOE is currently considering if there is demand for an additional SAP school.

Since the launch of the Bicultural Studies Programme, the student enrolment has increased every year, from 290 in 2005 to 470 in 2010. Up to 100 scholarships are also awarded each year. We will monitor and review if there is a need to expand the scholarship scheme.

At the same time, we will enhance our support to schools and build up our teachers' professional expertise to prepare them for the new CL approach. We will strengthen our collaboration with the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language to step up the training of our Chinese teachers and pedagogical research. MOE will also collaborate with civil and academic institutions, such as Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning, Promote Mandarin Council and Business China to promote Chinese language learning through Chinese-medium networking events, hence, developing a pool of bilingual and bicultural talents.

*Cols. 3917-3918.

12.30 pm

(In English): Mr Ong Kian Min asked for an update on changes made to the CL curriculum. The Primary modular CL curriculum has been fully implemented across all levels. Feedback from teachers has been most positive. A study by the National Institute of Education (NIE) has found that the modular approach has been effective in improving oral proficiency among students. Another study by NTU further showed that students demonstrated better character recognition using this approach.

To better access the student's language ability so as to apply appropriate teaching approaches, schools today conduct banding of students for the Bridging, Core and Enrichment modules, after having observed their students' CL learning and aptitude for one semester. MOE will be collaborating with the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language to develop a diagnostic tool to assess students' oracy competence to facilitate the grouping into the different modules. The diagnostic tool, which would be developed and prototyped this year, can also be used for developmental assessment throughout the year.

MOE will also be providing schools with a high concentration of students from EL-speaking homes with an additional CL teacher, on top of the two additional teachers all primary schools received in 2007 for the CL modular curriculum. This will allow these schools to further customise their teaching.

There will be more extensive use of EL to teach students with greater needs in the learning of CL, which has proven to be a useful approach. Greater curricular support and in-service training will be provided for teachers to use the bilingual approach. A CL-EL glossary of selected vocabulary will also be developed by 2011 for students in the Chinese Language and Foundation Chinese courses.

Mr Baey Yam Keng suggested incorporating contemporary Chinese culture in the syllabus and he has quoted many examples. I had to do quite a bit of research to keep up with his examples. Many teachers, I understand, do use this to enhance the learning of CL. For the new syllabus, MOE will be including in the Teachers' Guide a list of recommended materials, such as the award winning China production(漂亮妈妈 ) – "Breaking the silence", which teachers could use to make the lessons more engaging for students. So we are receptive to the suggestion of using contemporary pop culture to make teaching of Chinese more engaging and interesting to the students.

With new media and technologies vastly changing the way our students acquire knowledge, there is room to leverage more on ICT tools and applications to enhance and engage students in CL learning. ICT facilitates the functional use of the language, creates an authentic setting and enables customised and active learning. It provides immediate feedback to students, which is important in the acquisition of aural-oral skills. Going forward, MOE intends to incorporate more ICT-based language learning into the syllabus design so that it forms a bigger proportion of the learning experience. An ICT-based language resource package constituting 10%-15% of Mother Tongue Language (MTL) curriculum for all levels will be provided to all schools.

In addition, MOE intends to develop a web-based MTL portal to promote oracy learning and strengthen assessment practices for students from Primary 4 to pre-university levels. Teachers can assign oral learning tasks to students who can upload their completed product at the portal in the form of audio or video files. Through the portal, students can review their own or their peers' presentations, and teachers can grade and provide feedback to students. The portal will also be equipped with text to speech technology that automatically evaluates the student's pronunciation after the student read out a passage. This will enable students to practise and evaluate their oral presentations at their own pace and convenience. As Members can see, the potential of such an application is immense. The MTL portal will be rolled out to schools in phases starting from 2012.

On the issue of CL "B", for students who face exceptional difficulties coping with the learning of CL, they would be better served by CL "B". Mr Low Thia Khiang has remarked that the CL "B" option would erode CL standards. CL "B" was introduced nine years ago, in 2001. Prior to that, students who were weak in CL were taught and tested in the same way as students with stronger CL ability. It did not work. On the contrary, these students continued to fail CL and were put off learning the language altogether. Our goal in MOE is to keep these CL "B" students interested in the language, so that instead of being discouraged for not being able to meet the requirement, they will go on to acquire a basic but functional command of the language. And with an interest in the language, we hope that they will continue using and learning the language even after they have left school.

The high rate of enrolment in courses mentioned by Mr Teo Siong Seng yesterday may not be a bad thing seen in the light of life-long learning. The percentage of students taking CL "B" at "O" Level has increased from 2% to 4% between 2001 and 2009, while the percentage offering CL "B" at "A" Level has stayed around 2%, or about 250 students.

Passing rate is high with over 95% for both "O" and "A" levels in 2009. In case Mr Low will draw the conclusion from the high passing rate that the standard is questionable, I have circulated a sample of an "O" level CL "B" paper. As Members can see from the sample questions, students are expected to achieve a reasonable standard in the language. Mr Low's concern that it will become an easy option for students is therefore unfounded. Many students are benefiting from CL "B". I understand that students enjoy the lessons and that in some cases, even those who have been exempted from CL are asking to join the class. The students tell us that they recognise the importance of being able to communicate verbally in CL and that the content of the CL "B" lessons is pitched at a suitable level.

With more students coming from predominantly EL-speaking homes, we expect that there will be more students offering CL "B" in future. To enhance the accessibility of CL "B" instruction, MOE has established three additional zonal CL "B" centres, and will also support secondary schools with a high concentration of students weak in CL to offer school-based CL "B" lessons. At the Junior Collage/Commercial Institute level, MOE will relax the eligibility criteria, from the current "O" level E8 grade or below to D7 grade or below, to allow more students to benefit from taking "A" level CL "B".

Let me now turn to the topic of Special Education (SPED). MOE will continue to oversee the educational aspects of SPED schools by providing training, professional and funding support. However, children with special needs often need support in areas such as paramedical and social support that cannot be catered for by MOE alone. This is the reason that the "Many Helping Hands" approach is required and MOE works closely with NCSS and the VWOs to enhance the quality of the SPED sector. We should continue with this tripartite partnership which has served us well. We will also continue to work closely with the hospitals and the parent support groups of the VWOs to engage parents and assist them in developing a greater understanding of their children's learning needs and experiences. I just want to clarify the point made by Mr Christopher de Souza – School of the Arts comes under MICA and that the Sports School comes under MCYS.

In terms of educational aspects, we are starting to see results in SPED schools – there are more professional exchanges amongst SPED schools and with mainstream schools. SPED school leaders have buddies in the mainstream schools for professional support and they are invited to attend Cluster Board meetings and relevant cluster programmes. There are also more opportunities for SPED school teachers to upgrade themselves professionally. To date, about 85% of SPED teachers have completed teacher training courses at NIE, eg, Diploma in Special Education, Specialist Diploma in Special Education and so on. MOE also actively helps the VWOs build and refurbish school buildings, and that is really very resource intensive. Financially, we have supported the VWOs to a great extent. We fund 95% of the construction and equipment costs of their school buildings.

Ms Denise Phua highlighted the need to streamline the accountability processes. She mentioned that this is her fourth year requesting this. I am glad that we make progress at each of the COS, and good progress has been made. With the MOE-NCSS Quality Assurance Framework, which schools have begun using for self-evaluation this year, agencies have worked closely to ensure that requirements are streamlined and duplication eliminated.

On recognising SPED achievement and progress, over the years, we see that more SPED students are doing well. The number of SPED students accessing the mainstream curriculum has gone up since 2007. We want to continue to motivate all SPED students to strive to do well. MOE will be providing each SPED school with a lump-sum grant to establish school-based awards for students who are Singapore citizens. As the profile of students and the type of curriculum offered across the SPED schools are very diverse, each school will have the flexibility to establish its own criteria for the awards, whether to recognise achievements, progress made in learning, development of skills, or contributions to the community. Schools will also determine the number and quantum of awards to be given out. The grants will be funded from the Edusave Endowment Fund, and be disbursed starting from this year.

Currently, SPED students receive the Edusave Pupils Fund in Edusave accounts which they can use to pay for school fees and enrichment programmes. The schools also benefit from the Edusave Grant to pay for enrichment programmes or to purchase additional resources. With the increase in the number of SPED students taking the mainstream secondary curriculum and vocational education programmes, MOE will be revising the quanta of the Edusave Pupils Fund and Edusave Grants for these students from January 2011. Based on current rates for mainstream secondary level, the quanta will be increased from $200 to $240 for the Edusave Pupils Fund, and from $50 to $90 for the Edusave Grant.

Next, I will touch on the professional support provided to SPED schools. Functional literacy is one of the key skill sets we seek to develop in SPED students, and it helps them to learn and communicate effectively, and find gainful employment. Currently, SPED schools adopt or develop their own literacy curricula. However, with limited curricular and pedagogical expertise in the schools, the quality of literacy teaching is rather varied and uneven.

Since last year, specialists from MOE's Special Education Branch have been working closely with teachers in seven SPED schools to pilot a Direct Instruction reading and language programme for lower primary students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID).

Direct Instruction is a clear and explicit teaching approach in which reading skills are carefully taught in a step by step manner until the child masters the skills. Students first learn the sounds of letters, and how to blend the sounds to read words. Armed with the basic building blocks of reading, they are then guided to read books independently, and to comprehend what they have read. This method is particularly suited to the learning needs of SPED students and the results of the pilot have been very positive, with teachers observing that the students demonstrated greater interest and motivation to read, and became more attentive and focused in other lessons.

Given the benefits, MOE will be rolling out the Direct Instruction programme to students with mild to moderate Intellectual Disabilities (ID) progressively at all SPED schools from 2010. We will also work with the schools to pilot other Direct Instruction programmes for oral language and writing skills.

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As learning disabilities and the degree of severity of special needs children are on a continuum, we must continue to adopt differentiated approaches to meet the wide range of needs. Since 2007, MOE has worked with two SPED schools to prototype satellite partnerships to provide opportunities for purposeful interactions between SPED students and their mainstream peers.

Moving forward, MOE intends to facilitate more partnerships between SPED schools that are co-located with mainstream schools. In 2010, Pathlight School, for example, will have a second secondary satellite site with another mainstream partner, Bishan Park Secondary. Resources such as funding and manpower will be provided to help sustain these partnerships and achieve the desired objectives. MOE specialists will also guide the schools in planning integration activities and monitor its impact on pupils.

We thank Ms Denise Phua for her suggestion on providing Learning Support Professionals in IHLs and setting up an institute of Special Education modelled after the ITE. MOE is currently collaborating with ITE to better understand the needs of students and the forms of support that would be most appropriate in ITE. We are also facilitating the training for ITE staff in the area of special needs education such as dyslexia and autism.

Our approach towards post-secondary education is to enhance employability of our students. Instead of adopting an educational goal of keeping the students in school until 21 years old, as Ms Phua has suggested, we want to make education worthwhile for them. To this end, Metta and Delta Senior Schools are currently offering accredited vocational education programmes, in partnership with ITE and WDA respectively, so that after going through the programme, the students would graduate with certifications that will enhance their employability and help them find jobs. That is a more meaningful approach. MOE has also begun a second phase of preparing SPED students for vocational training in Metta and Delta Senior Schools. In other words, we are working upstream to look at how we can prepare students better for Metta and Delta. We will be prototyping in four SPED schools catering to students as early as 13 years of age.

Sir, it is our goal to nurture the potential of all our children. Whether it is in the area of languages, independent living or employment skills for those with special needs, we want to develop them to the fullest so that our children can go as far as they can. MOE will continue to work with the stakeholders and the community to support our students, so as to give them the best possible education to prepare them for the future.

ITEs to diploma, diploma to degree

Mr Chairman, Sir, the Ministry of Education announced in May last year that the Singapore Institute of Applied Technology (SIT) would be set up to provide an upgrading pathway for polytechnic graduates to obtain industry-relevant University degrees from the US, UK, Australia and Europe. These are in the areas of Applied Sciences and Engineering, Digital Media, Health Sciences and Hospitality.

May I ask the Minister if he would consider providing more options in the fields of study and increasing the number of places from the current target of 2000? In addition, given the world class standard of our polytechnics, would MOE consider opening up even more avenues to enable our Singaporean Diploma holders to further their education in order to have them obtain University degrees? Hence, the title of my cut – ITEs to Diplomas and Dilpomas to Degrees.

Adequacy of tertiary education places

Sir, it has been reported that up to 20% of University places every year are given to foreign students. This is despite the surge in demand from local students over the years. While the Government's motivation for admitting foreign students cannot be faulted, it brings cold comfort to the many local students who are unable to secure places in our Universities each year.

To alleviate this situation, MOE targets to increase the number of University places from the current 25% to 30% of the cohort by 2015. The launching of SIT's degree programmes this year, a year ahead of schedule, is welcome news indeed.

Nonetheless, it is envisaged that there would still be a significant number of unsuccessful applicants. The situation is ironic – the quality of our education system has produced many high averages and our students are known to excel at good overseas Universities. Yet, some of them are denied a place at the local Universities because of capacity limitations. Increasing the capacity of the polytechnics so that by 2015, 45% of the Primary 1 cohort can access polytechnic education, up from 42% currently is also welcome news. Indeed, polytechnic education has become increasingly popular as it has also become another pathway to achieving a University education. This would mean that a larger cohort of polytechnic graduates will desire and can qualify for University education.

I would like to ask the Minister if this possible impact of increased demand for university places due to capacity expansion of the polytechnics has been factored into the target for 30% of the cohort to attend University by 2015.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan shared yesterday that of the 60 international students in his branch activist's cohort at the medical school in New South Wales, Australia, 40 are Singaporeans. I would not be surprised if some of these students were unable to gain admission into our medical school. But these are the lucky ones as they can afford to pursue their dreams overseas. A few years ago, I met a young resident of mine who had obtained straight As and good CCA record, etc, but failed to gain admission into the local medical school. She had applied and was given a place in a prestigious UK medical school. However, she was unable to get a student visa to study in the UK due to her family's financial circumstances. The girl came from a single-parent family.

Indeed, many of the unsuccessful medical degree applicants are top of their cohort. Many of them eventually go overseas for their medical degrees. In the meantime, we ironically employ a significant number of doctors from overseas as we suffer a shortage of healthcare professionals due to our increasing healthcare demands.

I would like to ask the Minister to further review the cohort participation rate for University education. For a start, the Ministry should at least review and expand the capacity at our medical school.

Admission to local universities

Sir, currently, the proportion of Primary 1 cohort admitted to the local subsidised universities is targeted to rise to 30% by 2015 with the new university and institute coming up. I would like to ask if MOE will review this 30% target with a view to increasing it. I know MOE's concerns that we should not have sudden increases in graduate numbers which may leave many unemployed or under-employed.

However, since Singapore is prioritising innovation and greater productivity, the population as a whole has to raise its game and the jobs of the future will require different educational qualifications from currently. We are also trying to encourage the growth of entrepreneurs to find their own niches. With globlisation, Singaporeans who also have more opportunities overseas will still benefit their families and Singapore, directly or indirectly.

In a matter of interest, according to the OECD Factbook 2009, the 25 OECD countries were expecting to graduate an average of about 37% of an age cohort from tertiary type A, typical degree level education, in 2006. It was stated that there was a strong trend in increasing their cohort participation rates in the last 15 years in line with producing highly skilled labour forces.

I agree that we need to maintain standards in university admission, however, over the years, many students who were rejected by our local universities, were admitted to reputable foreign universities and did well. But this route is only available to those whose parents could afford it. I hope the Ministry will look into revising the cohort participation rate in our universities beyond 30%.

Quota in medicine and nursing programmes

Sir, as the population ages and the demand for elder care increases, one way to keep healthcare cost affordable is to ensure an adequate supply of healthcare workers, especially physicians and nurses. My questions for the Minister relate to the adequacy of places in the healthcare-related academic courses. Can the Minister comment on the doctor-patient ratio we are striving towards in order to meet the healthcare needs of our ageing population? Based on these projections, to what extent can the School of Medicine, Duke and National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies and Nanyang Polytechnic meet our needs for physician and nursing training. Are the programmes expected to grow their intake in the next five years? When will the NTU medical programme be launched and how many students will be trained under this new programme? Can the Minister also comment on the role of the private sector in augmenting the training needs of healthcare professionals?

Education policy

Sir, I would like to raise two broad points on National Education and on Higher Education. The problem of religious awareness and tolerance has been an acute and sensitive one in recent times. Grassroots and community leaders have narrated to me various experiences where there is a lack of understanding of one another's religious practices and values at various levels of society. Even in schools, I hear about cases of religious ignorance as staff reprimand students without considering the religious sensitivities involved.

All these are in addition to some of the very high-profile cases highlighted in the media recently. I think the time has come for us to address this problem as a serious one and look into how we can plug this gap of religious ignorance. Sir, I feel that the schools play an important role here as they are a domain of knowledge and also since we are able to instil these values and knowledge in Singaporeans from a younger age.

I would like to commend the National Education programmes in schools which was launched in 1997, and also the 2007 Report of the Committee on National Education. Both of which emphasised the need for schools to incorporate this element into our curriculum. I remember some time ago, we had Religious Knowledge in schools, which imparted religious knowledge of their own faiths to students.

While I understand that schools should not be used to propagate any religion, it is important that the curriculum be devised to give students a broad understanding of one another's religion. We should not shy away from using schools to address this sensitive topic as delaying it will only damage our social fabric in the long term. Besides religious awareness, we also need to promote and encourage awareness and knowledge of Singapore and the region. Moreover, with Singapore actively pursuing an ASEAN Community with our neighbours, we need to educate Singaporeans not just about ourselves, but also about our region. Our National Education framework could also be expanded to include this knowledge.

Sir, we now have four Universities and I remember not long ago we had plans of bringing in several foreign institutions of higher learning here which seems to have now taken a back seat after the withdrawal of the University of New South Wales (UNSW). I would like to seek clarification on our plans to expand our higher education learning sector and if the UNSW issue had any adverse impact on this.

I think it is necessary to have a vibrant and diverse array of options if we are serious about making Singapore into an educational hub and also to address the issues with other Members who have raised about the availability of spaces for our own children in Singapore.

Sir, now that we have the Council of Private Education in place, we should look to aggressively attract more players here and also try to create more spaces for own children to study here instead of going to the same places overseas.

In addition, we should also look to create a more diverse set of institutions to cater to the diverse needs of our economy of the future. We spoke, not too long ago, about College of Liberal Arts being set up here. Can I ask the Minister what had happened to these plans? Are we thinking of a fifth university to do this? Can the Minister elaborate on this?

Mr Zaqy is not here. Mr Lim Biow Chuan.

Job opportunities for tertiary students

Sir, yesterday, the Minister announced that MOE is increasing capacity in the five polytechnics by 20%. MOE has also made plans to start the fourth university soon. In addition, there are many private education institutions in Singapore which offer courses leading to a diploma or a degree for Singapore citizens. There are also many Singaporeans who pursue their degree courses overseas in countries like Australia, the United Kingdom or the United States of America.

In view of the potentially large number of tertiary students graduating every year, how does MOE intend to ensure that students who have received tertiary education are adequately prepared for the workforce? Sir, I am not advocating that there will be a reduction in the number of places for tertiary education, but I am concerned whether there would be sufficient job opportunities for these graduates.

Would they be able to adapt and accept non-managerial or non-executive jobs if there are insufficient job opportunities? Would we ever have a situation as in some other countries, where there is structural unemployment and graduates are unable to find suitable jobs? They may become discontented with the system. May I also ask the Minister whether MOE engage the industries to ensure that these graduates produced by the tertiary institutions are the type that would be needed by the industries?

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Research, scholarship and teacher training

Sir, I would like to address three main areas. First, on the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and adopting a holistic approach in education, technology and design. Second on research and the arts. Third, the Singapore's Teacher's Academy for the Arts.

The SUTD and SIT will certainly play a role and talent development in our creative economy. I would like to call on the Ministry to encourage cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural learning in these institutions, where they are engaged not just with trends and technology, but also cultural intellectual thinking in Asia and the world. With SUTD in partnership with Zhejiang University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as the Minister mentioned yesterday, this could promote a vibrant cross-cultural environment that will stand our graduates in good stead in the globalised world. Partnership with universities, renown for research, can help SUTD and SIT as local institutions, to develop strong research capabilites as well as a local research talent base. Eventually, research would, I believe, be led by a large local talent base.

