Editing of Textbooks Used by Schools

Mr Baey Yam Keng asked the Minister for Education with regard to official textbooks for use in our schools and educational institutions, if there are (i) frameworks for the selection and approval of such textbooks; (ii) regular exercises to collate feedback in order to update and amend textbooks; and (iii) standard operating procedures to alert schools and teachers of errors in teaching materials.

The Minister for Education (Mr Heng Swee Keat): Mr Speaker, Sir, MOE engages publishers to develop instructional materials based on the syllabuses. The quality of the instructional materials is maintained through a textbook review process whereby the materials are reviewed by a panel of professionals, including curriculum specialists, teachers, and academics from the universities. There are several iterations to the process before the materials are approved and listed on MOE's Approved Textbook List for selection by the schools.

MOE gathers teachers' feedback on the instructional materials every year. These feedback and suggestions will be taken into consideration for subsequent reviews of the instructional materials. In the event that errors are found in the materials, MOE will alert the publishers and work with them to rectify the errors and communicate the amendments to the schools.

Mr Baey Yam Keng (Tampines): I would like to refer the Minister to a recent media report that the MOE acknowledged the mistake of the wrongful use for the term " shi " in the Secondary 1 history textbooks. I would like to ask the Minister why such a mistake was not spotted for the last seven years, and what the Ministry is doing to enhance the system to prevent future slip-ups.

Mr Heng Swee Keat: Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank Mr Baey Yam Keng for his supplementary question and for giving us this opportunity to clarify. The textbook review process was adhered to in the production of the history textbook, The Living Past – History of Ancient India, China and Southeast Asia, second edition. It was pointed out that there is an error in this textbook on the use of the term " shi " to refer to a group of landowners in China's feudal system. Let me clarify that no Chinese character was used in the textbook. Instead, the hanyu pinyin " shi " was used.

The misunderstanding arose when the person who spotted this, translated and interpreted " shi " as in the Chinese character " boshi " ("博士"). Our consultations with the authoritative sources have revealed conflicting interpretations and translations of " shi " which could either be " shi " ("士") as in " boshi "("博士"), or as in the other character " shi " ("氏") as in " xingshi " ("姓氏"), the latter referring to a broad category of nobility, including landowners. This latter usage of the word " shi " is an ancient usage and it is not commonly used today. Although the textbook presentation of " shi " could be retained, to prevent further confusion, MOE has decided that the word would be amended to simply "feudal lords", since it is an English textbook.

Sir, amending it will not affect students' understanding of ancient China's governance and social structures. We are working with the publisher to inform teachers of this amendment. Amendment stickers have been printed, and this has also been announced in the publisher's website. The publisher will also reflect the amendment in the next re-print of the textbook. Sir, I thank Mr Baey Yam Keng and members of the public for their interest in this topic.

Page: 400

3.00 pm

Mr Speaker: Order. End of Question Time. Ministerial Statement. Minister for Transport.

[ Pursuant to Standing Order No. 22(3), Written Answers to Question Nos 18, 21-23, 25 and 27 on the Order Paper are reproduced in the Appendix (Pg 428-442). Question Nos 16-17, 19-20, 24, 26 and 28-51 have been postponed to the next available sitting of Parliament. ]