Pupil-Teacher Ratio for Primary and Secondary School Examinable Subjects

Debated in Parliament on 4 Oct 2022.

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Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim inquired about the current pupil-teacher ratios for primary and secondary levels, specifically differentiating between examinable subjects like languages, math, and science, and non-examinable subjects such as physical education, social studies, and art or music.
Chan Chun Sing responded that the Ministry of Education uses the OECD’s definition of pupil-teacher ratio, calculated as total student enrolment divided by total teachers, and noted improvements over the past decade from 19 to 15 for primary and 15 to 12 for secondary levels, aligning with OECD averages.
He explained that calculating ratios by subject is not feasible or meaningful due to teachers often teaching multiple subjects, and emphasized that both examinable and non-examinable subjects are valued in a holistic education approach.

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Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Education what is the current pupil-teacher ratio for (i) Primary and (ii) Secondary levels for examinable subjects, such as the languages, mathematics and science, and non-examinable or elective subjects, such as physical education, social studies and art/music respectively.

Chan Chun Sing

MOE adopts the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)'s definition of the student-teacher ratio, or in the context, the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR), which is calculated by dividing the total student enrolment by the total number of teachers at a given level of education.

Our PTR has improved over the last decade, from 19 in 2011 to 15 in 2021 at the primary level, and from 15 to 12 at the secondary level. Our PTRs are comparable to OECD averages and countries, such as Japan, Switzerland and Germany.

The PTR is a measure of the overall investment and allocation of teacher resources in an education system. It is neither feasible nor meaningful to calculate the PTR by different subjects, as many teachers teach more than one subject. More importantly, we regard both examinable and non-examinable subjects as important elements of a broad-based holistic education.

Summary written by AI (learn more)

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim inquired about the current pupil-teacher ratios for primary and secondary levels, specifically differentiating between examinable subjects like languages, math, and science, and non-examinable subjects such as physical education, social studies, and art or music.
Chan Chun Sing responded that the Ministry of Education uses the OECD’s definition of pupil-teacher ratio, calculated as total student enrolment divided by total teachers, and noted improvements over the past decade from 19 to 15 for primary and 15 to 12 for secondary levels, aligning with OECD averages.
He explained that calculating ratios by subject is not feasible or meaningful due to teachers often teaching multiple subjects, and emphasized that both examinable and non-examinable subjects are valued in a holistic education approach.

Questions identified by AI (learn more)

Pupil-Teacher Ratio for Primary and Secondary School Examinable Subjects

Debated in Parliament on 4 Oct 2022.

Summary written by AI (learn more)

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim inquired about the current pupil-teacher ratios for primary and secondary levels, specifically differentiating between examinable subjects like languages, math, and science, and non-examinable subjects such as physical education, social studies, and art or music.
Chan Chun Sing responded that the Ministry of Education uses the OECD’s definition of pupil-teacher ratio, calculated as total student enrolment divided by total teachers, and noted improvements over the past decade from 19 to 15 for primary and 15 to 12 for secondary levels, aligning with OECD averages.
He explained that calculating ratios by subject is not feasible or meaningful due to teachers often teaching multiple subjects, and emphasized that both examinable and non-examinable subjects are valued in a holistic education approach.

Questions identified by AI (learn more)

Full Transcript

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim

Chan Chun Sing

Summary written by AI (learn more)

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim inquired about the current pupil-teacher ratios for primary and secondary levels, specifically differentiating between examinable subjects like languages, math, and science, and non-examinable subjects such as physical education, social studies, and art or music.
Chan Chun Sing responded that the Ministry of Education uses the OECD’s definition of pupil-teacher ratio, calculated as total student enrolment divided by total teachers, and noted improvements over the past decade from 19 to 15 for primary and 15 to 12 for secondary levels, aligning with OECD averages.
He explained that calculating ratios by subject is not feasible or meaningful due to teachers often teaching multiple subjects, and emphasized that both examinable and non-examinable subjects are valued in a holistic education approach.

Questions identified by AI (learn more)

Pupil-Teacher Ratio for Primary and Secondary School Examinable Subjects | PAPERCUTS

Pupil-Teacher Ratio for Primary and Secondary School Examinable Subjects

Summary

Questions Identified

Full Transcript

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim

Chan Chun Sing

Summary

Questions Identified

Pupil-Teacher Ratio for Primary and Secondary School Examinable Subjects

Summary

Questions Identified

Full Transcript

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim

Chan Chun Sing

Summary

Questions Identified