Next, I am heartened to note that SUTD seems to adopt a holistic approach. Students who undergo foundation studies in humanities and social sciences as well as study entrepreneurship and management. This is a positive approach and I hope the SIT will similarly open up a broad prospective for its students. The holistic approach is vital as the development of real world solutions is most effective, but when it takes into account, the impact on humans, social systems and the environment.

I would like to raise some concerns from the ground, with reference in particular to design, as it is taught and practised in Singapore. I have heard from design industry practitioners that there is still a widespread lack of appreciation for design among Singaporeans. Some have attributed this to Singaporeans having lost that appreciation for meticulous craft and making things by hand. I have already raised this point in last week in the Budget Statement debate. I would like to suggest to the Ministry that they expand design education across the schools' landscape, to take on the mission of instilling a love, for making things with the imagination and the hands among our youths. An advertising campaign for our ITEs had a tagline, "Thinking hands create success". That strikes at the heart of design innovation. We need thinking hands. Even as we nurture the leaders in technological innovation through SUTD and SIT, etc, we also need to train the rest of the team. Those who carry out the big ideas of the leaders by making and implementing, by working on the processes from an idea to product, testing, quality control and finally the market. We need to maintain the equality of education of the worker bees, as it were. These are the backbone of the economy and society.

In encouraging thinking hands, we could call on the cross-disciplinary approach as well. For example exposing our students to the world of artisans and traditional crafts people of Asia, to encourage appreciation to creative process and the meticulous craft of making quality products. After all, Singapore is at crossroads of East and West. So let us tap on these resources. Guest artisans and artists can be invited into schools – SUTD and SIT, etc, to share their knowledge.

Innovation from tradition and our connection to the various cultures and people of Asia could be two of Singapore's key differentiators. We could then see emerging what Prof. Thomas Magnanti, founding president of SUTD has called – technical grounded leaders, that is those who have technology in the hearts and the soul and who will go out to the marketplace of a well-grounded education, be able to lead all of us economically and socially to the future. In other words, we should focus not just producing techno-geeks. Rather what we need are techno-geeks who can apply creative solutions to human problems. Could the Ministry comment on the provision of holistic education and creativity for technology and design students?

My next point is artist research. Like scientist, artists also engage in a research to explore techniques, methodologies, and so on. Each work of art is the product of years of training and research. Research is key to better quality art to the accomplished artist and to the training of new talents. I urge the Ministry to support our local arts colleges, such as LASALLE, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and School of Art, Design and Media in NTU, to become top educational institutions that will attract talents from Singapore and around the world, including students from our very own School of the Arts. Here, I have to declare my interest as an adjunct lecturer at LASALLE. Support for arts colleges would include making funds available for research by faculty. Research funds could be offered to promising students, like research or lecturer-student collaborations. After all, the production and dissemination of knowledge is important in a knowledge-based economic. An example of the disseminating knowledge for wider social benefit is a new initiative that was launched yesterday – the UNESCO-NIE Centre for Arts, Research in Education. It is a partnership between National Institute of Education (NIE) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). From its activities, it will collate a database of research about arts, education from all over Asia. And this database can be accessed by teachers, artists or anyone involved in arts education.

This aims to benefit teachers in our schools as well as artists who teach as they can access case studies, best practices, innovative pedagogy, etc. Top universities art departments around the world have faculty who are renowned as practising artists as well as researchers. To be a leading art city, we need to develop the entire ecosystem of arts and culture, including education and research. Eventually we could consider setting up an arts research centre and an arts college. They could cover research and scholarships in such areas as Asian arts practices, heritage, film and media, etc. And that, again, could be another of our differentiators.

The third area I would like to highlight is Singapore Teachers' Academy for the aRts (STAR), which is a welcomed development. I would like to thank the Minister for the announcement yesterday of more training for art and music teachers and for the specialised training. Having run workshops for teachers, I know that many would welcome more training, arts knowledge, contact time with artists and engagement of the real art world. I hope that arts training will also be made available for non-art and non-music teachers.

For a start, I would urge the Ministry to tap into the expertise experience and knowledge of Singapore's own artistic talents, and not only look towards overseas trainers for the teachers. For instance, the arts scholars who are on MICA's scholarships, who have returned from their overseas training, can be tapped as a reservoir of knowledge. Ideally, our teachers should have an understanding and appreciation of Singapore's history, culture and arts, as well as our multicultural expressions so as to transmit a shared sense of culture citizenship to the pupils – our future generations.

Private education institutions

Sir, my cut is on control and maintain standards of private education institutions. In order to control and maintain standards of private education institutions, the EduTrust must ensure that students take courses that are accredited with the MOE, by scrutinising misleading advertisements and newspapers. There were much feedback claiming that unaccredited schools were using the names of the accredited ones in order to recruit students. The EduTrust must always be vigilant in its investigation for any suspicious non-compliance with MOE regulations.

Private education

Sir, with effect from 21st December 2009, private education institutions (PEIs) must operate under the new regulatory regime, which will enhance the welfare of the students studying in all these private education institutions. I hope MOE could give an update of the progress of the implementation and how the Ministry could help all the PEIs to comply the enhance regulation framework and to be certified under the new EduTrust scheme.

Coming 1st July 2010, the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) will relinquish the administrator role of the CaseTrust for Education scheme to make way for the EduTrust certification scheme run by the Council of Private Education (CPE). With the proper legislation and the enforcement power, we hold high hope that the new regime will be able to propel our Singapore Private Education's scene to the next level and address the underlying issues faced by the sector, which could not be rectified by self-regulation in the last six years.

Sir, much effort has been extended by CASE towards the smooth transition of 330 private schools and the students from CaseTrust to EduTrust. I would like to request CPE to consider the following suggestions to help further ease the PEI's transition into EduTrust.

First, under the mandatory enhanced registration framework, all PEIs registered are not permitted to collect fees for more than two or six months, depending on their participation in the industry-wide course fees protection scheme. As a result, many CaseTrust-ed PEIs will have to refund all the advance fees collected, which are meant for the period beyond the permitted two to six months' timeframe. This will be a massive and costly process as it will require the students of the PEIs, who are under the escrow students protection scheme, to withdraw their protected fees individually and bank it into the escrow under fee protection scheme. This arrangement will also mean that the students of PEIs will need to incur additional bank charges to deposit the fees used into the new escrow account. In order to streamline this administrative procedure, we would like CPE to explore more effective and efficient way to allow the schools to transfer the excess amount directly into the students' Fee Protection Scheme (FPS) account instead. This is a hazard-free arrangement, which will not only save costs for both the student and the PEI at the same time, the student fees will remain protected in the new escrow accounts.

In addition, CASE received feedback from PEIs that they are still unsure of many requirements by CPE. Small PEIs are facing heavy financial burdens to comply with the higher standards as they are graded on the same scale of operation as the bigger ones. Some examples are the environment management, facilities management, staff counselling, data management and knowledge management. I hope that the CPE can give more funding assistance and guidance to the deserving PEIs to attend this new CaseTrust scheme. Last but not least, under the Fee Protection Scheme, we understood that the students will be able to check and monitor their status on the CPE website. I hope this can be a standard to all existing students, so that they will be better protected.

Teaching of English Language in schools

Sir, students today are expressing themselves more through writing than their predecessors ever did through mediums such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook and SMS. With it, they are developing their own lingo such as those we see being used on the Internet with its various short forms and acronyms. It is a concern to society and parents that when students communicate via these mediums, they are losing the "humane" essence when interacting in face-to-face conversations.

The command of verbal English of students today is also mixed with Singlish and their own brand of youth lingo. These are what I would coin as the "multi-literacy phenomenon".

The call is to uplift the teaching of English language in schools today. Besides the curriculum-based strategies, the paradigm shift would require learning to tap on the current medium platforms that our young are communicating. It would also require a 3As approach of raising the Aptitude, Attitude and Altitude of every child in the way he or she is motivated to learn the language in schools.

Will the Minister share his Ministry's approach in the teaching of English Language in schools in light of these issues.

Strengthening English Language instruction

Sir, there is some concern that our standard of English has declined. Despite the fact that our students study English from the time they were in kindergarten, the sense is that the grasp of the language has weakened. This shows up when they enter the workforce. Some employers complain about the quality of work that they produce as some are not able to express themselves well. If this continues over time, we will lose our competitive edge as one of Singapore's attractions is our ability to communicate in English, which makes it easier for investors to operate here. In the old days, there were more language-based subjects, such as Literature and History, which I studied in primary school. But today, the situation is very much different. Whatever the causes, we need to address this challenge of a declining English standard urgently, by improving the skills and capabilities of our teachers teaching the subject. This should be done on a continuous basis. Learning the language should also be made more interesting and lively, so that students will not look upon it as just another subject but will develop a strong interest and passion in the language.

The Minister has announced that the Ministry of Education will establish an English Language Institute of Singapore to provide training for English Language teachers. Could the Minister share more information with this House on the role and functions of this Institute? Also, what are the measurables or deliverables of this Institute, and what time-frame is the Ministry looking at?

I would like to thank Members for their comments and questions on the topics of tertiary education, private education and English Language. I would like to start by addressing the Members' specific queries on tertiary education.

Mr Christopher de Souza and Dr Amy Khor asked about new upgrading opportunities for our polytechnic students. Today, we know that about 40% to 50% of our polytechnic graduates upgrade to degrees within five years of graduation.

The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) was therefore established to augment the quality pathways that our polytechnic graduates can pursue to obtain good industry-relevant degrees in Singapore. At SIT, polytechnic graduates would be able to leverage on their applied education and work experience to obtain a university degree in about two years.

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SIT will cater to growth areas in our economy which offer good job opportunities, such as in engineering, applied sciences, digital media and design, allied health care and hospitality. As pointed out by Mr Inderjit Singh, SIT will certainly bring about great diversity in our higher education sector, and give our students greater choice. The five initial overseas university partners of SIT have been very carefully selected, precisely because of their very high international academic standing and, equally, their strong commitment to provide quality education. The degrees would be conferred in the name of the overseas universities and will be equivalent to those awarded in their home countries. SIT will adopt a "decentralised campus" approach with premises in all five polytechnics. It will have new dedicated spaces in each polytechnic which will help in the development of esprit de corps and identity for the students but, at the same time, it will leverage on the resources of the polytechnics in the areas where there are synergies. For instance, by sharing engineering laboratories. We envisage SIT will cater primarily to Singaporeans. Students enrolled in SIT will be subsidised, as Members already know, by the Government, and will typically pay fees of around $9,000 per year for a two-year programme although this may vary across programmes. This sum is significantly lower than the cost of studying at the home campuses of these overseas universities or, for that matter, an equivalent private university established in Singapore of comparable quality. The sum is also competitive vis-a-vis our autonomous universities here in Singapore. Local SIT students will also be eligible for all existing Government financial assistance schemes. In addition, students can complete their degrees in a shorter time. Why? Because they build on the strong foundation of our polytechnic education. And this is a key point because it is not a compromise on standard but it is to leverage on the quality of the educational foundation of polytechnics, which the SIT seeks to build on. I want to point out that SIT will also welcome polytechnic graduates with work experience to apply for places, as their maturity and real-world knowledge would bring a valuable perspective into the classroom. This means that polytechnic graduates who are already in the workforce will have the opportunity to upgrade themselves at SIT. Work experience, grades and personal qualities will form part of the holistic admissions framework for the Singapore Institute of Technology. Mr Chairman, let me now move on to the area of technical education. Mr Christopher de Souza has quite rightly noted that the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) has evolved into an internationally-recognised post-secondary education institution over the years. Indeed, ITE's success is reflected not only in positive feedback from employers but also in the international accolades its students and graduates have garnered. For example, at the recent WorldSkills Competition, dubbed the "Olympics of Skills" held in Canada last year, ITE graduates and students distinguished themselves among a pool of 900 talented youths from over 50 countries in a variety of skill areas. A team of ITE Nursing graduates, Adeline Mah and Carolyn Choo, outshone their peers from European countries to attain a Gold Medal for their outstanding performance in patient care. Adeline said that the experience boosted her confidence tremendously and she saw it both as a learning platform and a practical showcase for them. Yew Rui Qi and alumnus Chua Ka Wen attained Medallions for Excellence for achieving high scores in Restaurant Service and Beauty Therapy respectively. Ka Wen is currently a teaching associate in ITE and is also on a teaching associate study award pursuing a degree in beauty therapy in the University of the Arts in London.

At the regional level, our ITE students Muhammad Hamdany bin Abu Hassan and Leow Ying Jie achieved a Gold and Best of Nation medals in the Mechatronics Team event at the 2008 ASEAN Skills competition. Muhammad Hamdany said that the participation in this competition gave him a deeper appreciation of mechatronics and the confidence to further his studies at the polytechnic level. More ITE graduates – from 12% in 1995 to about 19% currently – are doing well and progressing to study at the polytechnics. Mr Christopher de Souza would be pleased to note that the Ministry of Education (MOE) is working with the polytechnics and ITE to increase the progression rate of our ITE graduates in the coming years. Furthermore, ITE recently launched Technical Diplomas in collaboration with quality foreign institutions to provide an upgrading pathway for students in niche, skills-based programmes not offered by the polytechnics. One example is the Technical Engineer Diploma in Automotive Engineering offered by ITE in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Graduates from these diploma programmes can also seek admission into affiliated degree programmes offered by the foreign institutions. Our polytechnics and ITE will continue to provide industry-relevant education and skills training on a full and part-time basis. They remain a bedrock of our education system and they play a key role in enabling our workforce to upgrade their qualifications, gain a foundation in new skill areas and boost their productivity. There is a growing local demand for education at our polytechnics today. It stems not just from our 'O' level and ITE students who are performing better in examinations but also from a rising number of JC-eligible students who opt for polytechnics in response to the wide choice of courses on offer. This is testament to the strength of our polytechnic education, which has consistently provided a high quality, industry-relevant and practice-oriented education. Dr Amy Khor asked if there were plans to increase the number of polytechnic places to respond to the growing demand. As Minister Ng has mentioned already, MOE has decided to invest up to a billion dollars to create 20% increase in capacity in the five polytechnics in phases over the next four years. For 2010, MOE will increase the number of polytechnic places to 25,900. Dr Amy Khor and Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan asked if we are planning to open up more places to train medical doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals. Mr Chairman, our investment in medical talent is and should be informed by Singapore's healthcare needs. This is determined by the Ministry of Health (MOH) including parameters like doctor-patient ratios. Therefore, in consultation with the Ministry of Health, MOE plans to gradually increase the annual intake of the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, from 250 in academic year 2007 to 300 in 2012. The Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School admits 50 students a year. And we are also studying the possibility of establishing a third medical school in NTU, as Assoc. Prof. Straughan mentioned, and we will provide updates when we are ready. For nursing and allied healthcare, our tertiary education institutions have also been working closely with MOH to increase their intakes in recent years. Now, over 80 places are available in NUS' nursing degree programme each year, while Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Nanyang Polytechnic together offer over 1,000 places in their Nursing diplomas. Nanyang Polytechnic also offers over 200 places in their allied health diploma programmes. In addition, I am pleased to share with Members that SIT is working to bring onboard an overseas university partner to establish degree-level programmes in allied healthcare, possibly by next year. So this will be a further augmentation of that space. Ms Sylvia Lim asked if the university cohort participation rate will be increased beyond our target of 30%. Mr Christopher de Souza also asked whether MOE will increase the number of SIT places after 2015. And quite interestingly, Mr Lim Biow Chuan then made the point about ensuring that we have enough job opportunities for our graduates. I think therein lies the tension. We want to be measured, as Members have all acknowledged, in the way we expand our tertiary university places, making sure that it is carried out in a manner that does not compromise the quality of education received by our students and ensuring equally that it is a qualification that is valued and recognised in the market. This is fundamental. Each year, MOE works closely with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in planning for places in our post-secondary institutions. This is to ensure that our graduates continue to have market-relevant qualifications, as Mr Lim Biow Chuan pointed out. I think Ms Sylvia Lim made the point about OECD countries having a cohort participation rate of 37% in some study, and comparing it with our objective and seeing whether we should do more. I think the key point is this: It is not about mere numbers, we have to go behind the numbers and look at what is the substantive education that is being obtained. Indeed, in many parts of the world, our polytechnic education would be considered to be of equal rigour and quality to what is claimed to be university education. That is the first point to note. And secondly, we want to make sure, as I said earlier, that we are measured in the way we do this. So it is not about the numbers game, it is not about chasing some kind of notional target; but rather evolving our policy in tandem in what is needed in the economy. In addition, our institutions regularly update their existing courses and mount new ones to keep up with industry needs and expectations in consultation with industry players. Some examples of such new courses include Aerospace Engineering and Sustainable Urban Design. Ms Lim asked whether we do this and, in fact, our ITE and polytechnics take this very seriously. And on their boards and various advisory groups they have got very strong representation from industry. Because that is the target group, that is the market. These efforts have yielded positive employment outcomes. The latest Graduate Employment Survey results show that over 90% of university graduates were employed within the first six months of graduation in 2009. For our polytechnic and ITE graduates, the proportion was 88% and 84% respectively. This is a credible showing, I think Members will agree, especially when we consider the difficult economic environment of last year. Mr Inderjit Singh asked about MOE's plans to set up a Liberal Arts College. The Liberal Arts College is an institution which really exposes the students to a wide breadth of courses to develop their intellectual capacity, rather than just focus on specialised professional training. It would certainly be an innovative addition to our higher education landscape. MOE is studying the feasibility of this quite carefully and we will provide updates in due course. Let me touch on the arts sector. I want to assure Ms Audrey Wong that MOE recognises the value of arts education, and will continue to invest in its development throughout our system. Ms Audrey Wong welcomed the introduction of the new Singapore Teachers' Academy for the aRts (STAR) which will serve as a major platform for the professional development of teachers involved in teaching art, music and other arts-related areas. I would like to assure her that STAR will actively collaborate with local arts practitioners who have made significant contributions to Singapore's arts scene. They would include ceramic artist Iskandar Jalil and world-renowned local composer Phoon Yew Tien. She talked about the arts scholars who are returning and certainly there is no restriction on whom we can tap. I think the key issue here is whether they can add value and inform the entire process. By engaging local practitioners to conduct master classes and exhibitions, STAR will deepen our teachers' appreciation of how Singapore's rich cultural heritage has influenced local artists, and how they can in turn impart those values and sensibilities to their students. I think Ms Wong used the term "Thinking Hands" and, essentially, this is what we hope to infuse throughout the system with teachers who are well exposed to the discipline.

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Sir, MOE is committed to improving the quality of arts education in all schools, and this would include "instilling a love for making things with imagination and the hands". At the tertiary level, the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) seeks to imbue its students with the very academic values that Ms Wong commends, because SUTD’s vision is to nurture technically grounded leaders trained in the arts and science of design. SUTD’s collaborations with MIT and Zhejiang University will not just have an academic dimension, but as Ms Wong has pointed out quite correctly, a strong cultural element as well, and this will infuse, and in a way differentiate, a unique character of the learning experience in this university.

Ms Wong will also be pleased to note that MOE remains committed to providing funding support for diploma programmes at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and the LASALLE College of the Arts, as well as NTU's degree programmes at the School of Art, Design and Media at NTU. These institutions have the autonomy to manage the funding stream from MOE, including, if they wish, to set aside a portion of the funds for research, if it is necessary. There are also other sources of research funding that these institutions can tap on. This includes the Research and Development Grant given by the National Arts Council, which is open for application to both lecturers and students.

Sir, let me now turn to private education. I would like to give an update on the developments in this sector. I would like to thank Mr Chiam See Tong and Mr Yeo Guat Kwang for their support, and in the case of Mr Yeo, having high hopes to raise standards in the private education sector.

The Council for Private Education (CPE) was formally established on 1st December 2009. The new regulatory regime for private education institutions came into force on 21st December 2009. By the end of February this year, the CPE has received a total of 240 registration applications. For the EduTrust Certification Scheme, 23 applications have been received, and the first batch of results will be announced in the coming weeks.

