Debated in Parliament on 8 Oct 2014.
Order for Second Reading read.
Madam, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time".
This Bill seeks to amend the Education Endowment and Savings Schemes Act (EESSA) to extend Edusave contributions to all Singapore Citizens aged seven to 16 not enrolled in prescribed schools as defined in the Act.
Edusave was first introduced in 1993 with the aim of maximising opportunities for Singaporean children in prescribed schools by providing resources for school enrichment activities and to encourage them to excel in both academic and non-academic areas, in support of their holistic development. The scheme has worked well for the past two decades. In recent years, several Members of Parliament like Mr Zainal Sapari have asked the Government to extend Edusave to students who are not enrolled in prescribed schools.
The issue is complex as a careful balance has to be made to provide a common educational experience for our children to grow up together, as well as to provide opportunities for children to access a wider range of activities as part of their holistic education. Hence, in response, the Minister for Education said in the 2013 Committee of Supply debate that the Ministry of Education (MOE) would study this issue further.
After careful consideration, the Prime Minister announced the extension of Edusave contributions to all Singaporeans aged seven to 16 at the National Day Rally in 2013. This extension will benefit students studying in madrasahs and other privately funded schools, and children who are homeschooled or residing overseas. This change will provide more students with an additional source of funding for enrichment activities in support of holistic education.
The Edusave contribution amount provided to these expanded categories of Singaporean children will be pegged to what typical students of the same age group in prescribed schools receive. Those aged seven to 12 will receive the Edusave contribution amount applicable to primary-level students, which is currently $200 per year. Those aged 13 to 16 will receive the Edusave contribution applicable to secondary-level students, which is currently $240 per year. Consistent with the treatment of students in national primary schools, other students required under the Compulsory Education Act to sit for the Primary
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School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) will be considered as primary-level students until they satisfy their PSLE requirements.
The Edusave contributions provided to these expanded categories of Singaporean children can be used to fund enrichment activities. Details on the permitted usage will be set out in the regulations under the Act. We will be providing more details on our website and will be briefing the institutions concerned once the amendments are passed. The Edusave contributions applicable to these new recipients can be used once the amendments to the Act come into operation.
Any unused Edusave contributions will be transferred to the child's Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) in the calendar year the child turns 17 years of age, or, if he or she eventually joins a prescribed school, it will be transferred after he or she leaves the prescribed school, whichever is later.
Madam, allow me to take Members of the House through the key amendments introduced by the Bill.
First, the Bill makes amendments to sections 8 and 9 of the Act to implement the policy changes I have already touched on. The changes will expand the classes of persons eligible to become members of the Edusave Pupils Fund and receive Edusave contributions. Similar to those in prescribed schools, the specific quanta that the expanded groups will receive will be set out in the subsidiary legislation.
Second, the Bill seeks to make a number of further amendments to the Act to streamline the administration and improve the operations of the Edusave and Post-Secondary Education Schemes. For instance, the Bill seeks to amend section 7 of the Act to provide for a public officer appointed by the Minister for Education to assume the role of Edusave Scheme Administrator. This role used to be performed by the Central Provident Fund Board and the change will improve administrative efficiency. In addition, the Bill seeks to amend section 13 of the Act to clarify the instances when a person's Edusave membership will end and also modifies the provision relating to the donation of Edusave monies. A similar donation provision is also introduced in section 16 to cater for the donation of PSEA monies.
In summary, Mdm Speaker, the amendments proposed in the Bill will achieve the earlier announced extension of Edusave contributions to all Singaporean children aged seven to 16 who are not enrolled in prescribed schools and enhance the administrative operations of Edusave and PSEA.
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Question proposed.
Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar.
Thank you, Mdm Speaker, for this opportunity to speak on the EESSA Bill. Mdm Speaker, please allow me to continue in Malay.
(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Speaker, when it was announced in August 2013 that there will be a change to our Edusave scheme to allow all of our Singaporean children to receive and use the Edusave fund, many Members of Parliament in this House, including myself, were moved and delighted with the changes that will be implemented.
