Debated in Parliament on 7 Feb 2017.
Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) with regard to students studying in ITEs and Polytechnics (a) what proportion of internships include an allowance; and (b) for internships that do not include an allowance, whether a fund can be established to pool corporate donations for the purpose of providing allowances to students with limited means.
Mdm Speaker, internships are an important aspect of applied education in the Polytechnics and ITEs in providing students with critical hands-on training and experience to better prepare them for work in the industry.
Through the efforts of the Polytechnics and ITEs, currently, 93.5% of Polytechnic and ITE students who go on internships receive an allowance, up from 90.9% in 2014. While we have seen much stronger support for internship allowance in certain sectors, such as social work and nursing, there are still some interns from a variety of courses who do not receive an internship allowance, due to company-specific policies.
My Ministry strongly encourages companies that do not yet provide their interns an allowance to do so. The Polytechnics and ITEs will continue to work with the remaining companies who do not provide their interns an allowance. For students who are in need of assistance to cover daily expenses, our institutions administer financial assistance schemes which they can tap on.
I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for his answer. I was wondering ‒ given that internships can be a way for students to discover their aptitude, their affinity and calling for certain lines of work ‒ whether the Ministry could re-double its efforts to make internships more equitable, in terms of access to these allowances, so that students from less advantaged backgrounds, from less well-off families, do not find themselves having to make difficult choices in what internships they choose to apply for.
Madam, we certainly agree with Dr Tan Wu Meng's view. In fact, the Polytechnics and ITEs are working with the companies to see how we can increase the percentage of internships that provide an allowance.
I would like to assure Members in the House that all the Polytechnics and ITEs have funds to cater to students who need financial assistance. For example, Singapore Polytechnic has a Needy Fund to support students. The Polytechnics and ITEs will also look at how we can further assist our students whenever they need help, including the period during their internship.
Madam, a supplementary question. I understand that students with special needs in ITEs particularly have lots of problems finding internship places. Would the Ministry be looking at how more resources can be placed to help students with special needs find internship places?
I thank the Member for the question. We will take on the Member's suggestion.
PAPERCUTS