Mr Chiam raised his concerns about misleading advertising and misrepresentation, and these certainly will run afoul of the Private Education Act, and the CPE is empowered to act based on its own findings or acting on complaints. If there are any specific instances, I would urge Members of this House and indeed, in general, to inform the CPE.

The Council recognises that changes in the regulatory environment could affect private education institutions significantly, particularly the small to mid-size institutions, which Mr Yeo highlighted. The CPE has been working closely with industry players, including those who are making the transition from CaseTrust, to help prepare them for a smooth progression to the new regulatory regime. Between October and December last year, the CPE conducted a series of briefings and workshops on the Enhanced Registration Framework, the EduTrust certification and also the Fee Protection Scheme.

In the area of student and fee protection, the CPE has implemented an industry-wide group insurance scheme to enhance fee protection for students enrolled in local private education institutions (PEIs). Members will recall that when we moved the Bill, this was a topic of discussion – how much protection will be afforded for the fees the students pay in advance. Now, all PEIs who wish to collect up to six months' fees in advance are required to purchase an industry-wide group insurance to protect the fees. Otherwise, PEIs will only be allowed to up to two months’ fees. This enhancement has been well received by students and parents because, essentially, there are just two months of fees at risk if the PEI is not insured.

Mr Yeo asked about advance fee collection under the previous regime and whether there is any dispensation in making the transition to the new regime. The answer is "yes". There is no need for a refund but the excess fees that are being collected must be protected. And whatever is the existing protection scheme, that must be then made available under the new system, and evidence of that protection must be provided to the CPE. Once that is done, then I think they can continue and see out the existing arrangements they have with the students for the cohorts before this change in the regulatory framework.

I thank Mr Yeo for his feedback on small PEIs needing assistance to attain EduTrust certification. The EduTrust Scheme assesses private education institutions on their performance in six main criteria, ranging from corporate governance to student protection and academic processes. The EduTrust Certification Scheme also allows industry best practices to be recognised. I think we must be clear about this. If our desire is to raise the standard in the sector, which I think all Members have endorsed, then there will be some additional compliance costs which the institutions have to live with. But we recognise that some PEIs may need further support to transit to the new scheme. So I am pleased that the CPE is in the process of working with SPRING Singapore, IE Singapore and the industry to formulate a support scheme to help private education institutions in the private education sector prepare for EduTrust certification. The proposed scheme aims to provide grants to the eligible institutions so that they can engage consultants who can conduct diagnostic reviews and identify areas for them to upgrade in terms of their capability. The details of the scheme will be announced in due course once they are finalised.

Overall, the measures being taken by CPE will contribute towards the strengthening of our private education sector. As Mr Inderjit Singh noted, this in turn will help us to attract and cultivate quality PEIs to add further diversity to our private education landscape. The attraction of new private universities is something not quite within the purview of MOE. In fact, EDB continues to do that through the Global Schoolhouse Initiative. But any institution coming into Singapore must expect to be governed by the new regime established under the Private Education Act and implemented by the Council for Private Education.

Mr Chairman, let me now turn finally to the issue of English Language. Mr Ong Kian Min, Mdm Halimah Yacob and Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim asked about what is being done to uplift English Language instruction in schools. English Language proficiency is a valuable asset for our students, something that I think we all agree on. English is the international language of commerce, industry, diplomacy, and I was just told that it is even so in the case of sports. Since the 2006 World Cup, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has required all referees and their assistants to pass an oral English proficiency test, and to take written English tests on the game rules and regulations.

In general, we have made significant strides in acquiring English Language proficiency. In the Progress in International Reading and Literacy Study (PIRLS) which was conducted in 2006 by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, our Primary 4 students were ranked fourth among 45 educational systems, which was an improvement from the rank of 15 out of 35 in 2001. We were even ahead of countries where English is the native language, such as the United States and England. Today, the pass rate for English at the "O" level and General Paper at the "A" level is about 90%, with students scoring double the proportion of distinctions compared to over 20 years ago.

However, more can certainly be done particularly to improve our oracy skills. In 2000, MOE commissioned the UK-based National Foundation for Educational Research to measure the English Language proficiency of primary and secondary school students. The study showed that over a three-year period, our students showed the most improvement in reading and grammar, but the least improvement in speaking, as compared to the results of baseline tests conducted in 2001 and 2002. As part of the 2006 English Language review, MOE also conducted a students’ survey on the teaching and learning of English. The survey findings showed that our students were regularly exposed to what is called the "informal register", which we all understand it as Singlish, but did not have enough opportunities to use the formal register of English required for work and higher education.

The next step forward is therefore to nurture the oral communication skills of our students. While our students have a strong grasp of content knowledge, they will be disadvantaged if they are unable to express their ideas clearly in standard English, which is a point made by Mr Ong Kian Min yesterday. This becomes even more important as the services industries grow as an engine of our economy. In the long run, raising our students’ spoken and written proficiency in the English language will endow them with a key asset and enable them to take on the challenges of a globalised economy.

Raising the standard of English will require a continuous and coordinated effort from all stakeholders, ranging from English-medium teachers in our schools to community partners and the media. MOE will focus on two areas in particular. Firstly, we will enhance teacher capacity to teach English and English-medium subjects. Secondly, we will promote school-based programmes to improve the use of English language by students and teachers.

First, teacher capacity. As role models for students and key enablers of language learning, our teachers are at the heart of this effort. MOE will establish the English Language Institute of Singapore (ELIS) in early 2011. ELIS will provide in-service training for both English Language and English-medium teachers, and offer a range of differentiated courses that cater to their specific learning needs. As a "test-bed" for innovative teaching methods, ELIS will make use of new technology and training approaches, blending traditional face-to-face instruction with web-based self-learning modules.

ELIS will also play a key role in pooling our English Language expertise and resources from partner agencies, and in advising schools on the programmes that are best suited to their needs. ELIS will also tap on our English Language Master Teachers as trainers and recruit local and overseas experts. These trainers will be deployed to schools to provide customised courses and advice. In the long run, we envision ELIS as a Centre of Excellence for the teaching of English Language in Asia and beyond.

Secondly, MOE aims to enrich the English Language learning environment in schools. To support our schools in this endeavour, an English Language Innovation Fund will be set up. Schools can draw on this Innovation Fund to promote creative ideas and practices that encourage the use of good English among its students and teachers. It will give schools the flexibility to implement customised English Language programmes and activities that cater to the unique needs of their school community. Forty schools, including 20 primary schools, 19 secondary schools and one junior college, are participating in the first phase of this "whole school approach" and will benefit from the English Language Innovation Fund.

Mr Chairman, during my recent visit to some of the pilot schools, I had the chance to see how the "whole-school approach" was being implemented through the lens of students and teachers. At St. Andrew’s Secondary, I was struck by the quiet assurance and articulation of Joel Liew, a Secondary 4 Normal (Academic) student, who shared with me his experience in a Drama course offered by the school. Joel said that the course helped him learn and appreciate the craft of drama and how to write effective dialogue. But he said that his biggest thrill was performing at the Arts House where the plays were staged for the public. More important perhaps in the performance itself is that such enrichment programmes are enlivening the English Language for our students and boosting their confidence in using the language, a point made by Mdm Halimah Yacob.

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At Tanjong Katong Girls’ School, I met Mr Seah Chin Choon, an Additional Mathematics teacher. Mr Seah comes from a Mandarin and Hokkien-speaking background and, by his own admission, he would sometimes mispronounce words, such as "proNOUNCEciation" rather than "proNUNciation" – he gave me a demonstration on this. Realising the need to lead by example, he has made a personal commitment to improve his English, to the extent that he has even asked his former students to jot down all the words he commonly mispronounces so that he can be mindful of them. His humility and willingness to learn has earned the respect of his students, for whom he is a role model, an exemplar of a positive attitude towards learning English.

At Junyuan Primary, the Principal, Mdm Law Li Mei, plays a key role in driving the "whole-school approach."

Mdm Law and her English Language teachers have started a "One Minute of English" segment during the weekly Staff Contact Time to raise teachers' awareness of common English errors (eg, pass up your books versus hand in your books). Non-teaching staff are also included to benefit from the session. As a HOD for English put it, once the Principal, as the leader of the institution sets the tone, the entire school community is engaged in this very important effort.

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After a successful pilot last year, more support will also be given to primary schools to engage Language Facilitators. This year, the Language Facilitator Scheme will be extended to 25 more primary schools. These Language Facilitators complement the teaching and learning of the English Language by conducting before or after-school enrichment lessons in areas such as oral presentation, drama or story-telling.

Over time, MOE plans to extend the Language Facilitator Scheme to all primary schools. The "whole-school approach" will also be extended to all primary, secondary and junior colleges. We hope that these efforts will be transformative in providing the right language environment for our children and significantly raising the level of our English Language proficiency. But I want to make the point that it is also important and useful to recognise that school-based efforts are only part of the story here. Improving the standards of English has to go beyond the classroom and into the community and, indeed, the media. We need an environment that is conducive to and supportive of the use of standard English in communication. A few real examples of English misuse that can be found in our day-to-day lives. I have illustrated in the slide which was put together by a group of young enterprising MOE officials. So you could infer from, first, it is "Irresistible". Second, it is not really about stopping operation but taking over an operation with fear. Third, we would like "self-cleaning" areas; and lastly, I must confess I am a bit baffled, I infer that it must be something to do with the hairstylist but it really talks about simplicity being a virtue in the way we communicate. I think while the examples might be amusing – you can ponder more about it for a while if you want – the more important point is that they serve to illustrate the need for a collective effort, if we are to raise our English Language proficiency.

Each of us has a role to play as students, as teachers, as principals, as parents, as workers and as managers, if we are to sustain and succeed in this effort. Certainly, the Ministry of Education will do its part to work with the Government agencies and industry groups on programmes and initiatives to improve the standard of English in Singapore.

Mr Chairman, in conclusion, I would like to emphasise that MOE will continue to commit significant resources and efforts, to expand the capacity and diversify the pathways in our tertiary education sector, enhance the quality of our private education sector as a key component of our education landscape and raise the standard of English to endow our students with an enduring asset that will hold them in good stead in the globalised economy of the 21st century.

Early childhood education

Mr Chairman, Sir, I have three issues to raise. Let me start with the first – Affordability of early childhood education. Compared to the fees paid at the primary and secondary school levels, fees for childhood education are high. This is a financial burden for young families especially those who are just married with new financial commitments and those who have to begin to take of elderly parents.

There are parents with the means to pay over $1,000 in fees for their pre-school children, by no means am I suggesting that we subsidise such parents. Government should focus on lower- and middle-income earners, commit more funding for early childhood education. While I agree that there is no need to nationalise pre-school education, I hope that for lower- and middle-income families, Government can increase funding to make early childhood education as affordable as primary school education.

The second issue is quality. I am concerned that parents use price as a proxy for quality when selecting a suitable pre-school centre for their children. This is highly unsatisfactory as most parents are not professional educators and they currently have no other means of knowing whether the quality of the teachers and the programmes are up to mark.

MOE should implement its quality assurance framework soon. The framework should cover both kindergartens and childcare centres since we are growing the number of childcare centres to meet the needs of young working families. Accreditation can be voluntary but Government can create incentives for operators to come on board, for example, providing better access to professional development opportunities for their teaching staff. This will help to create a virtuous cycle when good operators are supported to become better.

The third issue, Sir, is the teachers. Specifically, I would like MOE to update us on the progress on efforts to help in service teachers attain the criterion of a B4 in "O" level English. Many operators have given me the feedback that the teachers are finding it very difficult to meet the mark. They are also not convinced that it is needed because "O" level English is very different from the English they need to use in early childhood education.

So, the teachers, some of whom are really good with children and are very competent, have had to leave the sector. Can MOE please look into improving the bridging programmes and English or to review the standard so that good teachers have a way of remaining in this talent-starved sector. Finally, compared to their counterparts in mainstream schools, early childhood educators lag far behind in terms of salary and career development opportunities . Although MOE has made available scholarships, for professional development, the take-up rate appears to be slow and this often attributed to the perceived lack of career development opportunities.

I propose that a multi-agency task force be set up involving MOE, MCYS, WDA, the operators' association and the education services union to address the issues and propose solutions holistically, otherwise, we cannot attract and retain talents in early children education.

Ensuring quality pre-school education

Sir, currently, some 500 kindergartens come under MOE whilst nearly 800 childcare centres that provide kindergarten and nursery programmes come under MCYS. These centres are run by a host of operators ranging from one-centre operation to those with many branches. The large number of pre-school operators offering widely disparate programmes of vastly different standards has raised concern that lack of regulatory oversight may allow some pre-school operators to compromise on standards whilst charging overly high fees. This has also led to concerns about social equity with some parents asking if children enter formal education from Primary 1 onwards on an unequal footing, depending on whether their parents can successfully enrol their children in premium pre-school education centres.

Another related concern is affordability, especially for the low- and lower middle-income as pre-school fees are significantly higher than that of formal school education. The MOE has, in recent years, sought to raise the standards of the pre-school sector by raising the minimum qualifications of pre-school teachers. It is also providing annual recurrent grants to eligible kindergartens to raise teacher quality and ensure that fees are affordable. These are positive steps but more can be done to address the concerns of parents and educationists. While it is not necessary to nationalise pre-schools, MOE should, nonetheless, seriously consider assuming the role of the lead agency for all kindergartens and the academic aspects of childcare centres that offer kindergarten programmes. MOE should also make accreditation of all pre-school curriculum and operations compulsory instead of voluntary. Furthermore, the Ministry could also look into further raising the standards, teaching methods and curriculum of early childhood education since the early childhood years are formative in the child's development. There should be more research done in early childhood education and the sharing of such best practices.

This is to ensure minimum standards of our pre-school sector whilst still allowing for diversity and options for parents. Whilst the qualifying monthly household income ceiling for KIFAS has been raised to $1,800 per month, the kindergarten fees burden for lower middle-income families, whose household income does not qualify them for KIFAS, is still significant. There is room to raise the qualifying income ceiling further, say, to $2,500 per month, to help the sandwiched class with young children who do not have access to many other assistance schemes.

There is also the issue of the shortage and high turnover of pre-school teachers. This is especially worrisome as MCYS is aiming to increase the number of childcare centres by 200 over the next few years. I understand that many early childhood education graduates from the polytechnics do not join the pre-school sector. This may be due to the perceived poor image and pay of pre-school educators. The Ministry could look into raising the profile and image of these teachers as well as their training and pay.

MOE accreditation for pre-schools

Mr Chairman, Sir, currently, there is a range of teaching methods and content in our pre-schools (kindergartens and childcare centres). MOE, together with MCYS, accredits diploma courses through the Pre-school Qualification Accreditation Committee. I agree with the proposals of Mrs Josephine Teo and Dr Amy Khor and therefore would like to ask the Minister to consider going one step further and accredit our pre-schools to ensure a minimum standard of teaching, learning content and syllabus.

Such an accreditation scheme would ensure that all students in Primary 1 start off on a good enough foundation to develop fully in Primary 1. Without such an accreditation scheme, children would likely be entering Primary 1 with varying levels of literacy and mathematical skills.

Pre-school education

Sir, recently, I had a discussion with a group of community leaders on pre-school education here in Singapore. One of them is a grandmother of a 3-year old girl. She shared with us that her son had sent the 3-year old girl to a pre-school which provides a robust and comprehensive programme. Her granddaughter spends the morning in the Basic Programme. This continues with a special programme in the afternoon up to 5.00 pm.

Others began to chip in with regard to their own experiences. We realised that there are many pre-school service providers, with few claiming to be specialising in their own niche programmes. This implies the different standards and exposure of students who attend the different pre-schools. We began to feel concerned that many of the children in my Division, who come from low-income families may not have the opportunity to attend such robust and comprehensive programmes mentioned by the grandmother earlier.

As students are exposed to different teaching methodologies and standards, their preparation for Primary 1 and later in their life may differ as well. We need to ensure that all pre-school education providers attain a minimum standard to ensure that our children will have the opportunity to be the best that they can be and climb their own peaks of excellence.

On that note, I would like to suggest that the Minister consider implementing an accreditation process for pre-school education here in Singapore.

Stress in schools

Sir, I would like to talk about stress in schools. Many parents in Singapore have concluded that school holidays are not holidays anymore. Many schools conduct extra lessons, compulsory tests and some also have CCAs during the school holidays, not just CCAs but school teams have trials during the school holidays.

I would like to ask MOE why is the concept of holidays not enforced anymore amongst schools? Surely, it will be important for students to have time to rest and relax and to learn to consider other aspects of life which are non-academic in nature – "take time to smell the flowers." Why do we flood our students with so much work in order to cover more and more subjects? Do we really need our students to have so many more "As" for the examinations? Is this a healthy development for students to have so much stress in their lives at such an early age?

Sir, I would like to ask the Minister too about his views on the inordinate number of tuition classes that many students undergo. Some students start their tuition classes as young as Primary 1 or 2. Does this mean that students without access to tuition classes due to financial difficulties would lose out in their academic performance in schools?

Teacher education model (TE21)

Mr Chairman, teachers nurture the young minds of the future and most certainly their role is a crucial one. NIE has launched the teacher education model for the 21st century (TE21) in 2009. This has been implemented to enhance and ensure our educators stay relevant and responsive in the new evolving educational landscape. What and how much of this programme has been implemented? What are the changes to the pedagogy and how are these tailored to fit teachers in the different levels, for example, primary, secondary, tertiary and also the college level. What has been the response from educators from of this 21st century pedagogy; has there been any teething problems?

Radical activities and behaviour of youth

Recently, the world was shocked by another act of terrorist attempt involving a young Nigerian man who tried to blow up a plane. Interestingly, his dad and teachers had been said to have reported of his radical beliefs to the authorities and the school. Are our educators in schools equipped with the knowledge and skills to detect early signs of radicalism amongst students?

This incident can also be an example for parents. Are there appropriate channels for parents to voice concerns and work with teachers to get advice on the appropriate approach to such youths and how to handle these issues?

Mr Chairman, there have been concerns raised over the last few days on how the Government can help children from lower-income families. The Ministry of Education (MOE) will ensure that financially disadvantaged children are not deprived of educational opportunities and will institute additional programmes to help them level up. However, we know that many of the problems faced by such children are multi-faceted and to address them requires the concerted involvement and support of parents and the community.

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MOE acknowledges that pre-school is especially important for children from lower-income families as it gives them a good start. They tend to lack home support. But pre-school will develop important areas in them — areas like communication, motor and social skills.

For example, for children who have difficulties with English — and they usually come from low-income families — MOE has put in place a targeted programme called Focused Language Assistance in Reading (FLAiR) to level up their language learning opportunities. In 2010, 1,400 children from 137 eligible kindergartens participated in FLAiR, up from 570 children from 54 eligible kindergartens in 2008.

Mrs Josephine Teo and Dr Amy Khor have both asked about the affordability of pre-school education, especially for children from lower-income families. MOE provides substantial grant to eligible kindergartens to enable them to keep their fees affordable, while at the same time improving the quality of their programmes. Our grant has more than doubled from $17 million in 2008 to $36 million last year and is expected to reach $62 million by 2013.

In addition, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) has a Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) which specifically helps lower-income families by defraying kindergarten fees of up to $98 at eligible kindergartens. Start-up grants for expenses like registration fees, books and uniforms are also available. Over and above these, many of the grassroots organisations, self-help groups and the kindergartens themselves provide support to supplement these Government subsidies. In short, families that need help can apply for financial assistance. Based on a median monthly fee of $110 at eligible kindergartens, families eligible for KiFAS would only need to pay about $12, or even less if they also receive other assistance. Similar schemes are available for childcare.

For example, I know the case of a boy who is the youngest of four children. His father is not supporting the family financially. His mother decided not to enrol him into a kindergarten because she was unable to pay the $16 kindergarten registration fee. After multiple home visits and many phone calls to reach out to the mother, she became aware of financial assistance and applied for it and we are glad that this boy is now attending regularly at a kindergarten in Woodlands.

