Clarification by Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education (Mr Hawazi Daipi): Madam, may I seek your approval to make a clarification on a reply I gave yesterday?

Mdm Speaker: Yes, please.

Mr Hawazi Daipi: Thank you, Madam. Yesterday, in my response to Mr Pritam Singh's supplementary question, I said that MOE has worked with Temasek Cares to assist families to manage the cost of treatment after the insurance coverage cap has been breached. [Please refer to "Travel Insurance for Overseas School Trips", Official Report, 17 August 2015, Vol 93, Issue No 22, Oral Answers to Questions section.]

This is incorrect. What I was referring to was actually a joint MOE-Temasek Foundation initiative for the public to donate to the Sabah Earthquake Fund to benefit the dependents of three Singaporean adults who had lost their lives as their families had lost a bread-winner. Some of the proceeds are also intended for the Malaysian trainers and guides who have lost their lives, or had their livelihoods affected by the earthquake.

On the cost of injured students' medical treatment, I would like to clarify that MOE is already engaging the parents of affected students to assure them of appropriate continued support for the recovery process for their children in the event that this cost exceeds the coverage of the insurance policies. Thank you, Madam.

Mdm Speaker: Ministerial Statement, Mr Shanmugam.