Protection for Student Interns

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked the Minister for Education what are the current protection and safeguards for student interns from schools, ITEs, Polytechnics and Universities who are subjected to workplace bullying, such as physical and non-physical abuse including being made to work overtime and excessive hours without rest.

Mr Heng Swee Keat: Our schools and Post-Secondary Education Institutions (PSEIs) work with industry partners to ensure that internships are meaningful for our student interns, and that companies are also clear about their responsibilities.

Prior to their internships, students are briefed on matters of professional conduct and safety during their internships. At our schools, students are given the contact numbers of school personnel, such as teachers, the Vice-Principal and school administrative staff, whom they may contact regarding any matters during their internships. At our PSEIs, every internship student is assigned a liaison officer whom they can call to report any form of mistreatment, including bullying and excessive internship hours. If issues cannot be resolved immediately, our schools and PSEIs may transfer the students to another company to continue their internships. The liaison officer also makes periodic visits to the company while students are on their internships to check on the students' welfare and learning development.

At the end of each internship or attachment, students have to submit a report to our schools and PSEIs detailing their experiences. This provides additional feedback on how interns have been treated by respective companies. Based on these reports, our schools and PSEIs work with companies to improve the internship experiences for future students.