Thus we know that availability of financial schemes alone does not guarantee that parents will send their children to pre-school. They may also have other problems. We have mounted outreach exercises specifically to these parents since 2006. MOE and MCYS have been identifying 5- and 6-year old children who are not attending pre-school. VWOs and grassroots organisations have been contacting the families of these children to understand the difficulties they face and counsel parents on their problems. These efforts are indeed laborious and require the commitment and persistence of all of our stakeholders. But our persistence has paid off. The exercise last year has reduced the percentage of children who enter Primary 1 without attending any pre-school from a high of 5% in 2006 to 2.1% in 2010. I would like to thank all parties involved in this exercise.

For individual children, these efforts make a big difference to jump start their education journey and, at times, even led us to unexpected discoveries. There was one child, a boy who was under the custody of his father. During the outreach, we discovered the father had gone missing. His mother had remarried and was planning to go overseas with her new family. None of the child’s aunts or uncles wanted to take care of him because they had their own family commitments. We referred the case to the Singapore Children’s Society who then helped the child to be admitted to a children’s home and then got him to start attending a pre-school in Paya Lebar. Cases like these are referred to relevant organisations such as the Singapore Children’s Society or Family Service Centres, but we can only do so because of the discovery during the outreach. We therefore will continue our efforts to work with these partners to help more children to attend pre-school.

Even so, we continue to be concerned for the 350 children who still were not in pre-school last year mostly because they are just not contactable. However when we know of them during the Primary 1 registration exercise, we fund Self-Help Groups in their Bridging Programme to help the children have a smoother transition to Primary 1. We provide guidelines on the programme content, while the Self-Help Groups plan and coordinate the implementation of the Bridging Programme and conduct workshops for parents. In 2009, 280 children were offered places although only 230 turned up. Not a bad number, but we hope we can get more of them. We will reach out to more of these children using this targeted approach, working on the ground with community and self-help groups to provide that human touch to individual families. Because each have their own individual problems.

I have just described how we have ensured that pre-school is both affordable and accessible. Now, I will move on to improving the quality of the pre-school sector, which several Members like Mrs Josephine Teo and Dr Muhammad Faishal have brought up. MOE’s approach is to set broad parameters to kindergarten education to ensure a baseline of quality, while preserving the richness and diversity that comes from having a range of operators and models. This provides leeway for parents with different preferences to choose the option that best meets their needs. Their needs can vary; some might choose religious-based models to immerse their children in religious knowledge from a young age.

Dr Amy Khor, Mr Christopher de Souza and Dr Muhammad Faishal wanted to know how MOE will ensure a baseline of quality and promote higher standards for pre-school education. We do work closely with MCYS to coordinate the policies and practices in both kindergarten and childcare sectors. Such an arrangement allows flexibility to regulate each sector according to its different circumstances and requirements. For example, MOE leads in setting standards in high leverage areas such as teacher qualifications and quality assurance, and provides curriculum guidance to ensure a baseline quality of early childhood education.

MOE announced in 2008 that we would develop a new voluntary quality assurance framework based on what we call a quality rating scale. A draft of this quality rating scale for kindergartens was disseminated to kindergartens late last year. It provides a structured approach for kindergartens to conduct self-appraisal by examining their structures, processes and outcomes every year. Kindergartens can then prioritise areas for improvement, draw up action plans and monitor the progress of plans over time. So far, I am happy to say that 90% of kindergartens have undergone training on the use of the quality rating scale and we have received positive feedback.

As announced last year, MOE is also on track to roll out a voluntary kindergarten accreditation framework by January next year. Some Members have asked for it to be compulsory. Now kindergartens use the Quality Rating Scale to prepare themselves for accreditation. They should be given time to raise their standards progressively so to impose a compulsory accreditation immediately would not be fair to them as they need time to change according to the standards we have set. We are pleased to report, however, that in 2009, 80% of kindergartens conducted self-appraisal using the Quality Rating Scale. It shows a very high level of voluntary participation in the sector. We will encourage them to apply for accreditation by MOE when they are ready. Currently, information on kindergarten profiles, including whether they conducted self-appraisal, is already on our website, and their accreditation status could similarly be reflected. We hope that the accreditation framework will motivate operators to improve standards over time, and this was alluded to by Mr Christopher de Souza and Dr Amy Khor. Even though this scheme is voluntary, I am sure over time that parents will only be assured if the kindergarten that their child is attending is one that has obtained accreditation.

Mr Chairman, MOE’s articulated Desired Outcomes of Pre-school Education suggest what children should know at the end of kindergarten education. Based on findings from local and international research, MOE has developed and published a kindergarten curriculum framework. This does not prescribe what and how pre-schools should teach, but provides general guiding principles for a holistic approach to children’s development and learning. Kindergartens are free to design their own educational programmes and lesson plans using these broad principles.

Over the years, we have also provided various curriculum resources to help kindergartens to design and deliver suitable programmes. I am pleased to share that come April this year, MOE will be providing additional curriculum resources that will help kindergartens to provide opportunities for children to learn perseverance, reflectiveness and inventiveness. They will also help teachers to understand that such skills are important areas of development for pre-school children.

MOE will also continue to provide teaching and learning resources grants for not-for-profit kindergartens to build up their resources to deliver a quality pre-school education. In 2009, we provided $2.2 million to 352 kindergartens who successfully applied.

We believe a culture of innovation will foster continuous improvement amongst kindergartens. Thus, over the last two years, MOE has offered an Innovation Grant scheme which provides kindergartens who apply successfully with up to $5,000 to pursue innovative projects. In 2009, MOE approved grants totalling $340,000 for 94 projects. One example is P&J Kindergarten that built a tree-house as part of its "Outdoor Learning System". This is to provide children a setting to learn about nature and the environment. Another kindergarten, PCF Pioneer, had a "Junior Writers" project where children "published" their own books and then invited parents to attend the "launch" of their books. I think these are very interesting projects that kindergartens have taken on their own and prove that a variegated landscape is indeed good for our pre-school system.

To further drive innovation in early childhood education, MOE will support a new initiative, an experimental kindergarten to be established at Temasek Polytechnic. Registration will commence in the second half of this year, and the kindergarten will start next year. It will innovate and conduct research in early childhood education as asked by some Members. Qualified teachers will use innovative strategies and pedagogy to help children acquire knowledge, language and social skills and dispositions. The experimental kindergarten will also leverage on the varied expertise and facilities within Temasek Polytechnic. Successful practices will be shared with the rest of the pre-school sector in Singapore. MOE will provide $1.5 million over three years for Temasek Polytechnic to set up the experimental kindergarten.

Let me now update on MOE’s initiatives to improve teacher quality, which is a key thrust of our efforts to uplift the pre-school sector. Mrs Josephine Teo and Dr Amy Khor asked about the training and career development of pre-school teachers and Mrs Teo raised the idea of a multi-agency taskforce. One such taskforce which has already been set up for some time now is the Pre-school Qualification and Accreditation Committee which MOE and MCYS both steer. The Committee oversees the standards and quality of pre-school teacher training for both the kindergarten and childcare sectors by accrediting certificate and diploma-level courses. In January last year, we enhanced the standards required of pre-school training courses to ensure that teacher preparation programmes are rigorous and keep up with new developments in the field of early childhood education.

Last year, Members will remember we also raised the minimum professional qualification for pre-school teachers from a certificate to a diploma in pre-school teaching. Existing teachers who wish to teach in K1 and K2 have until December 2012 to obtain their diploma. The minimum academic requirement for new teachers was also raised to five "O" level passes, including a pass in English Language.

MOE is committed to encouraging teachers to upgrade to meet the requirements. To cater to fresh and mid-career degree and polytechnic diploma holders who wish to enter the pre-school sector, we worked with Singapore Polytechnic to introduce an accelerated professional diploma programme, the Advanced Diploma in Kindergarten Education-Teaching (ADKET). We also collaborated with the Workforce Development Agency to provide SPUR funding for teacher trainees undergoing this course. So far, 75 people have enrolled in the first two runs of the course and the first batch will graduate this month.

We are also providing scholarships and teaching awards for a new Bachelor of Early Childhood Education with Management course at UniSIM which equips students with the knowledge and skills to take up management roles in the pre-school sector. This is an undergraduate course. In 2009, we received 38 applications and awarded 27 scholarships and teaching awards. More scholarships and teaching awards will be offered this year.

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Members will be happy to know that from this year onwards, MOE will enhance our grant to provide greater support for eligible kindergartens to attract and reward graduate principals and teachers. We hope this additional push will help eligible kindergartens to employ more highly-qualified teachers and principals, and encourage existing teachers and principals to pursue higher qualifications, while keeping kindergarten fees affordable. Effective leadership and well-qualified teachers will uplift the standards of pre-school education.

Other ongoing initiatives include the English Communication Skills course in 2007, a 40-hour part-time course to help kindergarten teachers use English competently and confidently; and funding for the Association of Early Childhood Educators (Singapore) (AECES) to conduct workshops and courses to enhance the professionalism of our kindergarten teachers. This I hope will address the concerns of Dr Khor. To give the profession a bigger push, we collaborate with AECES to present the annual MOE-AECES Awards for Kindergarten Excellence. This recognises kindergartens and teachers who have successfully implemented innovations. We also honour outstanding pre-school teachers and support them to become teacher mentors who can share good teaching practices with their peers. Since the many announcements on pre-school education in 2006, I am happy to note that they are all gaining momentum and traction. In sum, MOE strives to raise the quality of pre-school education through implementing a quality assurance and accreditation framework for kindergartens, providing broad curriculum guidance, facilitating innovation and sharing, and promoting professional training and development.

Mr Chairman, I will now move on to the remaining queries on school matters.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan and Ms Denise Phua both spoke about stress in schools. Schools may make use of part of the vacation period to conduct remedial or enrichment classes and co-curricular activities such as camps and overseas exchanges. I am not sure whether the children do not actually enjoy them, they probably do. Schools make the decision to conduct such activities during vacation time after careful consideration, so as to balance the need for some students to be given additional support or enrichment in their development and the need for them to have an adequate break to re-charge themselves for the new term. Schools generally should not be conducting compulsory lessons or tests during the school holidays.

The causes of stress are multi-faceted. Students feel stressed when there is a mismatch between expectations and achievement, but expectations are shaped at many levels not just in schools – such as self, the family and society. To deal with the issue of stress, schools, parents and society need to understand that while we want the best for our children, we should not push them beyond their limits. Our expectations and attitudes have a strong bearing on the stress levels experienced by our young and how they cope with their studies.

MOE has judiciously reduced curriculum content to lighten the curriculum load on our students. The Senior Minister of State, Ms Grace Fu, had already mentioned just now that the primary school curriculum had been reduced by 30%. Subject-based banding at primary level and the offering of a wider range of subjects at secondary level allow students to choose courses that are more suited to their learning needs and abilities. This should help students to better manage stress. Schools have also been reminded not to load their students with too much work.

However, as students will grow up and encounter inevitable competition and stress as adults, learning how to manage stress is an essential life-skill for them.

Schools therefore impart skills such as self-awareness, self-management and decision-making to students as part of socio-emotional learning. These will build students' resilience and help them cope with stressful situations.

The Member also mentioned tuition. Our schools currently provide adequate time and attention to pupils to learn their academic subjects fully, and give remedial classes to those who need additional help with their school work. Some parents may choose to supplement this with tuition. For students who cannot afford tuition from commercial centres, affordable classes organised by self-help groups are also available. When appropriately used, tuition can provide learning support for students outside of school hours to reinforce what they have learnt in school but parents need to be mindful of the impact of tuition on their children's learning experiences and stress levels. The culture of tuition is not unique to Singapore. Indeed in most Confucian societies where education is held in high regard and seen as a means to break the poverty cycle, tuition flourishes. Even in Australia where I worked for three years, I often heard criticism of the Asian community for overworking their children from a young age with tuition classes. But we know that a whole host of factors affect students' success. There are many students who succeed without tuition, by paying attention in class, by consulting teachers and by working consistently throughout the year.

Let me touch on National Education raised by Mr Inderjit Singh. The Member should be happy to know that within the Civics and Moral Education (CME) curriculum, students learn about the six major religions in Singapore, including their origins, significant beliefs and practices, and important religious celebrations and festivals. The importance of social cohesion, tolerance and sensitivity are emphasised. We plan to enhance the teaching of religious awareness in CME, with additional teaching resources and training for teachers. Outside the formal curriculum, schools also use activities such as assembly programmes, Racial Harmony Day, projects and so forth, to promote religious and cultural awareness and learning. Our students are also exposed to local and regional issues, and learn about Singapore's relations with the rest of Southeast Asia through the Social Studies, History and Geography syllabuses at primary and secondary schools. There is also the Regional Studies Programme in Raffles Institution (RI), Raffles Girls' School (RGS), Victoria School (VS), Anglo-Chinese School (International) (ACS(I)) that allows non-Malay students to offer Malay or Bahasa Indonesia as a third language and learn about contemporary Southeast Asian culture and society.

Dr Fatimah Lateef wanted to know about our schools' processes to recognise and address signs of radicalism in our students. As part of schools' pastoral care efforts, teachers keep an eye out for telltale signs of students who may be drawn into violent or extremist ideologies, and counsel them. If more specialised counselling is required, schools will seek parental consent to refer the student to competent authorities. This is similar to the way schools manage other harmful anti-social behaviour such as gang involvement, smoking or glue sniffing.

While schools will help students who show signs of extremist beliefs or anti-social behaviour, they cannot work alone. They must work together with parents. And parents need to take responsibility to understand and monitor their children so as to provide timely guidance.

Dr Fatimah also asked about teacher education. This is still fresh. A community has begun work in November to follow up on the teacher education model for the 21st century (TE21) recommendations, and National Institute of Education (NIE) is expected to launch the enhanced programmes by July 2011.

In conclusion, Sir, let me emphasise that MOE is investing substantial resources to ensure that pre-school education is accessible, affordable and of a good quality. We will continue our best to support the education of children from lower-income families, working with parents, other agencies and community organisations. We want to give every child the best chance at education so that every family can look forward to a better future.

Sir, I have four clarifications. The first two are for the Minister. Yesterday, the Minister talked about overseas programmes which exposed our students to other cultures. I could be wrong; but my impression is that many of these programmes are headed towards Europe; China is a very frequent destination. I wonder how these destinations are chosen and I do not seem to come across many destinations that are ASEAN-related. Could we not do more of those so that they are more affordable and more of our students can participate in them, especially the lower-income families? The second is on the fees for the Singapore University of Technology and Design. My appreciation to the Minister for explaining the funding model. I have no issue with that; but I would like to know if we could introduce a needs-blind policy in all our four universities to ensure that the financial burden on lower-income families is not excessive and that we preserve this ability of social uplifting for these students who are able to make it to such universities but perhaps find it financially a burden? The third clarification is for the Senior Minister of State, Mr Iswaran. He talked about the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). I welcome the new announcements on the implementation, but I would like to ask him whether the SIT is an avenue for our polytechnic diploma holders, whether this avenue of upgrading could be made available also to the graduands of the WSQ programmes. We have already invested tremendous effort in building up the WSQ landscape and indeed some of the institutions, such as the Tourism Management Institute of Singapore, are already given the status of national CET institute. And if the graduands for the diploma programmes of such NCIs can advance to the SIT to achieve a degree, would that be helpful to them? The final clarification is for the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Masagos Zulkifli. He talked about the increased grants to the kindergarten sector. I think that is a good development; but still I would like to ask him on a per child basis, how does the funding to kindergartens compare to primary schools? Are these levels of funding adequate?

Mr Chairman, I do not have a breakdown of where our children go for their overseas programme by schools. Obviously we could get that information. But basically we leave it to schools and the principals and the teachers to justify what learning points they want for their children; and to allow them to plan. From my own experience – my children and children of friends – they do go to ASEAN countries. I remember my daughter going to an orphanage in Malaysia; some of them go to Asian countries. So I am not quite certain if Mrs Teo's impression that they only go to Europe and western countries is true; but we can get that information for her. Needs-blind policy for our autonomous universities and Singapore University of Technology and Design: That in essence is what it is and I did not want to use that term because "needs" can mean different things to different people. But the basic philosophy is that no student who can gain admission to these universities will lose their educational opportunity because he does not have the financial means. That is as plain as it is. In other words, there are a number of scholarships, tuition loans, grants; so anybody who is admitted will be able to have the financial means to continue and get his education there.

I want to thank Mrs Teo for the question and I fully understand where she is coming from. I think the intention is to try and create more opportunities, and the WSQ path is an important one. I just want to make the point that the SIT admissions policy is not something that is determined purely by SIT alone because the partner universities, in fact, have a very strong vested interest in this. They want to be assured of the quality of the students who are coming in. Sir, I want to give Members an example: Like the Technical University of Munich. I met the President and he impressed upon me – he took great pains to say – that one of their main concerns was: Do our diploma students have sufficient intellectual heft to meet up to their standards? They did a very thorough diligence and then they say that they were satisfied. Because even in Germany, they do not have these linkages with diploma-awarding institutions. So they were very cautious.

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So, in principle, the emphasis is on the quality. It is early days. I think we need to get started on the process. But in due course, if, in fact, some of these WSQ courses meet the quality thresholds, I am sure we can visit them at that point, in terms of progression.

Mr Chairman, on the last question on pre-school funding, I do not have the actual numbers to compare on a per student basis but I am quite sure it is less than primary school per child basis funding. However, I think it is not a fair comparison for a few reasons. First, the funding that we are giving is targeted largely to the children of families which are of lower income. Secondly, it is for a totally different purpose. Pre-schools have a different purpose of development, curriculum, guidance and so forth. Thirdly, the pre-school and the primary school sectors have different starting points. Therefore, instead of measuring on an absolute basis, ie, how much we spend on each student, we measure our effectiveness on the key parametres that I mentioned just now – affordability, accessibility and quality improvement.

Sir, I want to thank the Senior Minister of State, Ms Grace Fu, for the positive news in the special education sector. I have a clarification for our Minister. Sir, there must be a reason why the Minister has gone to Finland three times to study Finland's education system. Can I ask the Minister for his views on what features from the Finnish education schools that we can incorporate or adapt for Singapore? This is especially in the areas such as the nurturing of fear-free learning and assessment culture that I know, and where there is no national league comparisons of schools and students in Finland.

Sir, I think our clarification time is limited! The first reason is that I like the cold. On a more serious note, Finland does very well and has been doing very well in international comparisons for a few years now. We usually study systems that do well so that we can learn from them, not only Finland but also other top performing systems – Australia, Korea and even Ireland.

One main learning point is teachers, as Ms Denise Phua rightly pointed out. She is quite correct. I asked their Minister of Education why is it that Finns want to teach. It is revered. He says that it is partly history. They moved from an agrarian to a modern economy. They had to teach their folks. And they also have big neighbours surrounding them who make them very tough people. Go and look at your map and see who are their neighbours. Therefore, they are a very homogenous society with this ethic to want to bring up the next generation. They have many more applications than places. I think McKinsey has done a survey. It is not as if Finland pays teachers, by international comparisons, the highest salaries worldwide. They do not. So there is this ethic and the teachers are indeed very passionate. This is what we also want in terms of our selection criteria. That is why we have a selection panel for all would-be teachers. We have also introduced more time for would-be teachers to spend time in the schools, either during NIE or before they even do that, to see whether they are compatible, because teaching is a vocation and we need to be passionate about it. We will continue to learn from these systems and adapt them when we think it is applicable.

Ms Irene Ng first, then Mdm Halimah and then Dr Amy Khor, in that order. Please be short so that we can take as many interventions as possible.

Sir, while the Senior Minister of State, Ms Grace Fu, said that students are taught about Singapore's founding fathers in schools, there is a sense that the situation is presently woefully inadequate. Since the curriculum of Social Studies and History are under review as I understand it, can I ask the Senior Minister of State to consider strengthening and building in more key narratives about our founding fathers and our early pioneers so that our Singapore students can come out of school understanding why we are the way we are and how did we get here? The objective is not to regurgitate them in the examination hall but to engage in a discussion with the students on the ideals and ideas that drove these great men to overcome great odds, and whether these ideas and ideals are still relevant today.

Ms Ng, no speeches, please. Ask your question.