This change will benefit about 20,000 more of our children. And I believe that our children will be able to participate and enhance their knowledge and skills in a variety of programmes and activities without feeling too worried about the expense.
However, I want to surface some of my questions and concerns, and I hope the Education Ministry will be able to address them later.
First, in clause 7, the Bill states that the Minister can set the allocated amount for certain groups of students. I hope this does not mean that there will be differences in the allocation of funds for students in the mainstream schools, compared to the students in the full-time madrasahs, private schools or our homeschooled children.
I believe that our children studying in mainstream schools and full-time madrasahs, private schools or at home can also cooperate and collaborate to participate in programmes and activities together, so that they can interact with and learn from one another. With such involvement, the cost of this expenditure can be supported by their Edusave funds.
On this note, Mdm Speaker, please allow me to continue in English.
(In English): My second concern is that in clause 9, it is stated that a pupil can withdraw from his Edusave account to "defray the whole or part of his expenses as may be necessary to enable him to take part in any enrichment programme approved by the prescribed school or junior college he is schooling at".
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For students who are homeschooled or who may not be able to attend formal schooling for various reasons, will this mean that they may not be able to use their Edusave funds for any enrichment programme or activity that they so choose? If they can do so, do they need to submit the proposed programme or activity for approval before they can withdraw from their Edusave account? I hope the Ministry can clarify this.
Finally, in clause 16, it is stated that monies in a member's PSEA can be donated to a prescribed charity of choice. However, the prescribed charity must be a "charity whose objects are exclusively or primarily for the advancement of education".
I would like to propose for this clause to be reviewed. In my opinion, the decision to donate to charity from one's PSEA should be left to the account holder and that the account holder be given flexibility to do so freely. Some of us may be inclined to help the destitute, the disabled or the elderly, while others may feel inclined to contribute to religious or environmental causes or animal welfare. May I propose for this clause to be more encompassing and allow donations to be made to any charity or Institute of Public Character that is registered with the Commissioner of Charities instead? I hope the Ministry will be able to address this.
In conclusion, Mdm Speaker, I am heartened by the changes to the EESSA Bill. The changes are inclusive and progressive, and I am confident many of our children and future generation will benefit from these amendments.
Mr Yee Jenn Jong.
Mdm Speaker, I wish to declare that I run businesses that offer education services to students.
This Bill will ensure that all Singapore Citizens aged seven to 16 who are not enrolled in mainstream schools will now receive the $200 to $240 yearly Edusave contributions by the Government. News reports have estimated that 20,000 more students will benefit from this.
I believe that this is a strong signal to tell Singaporeans that there are many education pathways and Singapore's children who have chosen to be enrolled in madrasahs and other religious schools, private schools or home-schools or are studying overseas are part of Singapore and deserve access to the funds that are meant for activities to enrich their minds.
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The scheme, popularly known as Edusave was designed to provide yearly funds to students in mainstream schools to allow parents to use the monies to pay for enrichment activities for their children in programmes that are approved by the schools. Autonomy has been given to the schools to decide what activities are best suited to the students. This is something that is useful as schools can bring in programmes that can extend on their niches or programmes that they believe are best for their students.
Over the years, students have used their Edusave monies for many sorts of programmes, such as speech and drama, sports, learning expeditions and camps, and even trips overseas.
Enrichment programmes offered through mainstream schools are often competitively priced, as there are economies of scale from having a large number of students. Facilities within the schools are not charged to these service providers, so fees are much lower than that of similar programmes offered in venues outside of the schools that have to pay commercial rents. The enrichment providers sometimes also offer other types of programmes and services to schools outside of Edusave funding, so there is incentive for these providers to be as competitive as they can to sell a continuous stream of services to the schools.
While the same amount of funding per child is now available to children in religious and private schools and those who are homeschooled, enrichment providers will not rush to offer services to them as the scale of business is small. Granted that, depending on the rules that MOE will establish, those who are homeschooled can attend enrichment courses by commercial providers individually, the costs will definitely be a lot higher per hour of learning. Hence, the yearly $200-$240 of Edusave contribution that the child will get will not go very far. More importantly, there will be the missing socio- emotional learning elements of learning together in a large group.
