Debated in Parliament on 7 Jul 2014.
Mr Ang Hin Kee asked the Minister for Education (a) what are the concerns raised by freelance instructors offering co-curricular and enrichment activities in schools now that such instructors are required to be registered with the Ministry; and (b) how is the Ministry helping these instructors comply with the requirements so that they are in time to bid for contracts with schools.
The instructor registration policy was introduced as part of MOE’s efforts to support schools in procuring the services of suitable instructors for co-curricular and enrichment programmes.
Instructors, including those who are freelancers, are mainly concerned about registering with MOE in time to bid for contracts with schools. The registration requirement will only start from January 2015. MOE has given instructors a long lead time of nine months to register from March 2014.
As a pre-requisite for registration, sports instructors are required to attend a workshop on the standards for coaching co-organised by MOE and Sports Singapore. To ensure that there is sufficient time for instructors to meet the requirement, they are given till the end of 2015 to attend the workshop. Existing sports instructors who are unable to attend the course in the meantime can be given a provisional registration.
MOE will continue to work closely with schools and partner agencies, such as Sports Singapore and the National Arts Council, to communicate the rationale and requirements of registration to instructors.
Page: 128
PAPERCUTS