My next clarification is for the Senior Minister of State, Mr Iswaran. I am very excited about the English Language Innovation Fund. As we know, Literature is not an optional subject and I see that this Fund is a great way to bring literature to our schools. Can I ask the Senior Minister of State whether MOE can guide and encourage our schools to use literature as a way to promote an appreciation of the English Language, especially Singapore literature, and to use our Singapore writers to go to schools to speak about their work?

Mr Chairman, we note Ms Irene Ng's suggestion and we will take that into consideration when we review the curriculum.

Sir, I have two clarifications to seek. First, I would like to ask whether the Ministry could consider introducing a programme akin to the learning support programme which is meant for students who are weak in English Language, and whether it could introduce a similar programme for students who are weak in Mathematics, because we know that like English, if they are weak in Mathematics in the early stages, it is impossible for them to catch up later.

My second clarification is to ask the Ministry whether or not, based on perception on the ground, that there is excessive reliance on tuition which is a multi-million dollar industry. The question is: does this indicate that students are not able to cope with the subjects taught in schools and, therefore, they have to rely on tuition? The next question is: how does this affect low-income families who cannot afford to pay the tuition fees?

The learning support programme for Mathematics already exists. We started it a few years ago and it is working. As we can expect, the gains in languages are greater because the language facility and mathematical facility and aptitudes within the same child and within the population in general are different. So we can see better advances in terms of language catching up. But for Mathematics, with a greater innate component, it has already been started.

On tuition, as the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Masagos, said, in his three-year sojourn in Australia, he noted how parents complained that Asian communities drive their children very hard. This is something which I have been looking at for sometime. So, in my last trip to Korea – Korea is famous for its tuition – I asked to visit a cram school. In Korean, it is hagwon. I asked to visit the most successful and leading hagwon in Korea. For this particular facility, applicants have to take an entrance examination to enter the tuition school. They have to do an admission test. So I wanted to spend some time visiting the hagwon. The fees, they charge about US$10,000 a year. I went to the classes, they were much smaller than ours. The desk was this size. And on the desk, there were stacks of assessment papers. So I asked the Principal, "Why are you so successful?" That hagwon is famous because their track record is that 50% of their students go to the top five Korean universities, which drives itself. "It is very easy", he said. He showed me the list of teachers with credentials. And he says, "Whenever students say that this is not effective, the teacher is dismissed." I said, "What is your plan to elevate it?" He said, "Nothing. Just to drill them and practise. Just keep doing the test papers until they pass".

A university don in Korea, who was previously a MIT professor, was so upset with this obsessive desire by society to want children to do better so as to get to university. He is of a leading university, and he banned entrance examinations. So I said, "Ban entrance examinations for a top university, then how do you select your students?" He said, "Interview. I do not tell them what I am going to ask them." Every year, he changes it. But after a while, the students know and they drill for them. It is innate in our Asian culture. I think if there is any comfort, we are not as bad as the Koreans. We have quite a few Korean students who come here to Singapore and also other Asian communities who come to Singapore because they think our system is easier than theirs back home.

Yes, the other point is drilling leads to diminishing returns, it is unproductive. But for our schools, I think we cannot stop parents from wanting their children to do better than the other person to get into the top schools. But where we have done is try to broaden it to include more holistic developments, to try to place emphasis on other aspects which we think are important because soft skills are important. And then, over time, allow parents, as the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Masagos, said, to be realistic in their expectations and also to create more mountain peaks, more opportunities for children of various abilities to rise. We try sometimes to give them examples which are different. So in the last JC forum, I gave them the example of Charles & Keith. Charles, as we know, has a string of shops with a turnover of $100 million a year in 40 countries. Both brothers did not go beyond "O" levels. The JC students found it an exciting idea and an exciting example. And we continue to emphasise that there are other traits beyond academic ability that ensure their success; they should not only be defined by their academic ability.

Sir, I would like to pose two questions, firstly, to the Senior Minister of State. There was a question that I actually raised in my speech earlier and I think he has not quite answered it. It relates to the expansion of the capacity of the polytechnics from 42% to 45%. I would like to ask how this would impact on the demand for university places, given that increasingly more polytechnic graduates are looking to get into the universities. Also, whether the new fourth University as well as SIT would be able to cater to the potential increase in demand for university places by polytechnic graduates.

I would also like to ask the Senior Minister of State to consider not closing the chapter on the 30% university cohort participation rate. It should not be a figure cast in stone and that we should be reviewing this all the time.

Secondly, my question to the Senior Parliamentary Secretary. This is with regard to affordability of kindergarten education. The Senior Parliamentary Secretary has said that kindergarten education is a multi-agency issue. I do not have a cut in MCYS. So I would like to raise this again regarding the KiFAS subsidy. I think the issue of affordability of kindergarten education is not really pertaining to the low income. Because, with KiFAS subsidy, actually many of them either do not pay or pay very little – just a few dollars a month. It is really the sandwiched class, the ones that is above the cut-off household income ceiling of $1,800 per month, and maybe up to $2,500.

Dr Khor, are you seeking a clarification or expressing a view?

Yes. I am just asking whether they would consider raising the income ceiling up to, say, $2,500 per month.

Mr Chairman, I think I owe Ms Irene Ng a reply first. The short answer is "yes", literature is being used as part of the effort to teach English in schools. Schools like Xin Min Secondary, for example, have done it very successfully. Our measure of their success is that the students want more classroom time to learn English, and they found it very exciting. So, even without this English Language Innovation Fund, they are already doing it. But I think we will use this to catalyse any other initiatives that could promote the interest in the language.

I apologise to Dr Khor for not addressing her questions specifically. The increase is, yes, 42% to 45%, but this is going to occur over a period of time. Will there be a consequential demand increase for university places? I think we need to let the process play itself out because we need to consider the balance. I want to go back to the point I made in discussing university cohort participation rate – the balance between the quality, the market relevance of our degrees, the respect and value they command, as opposed to the quantity of places available. I think we need to keep those parameters in mind. So, whether it is 30% cohort participation rate for university or the consequential demand from polytechnic students, I think the way we will go about this is very deliberate. We will assess how things evolve. I do not think anything is cast in stone. It is not about closing the chapter, but it is more about staying relevant and in the context of the needs of the time.

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Dr Khor asked about the "sandwiched class" and I understand her plea to increase the income ceiling for KiFAS. Unfortunately, this is an area which is really within MCYS' purview. I can understand that they have to do this in tandem with other policies with regard to welfare because you cannot just adjust one issue and not affect all others.

However, I can also point to the fact that the "sandwiched class" has access to other funds, eg, baby bonus, where they can get one-for-one funding; this means they pay 50% of the fees and this will already substantially reduce the amount of fees they give for pre-school.

Mr Chairman, this clarification is addressed to the Senior Minister of State, Mr Iswaran, and I hope that the cut and thrust of this will be a bit stylish. He mentioned that there is an increase of 12% to 19% in the number of ITE students going to polytechnics so I think there is a levelling up there. Also, there is a lot of "O" level students who qualify very easily into Junior College (JC) are going to polytechnics. So, I would like to ask clarification of what MOE's plans are beyond the SIT to have the polytechnic diplomas move on for further education to get university degrees beyond the SIT for the degree avenues.

Mr Chairman, first of all, I think the point is the demand for polytechnic education is because of the "O" level and other students who are doing well and for the reasons I have cited. They appreciate the quality and the kind of market-relevant courses that there are available. We have just started the SIT process. So, if you look at the entire environment today, our polytechnic students, in addition to what has already been made available to them; which is to go into our own autonomous Universities in Singapore, they have now got the option of going to degree programmes offered through SIT. In the steady state, the aim is to offer 2,000 places, which is quite a substantial number. And in addition to that, some of them follow through on their own and they undertake further studies whether in Singapore or overseas.

I know Members are very keen to move beyond, but this is already a process which is going to take several years to reach a steady state, because the expansion in the polytechnic cohort – the point which Dr Amy Khor made – will take about four to five years to be achieved and the SIT will also take a similar period of time to reach a steady state number.

We need to assess the model carefully, to see whether that is a workable model. We will try and secure more partnerships to expand. We do not want to prejudge the situation and see which way to go right now. We have made some key decisions now. Let them work themselves through the system and maybe in two to three years' time, we will have a better sense of whether there is a need for greater progression pathways and, if so, how they should be done.

Sir, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State how soon will SPRING's support schemes be made available for the PEI because I think our schemes will cease in July this year. I would also like the Senior Minister of State to respond to my request to let the fee protection monitoring module scheme also be made available to all the students who are enrolled under the current student protection scheme.

Last but not least, he mentioned that the schools, which have collected the advanced fees beyond the period of two to six months, will need to do a refund, but does this mean that the schools will have to buy group insurance?

How soon will the support scheme be implemented? I think, shortly, but I do not want to give the Member a very specific timeline because they are trying to work out the details. But I think it is all a matter of months rather than a year. So I think sometime in the first half of this year, possibly by the early part of the second quarter we should have something in place.

The whole point about fee protection modules – I just want to clarify the position again. For those PEIs who have already collected funds, in excess of what is provided for under the present regime, there is no requirement for them to refund, but what we do require is that they have appropriate fee protection schemes in place. In many instances they already have them, in which case, what they need to do is to provide the evidence to the CPE so that the CPE is satisfied that that money is protected. And if it is, then the arrangement can carry on. In that case, they would not be required to buy any new group insurance. However, if there is no protection, then they will have to satisfy the CPE on what measures are in place to protect that additional fees that have been collected.

I just want to say that I do value the opportunity and exchange that we had, as the Minister did give me a different perspective of the matters that we discussed yesterday. But on the modular subject, framework in secondary school, can the Minister give us his thoughts on that?

Sir, we have already allowed flexibility for those who can do well. I think Mdm Cynthia Phua's suggestion was a child may have some strength in some subjects, weak in others. He actually progresses not as one whole group but based on subjects. Obviously, there are logistical challenges, there are so many permutations that a principal can handle but, in principle, there will be no objection to that.

In our system, indeed, that is what we have already catered for. I mentioned to the House yesterday that we have allowed Normal Academic stream students to take, for example, subject of a higher level. I said that one in three Normal Academic students actually do take "O" level subjects. I was very glad to look at the figures that they are doing well.

About half of them took Mathematics, the other half took language-based subjects. And I think along those lines, the Ministry will continue to look for opportunities. What we have also done is, for example, to allow Normal Technical students to take ITE modules within the schools which give them advanced standing credits so that when they go to ITE, they can count that against for what they are taking.

Beyond that, even within the Express stream, there are varying abilities. On the ground, the principals and teachers do make decisions based on this group needing to learn at this pace and that group needing to be stretched because students are getting bored and they understand the curriculum. Those are professional decisions that are best left to the schools.

Sir, besides Singlish, I believe there is also a new lingo that is developing among students in their youth with regard to their engagement in the Internet via Twitter, SMS and also Facebook. I understand that there has been quite rapid development of such modes of communication in the students' life as well as it is predominantly affecting them in the way they write as well as the way they speak in schools and at home. And it is deep because it travels down into their cognitive senses.

I would like to ask the Minister the depth or seriousness of such problems among our students and how the Ministry is addressing it because it affects not only the English Language but also affects Mother Tongue such as Tamil, Mandarin and also Malay.

To what depth has the lingo on the Internet affected schools. I think we have not done that kind of survey. But I can say this, if you talk to the teachers, they will tell you that by and large students do have an informal register, whether it is Singlish or shorthand that they use, particularly when they talk among themselves socially. Most of them also understand that in certain other contexts, which are more formal, you have to use proper, standard English. They are clearly aware of it. The key thing is first, once the awareness is there, do they have the ability to switch registers as and when appropriate and we must make sure that they are able to function in that standard register. That is the key point.

Now, it does mean that, for example when they are writing their essays, some of these "Twitter" habits, for example, "b4", creep in. But the teachers are trying to get the students to remember that you can do this when you are SMS-ing or emailing, but when it comes to a formal essay, something that you are doing in front of your class or school as a presentation, there is a different requirement. Once we clear that, we cross the understanding point, then it is a lot easier because then, it is about building up their ability.

Three points for Senior Minister of State, Mr Iswaran, regarding the university cohort participation rate. Sir, first of all, the Senior Minister of State earlier mentioned the figures I quoted from OECD – 37% of the age cohort going to university – and he asked aloud whether that would include polytechnic courses which, in Singapore, are of high quality. I would like to clarify to him that the figure I quoted was tertiary type A, according to the OECD glossary and that is defined as theoretically-based courses designed to provide qualifications for advanced research programmes or profession such as medicine, dentistry, and so on.

I dare not include any figures for tertiary type B which was defined as occupationally-oriented programmes for direct labour access. So I would like to clarify that the 37% actually relates to your typical traditional university-type courses.

Second point is regarding the 30% university cohort participation rate. I would like to ask, a follow-up from Dr Amy Khor's question, whether there was a regular time frame at which this target is being reviewed. Every few years, how many years, etc? Does he foresee that in the future, we can expect this figure to go up, in line with what is happening in developed countries?

Third point is the Senior Minister of State mentioned that when we look and plan for cohort participation rate at universities, we need to look at the employment opportunities and market relevance. I would like to clarify with him whether there is also a need for us to create some buffer for market relevance, not just in Singapore but also regionally and internationally which our graduates can take advantage of and create a buffer for those who are entrepreneurial and can create their own opportunities.

Mr Chairman, I thank the Member for the clarification. I am not sure what constitutes type A, but I take her word for it that it is high quality institutions. But the fact of the matter remains that our polytechnics actually can hold their own with many university-type degrees around the world. Having said that, the second point, the 37% cohort rate, whether there is a regular time frame to evaluate this, I want to make the point that it is not about keeping up with other countries but deciding what is relevant in our context. When we talk about our context, we want to talk about Singapore's needs but we cannot look at that in isolation, we will look at regional opportunities and what that entails. That is what this annual planning is about. The annual exercise between MOE, MOM and MTI and the economic agencies shapes this on a tactical basis from year to year. They are periodic reviews, there is no set time frame for this but we are quite clear that when the need arises, we will be able to act proactively to meet that.

Sir, I must say that I am pretty impressed by what I have heard from MOE yesterday and today. Obviously a lot of thought has gone into it. My clarification pertains to pre-school education, so it is directed at the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Masagos. I am curious as to why the 350 children who did not go to primary school were uncontactable. Could he tell us the circumstances? I find it very difficult to understand why or how in a country such as Singapore, we cannot contact the family.

Secondly, this is a question that I have raised before in Parliament. Given the fact children who do not have the opportunity for pre-school education are disadvantaged when they go to Primary 1 – unless they are home tutored – I cannot quite understand the hesitation in making pre-school education compulsory in Singapore.

For the 350 children, we have knocked on their doors, gone to their houses and in some cases, neighbours have told us that the parents have moved on or they are divorced. Sometimes the children are living with their grandparents and they do not know where they live and, as you know, we do not have a registration system for children below 15 years old. So we cannot track them unless we know where the parents live. Even when their parents are contactable, they have multiple social problems and some of the problems are really not easily addressed

because they concern issues of custody and who has the right to register, etc. We refer them to the family service centres so that they can resolve these multi-faceted issues in order to get them finally to get their children into pre-school. At this point in time, we have not decided to make pre-school compulsory. In many developed countries, pre-school is not legislated to be compulsory education. The reason for compulsory education varies across many countries. In Europe, for example, it is seen as a right of every citizen to be given an education. In other countries, it is for national education purposes. For these various reasons, we have looked at fundings, and inclusion of education proper, more for primary school and above. There is enough evidence and research. In fact, the most recent one from Cambridge was a study incorporating inputs from professionals as well as government to raise the schooling age, from five currently to six or seven. They feel that the structured schooling system is the best for that age group.

3.00 pm

Sir, my clarification is on Chinese Language. I would like to thank Senior Minister of State, Ms Grace Fu, for providing a sample of the Chinese "B" "O" levels examinations, I think it is useful. But I would like to seek clarifications from her in regard to Chinese "B". What is the number of characters that the student is supposed to learn? In her earlier reply, she said that, "the student will probably be able to use the language later in life and that would give them a foundation". But I would like to ask her, with the scope of the curriculum standard and the number of characters learnt, does she seriously think that the student will be able to retain the language after they have left school and continue to be able to learn through reading or speaking? I would also like the Ministry to respond to the Chinese community's concern that the standard of Chinese Language has been dropping over the years.

Mr Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to clarify. We do not have a set number of words, in terms of what we will teach for Chinese "B". What we will do is to look at what is appropriate and the way that Chinese Language is being taught to this group of students. I would like to remind the Member that we are talking about 2%-5% of students that are learning Chinese and spending quite a great deal of time on this language. Our objective is not to discourage them with a very high bar, but rather hopefully, by introducing an appropriate teaching and learning method that they would have a good grasp of the basics. We hope that the end result would be that they would have a functional use of the language on a daily basis – whether it is listening to the radio, news on the TV, in the market or conversing with their colleagues in the workplace. As other Members have brought up, Singapore has a good Chinese environment, in the sense that we do hear Chinese being spoken and listened to on a daily basis. What we are hoping is that these students will feel that they are not being discouraged to learn the language. But rather that they have an interest and retain an interest, if there are opportunities in environment that allow them to continue to use the language after they have left school.

We are optimistic about how we can improve the standard of Chinese. But at the same time, we have to be realistic. The Chinese community has compared the standard 10 years ago, with the standard today. The environment has changed a great deal since then. For example, we used to have the traditional Chinese schools where most of the subjects are taught in Chinese. We no longer have that environment. Is it wise for us to reverse to that system again? I do not think so. If you put the test to most parents as to whether they would want to teach their children Science in Mandarin, for example, the decision is quite clear. I have gone through the system in Secondary 1 and 2, when I had to memorise words like, "镁 (jia), 钾 (mei )", which stand for magnesium and potassium. Do you want to go to that system again and have a good grasp of Chinese? We have gone pass that stage and there is no point reminiscing about the past when we have the traditional Chinese school. We have Nantah students who did their tertiary education in Chinese. What we really want is to focus on what we have today. We have students who are grounded in English and, hopefully, a well-grounded use of Chinese as well. Most of us here have talked about having foundation courses to help students who are poorer in subjects, like English and Mathematics. We accept that. We should accept that for Chinese as well. We should accept that the students do have different learning abilities. We do have to customise our teaching for these students. At the same time, we recognise that students are doing well and want to do more for Chinese. It is our responsibility to create that environment, and this is where we are working very hard with the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) school leaders. We are prepared to invest more in programmes to help our students in those areas. The fact that SAP students have done well – they have managed to secure scholarships from very good universities in China – Beijing University (北京大学) and Tsinghua University (清华大学), even before they have their "A" level results. It is a very good testimony of the success of our SAP schools. At the same time, the fact that the SAP schools remain as top choices for parents at the PSLE level, again, I think it signifies that the future of our SAP schools and learning of Chinese is very positive and a progressive one.

Taking one last clarification, a brief one.

As the Minister reflected, the key lies in good teachers. Can the Minister share with us his thoughts on how he can retain effective teachers, reward good teaching and empower teachers to own the 21st century classroom?

Sir, the Member is spot-on in terms where our focus is. It is not an easy task. Members may be aware that MOE, on its own, hires one out of eight graduates that come out from our universities. As a single employer, we hired 2,000 over last year. There are various ways we do it. There is an enriching study by McKinsey that looked across the system and ranked our system for teacher recruitment and retention as a robust and good one. We do not pay the highest, South Korea does. The teachers there are in the top 5% of wage-earners. We pitch our starting pay slightly above the median. But our career paths are on a sharper incline. For those who show passion and ability, we train them to be leaders. We have principals even in their 30s. So I think career proposition and professional development are important. But obviously at the start point, we want to make sure that we bring those in with passion. If you like what you are doing, you stay on the job. I do not think there are easy answers. We will continue to look for ways to assist our teachers. Last year, I announced how we started the Allied Educators scheme. So when I go down to schools, I speak with them. Many of them are mid-career entrants. They spend a few months to convert and they have always wanted to be teaching but are unable to find time to do so. After they become Allied Educators, some of them are converting to become teachers. I am confident that as we continue to provide resources to the schools, develop these developmental pathways that will maintain a strong teaching force, I would say that it is a continuous process that we need to look at.

