Student Participation in Overseas Exchange Programmes

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Education (a) in the past 10 years, how many students have been assigned to take part in overseas student exchange programmes; and (b) whether the Ministry will enable all students to take part in such programmes at least once in their school life.

Mr Heng Swee Keat: MOE recognises that an overseas experience presents rich learning for students. Such an experience helps students develop confidence, independence and responsibility through immersion in a different environment and interaction with people of diverse backgrounds. It broadens the students' world view, and helps them to be at ease in a different cultural setting.

On average, about 100,000 students participated annually in various types of overseas learning journeys. These overseas learning journeys help to meet various objectives, such as cultural enrichment, curriculum exposure, CCA-related competitions, performances and service learning projects and student immersion programmes.

MOE provides schools with sufficient funding to enable all students to have at least one overseas experience during either Primary, Secondary or JC years. In planning such overseas trips, schools would seek to extend such overseas learning opportunities across the student population; in particular, schools would take note of students who might otherwise not have the opportunity to travel to participate in these trips.