Debated in Parliament on 16 Aug 2016.
Dr Chia Shi-Lu asked the Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) in light of increasing incidents of sexually offensive and "sexualised" activities during orientation activities at the National University of Singapore over the last decade (a) what are the regulations in place to protect students in our tertiary institutions from physical abuse and harassment; (b) whether these regulations are standardised across our polytechnics and universities; (c) what checks and enforcement are in place to ensure that the regulations are adhered to; (d) how many students or staff have been found guilty and have had to face disciplinary action and how were they punished; and (e) whether any civil or criminal suits had been filed as a result.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad asked the Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) (a) whether the Ministry has a code of conduct to prohibit sexually inappropriate or degrading activities in institutions of higher learning and schools; (b) what measures have been taken to ensure adequate oversight by university staff on students organising such activities; (c) how many complaints has the Ministry received in the past five years and what actions have been implemented to prevent recurrence; and (d) why safeguards have not been put in place to prevent the recent incident in the National University of Singapore.
Miss Cheng Li Hui asked the Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) in light of the reports of sexual harassment and abuse during orientation activities at the National University of Singapore (a) whether the Ministry has been monitoring this situation in all our tertiary institutions and keeping track of the number and nature of incidents reported; and (b) whether resources have been provided to our institutions to ensure the safety of our students.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) with regard to the incidents of sexual harassment and physical abuse during orientation activities at the National University of Singapore (a) what are the existing guidelines for orientation activities and whether students/staff have been properly advised and guided; (b) how many complaints on such lewd orientation activities has each of our tertiary institutions received annually in the last 10 years; (c) what measures have been taken by the respective institutions to prevent such abuses by the students or staff who organised the orientation; and (d) how many students or staff have repeatedly been found to be responsible for such orientation activities.
Mdm Speaker, I am informed that the Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) is on his way into this House and he seeks Mdm Speaker's indulgence to allow him to respond when he returns to the Chamber.
You are seeking approval for the questions to be responded to later?
Mdm Speaker, he has informed me that he would like to request for him to respond to Question Nos 1 to 4 on the Order Paper, after some of the questions there after have been responded to, as he is on his way to the Chamber. So, seeking your indulgence, Madam.
Deputy Leader, let me draw your attention to Standing Order 22(4), which states, "If a Minister, Parliamentary Secretary or other Member, who is to answer a question, is absent, the question shall, if he then be present, be taken after all other questions appearing on the Order Paper have been disposed of."
This basically means that he can only respond to the questions after Question No 61 has been disposed of. This is not possible within today's Sitting. Is there any other Member present who can answer these questions? [Please refer to the "Written Answers to Oral Answers Not Answered by 3.00 pm" section for the answers to Question Nos 1-4]
If not, I will have to move on to Question No 5. [Please refer to the "Written Answers to Oral Answers Not Answered by 3.00 pm" section for the answers to Question Nos 1-4.]
PAPERCUTS