Mr Chairman, Sir, MOE's budget is second only to defence at about more than 3.5% of our GDP. The number of cuts this time round and the total time for the MOE is among the highest. Even though there is no single hot button issue, there have been no lack of ideas and requests from my fellow Members of Parliament. So I would thank the Minister, the Senior Ministers of State, the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for their replies, updates and announcements. We would like to take the opportunity to thank our teaching force as well as MOE staff for their passion and dedication. I see quite a number of people in the gallery and I assume that they are from the Education Ministry. We do not know what has brought them here. But we hope this has been a useful debate for you too. I am glad to note that some of the changes that we will be implementing are good developments. These include subject specialists for Physical Education and certainly from the Labour Movement, I thank the Ministry for not just considering increasing their professionalism, but it has also taken into consideration that there is continued employability. They, in fact, have the assurance of a career even beyond the years that they can continue as PE teachers. There are other improvements, such as greater use of ICT, the experimental kindergartens and satellite partnerships for SAP schools. These are very good developments. At the same time, I would like to urge the Ministry to continue to look into some of the other suggestions that we have put forward. Some of these suggestions could be categorised as continuous improvements, such as suggestions for Edusave. Some are a little bit more radical, but not unimaginable, such as the Institute of Special Education by Ms Denise Phua, a later start in school time by Mdm Cynthia Phua, and the forced holiday time by Mr Lim Biow Chuan. Like Ms Denise Phua, we will adopt the best practice –

We are waiting for your withdrawal, Mrs Teo.

[Laughter] Just one final point for the Minister. Compared to the Korean Hangul, the 581 characters for the Chinese Language is a much lower threshold. We hope it might inspire the Minister. Perhaps one day, we have the privilege of hearing him speak in Mandarin in Parliament. On that note, Sir, thank you for your indulgence. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $8,599,000,000 for Head K ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $1,064,740,100 for Head K ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.

Order. I propose we take a break now.

Thereupon Mr Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House.

Order. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair at 3.40 pm.

Sitting accordingly suspended

at 3.13 pm until 3.40 pm.

Sitting resumed at 3.40 pm

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Debate in Committee of Supply resumed.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Head I – Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports

Maintenance of Parents Act and others

Sir, I beg to move,

That the total sum to be allocated for Head I of the Estimates be reduced by $100.

The landscape keeps changing as business cycles get shorter and shocks from externalities more common. As we transform our economy and workforce to face these challenges, some citizens will not be able to manage these changes. I urge MCYS to look out for these danger signs on their radar screens. And with the opening of the two IRs, the associated social ills are a foregone consequence – let us take a kiasu approach and be over prepared to deal with them.

The principles which our social safety net are based on – that of personal responsibility, family responsibility and the Many-Helping-Hands approach – they are all sound. The goal must always be to reduce social inequality, to strengthen social equity.

Sir, even as I say these words, and mean them from the bottom of my heart, I know that they are mere platitudes. In our ageing society, the demands and stresses on every family keep increasing. We have always strived to build stronger, more resilient families and this is probably the most important investment from both an individual's and a country's perspective. Weak, broken families will eventually lead to more resources and support required from the community, State and VWOs.

It starts with filial piety – a concept and value that we all hold dear and yet something which needs reinforcement, more so now than before.

Many Members here can identify with me as we encounter cases of elderly citizens coming to our Meet-the-People Session (MPS) seeking help or advice because they have been "abandoned" by their children and left largely to fend for themselves.

I remember a Mdm Kan – not her real name – she is 69 years old now; I would have seen her at least six times at my MPS. She had wanted to sell the 3-room flat she co-owned with one of her daughters and to get a rental flat, claiming that her children no more cared for her and she needed the monies for living expenses. I told her the existing policies would preclude her from being able to get a rental flat. I probed deeper into her case. To cut a long story short, after quite a few attempts, I finally managed to meet up with her eldest daughter and, after a few more meetings, eventually managed to get both to come together and work out a solution. This case had a satisfactory ending.

Yes, circumstances are different for each case and the blame is not always with the children themselves. While some elderly parents seek help, they shy away from taking the legal route and file for maintenance under the Maintenance of Parents Act. This behaviour is natural and to be expected.

Sir, the Act was introduced in 1996 to deter unfilial adult children from abdicating their responsibility of maintaining their parents. From January 2002 to December 2008, over 700 maintenance applications were filed by elderly parents against children. In 2009, I understand there was more than a 50% increase in applications received compared to 2008. Sir, I am dismayed by this increase but also somewhat comforted. This increase shows one of two things – if it shows that there are more children who are not caring for their parents, then I am dismayed. If it shows that there are more parents who are willing to bring their children to court to force payments, then I am comforted. I think it is a mixture of the two.

Sir, the effectiveness of the Act and the workflow processes should be strengthened to assist elderly parents while deterring adult children from neglecting their duty to care for their parents. I know the Ministry is currently reviewing the Act, and I have the following suggestions.

I propose enhancing the role of the Commissioner for Maintenance of Parents to assist elderly parents by introducing a pre-filing registration stage. Today, the process begins more formally when parents approach the Tribunal for Maintenance of Parents and file their claims, which many elderly find it too drastic a step as it begins the legal and necessary adversarial court proceedings. By bringing forward the intervention to the pre-filing stage, the Commissioner can better facilitate a settlement between parents and their children without first having to resort to the Tribunal.

I suggest that elderly parents who approach the Tribunal Secretariat be registered. And on registration, the case will be passed to the Commissioner who could help them in the following ways: referral to a Family Service Centre or having an Alternate Dispute Resolution at the Commissioner's Office where the Commissioner would work with the parent and the children to bring about an agreement and representation by the Commissioner on behalf of the elderly in filing the case.

The Commissioner should monitor closely and escalate these cases when required. In short, I am pushing for workflow improvements and simplicity.

3.45 pm

Where cases have reached an agreement facilitated by the Commissioner, I propose that the parties involved seek a Consent Order from the Tribunal. This Order can be enforced at the Family Court in the event of non-compliance. The Commissioner should also have a role in monitoring cases of the Maintenance Orders which have been issued, in particular cases where the children repeatedly default against the Orders.

To facilitate its work at the pre-filing stage, the Commissioner should be empowered to investigate the merits of the case. This includes the power to obtain data on the children and their financial status from other agencies. One key piece of information that is required is the address to contact the children for reconciliation and counselling. MCYS told me that about 14% of elderly parents approaching the Tribunal in 2008 could not provide adequate details of their children, and so they could not proceed to file their cases.

For identities and addresses of the children, the key data source agencies are ICA and HDB. These agencies should be allowed to provide the data to the Commissioner. The ability to trace children would serve as a deterrent to unfilial children.

Data on financial means is also needed to verify the ability to support parents and the most updated data would be the children's CPF contribution information. Yes, we need to put in the necessary safeguards to manage data disclosure and also confidentiality of certain information. For a start, the Commissioner should request for relevant documents from the children first. Where the children are uncooperative, adverse inferences should be drawn by the Commissioner or Tribunal as the case may be.

Over the past year, I understand that the CDCs and HDB have also been tightening their application processes for ComCare assistance and subsidised rental housing. As a principle, I agree that social assistance to the elderly should be rendered only if children do not have the financial means to support them. I propose that the Act be amended to empower the Commissioner to investigate the circumstances and take appropriate action if an elderly parent seeks social assistance from the Government.

The Commissioner should be able to assist the CDCs and HDB in obtaining the addresses of their children. This will help them locate the children for assessment and refer "maintenance" cases to the Commissioner, so that children with adequate financial means do support their parents.

We should push for closer collaboration between the Commissioner and the social assistance agencies to ensure that only truly deserving cases receive state assistance.

I also suggest the following amendments to make the Tribunal processes more efficient: Currently, the President of the Tribunal must be one of the three members to form a quorum. Perhaps, a Deputy President or two can be appointed and hearings can be presided over by either one of them. Next, remove the prescribed forms from Maintenance of Parents Rules, streamline the forms, review and update them. Possibly, remove the fees and the limit on solicitor's costs.

Finally, I also propose that we can review the age limit of 60 years or more – should it be lowered or removed altogether? Something to think about.

Sir, the foregoing speaks to the revision of the Act, which I hope will apply only to extreme cases. But I would like to end my speech with a practical and concrete way to realise filial piety.

Yes, we have already done this with the Act – but this Act is a stick, to force people who would otherwise ignore their parents, to provide a minimum sum for them. Now, can we have a carrot? Can the MCYS help us to set up a "filial piety" savings account with tax incentives? Banks can set up such accounts to encourage children to contribute a certain amount of money on a regular basis. This account in the name of their parents can only be drawn down by parents upon reaching a certain age, say, 62 years. These contributions should receive tax exemption.

The contributions and accounts can also be set up for uncles, aunties and other relatives. One major local bank has already made the first move to recognise the importance of planning for our parents' future as they age. They call it a SmartSenior Account. This is a joint account for children to open with their parents, allowing them to receive their monthly allowance from their children.

Operationally, therefore, there is nothing new in this "filial piety" savings account proposal. The principle I am underlining is an important one.

We should make it easy for people to give funds to their parents.

We should allow a regular and hassle-free transaction.

We should give some Government support towards this effort.

Sir, I hope the Ministry will consider my suggestions, especially those relating to the strengthening of the Maintenance of Parents Act.

Strengthening the household

Sir, on many occasions, an elderly person or couple would approach me at my Meet-the-People Session( MPS) to seek assistance. Their children are not supporting them and they are struggling to get by. Some are not even able to contact their children. Most are reluctant to take legal action against their children to claim maintenance. They would rather seek help from the Government or charitable organisations. Then there is this resident who has been out of work for the past three years and her brothers who hold good paying jobs, not only practically leaving all the caring of a mother stricken with diabetes and chronic renal failure to her but also loaded her with all the bills! This disproportionate sharing, while one can argue should be the purview of families themselves to solve, should also be an issue that siblings can bring up to the proposed Tribunal on behalf of their parents.

Mediation and counselling should preferably be the standard course of action for such families but when this fails, I feel strongly that the Ministry should take firm action on behalf of aggrieved parents and victimised siblings.

The Minister shared with us in August last year that for the prior 12 months, 172 applications were filed at the Tribunal for Maintenance of Parents compared to 100 cases each year in the past. It was a significant increase. With this upward trend, do we have a profile of such elderly persons and the main reasons for the increase? How many of these cases were successfully resolved? This in itself would provide insights on whether the current legislation is adequate.

In addition, more resources were to be allocated to the office of the Commissioner for Maintenance of Parents. I hope that the Minister could elaborate on this. Have these allocations demonstrated to be sufficient to deal with the uptrend in view of our rapidly ageing population?

As the Minister is studying the possibility of amending the Act, may I ask how soon this will take place and the areas which would further strengthen the Maintenance of Parents Act.

An area which I feel should be enhanced is the enforcement of payment. I would like to suggest a form of automatic deduction, similar to our CPF deductions. This way, these parents are spared the humiliation of returning to the Tribunal to get their awarded monthly support enforced.

Maintenance of parents and children is a responsibility we all have to bear, a responsibility that is immutable with time, and transcends cultures and civilisations. Today's sandwiched generation should not be an exception. One cannot be absolved of responsibility but should take the necessary steps to shoulder and fulfil one's social responsibility. The Government cannot be a substitute except in exceptional cases.

Sir, the Government has always been reluctant to extend more assistance to single mothers in difficulties. It is justifiably worried that this will encourage more dependency on the State and lead to more pregnancies out of wedlock. However, we must consider the welfare and the future of the children involved. It serves no purpose to make a childhood already deprived of a father in a traditional family even more difficult by withholding financial and other social support assistance. I am not advocating measures to make such families on par with traditional family structures. Rather, we need not penalise such families which are, in most cases, already struggling financially, socially and psychologically.

I urge the Ministry to extend the maternity leave, Baby Bonus Scheme, the cash grant for newborns and tax relief to employ domestic maids to single mothers. We may limit the grant to only the first child and make this point clear to the mother upon her collection of the grant. This can be subject to conditions as well, not unlike the conditions that come along with the HOPE scheme. The case officer can even recommend childcare arrangements and provide job-matching assistance. From the NTUC Going Solo experience, the majority of single mothers are those resulting from widowhood or divorce. Again, these groups obviously need support. Let us not visit the sins of the parents on the child, let us build in support from the children's standpoint and allow them the same space to grow up in.

Positive attitude about marriage and family

Sir, I declare my interest as a Family Law practitioner. The Women's Charter was passed in 1961 when polygamy was widely practised by men, and women had very little or no rights at all in the marriage, other than to bear children and, hopefully, a male child so that her son could inherit some property and if he happened to be the favourite son, then perhaps the entire estate would be his.

Singapore has vastly transformed in the last 50 years. In the interim, the Women Charter has been amended several times to keep up with society changes and the last major amendments were made in 1997. However, those amendments did not change certain provisions that are widely viewed to be gender-biased in favour of women, including the name itself which men have accused as blatantly favouring women and women have cried out loud as not protecting women at all.

These days, more Singapore men date or marry women who earn more than them. Increasingly, more men work from home and take care of the children while their wives hold higher-paying, full-time jobs outside the home.

Singaporean women now work in professions that have traditionally been dominated by men, ranging from business to information technology, life sciences and the media. But these gender gains are now being questioned by critics, mostly men, who are crying gender discrimination – not in employment but in the division of family assets and paying maintenance for their children and alimony to their wives upon divorce. The statistics on divorces and annulments show that in 2006, there were 7,061 cases, in 2007, 7,241 and in 2008, 7,220 cases.

The Women's Charter contains the rights and responsibilities of the parties to a marriage. It covers every conceivable aspect of marital law – from registration and dissolution of marriages, division of matrimonial assets to maintenance provisions for the wife and child. It is in relation to division of assets and alimony that is being challenged, largely because when the Charter was passed in September 1961, Singaporean women had not yet increased their sphere of influence in society, at home, in the workplace, and in politics. Now is an appropriate time to change the "Women's Charter" to the "Family Charter" to truly reflect the gender un-biasness of this piece of legislation and the growing role and stature of women in our city-state.

The Charter is said to discriminate against men because sections 69(1) and 113 impose on the husband the obligation to financially support his wife or former wife. There is no corresponding duty on the part of the wife to financially support her husband. This means that the economically-superior wife will still have the right to demand financial support from her husband.

We have in recent years also witnessed more men seeking Personal Protection Orders for themselves and/or their children against their wives. But the men did not feel that they could get any protection because they are seeking protection against women under the Women's Charter and that is already a gender biased legislation.

Many voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have called for a renaming of the Women's Charter to "The Family Charter" since the essence of the Women's Charter is family-oriented as it aims to: (1) reinforce an awareness of the irreplaceable role and position of the family; (2) inspire families to unite in the defence and promotion of their rights; (3) encourage spouses to fulfil their duties as spouses and parents; and (4) commit all spouses to do everything possible to ensure that the rights of the family are protected so that the family institution is strengthened for the good of all mankind, today and in the future.

The Women's Charter should be pro-family instead of skewed in favour of the female gender. It should be viewed as the Family Charter, to take into account changing modern values, and to uphold equity and equality for both sexes. All said and done, a change in name and nomenclature will not suffice. The sole intent of this suggested change is to uphold the sanctity of marriage and the family unit whilst ensuring the rights and liberties of both men and women are entrenched and protected. It is only with the "substance" change and not mere "form" that will give this renamed and revised piece of legislation more "teeth" and "bite".

Divorce rate and families

Sir, the Government consistently seeks to foster a pro-family environment in Singapore through a broad range of measures that make the idea of marriage and child rearing more endearing and affordable.

Yet the problem of rising divorce rates has not been given sufficient attention from the Government.

4.00 pm

According to the Singapore Department of Statistics, the increase is about 10% over the five years from 2003 to 2008. Why is there an increase? Is this because of a great underlying problem where young couples rush to get married without understanding their responsibilities? Is the Ministry planning an in-depth study, perhaps with relevant non-govenmental organisations (NGOs), and come up with some recommendations to seek a long-term solution to this problem?

We may take references from what other countries are doing to curb their divorce rates. In Korea, where almost one out of two couples files for divorce, the Government is intervening with plans to institutionalise counselling programmes for separating couples. In Jakarta, it is mandatory for couples to attend a pre-marriage course if they wish for their union to be recognised under Indonesian laws.

For cases where a break-up of marriage is inevitable, are we providing enough support for such families, especially for the children and the parent who has the custody? Is there a one-stop body that can help single parents get emotional, social and financial guidance? What support can the Ministry offer to such parents? How long is the wait to get help from Legal Aid?

I sincerely hope that the Minister has good news for divorced women of a quicker and surer process of receiving alimony from their financially-capable ex-spouses, including the publicity of irresponsible ex-spouses, when they shirk their responsibilities and still going for re-marriage, as suggested by the Minister in Parliament before. We must not let these men get away with their responsibilities on the ex-spouses and families.

In conclusion, "love is blind". As a woman, I would like to appeal for all women – take charge of your love life. If a man has shirked his responsibility to his former spouse and children, there is every likelihood for him to do so again.

Parental involvement in a child's life

Sir, in my work as a Youth Executive, I have had the opportunity to interact with many youths of varying backgrounds. I have observed the marked difference among youths who have had the opportunity to develop close communication and relationships with their parents versus those who have not.

I find that this is not necessarily the result of a lack of desire among our parents to communicate with their children. It is possible that this can stem from a lack of knowledge in how-to. However, it also occurs after a long day at work, and it is natural for a parent to be tired and finds it challenging to devote the attention required to communicate and relate with his or her child. Young persons' development, especially when they are at the Upper Primary and Secondary School age, requires a great deal of parental involvement.

This period of the youth's life can be a turbulent one due to the large amount of change that they are experiencing on many different levels such as physical, social and emotional. Changes in social settings can be hard on the younger ones especially if they have a tendency to be more introverted. Peer pressure is a very real issue that they battle with at this age, because it involves their identity being challenged.

It is during this time where they start to discover their identity – who they are, what they believe in, what they stand for, what they like or dislike, etc. With this, comes a whole range of emotions that they need to deal with; not including the emotions that they are managing due to their physical and hormonal changes that come with puberty. Sir, it is precisely at this time that children need a parent to guide them, to talk to them, to assure them and to help them.

Under the Work-Life Works! (WOW) Fund, incentives are given to companies to allow greater worklife balance. This is good for parents as it provides them the flexibility to be around for their children as their children develop and mature and when their children need them. However, there seems to be a gap between this incentive fund and the implementation of it.

Can the Minister please explain if he has any plans to get greater buy-in from employers on this and if so, what are the plans? Sir, the role of a parent as a caregiver goes beyond putting food on the table. They play a vital and integral role in shaping, maturing and grooming their child to his utmost potential. Parents hold the responsibility of imparting, teaching and sharing with their children about moral and ethical values, not MOE or any other organisations.

Sir, I embrace fellow Nominated Member, Mrs Mildred Tan's suggestion to have a tripartite council as I believe the other key influences can play a part in imparting to the youths. But ultimately, Sir, parents hold the responsibility and are in the best position to teach and nurture their children. I believe that the Ministry has begun developing the right incentives but I urge the Ministry to do more to get companies to implement the incentives available for the benefit of all our parents who are ultimately the ones who will groom and nature our future generation into all that they can be. To do that, they will need to be available and also present in their child's life. This will also be to our country's long-term benefit.

Mr Seah Kian Peng, please take your two cuts together.

Paternity leave

Sir, first, let me declare my interest as a Board Member for the Centre for Fathering. This is actually my third year running in raising this issue of legislating paid paternity leave in Singapore. The only difference is I am doing so under MCYS as I would like their stand on this. I am smiling because I am looking at Mr Hawazi Daipi – I have raised it for the last two years and he actually, in his reply, asked me to raise it again this year.

According to the findings of the first large-scale "Fatherhood Perception" survey on 2,220 respondents here, commissioned by MCYS in November 2009, most fathers in career-centric Singapore wish they could spend more time with their children. Major obstacles are work, financial difficulties, and a lack of parenting resources and knowledge.

