GRANTS-IN-AID TO ALL SCHOOLS SINCE 1959

Mr Ong Chang Sam asked the Minister for Education (a) how many schools from each of the four streams of education received grants-in-aid of capital expenditure since 1959; (b) how many applications for such grants have been rejected; (c) how many applications are ,still under consideration; (d) what is the total sum asked for by all the schools concerned; and (e) what is the total sum. approved.

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker, Sir, (a) Altogether 90 applications from 70 schools for capital grant-in-aid have been approved since 1959. The breakdown figures are as follows: Applications Schools Amount Approved Chinese 76 57 1,183,060 Tamil 1 1 150 English 13 12 39,300 Total 90 70 1,222,510

There are no grant-in-aid Malay schools, as all Malay schools are Government schools.

It should be stated that one school may make as many as four separate applications, one each for Building, Minor Works, Furniture and Science Equipment respectively.

(b) The total number of applications rejected was 235 from 176 schools, amounting to $3,548,676.

(c) The total number of applications still under consideration is 174 from 132 schools amounting to $1,080,342, but the balance of vote available is $558,565, and it is expected that these :applications will be dealt with shortly.

(d) The total sum asked for is $5,851,528 (excluding repeated proposals), but the vote available was $1,781,075, made up as follows: 1959 No provision, being a stand still budget. 1960 $ 781,075 although the original sum was $1.33 million, reduced by Treasury on 1-6-60 to cover deficit in Revotes for existing grants. 1961 $1,000,000 ---------- Total $1,781,075 ----------

(d) The total sum approved to date is $1,222,510.

Mr Ong Chang Sam: (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, according to what I know, in 1959 the grant-in-aid was estimated at $3 million. The budget for this year and for 1960 is only $1 million each. Can the Minister tell this House the reasons for the reduction in grant-in-aid, and has the Government any intention of increasing the grant-in-aid?

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: I am sorry, Mr Speaker, I have to take a bit of time to try and trace the relevant page in the Four-Year Development Plan regarding the amount of capital grant-in-aid allotted for Government aided schools.

Page 112 of our Four-Year Development Plan 1961-64 shows Table 9.4, Education Development Programme Projects 11, Capital Grants-in-Aid 1961 shows a total of $3,073,230. But thereafter 1962-63-64 is $1 million per annum. The figure for 1961 actually includes previous grants which have been accumulated together.

In the debate on the 1961 Estimates, I think I made an answer to the Member for Tanglin on this point, which is that this Government, unlike previous governments, is assuming full responsibility to provide schools for all the language streams and not, as in the past, for the English stream alone. Therefore, in this building programme, we would have to build 19 new schools per annum. We cannot, at the same time, afford to assist aided schools by giving dollar for dollar for an unlimited sum. We cannot spend money both ways to build Government schools for all language streams and, at the next moment, assist aided schools dollar for dollar to the tune of many millions. That is why it is very necessary just to limit it to $1 million per annum so long as we are building 19 new schools per year.

Mr Teo Hock Guan: Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the Minister is aware that many schools cannot get capital grants, because these schools cannot fulfil the requirements laid down by the Grant-in-Aid Regulations, i.e. dollar for dollar. So could the Minister inform this House whether the Government is prepared to give unconditionally grant-in-aid or capital grants to schools, provided the schools really need them?

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member for Changi, who used to assist me in the Ministry of Education, is fortunately aware of the difficulties which the Ministry of Education has to contend with in the matter of grant-in-aid. It is true that the Grant-in-Aid Regulations, 1957, do state that no grant-in-aid shall be approved in respect of a school building unless the manager or trustees of the school hold a legal and unencumbered title to the land on which the school premises are situated, for a period to be approved by the Director of Education. So most of the difficulties have arisen in that aided schools do not have a legal unencumbered title to the land.

We are at the moment - in fact, we have for some time now been trying to amend the Grant-in-Aid Regulations by making them less stringent. But I do not think it will be possible to agree to the suggestion put forward by the Member for Changi that the grant-in-aid should be given without any conditions. I hope to be able to state in the near future that the present regulations would be somewhat relaxed so that we can get on with assisting the smaller rural schools which I have in mind.

Mr Ong Chang Sam: (In Mandarin): With regard to the reply of the Minister for Education, does the Minister pay attention to the fact that this development has disregarded the aided schools?

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker, Sir, I am afraid the Member for Choa Chu Kang is just labouring the question. I have explained that the present Government wants to shoulder full responsibility in regard to education for all language streams. Therefore, it has decided to build 19 schools a year. This will mean that as time goes on, everyone can find a place in a Government school. But unfortunately if in the past aided schools have been going on without any assistance, we cannot solve their problem within one or two years. We can only do so when schools are available for everyone to move in. Therefore, since we have already indicated that we shall set aside $1 million to assist aided schools, mainly the rural aided schools, then I think we have done exceedingly well, provided we revise the present Grant-in-Aid Regulations and relax them somewhat, as suggested by the Member for Changi. The intention of the Government is clear.

Inche Ahmad Jabri Bin Mohammad Akib (Southern Islands): Mr Speaker, could the Minister confirm that the Sekolah Ra'ayat is totally not entitled to grant-in-aid to build school buildings?

Mr Speaker: It is another question. Perhaps the Minister is prepared to answer now.

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: There is a form of aid for Sekolah Ra'ayat, which are really religious schools. Since Singapore is a secular State, we are concentrating on aid for non-religious schools, but giving also a small form of aid to religious schools. That I believe has been found to be adequate for the time being, so that the question of an increase in capital aid for religious schools is not at the moment receiving serious consideration.

Mr Ong Chang Sam: (In Mandarin): Does the Minister not think that the aided schools are helping the Ministry in solving the problem of vacancies for students?

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: If I may assist, Sir, I think the Member for Choa Chu Kang is more or less hinting that perhaps the Ministry of Education is not prepared to assist aided schools, because aided schools do not help the education policy of the State. He is certainly going far from the subject, Sir. But I would just say that the Member for Choa Chu Kang is simply probably justifying his existence in the Assembly by putting questions when they are really unnecessary. I have, in fact, explained to the Member for Tanglin the place of aided schools in our educational system, because he has always been a great protagonist of the part which aided schools have played in the educational system of Singapore. I have already acknow ledged their importance in our educational system during the period when Government was not prepared to shoulder full responsibility for education. But when the Government has decided that it would take on the education of all its children and give them more and more education in fact, then naturally the role of aided schools will be less and less as Government schools get more and more. Therefore, we cannot build more and more schools and bring them into the Government stream and at the same time keep on pumping money into the aided schools. You cannot have it both ways. Therefore, if we build 19 schools a year to house all streams, we can only afford $1 million as capital aid for aided schools.