I would like to suggest that MOE look into having schools open up participation, especially of Edusave-funded enrichment courses in their schools, to those who are homeschooled or are in smaller religious and private schools nearby.
I would like to suggest that this can be a nationwide effort coordinated through MOE. Selected schools spread throughout Singapore can be satellite centres to partner students who are in the religious schools, smaller private schools and those who are home-schooled. Enrichment courses offered in the schools, especially those that are Edusave-funded, can be extended to these external students. This will foster interaction through joint programmes which will help develop the social and emotional learning of those outside of mainstream schools while helping students in the mainstream schools better understand their peers learning under a different education system. It will also provide some form of common
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education experience for both groups of students.
Madam, the idea may sound radical, but I believe it is doable. Some schools have, on their own initiative, fostered partnerships with communities in their neighbourhood, including with disadvantaged children. I believe we can have a more structured approach on enrichment programmes to have schools partner on a regular basis, neighbourhood children outside of the mainstream schools. This will give more value to the Edusave contributions that we are now giving to this new group of beneficiaries. I hope MOE can study the feasibility of this proposal. Mdm Speaker, I support the Bill.
Minister of State Sim Ann.
Mdm Speaker, please allow me to thank Dr Intan Azura and Mr Yee Jenn Jong for speaking in support of the Bill. I am heartened by their support for the provision of additional funding for enrichment activities in support of holistic development of our children. So, allow me to address some of the specific concerns and comments which have been raised.
First, Dr Intan Azura asked whether the amount of Edusave contributions that will be received by these expanded categories of Singaporean children are similar to those in the prescribed schools. Mdm Speaker, I have mentioned earlier in the speech that, indeed, the amount that these children will receive will be pegged to what typical students of the same age group in prescribed schools receive. So, I think that addresses Dr Intan's concern.
The Member has also asked whether homeschoolers will be allowed to use their Edusave monies for enrichment activities. Mdm Speaker, Edusave contributions are intended to provide students with an additional source of funding for enrichment activities organised by their education providers in support of holistic education. For children who are homeschooled, the education providers are their parents, as recognised in the Compulsory Education Act. Thus, Edusave can be used to fund enrichment activities organised by their parents. These parents will make their claims directly to MOE. Details on the permitted usage will be set out in the regulations under the Act.
Dr Intan has also asked about the feasibility of giving account holders the flexibility to donate their PSEA monies to any charity registered with the Commissioner of Charities. Madam, allow me here to clarify the Ministry's policy intent with regard to PSEA monies. The Ministry's intent is for PSEA donations, if any, to go towards the general advancement of education, and not to specific entities or causes, as there are already considerable
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fundraising platforms for these specific entities or causes.
I also want to thank Mr Yee Jenn Jong for his suggestions with regard to the use of Edusave contributions for students not enrolled in prescribed schools. Mr Yee talked about the comparative lack of scale in, for instance, madrasahs or privately-funded schools and for students who are being homeschooled, and shared his concerns that vendors who provide education services might then not rush to provide services to these students. Madam, I wish to highlight that the Edusave contributions represent a form of additional resources for the education providers, which may be the schools in the case of students in prescribed schools, or, for those who are not in prescribed schools, it would be the institutions that they are enrolled in or their parents, to provide enrichment activities that support holistic education. These activities may or may not be carried out by vendors.
The intention is to extend the Edusave contributions now to all Singaporeans who are aged seven to 16. I understand the Member's concern about difference in scale. The extension of Edusave contributions is not meant, on its own, to equalise all conditions between students in different kinds of educational arrangements. Indeed, our preference remains for students to undergo the national education system where they can grow up together with other Singaporeans.
As to the Member's other suggestions with regard to more interactions, this is something we will look into.
*Question put, and agreed to.*
*Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.*
The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Ms Sim Ann.]
Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.
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