The findings of the MCYS survey on perceptions on fatherhood are revealing. Yes, we are mindful of the Government's earlier reply, that it has already provided working fathers with paid and unpaid leave options of six days each. However, Indonesia and the Philippines are the few Southeast Asian countries granting paid paternity leave to married workers. According to a June 2009 paper from the Centre for Economic and Policy Research titled "Parental Leave Policies in 21 Countries – Assessing Generosity and Gender Equality", the policy that divided leave and payments equally between mothers and fathers on a non-transferable "use it or lose it" basis would help to counteract both traditional gender roles and labour-market pressures. Australia will be introducing Paid Paternal Leave Scheme in January next year, subject to their parliamentary approval where they will grant Paid Paternal Leave Scheme of 18 weeks' pay. This scheme is on top of any paid maternity or paternity leave entitlement.

Obviously, the announcement was welcomed by most Australians, although it has taken almost seven years to materialise from the time Australia's first paid maternity leave legislation was tabled. I would like to believe I would not need seven years to work on this. We need to offer solutions that remove splinter distractions, such as workplace factors, from impending family responsibilities. We need to start thinking progressively like Google, who attracts and retains high caliber talent with its differentiated, employee-centric benefits, including four weeks' paternity leave that the Singapore office provides. I think the news appeared just last week.

For the reasons as stated, I hope the Ministry can consider supporting my proposal to have legally mandated paternity leave. In addition, I also propose that as part of our measures to build stronger families and to promote pro-creation, can we extend Government Paid Maternity Leave to economically active women who are currently excluded from such schemes? Taking it a step further, can we allow fathers to share Government Paid Maternity Leave with mothers as a form of paternal leave? Can Government take the lead especially for those in the teaching service where several teachers by virtue of their service terms are currently excluded.

Affordable childcare and human resource constraints

Mr Chairman, I commend the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) efforts to provide more quality childcare centres across Singapore. The target of increasing the number of childcare centres to 200 by the next two to three years is certainly one that I can appreciate, given the emphasis on quality and affordable pre-school education.

I do not foresee any issues with the hardware infrastructure, where I believe MCYS will face challenges with the software. My questions: do we have enough quality teachers and management staff to maintain quality pre-school education and childcare services? Will the childcare centres cannibalise the kindergartens currently operating out there granted that the next kindergartens are governed under the Ministry of Education's (MOE's) purview? Based on feedback, the industry does not seem ready for this growth spurt. Perhaps the Ministry can update us on the efforts to provide sufficient human resources to fulfil this growth in the short term. There are leakages in the number of graduates for Early Childhood Education in the sense that many of these graduates do not go into childhood education. The numbers of teachers coming in through mid-career are limited. With the economy recovering, there will even be fewer. Thus, we see a "merry-go-round" effect of proaching in the industry which will counter the objectives set by MCYS to provide quality and affordable childcare. If there is greater demand for childcare centres today in some estates compared to kindergartens, would the Ministry consider working with MOE to co-fund a hybrid childcare programme?

For a full day programme, MOE can continue to provide funding for the morning session for the existing kindergartens or MCYS can look into funding for the afternoon session for those with added spare capacity. Due to the various legacy schemes, some kindergartens are tied in for five years, before they can consider conversion to a childcare. Therefore, this hybrid proposal can help to maximise our existing infrastructure and teaching talents.

Adoption

(In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] The Government provides various incentives schemes for babies to encourage Singaporeans to have more children. The schemes have yet to achieve its target. Last year, our TFR dropped again at 1.23%. One of the key reasons is that young couples who want to have children cannot conceive for various reasons. The only way to have children for these couples is adoption so as to fulfil their desire to raise children.

"The Well Being of Singaporeans", a book by NUS Business School, has pointed out that 70% of Singaporeans would consider adoption to enjoy a family life. I would like to ask the Minister, during the last three years, how many children were adopted and among them how many were born locally and how many were from other countries.

Current adoption procedures are very complicated, resulting in long waiting time. To speed up the process, I suggest we simplify the procedures to cut down the waiting time. We can appoint more agencies to handle adoption cases involving children from China. I would also like the Minister to review and relax adoption polices to facilitate childless couples to adopt children more quickly and easily, and to allow couples with the means to adopt more than one child.

According to a Zaobao article in one United Nations report, there were 96 million Asian females who 'disappeared'. In China and India, 85 million females 'disappeared' due to abortion, infanticide or lack of care.

If there are good adoption agreements and systems between countries, these babies can be saved. This will make a positive impact on countries with a low birth rate. Please consider my suggestions.

*Cols. 3919-3920.

Caring for singles

Mr Chairman, Sir, I fully support the Government's drive to encourage marriage as well as its pro-family policies. The family is the building block of our society, of our country and with an ageing population and plunging total fertility rates, it is important for us to encourage marriage and childbirth. However, the fact of the matter is the number of single people in Singapore is increasing.

According to the latest figures, there were about 8% more single citizens aged 30 to 34 in 2008 than in 1998. Sir, tragically, I fall into this category and hereby declare my interest. Although much is made out of singles being choosy, it is my sincere belief that nobody would want to be a lonely heart if they can find a soul mate to spend the rest of their lives with. It is not about being choosy but being careful about a lifelong decision. Some of us may never find the person we can spend the rest of our lives with.

I am concerned that most of the Government's policies towards caring for citizens are based around the family unit as defined as the traditional nuclear family – husband, wife, children, parents. For example, singles cannot claim spousal tax reliefs and cannot buy HDB flats directly from HDB. Sir, singles are also citizens and need to be cared for. Whilst we continue to encourage marriage, we also need to be prepared that we may have a population of ageing singles that have no families. We should not allow this demographic to fall into a black-hole where community care is concerned. I hope MCYS can also consider helping needy singles that have no family to rely on, both psychologically and financially.

Can I also perhaps suggest that once a single person is orphaned, he could perhaps be considered to be a family unit with his siblings? It is hard enough to be lonely as we grow older; we hope we are not also treated as a phantom class by the Government – not part of any family nor even a part of a community recognised by the State.

Productivity and innovation

Sir, I admit that, unless the many helping hands in our social service sector are untangled and co-ordinated, we will not be able to maximise the impact on the communities we are trying to help. As Bill Gates said of his work to solve the mega social problems in the world, "The barrier to change is not too little caring; it is too much complexity. To turn caring into action, we need to cut through the complexity to find the solution."

Many Members of Parliament have asked for holistic solutions to help the poor and vulnerable. We work with so many compassionate and willing helping hands such as the Community Development Councils (CDC), Family Services Centres, National Council of Social Service (NCSS), voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs), grassroots leaders, religious help groups, and so forth. Even Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong shared, in February, that his courts had been providing help for dysfunctional families with food vouchers, rice, cooking oil and sugar.

Sir, in the current state of the Many Helping Hands model, we see overlapped services; over-served and under-served residents and repeat "customers" coming back to us for help that is unlikely to get them out of their poverty spirals.

I find this perplexing, unproductive and not strategic.

4.15 pm

I urge the Ministry to take the lead with its key partners and the Many Helping Hands and seriously put in place at different levels, the "System Integrator" role in our social services sector. In the world of IT and defence, a system integrator is a person or company that specialises in rigorously assessing the needs of clients, bringing together, building overall solutions, integrating products and services from different vendors, different helping hands to deliver results for the clients – each hand knowing the role of the other hand with the system integrator tracking overall results. This tight total solution is what the Many Helping Hands need in the social service sector.

There are holes in our social safety net that we need to repair. I seek the Minister’s attention in several areas:

for the chronic poor. Sir, I seek a modified form of public assistance for some in this group who are denied public assistance as they happen to be receiving ongoing CPF payouts from their own CPF account. The quantums are usually about over $200 and are way below that of the PA recipients. Some of them were former low-wage earners who could not deposit enough into their CPF and some are medically boarded out and are withdrawing their CPF balances prematurely. Because the CPF payout rate is low for these people, many of them return to their MPs or the Family Service Centres for replenishments. These people are now referred to as our "permanent ComCare" cases. These permanent ComCare cases need help; and

for the Disabled. I seek an update from the Minister of the five-year Enabling Masterplan that the Minister should be credited for initiating. I know that NCSS and MCYS have been working very hard over these years and I seek an update. As the plan will be expiring in 2011, when will the next review be? What are the outcomes especially for the early intervention and adulthood services that MCYS is directly overseeing?

There are a couple of gaps that I seek the Minister’s help in plugging:

in early intervention for which means-testing for this fairly costly service was planned to be fully effective this financial year;

to support adult disability day care centres and homes run by VWOs, especially those handling more severe and at times physically challenging clients. I call for a review of the norm costs and foreign staff ratio there; and

I urge the Minister to look into the lower-income families with adult-disabled children who cannot afford the entry and recurring fees for the services provided by the Special Needs Trust Company that MCYS has helped set up.

Finally, Sir, I would urge Government not to leave behind the non-profit social service sector in its efforts to boost productivity and innovation. Please increase MCYS' budget and give a generous productivity and innovation fund, so that they can hone the sector with skills, such as for productivity enhancement and innovation skills. If we exclude the sector out of this national movement, we might increase Singapore’s GDP and create a prosperous country, but we will not create a great country.

Dr Teo Ho Pin, take your two cuts together, please.

Self-reliance

Sir, helping low-income and needy families to achieve self-reliance can be challenging and complex. Very often, needy families face many barriers which prevent them from gaining self-reliance. At North-West Community Development Council (CDC), we analysed the profile of 69 Work Support for Self-Reliance (WSSR) cases which failed to achieve self-reliance after receiving assistance from the CDC.

We found that 60% of these families have household size of five or more members and their breadwinners have GCE "O" level or below qualifications. The key reasons for failing to achieve self-reliance are (1) family members are not willing to work due to employability, childcare or eldercare problems; (2) family members having medical problems or disabilities; and (3) family members and relatives are not supportive.

Sir, the vast majority of needy families which face difficulty in achieving self-reliance have multiple problems. Thus "many helping hands" are needed to help these families. I would urge the Ministry to focus on building the capabilities of our "many helping hands". Capable helping hands will definitely help needy families to attain self-reliance quickly.

To remove some barriers of self-reliance, the Ministry should also build more childcare and eldercare centre to support working family members. These centres should operate with flexible hours so as to encourage more family members to work to support their families.

Sir, I wish to ask the Minister the following questions:

How does the Ministry define self-reliance when helping the needy;

Can the Ministry review the ComCare Schemes so that more can be done to overcome barriers towards self-reliance; and

Will the Ministry provide more resources to build capabilities of help agencies to further enhance their success rate in helping the needy to achieve self-reliance?

Family service centre

Sir, about 40,000 families receive social assistance from the CDCs each year. Twenty-five percent of these cases or 9,500 cases require case management to attain self-reliance. Sir, Family Service Centre (FSC) plays an important role in providing professional social services to help the needy to gain self-reliance. To date, the 36 family service centres in the community have been working closely with many help agencies especially the CDCs to provide social assistance services to the needy. Very often, case management and counselling are required to help needy families to resolve their personal, social and emotional problems.

Sir, I would like to urge the Ministry to further expand the roles of FSC so that it can be a one-stop social service centre for the needy. As such, FSCs can be the contact points for social services in our community similar to the community club. In this way, needy families can approach the FSCs, which will in turn partner with other help agencies to provide an integrated service to better help the needy. Thus, needy families can be properly guided to attain self-reliance as soon as possible.

Sir, I would like to urge the Ministry to provide more resources to build the case management capabilities of FSCs. The funding support to FSCs should also be directly linked to the efforts of the FSCs in helping needy residents achieve self-reliance.

Sir, I wish to ask the Minister the following questions:

Are there plans to expand the roles of FSCs to be a one-stop social service centre for the needy;

What is the long-term plan to ensure that FSC can provide effective centre-based and mobile social services to the needy; and

How does the Ministry measure the effectiveness of FSC?

Many helping hands

(In Malay): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] I rise in agreement with Dr Teo Ho Pin and Ms Denise Phua with regard to the Many Helping Hands approach which I think is a very effective approach. It not only helps those we want to support but also galvanises the compassionate spirit within the community, which will further enhance ties among the various members of our society.

Whether the welfare organisations, which operate within the community, are helping the disabled, the poor or needy families, they need support. Based on my observation, the continuous and consistent support from the Government will help them carry out their duties effectively in helping the people who need help. The Government’s support can come in the form of funds or resources.

In this matter, I would like to focus on the Family Service Centres (FSCs) which are operating at the local community level. So far, there are 36 FSCs around Singapore that provide services to the poor and needy families. One proposal, which I think should be considered, is to ensure the presence of one or two officers in each FSC who can focus on needy families requiring continuous support. They can be called case managers. I am concerned that some of the families that we want to help may drop out from our welfare radar because they no longer approach the FSC or the bodies that are helping them. I feel that with the presence of a case manager who can focus on specific cases – that is, those who need a more comprehensive assistance – the help that we extend to such families will be more meaningful.

For example, a family that needs all kinds of support, in terms of finance, housing and their children’s education, may be given specific assistance for certain areas. We do not wish to see that the assistance being given to the family did not help them comprehensively, because their children dropped out of school. With the presence of a staff member who can monitor certain cases – not all cases, but specific cases which require close attention from the FSC – we may be able to reduce the family’s burden and ensure that we avoid undesirable outcomes, for instance, when the children dropped out of school or became involved in anti-social activities like drug abuse.

I hope that the Ministry will consider this need for case management in order to ensure that those whom we help will receive proper, effective and comprehensive support so that the FSC can perform its duty as best as it can with the support of a case manager.

*Cols. 3921-3922.

Holistic assistance for the needy

Mr Chairman, Sir, may I urge MCYS to act swiftly on a holistic approach to ensure that no one is left behind to struggle just to make ends meet.

Regardless of the economic situation our country is in, a segment of our population continues to be mired in an endless struggle despite having tried their best. These are residents many MPs meet in their Meet-the-People Sessions who are caught in the rut of such chronic poverty-states and no permanent solutions are available to help them get out. We need to shift away from jumping immediately to the comfortable defensive policy-line that we cannot breed a crutch-mentality society each time there is a call to help the lower-income group. So we ought to be mindful that, very often, many of these people are in situations which, if left on their own, are unable to help themselves in any way. I concur with my parliamentary colleague Dr Teo Ho Pin on self-reliance assistance.

We need to find solution that encompasses a holistic approach which has longer term effects aiming to help these low-income families move up the socio-economic ladders.

In these families, the fathers usually require some kind of assistance to improve their lot, in terms of upgrading of their skills or getting better jobs perhaps. The wives need to have jobs to supplement the family's income. Many of such families are held back from working due to unsolvable problems they are facing. These problems range from low education and low-skill, young children and aged parents to care for, as Dr Teo Ho Pin said earlier, low in confidence and esteem, unsure where to apply for assistance and so on. They, therefore, require special attention and help to solve their problems in totality. A holistic way in assisting them to acquire the skills, to find the work and to discharge home duties is the way to go.

We always consider education a guaranteed road out of poverty. But education in Singapore is getting more competitive and complex. The children of the resource-poor families do not enjoy the same access to help in their education. These children enter school disadvantaged and it is never a level-playing field for them at all. The parents are too resource-poor to give their children a leg-up in their education. As I have said earlier, these parents often are in dire need of some assistance themselves. Hence, wittingly or not, education has lost its effect as the great social leveller as in the past. Could MCYS apply a hand-holding approach to assist the children in these families, as Mr Hawazi Daipi said earlier? To ensure that they are not deprived due to the lack of means and they can get on adequately with their education, we need to do something about this or the children of resource-poor families will continue to be stuck in their rut of unequal opportunities.

More community efforts to assist needy

Mr Chairman, the challenge today is much of the expectations on financial and social assistance rest on the Government and the various schemes they administer, such as ComCare. The danger in the perception is that the MCYS is seen to be the only hand responsible to help the needy in Singapore. On the other hand, the ownership of financially and socially disadvantaged should go beyond just the MCYS and the people sector, but right down to the people. We should do more to inculcate the sense of community ownership over issues concerning the needy and underprivileged in Singapore and garner greater support for the people sector.

4.30 pm

The recent petitions raised by residents in Tampines and Pasir Ris about the development of rental flats in their matured HDB estates do raise the issue of whether we truly have a caring and gracious society. It is sad when we see Singaporeans trying to disassociate themselves from the needy in that manner.

Can the Ministry share how much money was raised by the charities last year and if it tracks how much of it was disbursed to needy Singaporeans? How does this compare to the amount disbursed by ComCare? The common criticism on ComCare is that the aid given is insufficient given Singapore's high cost of living. But, on the other hand, what is the Ministry's assessment of effectiveness of the charities sector to provide additional help above the base as given by the Government? How does the Ministry measure whether its Many-Helping-Hands approach is effective? I think we can do more to involve more young Singaporeans in this effort to inculcate a more gracious and compassionate society that cares for its own. Right now, the expectation is on that one hand to clap and that one hand to clap loudly.

Dysfunctional families

Mr Chairman, the issue of dysfunctional families in the Malay-Muslim community seems to be an evergreen topic. Despite efforts by multiple Malay-Muslim Organisations (MMOs), VWOs and community groups, the issue appears unending and complex. Many are noted to have dropped out along the way – somehow, somewhere, sometime.

Is this due to lack of coordination and integration by the sectors involved? MENDAKI is currently expanding programmes under the family development network umbrella, using some of the funds to be received under the Mosque Building and MENDAKI Fund (MBMF). These new programmes will specifically target families affected by divorces, remarriages, low-income and other social issues. How will these programmes be coordinated and how will it work with different organisations to cover the existing gaps?

Dysfunctional families and single mothers

Sir, I would like to ask the Minister if he can give us an update following the enhancement of the HOPE scheme in April 2009 to include divorced women.

Sir, I know that the Government takes a conservative view of families and that there is some fear that being generous to single mothers (whether divorced or unmarried) could be seen as endorsing and encouraging "growth" of the single-mums category. I share the same view. But at the same time, we know that many become single mums are forced by circumstances and not by choice.

Last year, I was most heartened that MCYS agreed to my suggestion to include divorced mothers with two or fewer children in the HOPE scheme. At the same time, I do think that this group can be given more social support.

Many mothers, because of their single status, do not get maternity leave, Baby Bonus, nor child sick leave, much less housing and many other rights others take for granted. Sir, is there some way we can look to assist those with young children to live in rental flats, and to be eligible for sick child leave?

Sir, while there is some acknowledgement that we need to send a signal of what values we stand for through our policies, I think we can add in a higher degree of compassion in this case. Second, can we have more intensive case management of such families?

Sir, I have spoken before about the need to build resilience and to focus on keeping the numbers of marriage breakups down. We need to break the vicious cycle and provide solutions for such families. I think this continues to be important and we have to work hard at helping these families pull themselves out.

But why not use a carrot approach as well as a helping hand one? Why not provide incentives for staying married? Suppose we celebrate each year of success in staying married. Why not give a "marriage bonus" to each couple that stays married for five, 10 and 20 years, with each bonus being a different amount, to be from $1,000 to $5,000? This may not address the issue directly but it does show that we support healthy families and we will allow each family to find its own path.

Manpower development in social enterprises

Sir, let me declare my interest as the Founder of Social Innovation Park and co-chair of the Social Enterprise Association.

(In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] The purpose of running a social enterprise is not to make big money. People in this sector hold the belief that their talents shall be used to benefit humanity. There are many zealous young people who wish to do good for the society but have not been able to get support from Singapore's overall environment. They start with great confidence but soon they find themselves facing many difficulties which keep them awake at night. How to innovate? How to improve? When they get up the next morning, they realise that they have no money nor the network. Ambition is defeated by reality. They have no choice but to opt out and go back to the old path. Hence we lose another champion of the social enterprises as well as an opportunity for innovation.

Let me ask: if a social entrepreneur can start an enterprise which enables the underprivileged to become more confident, more ambitious and contribute more to the society, as well as reduces the burden of the Government at the same time, should we not give them greater support? I hope the Government, community and our social enterprises can work together to give the people, especially the vulnerable, a better life and hope for the future.

I would like to give an example from the United Kingdom. Let me now speak in English.

*Cols. 3923-3924.

