Education

• Mr Zainal Sapari questioned the inconsistency in naming merged schools across primary, secondary, and junior college levels and asked about stakeholder engagement and reconsideration of names.
• The Ministry of Education explained its three naming approaches—retaining one name, creating a new name, or combining names—based on factors like school history, stakeholder interests, and student age profiles.
• MOE stated it engaged stakeholders during the merger process but will not revisit announced names, urging schools to focus on teaching programmes.
• The Ministry pledged support for alumni to preserve school history through heritage corners and localized commemoration efforts.

• About 68 out of 98 ITE courses now include compulsory internships, with plans to extend this to all full-time courses by 2020, and the ITE Career Services Centre matches students to internships based on course, interests, and location.
• The Ministry is expanding internship opportunities through engagement with industry partners, introducing structured mentorships, and defining learning outcomes, while Education and Career Guidance counsellors provide resources and support to students.
• Based on the 2016 survey, 55% of ITE graduates work in jobs related to their course of study, and the government collaborates with agencies like SPRING Singapore to enhance internship programmes and resources.

• Over the past decade, about 90% of polytechnic and ITE graduates secure employment within six months, but the proportion choosing full-time permanent work has dropped from 77% in 2007 to 58% in 2016, with more opting for further studies, freelance, part-time, or temporary roles.
• The decline in full-time permanent employment is largely due to increased enrollment in further education, voluntary choices for flexible work while preparing for further studies, and a slight rise in involuntary part-time work or job searching.
• The government attributes these trends to expanded education pathways and student aspirations rather than automation risks, and will conduct further studies to understand underlying factors.
• The Earn and Learn Programmes remain effective and well-received despite the shift toward further studies, with no negative impact observed so far.

• Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) for the proportion of persons who obtained the WSQ Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment (ACTA) and secured jobs as trainers of WSQ programmes within a year of completion over the last five years.
• SkillsFuture Singapore's 2017 survey found that over 60% of respondents who attained the WSQ ACTA between July 2015 and June 2016 were performing full- or part-time training-related roles, such as trainers, adjunct adult educators, training management practitioners, or human capital management practitioners.
• A further 25% of respondents were employed in non-training and adult education-related roles.

• Ong Ye Kung stated that over the past five years, 3.9% of government study loans to international students were in default and deemed unrecoverable after all recovery efforts.
• He noted that defaulters may face adverse consequences if they apply to work or reside in Singapore.
• He explained that commercial bank study loans to foreigners represent less than 0.0001% of total banking assets, and MAS does not collect default data on these loans due to their negligible exposure.

• In the past five years, about 20% of engineering students at ITE, polytechnics, and universities were female, totaling around 3,600 female students annually.
• Approximately 70% of female engineering graduates in full-time employment reported working in engineering-related jobs after graduation.
• The Ministry has initiatives like Applied Learning Programmes in STEM at secondary schools and industry outreach by polytechnics to encourage more students, including females, to pursue engineering.
• These programmes involve collaboration with industry practitioners and teachers to showcase the benefits of engineering careers.
• The overall goal is to increase participation in engineering courses among all students, with a focus on making the field more appealing to females.

• The Ministry of Education has increased primary school vacancies in Chua Chu Kang in response to rising demand from new BTO flat completions in Keat Hong, with sufficient places projected to meet the increased demand.
• For the 2017 P1 registration, about 98% of applicants nationally secured a school within two km of their homes; Keat Hong division’s outcomes were similar to this national average.
• Southview Primary School, Concord Primary School, and Chua Chu Kang Primary School currently have waiting lists for transfers, though other nearby schools like Teck Whye and Kranji have available vacancies.

• Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Education (Schools) for the number of Singaporean students commuting from Johor Bahru to Singapore for primary, secondary, and pre-university classes.
• The Ministry of Education, guided by the Ministry of Home Affairs, decided not to release such data.

• The Ministry of Trade and Industry, along with MOE, SkillsFuture Singapore, and Institutes of Higher Learning, collaborates to integrate Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) into student learning through Skills Frameworks and career guidance on portals like MySkillsFuture.
• Direct outreach initiatives, such as student visits to companies under specific ITMs like Aerospace, are organized to expose students to industry developments and opportunities.
• Enhanced mentorship and work opportunities, including SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programmes and Work-Study Degree Programmes, are provided to help students transition into the workforce, with support from partners like the National Trades Union Congress.
• Future plans involve continuing these collaborations to further prepare IHL students for the evolving economy.

• Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked if promoting dialects has improved Mandarin learning and whether the Ministry monitors Mandarin grades, while Education Minister Ng Chee Meng stated schools do not promote dialect use, emphasizing the bilingual policy's focus on English and Mother Tongue proficiency.
• The Minister explained that dialects differ from Mandarin in vocabulary and grammar, so learning dialects may not necessarily ease Mandarin acquisition, and the Ministry tracks Mandarin exam performance.
• Over the past five years, Mandarin passing rates at GCE "O" level have remained around 97%, with distinction rates stable at about 40%, indicating no negative impact from dialect promotion on Mandarin learning outcomes.

• The Home Team Career Transition Office, established in April 2016, assists retiring officers by offering early engagement, re-employment within the Home Team where possible, and support in finding new employment through a structured framework.
• Initiatives include providing time off and subsidies for skill-enhancing courses, workshops to identify suitable occupations and guide reskilling, and a secondment or job attachment programme allowing officers to trial post-retirement roles for up to three months while receiving their salaries.
• The office also organises networking sessions with employers and publicises job openings in sectors like engineering and security; officers are encouraged to use the Public Service Division’s internal job portal to explore opportunities within the broader Civil Service.

