Concerns about Tuition for Students

Ms Tan Su Shan asked the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry has plans to address concerns that access to tuition is emphasising inequality in our education system; and (b) whether there is a need to (i) invest more in our teachers so that they become comparable to the best in the world; (ii) revamp teaching methods so that what is taught within the classroom is enough; and (iii) reduce the student-teacher ratio.

Parents want the best for their children, and will understandably invest in the education of their children, including spending on tuition. This is a global phenomenon and is not unique to Singapore.

I thank Ms Tan for her concern that all children should be given equal and good opportunities in education. Indeed, this is also MOE's concern. That is why MOE is committed to providing a high quality of education in our schools for all our students, and ensuring that all our students are supported to learn in the best possible way, in order to help all our students achieve their full potential in their areas of interests and strengths. Some will be better at abstract thinking, but others may excel in applied use of knowledge, or hands-on learning by doing, and we will do our best to cater to different learning styles and needs.

Furthermore, as I announced at this year's Committee of Supply debate, MOE is rolling out comprehensive levelling-up programmes that provide support to all students – throughout their Primary and Secondary years, as and when they need it.

This is on top of the existing Learning Support Programmes for Primary 1 and Primary 2 students who require additional attention to support them in

Page: 109

learning English and Mathematics.

It is on top of the remedial and supplementary classes that our teachers already provide for our students who need help.

We should also not forget about the existing academic support provided by volunteers, organised by our self-help groups for less-advantaged students.

MOE has also introduced multiple pathways that enable students to develop at their own pace, by building on their strengths and supporting them in their weaker areas. Those who progress faster are provided with enrichment programmes to extend their learning, just as late bloomers are provided with more support, some in smaller classes, to help them learn better and catch up with their peers.

I am glad that our intent and efforts has borne fruit. Not only do our students perform well overall in international benchmarks, these studies also show that our students from less-advantaged family backgrounds do much better than their counterparts from other more developed countries.

But there can always be room for improvement. We have recruited on average around 2,500 new teachers per year over the past decade, to resource our schools with more teachers. Our pupil-teacher ratios (PTR) have improved from 26 in 2000 to 18 in 2012 for Primary schools, and from 19 in 2000 to 14 in 2012 for Secondary schools.

Having invested significantly in the recruitment and training of some of our best talents as teachers, we are now focused on the professional development of each teacher, to empower them to be better at what they do.

(a) Our teachers are deepening their skills through in-service professional development led by the Academy of Singapore Teachers and other teacher academies, and through learning communities in schools and school clusters.

(b) They are given opportunities to pursue further studies to deepen their craft, participate in action research in schools, and participate in work attachments to broaden their exposure.

(c) Across all subjects, teachers are also being trained in a wider range of teaching methods and different modes of assessment to meet the learning

Page: 110

needs of different students.

Indeed, many of our educators are already internationally-recognised as highly professional and competent, but we are dedicated to constantly improving our teaching methods. This includes, for example, the use of STELLAR and iMTL portals for languages, the inquiry approach in the sciences, and the problem-solving approach in mathematics. Our educators are engaged in action research to improve classroom pedagogy customised to different learning styles. Our schools are also spreading best practices via our ExCEL fest, and other sharing platforms at the cluster and school levels.

We have also adopted a needs-based approach when we deploy teachers to improve learning outcomes. For example, some schools may deploy two teachers in a class of 40 students – one teacher brings the class through the curriculum, while the other teacher assists specific students in the class who may have difficulty understanding the material being covered.

Another case in point is the Learning Support Programme (LSP), for Primary 1 and Primary 2 students with weak literacy skills, which is typically conducted in smaller groups of eight to 10 students for greater personalised attention and support to each student.

Many Primary schools also organise their Primary 6 students taking subjects at the foundation level for PSLE into smaller class sizes.

Ultimately, our goal is to help every student to learn, in ways which are most appropriate.