(In English): A developmental approach to nurturing the social economy, via a four-pronged system. This comprises building a Social Enterprise (SE) culture, improving business advisory, tackling barriers to access to finance and enabling SEs to work with Government. The result? The latest estimates by the Office of the Third Sector suggest there are 62,000 social enterprises contributing £24 billion to the UK economy.

In Singapore, we can and must do better. We need a much more systematic and inclusive approach to nurturing SEs, especially in the field of financial fuel and manpower development. Even the social sector itself, a high touched industry could benefit from lifelong learning to improve creativity and productivity.

Unfortunately, currently, most of these schemes to support the social sector are tuned towards only those that are charity registered. In other words, schemes like the very good Vocational Capability Fund (VCF) that subsidises training courses of up to 80% of course fees for its members and staff are not applicable to SEs that are not charity registered.

Sir, as a result, many SEs that seek to be financially sustainable did their sums and had no choice but to seek lower cost of operation by registering themselves to be a charity and get their IPC status.

I have two suggestions. One, can the Minister extend the VCF and all social sector related fundings to SEs, whether they are charity registered or not? And two, whether we could also advise and encourage more SEs and SE Association to work with the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and Skills Development Fund (SDF) to create such institutions for training?

Caring for the handicapped – financial aid

Mr Chairman, Sir, parents and family members have traditionally been the main caregivers to the disabled.

Usually, such home-based care requires a dedicated caregiver, often a lady. Sometimes, the family is able to afford a foreign domestic worker to lighten the burden of caring for the disabled. Other times, less common, the disabled are placed in nursing institutions.

The community and the Government can play a greater role to support such caregivers. Caregiving for the disabled, being a long-term or even lifelong responsibility, can be a challenging and sometimes exhausting task that can impact the caregiver financially, physically and emotionally. The daily tasks can be demanding and draining, and caregivers, with their freedom restricted in order to care for the disabled, could be prone to depression and isolation.

May I request that the Ministry give relief care to caregivers or the families of the disabled, especially disabled children? As a suggestion, the person providing the relief care will take care of the disabled once a week, so that the caregiver can have some time to recharge himself or herself. This service could be co-funded by the Government. Would the Ministry also consider giving monetary allowances to caregivers to compensate them for their effort? Many caregivers have to give up their jobs. This will help alleviate the financial burdens on these families.

I visited homes in my constituency, Ulu Pandan. Very often, if there is a caregiver for a handicapped or disabled child, it is the mother. The mothers, taking care of their mentally challenged and handicapped children, really need an outlet, a form of respite which a day off per week will offer. How can we organise and facilitate respite care for these caregivers? The child’s motivation and well-being is directly linked to the enthusiasm of the caregiver. If we refresh them, and give them a chance to be refreshed, through relief care, this will not only improve the physical and emotional well-being of the caregiver but also the quality of care of the child and, consequently, the child’s progress.

Has MCYS studied other models of government-funded relief care in other countries? If so, could some best practices be adopted in Singapore? If we introduce this, we could then see how we could extend it to care-givers of elderly parents.

Therefore, to sum up, Sir, would the Minister consider assisting in the resourcing for and co-funding of Relief Care for Caregivers of Handicapped children in Singapore and broadening what there is already in place?

Partnership for capability transformation

Mr Chairman, Sir, in this year's Budget Statement, there are many schemes available to help business or SMEs under the Partnership for Capability Transformation. Sir, I may be wrong. However, there are few similar schemes to help people with special needs or disability and on a scale that is significant to lift this sector up and make us truly an inclusive society.

To this end, may I suggest to the Minister that MCYS develops soft infrastructure in line with a social entrepreneurship concept. This will need careful study, perhaps undertaken by a special committee at the national level involving the various community partners and stakeholders. The outcome will be worthwhile and sustainable ventures that will put people with disabilities as contributing members of our society. Their integration as equal members of our community is important and possible.

Sir, this concept of social entrepreneurship never really takes off in Singapore in a manner that is significant and impacting the community or people it intended for. Is there something to do with our lack of resources or level of policy support and expertise? My desired outcome for this sector is take leverage of our various hubs of excellence. The target business enterprise could be a value-added chain sector such as multimedia, creative and digital arts or even software technology. Whatever the enterprise we embark, there are two levels for take-off. Training to equip the people that run the business to make it viable and training the people with disabilities with upgraded skills.

I am reminded of the popular analogy in Social Service parlance – give me a fish and I eat a day; teach me to fish and I eat a lifetime. Finally, echoing the words of the Minister at the Prime Minister's Office, Mr Lim Boon Heng, we must not only do good which is a corporate social responsibility but do well which is the financial bottomline factor.

Mr Chairman, this is the sixth year my Permanent Secretary and I are in the Committee of Supply (COS) representing the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS). In six years, I have heard a lot of suggestions from this House. For this year, I can honestly say I actually agree with most of what I have heard. But by now, my staff are also used to my usual response when I am presented with new ideas and new suggestions, and that is to go back to first principles.

First, what problem are we trying to fix? Second, what are the values that underpin the solution being proposed? And third, what evidence is there to back up the proposal and equally, in the long term, what evidence do we have that the solutions that we have rolled out are effective? This is the general approach to the many issues that surface in MCYS and, perhaps, it would be worthwhile starting again with the first principles.

Today, we have a successful, modern, dynamic society, and a first-world city, that have arisen out of an island with no natural resources, and that resulted from a congregation of people from many different places in the world. Therefore, the first question you should ask is how and why have we succeeded. So, answer that question, and also bear that in mind when we propose solutions for the social safety net. It is the same reason why we should start today with the family.

The family remains the basic building block of Singapore society because it goes far beyond the need to merely reproduce ourselves, although we are not doing that very well either. The family shapes our identity, it transmits our deepest held values and it represents our ultimate investment in the future.

A society with no children would be a hedonistic society with no interest in the future. But even as we reaffirm the importance and the centrality of the family in Singapore, we also acknowledge that the family in Singapore is under pressure.

4.45 pm

Mdm Cynthia Phua was rightly concerned about the increasing divorce rate. After five years, 5.8% – almost 6% of the couples who were married in 2004 were divorced by 2009. I then asked my staff to track the 1987 cohort, because that was when I was married. For the cohort that got married in 1987, after five years, only 3.2% of us were divorced. What this means is that in the last two decades, the likelihood of a marriage failing within the first five years has doubled.

But having said that, I also want to caution and to remind all of us that ultimately a marriage is about a relationship between two people. It is not primarily about the Government. The Government cannot legislate love or commitment, when these crucial elements have been neglected by the two key partners involved. Quite frankly, we all know that there are some circumstances in which divorce may even be the preferred option. I would not judge anyone who has to make such a wrenching decision. Nonetheless, my Ministry would do its best to help families and to help people who want to work on their marriage. We work with the National Family Council (NFC), family service providers, educators and religious groups, to equip couples with skills to help them prepare and weather the challenges encountered in a marriage. We encourage marriage preparation courses, but these should not be run by the civil servants or Government. The NFC's Marriage Central has set up a one-stop resource point at the Jurong Regional Library. This complements their online presence. There are also many other religious groups which also run these one-stop referral and help centres.

Despite our best efforts, we know that some marriages will fail. A divorce is always a disaster. There will always be people who will suffer as a result of the divorce, especially in cases where children are involved. We do have schemes to ensure that divorced families can access financial assistance, employment and childcare. There are also many voluntary organisations that provide support for divorced families and help people adjust to the new realities on the ground because almost always, there are both social and economic penalties on the remaining family members.

What I want to focus on today is the duty of care, which is in line with what several MPs, including Mdm Cynthia Phua, have asked for in terms of doing more to help women claim their alimony payments. I had flagged this issue last year when I asked for feedback from members of the public. My Ministry also worked with the Courts, the NFC, Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO) as well as people on the ground who sent us many suggestions and recommendations.

First, let me give Members some numbers. In 2009, 3,585 applications were made in Courts for maintenance orders. This represents a 10% increase over the previous year. Ten percent increase in one year. For maintenance orders that were issued in 2005, 21% of them had defaulted within three years. Of these 21% who had defaulted within three years, half of them were actually recurrent defaulters, which means they had defaulted twice or more. The point is, we do have a problem with maintenance.

We intend to adopt a two-pronged approach to strengthen enforcement of maintenance. First, we will make it less onerous for women to seek and enforce maintenance orders. Second, we will introduce new and enhanced measures to deter defaults and secure payments. Let me go through some details.

I am glad that the Courts have announced – in fact, it was the Chief Justice himself who announced two weeks ago – that they will be improving their processes in order to make it easier for complainants. This will reduce the need for complainants to make multiple trips to the Courts in order to enforce maintenance orders. The current system often entails the women having to go to the Courts three, four or even more times in order to secure an Order. Once the person defaults, the process also starts all over again. All of us here would have seen women coming to us and saying they are too tired, too emotionally stressed, and unable to take the time-off to secure their maintenance. Their employers ask them why they keep going to the Courts and coming back empty-handed. We will work on reducing this onerous process. One measure is that we will enable women to lodge their complaints through a video-link, which would mean that they do not have to go to the Courts to begin the process. They can go to a service centre which would have all the proper facilities and the necessary technological link-up.

The Subordinate Courts will also create the HELP (Helping to Empower Litigants-in-Person) Centres. It basically would help complainants navigate the legal process, and explain to them what they need to do and what comes after step 1, step 2 and step 3. MCYS will explore how to further help complainants through appropriate referrals to social assistance services. We have also had preliminary discussions with the SCWO, and I expect them to make an announcement shortly as to how they would step up to the plate and provide more services to women in such circumstances.

Furthermore, we will amend the law such that the Courts will be empowered to order parties to provide information on their financial status when hearing cases. This means that a person cannot hide and say, "I do not have a job" or "I am not employed". We will get access to the needed information.

The Government will also deter defaults by amending the Women's Charter to give the Courts powers to impose further sanctions and penalties. One measure will be to require the defaulter to pose a security, such as a banker's guarantee, to set aside funds against future defaults. If he defaults, the money will still be drawn out of the banker's guarantee, whilst he squabbles in Court as to whether or not the payments are due. Another is to allow the Courts to impose community-based sentences when the legislative framework for this is ready. This will address the situations where the man says, "It is all right. Put me in jail. Then I cannot work and I cannot pay." So, the Courts need to have an additional menu of options in which they can penalise or deter the recalcitrants without necessarily stopping them from working.

The Women's Charter will also be amended to enable complainants to report maintenance debts to credit bureaus. In other words, if a man is in default of his alimony to his ex-wife, this will also affect his credit standing.

To better secure maintenance payments, the Subordinate Courts have also announced that they will be issuing more Attachment of Earnings Orders (AEOs) where maintenance payments will be deducted directly from salaries of the man involved. This will ensure prompt payment. To facilitate the issue of AEOs, MCYS will amend the law to allow complainants to obtain information on the respondents' employment status from the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board.

Finally, the prospective new spouses of defaulters need to be aware of the outstanding financial obligations of the defaulters. We will not stop them from remarrying – that would be going too far. But we will require people who have maintenance debts to declare them, when they register for marriage at the Registry of Marriages (ROM), so at least the next wife knows that the defaulter has a record. But as someone said just now, "love is blind" so I do not think that will stop the marriage. However, it is to create a culture of responsibility and compliance.

Let me at this point also reply to Ms Ellen Lee's suggestions on changing the Women's Charter to a Family Charter. The Women's Charter is a very special piece of legislation. It was passed in 1961 and was, I think, one of the early signature pieces of legislation by the PAP. And if you think about it, it was ahead of its time to, in 1961, insist on monogamy and on women's rights, and create an unlevel playing field to protect women. So will we consider a change in its name? I think the Member is already going for more than just a change in name. We should ask ourselves how much has changed in these 50 years. Obviously, a lot has changed for women in Singapore in these 50 years.

But every Member of Parliament here, including the Opposition MPs, will know there is still a gender gap. Our female labour force participation rate was 55% in 2009, which was significantly lower than that for men at 76%. For the cases who come to see us at the Meet-the-People Session (MPS), they are almost always women. I have hardly ever seen a man come in and say, "I am divorced. My wife is very rich. I wish she would hand over some money to me." That has not been the case. I guess my answer to the Member would be that I do not think we are ready yet to abandon the key principle in the Women's Charter, which is that women still need protection in our society.

Mr Seah Kian Peng and Mr Wee Siew Kim have also made excellent suggestions on making amendments to the Maintenance of Parents Act (MPA). I generally agree with the suggestions that had been put up. The MPA should reflect the centrality of filial piety in our society. I think all Members would agree with me that we need to ensure that adult children discharge their duty to provide for their parents.

Unfortunately, there has been a rising incidence of applications being made to the Tribunal for the Maintenance of Parents (TMP). In 2009, 199 applications were filed. This was higher than the 127 applications the year before, and 109 in 2007. So it is almost a doubling in two years. Also, we have all seen cases in our MPS – cases where elderly parents, having been forsaken by their children, are coming to us asking for rental housing and assistance or going to other charitable organisations. The problem with this is that every unfilial child who does not support his or her parents is, in effect, expecting someone else to pick up the tab, and to fulfil their filial responsibilities.

The HDB and CDCs have tightened their criteria. As we have noticed in the last few months, we would refer needy elderly parents who apply for rental flats – when we find that there is actually a child who is capable of looking after them – to the Commissioner for the Maintenance of Parents. Last year, we introduced some pre-filing processes at the Commissioner's Office so that elderly parents can opt for alternative avenues to resolve their issues. Basically, people do not want to jump into a legislative process – they do not want to go to Court, in the first instance. It will be better if we can work more with social services, with counsellors at Family Service Centres (FSCs) to try to patch relationships, and to gently remind people about their filial responsibilities and avoid going to Court. But this often requires us to give the elderly parents a helping hand. I have instructed that the Commissioner for the Maintenance of Parents will play a more active role in providing a helping hand to vulnerable elderly parents. Where appropriate, we can also apply enforcement measures for the maintenance of children and ex-spouses, to orders for maintenance of elderly parents. I may need to explain this.

The Maintenance of Parents Act can result in a maintenance order to be issued. The enforcement of that maintenance order rides on similar provisions in the Women's Charter. So, in fact, when we tighten the enforcement measures in the Women's Charter, it will also make it easier for parents to make and to enforce claims on their children.

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But do we need to do even more, given the rising numbers? I think the answer is probably "yes". The Maintenance of Parents Act was first tabled in 1994 as a Private Member's Bill by the then Nominated Member of Parliament, Prof. Walter Woon. This time round, I would like to suggest Mr Seah Kian Peng gets together a group of like-minded MPs to table a Private Member's Bill to amend this Act – put down your suggestions, translate them into legislative amendments and put it to this House. The Government will lift the Whip on this, and we can have a full and thorough debate both inside as well as outside this House. And we would like MPs to vote according to their conscience; hopefully, we will then have a revised Maintenance of Parents Act that will reflect the aspirations and needs of our society on this most sensitive issue. So, I hope we will see progress on this in the next few months.

We have also liberalised the CPF Minimum Sum Topping-Up Scheme to encourage children to voluntarily top up their parents' accounts. Tax relief is given for such voluntary top-ups. On Mr Seah's proposal to have another scheme to encourage people to express filial piety by making voluntary donations, I want to say that, in fact, the avenue is already available, and I hope more people will consider doing so.

The Ministry of Finance has also enhanced the parent relief to provide greater tax benefits. This parent relief covers parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. I suppose if some of you are supporting great-great-grandparents, we can negotiate with the Minister for Finance.

Mr Seah has brought up for the third time his plea for paternity leave. Well, I think he would have heard Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng tell us that, in fact, we had just announced a major suite of procreation benefits – I think it was at the 2008 National Day Rally. So we are not ready yet to make another slew of adjustments. Nevertheless, I heard what the Member said and I have sympathy for both his suggestions on paternity leave as well as expanding the criteria for maternity leave, so that more women who currently do not qualify would qualify in the future.

Mr Seah has also enquired about our Public Service – since Public Service is the largest employer – to make sure the Government "walks the talk". Let me assure the House that the Public Service Division policies on maternity benefits, childcare leave, part-time work, tele-commuting and staggered hours are all entirely consonant with our national policies. So, we will lead by example.

We will also take Ms Yeo's comment on encouraging greater work-life balance, and this is something which both MCYS and MOM would continue to work on in the future.

I have spent a lot of time talking about marriages, families and responsibilities. But I have not forgotten Mr Calvin Cheng making his plea for singles. Well, my first offer to him is to use the services of the Social Development Network (SDN). We would be most happy to help him and maybe by next year, we can report progress – that would be useful. But having said that, we do actually take care of all citizens. There are benefits which are given to everyone, regardless of marital status – for example, public healthcare, education, childcare, and training subsidies, and Workfare and tax reliefs. And for singles who fall into hard times, they can also tap on our national assistance schemes. Eligibility for ComCare is not dependent on whether or not you are married. However, having said that, I was also struck the other day by the fact that the overwhelming majority of people on Public Assistance are single elderly people. You can draw your own conclusion from that – that singlehood is a risk – or you can also draw the converse conclusion which is that, even if you are single and you are in trouble, there is still a safety net for you. But that is not a safety net which I hope people will want or need to rely on in the future.

On housing, I should remind the House that we have allowed singles aged 35 and above to purchase HDB resale flats, and orphans can get together with their siblings and buy a flat as long as one of them is over the age of 21. Singles can also qualify for the Singles Grant of up to $11,000. And if the singles are staying with their parents, they can get a higher grant of $20,000. So the point is we have not forgotten singles and we have not forgotten that they are also part of our families.

Mr Wee Siew Kim was concerned about whether or not we were providing adequate support for single mothers. Single mothers and their children are eligible for the universal infant and childcare subsidies, Government subsidies on healthcare and education, social assistance as well as the two days' statutory childcare leave per year under the Employment Act. It is true that they are not eligible for the Baby Bonus and for the extended Government-paid maternity leave. The reason we did not extend this is because the Baby Bonus and the extended Government-paid maternity leave are incentive schemes. These incentives schemes are to encourage married couples to have more children. We are very wary of, unwittingly, encouraging singles to have children. Now, I understand, of course, that every single mother that I have met has told me it was not by choice, it was by circumstances. But I am also always mindful that, whenever I meet a lady in such circumstances, there is also a "missing" man. She did not conceive and deliver a child because of only her decision or mistakes. We need to remind ourselves, therefore, that the State cannot be a surrogate husband or a surrogate father.

Whilst we want to make sure we nurture and protect the children who are caught in such situations, we also have to be mindful not to incentivise wrong behaviour. I would also then remind all men that we are responsible for all our children, even if they are illegitimate. You have heard cases where the man said, "Well, I told the woman to have an abortion, she decided to still have the child, so it is her responsibility." Well, the legal position is that the man is still responsible and, in fact, as we put more teeth into the enforcement of maintenance, such men can and, I believe, hopefully, will be held liable to take responsibility for looking after their children.

I would also like to thank Mr Ang Mong Seng for sharing his views on adoption. Over the last five years, there were 450 babies adopted per year in Singapore. Of this number, about 60% were foreign. In adoption, our primary duty is to ensure that the child's safety and well-being are catered for. Adoption is not a major plank of our marriage and procreation policy. We have to be very careful to assess each couple to make sure that they are capable of bringing up the child securely and well for the long term.

Our current process takes about 19 weeks, which includes the necessary legal as well as social investigations. Nineteen weeks is not inordinately long compared with overseas jurisdictions. I also want to emphasise that we will not take short cuts in this area. I think all Members who have children will appreciate that every child deserves the best chance in life. Members can be rest assured that I lean very heavily and regularly on my officers on this, to make sure that there is no unnecessary red tape which is delaying the process.

Now, let me move on to several new initiatives which we are rolling out to enable children to have a better life in the future. In the 2008 National Day Rally, the Prime Minister announced that the Government will facilitate the establishment of 200 new childcare centres by 2013. We have made good progress in the last two years. Another 59 new childcare centres have been established, which have provided an additional 6,700 places. Today, our enrolment in childcare centres has climbed to a high of 58,400. This represents about 83% of our total capacity. So we still have space and we are still continuing to roll out more centres.