• Miss Cheryl Chan asked the Minister for Education for statistics on students diagnosed with dyslexia before formal schooling and the percentage educated in mainstream schools, as well as the criteria for exempting such students from mother tongue language subjects.
• Dyslexia is typically diagnosed after a child starts formal schooling, and while initial reading difficulties in preschool may improve with age, children with dyslexia generally receive additional literacy support in mainstream schools, with exceptions for those with co-occurring conditions who may attend special education schools.
• The Ministry of Education considers exemptions from mother tongue language for students with certified special educational needs like dyslexia if it severely affects their ability to cope, evaluating both their diagnosis and classroom performance, and alternative lower-level mother tongue curricula are available to focus on oral and listening skills.

• Yee Chia Hsing proposed a differentiated fee structure for non-citizen students based on whether at least one parent is a Singapore Citizen.
• Ng Chee Meng explained the current tiered fee system where Singapore Citizens pay the lowest fees, followed by Permanent Residents and International Students.
• He added that non-citizen students with at least one Singapore Citizen parent who need financial assistance can seek help from their schools for case-by-case support.
• The Ministry of Education will assess such requests individually and exercise flexibility where needed.
• This approach maintains the existing citizenship-based fee framework while allowing tailored support for specific cases.

• Minister Ong Ye Kung highlighted that nine in 10 university graduates find employment within six months, supported by relevant and quality university courses and a diverse economy.
• The SkillsFuture initiative has enhanced career guidance, educational pathways, internships, and introduced work-study programmes and the SkillsFuture Series to help graduates upskill and engage in lifelong learning.
• The Ministry works with Manpower and Workforce Singapore to assist mature graduates through programmes like Professional Conversion and Career Support to help them re-enter the workforce.
• The government commits to continuously enhancing learning and reskilling opportunities through SkillsFuture to address economic changes and support all graduates.

• K Thanaletchimi proposed establishing joint industry-driven cluster training centres near industrial estates to方便 workers and employers and encourage bite-sized training.
• Ong Ye Kung responded that SkillsFuture Singapore already collaborates with industry-led centres and trade associations to offer relevant training, often located near workplaces.
• He noted that broader training options are available at CET campuses like Lifelong Learning Institute and Devan Nair Institute, as well as at institutes of higher learning and other SSG-appointed centres.
• Ong Ye Kung committed to enhancing collaboration with industries and expanding training opportunities to make them more accessible across Singapore.

• Public healthcare institutions are progressively shifting from academic qualifications to skills and competencies in recruitment, remuneration, and promotion, with academic qualifications mainly used as a reference for new recruits lacking work experience.
• For mid-career recruits, relevant experience is considered in salary determination, and beyond entry grades, salary and career progression are largely performance- and competency-based, as seen in nurses' remuneration and promotion.
• The Ministry of Health is partnering with SkillsFuture Singapore to develop Skills Frameworks for Healthcare to define roles, skills, and training for various healthcare job roles, with implementation expected by the end of the year in collaboration with unions.

• Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Ministry of Education whether it monitors student activities involving co-payment and the proportion of such activities that are compulsory, opt-out, or opt-in with high participation.
• The Senior Parliamentary Secretary replied that the Ministry does not actively monitor these payments, allowing schools discretion to enhance learning, but reminds them to keep costs affordable and offers subsidies for financially disadvantaged students through specific funds.
• Dr Tan Wu Meng suggested a study to assess if financial perceptions might deter students from participating in activities, to which the Ministry responded that schools are well-resourced and staff are trained to identify and support students' well-being sensitively.

• The Ministry of Education has expanded school-based Student Care Centres from 50 to 162, with enrolment rising to 21,000, and aims to have them in all primary schools by end-2020, while community-based centres also provide additional capacity.
• Affordability is ensured through the ComCare Student Care Fee Assistance scheme, which allows eligible lower-income families to pay as low as $5 per month, and the Ministry regularly reviews the scheme.
• All registered centres must comply with supervision, safety, and hygiene requirements, and school-based centres undergo stringent procurement and oversight to maintain quality.
• In response to feedback on capacity prioritisation, the Ministry works with operators to expand facilities where demand is high, without compromising quality.
• A 40-hour training programme for student care staff was introduced in 2015 to uphold standards, with over 600 staff trained to date.

• Sylvia Lim questioned the government on a reported OECD finding that economically disadvantaged students in Singapore are more likely to under-perform in science compared to their OECD counterparts, citing data on equity gaps.
• The Senior Minister of State refuted the claim, stating that Singapore’s disadvantaged students actually have higher average PISA 2015 scores than their OECD peers, and highlighted that Singapore has a higher proportion of "resilient students" who outperform expectations based on their socioeconomic background.
• The Minister outlined various MOE support programmes for disadvantaged students but acknowledged that Singapore is one of only three high-performing countries with below-average equity in educational outcomes, as indicated by a larger performance gap between socio-economic groups.
• He explained that the equity gap arises because Singapore’s higher-SES students outperform their OECD peers by a wider margin, not because disadvantaged students are under-performing, and committed to ongoing efforts to support all students.
• In a follow-up, Lim asked for indicators MOE tracks on social mobility in education, and the Minister agreed to provide internal data on this in a separate response.

The SkillsFuture Singapore Agency uses a six-pronged accreditation process to evaluate training providers' curriculum design, materials, delivery, assessment, financial practices, and educator qualifications.
Regular audits are conducted to ensure ongoing compliance, and any failure can lead to the revocation of a provider's status upon renewal.
Course participants can provide feedback on training quality through a community feature on the MySkillsFuture portal, and information on training outcomes will be published to enhance transparency.
SSG requires training providers to seek approval for course fees, and market competition among 500 providers serves as a check on pricing.
The Ministry is progressively implementing measures like trainee ratings and course reviews on the portal to help applicants make informed decisions.