PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS (Request to leave school or transfer out)

Mr Tay Boon Too asked the Minister for Education if he is aware that, in order to avoid poor school results in the Primary School Leaving Examination, some principals have asked pupils whose performances have been poor to leave school voluntarily or to seek transfer to another school; and what steps he has taken or proposes to take in the matter.

The Minister of State for Education (Dr Lee Chiaw Meng) (for the Minister for Education): Sir, my Minister has asked me to reply.

My Ministry's regulations governing the retention and superannuation of pupils specifically provide that no pupil below the age of 16 can be asked to leave school unless he or she is guilty of persistent bad conduct.

As for transfers, no pupil can be transferred from one school to another by principals except at the express request of parents. To date, my Ministry has received no complaints from parents that their children have been asked to leave school voluntarily or to seek a transfer because of their poor performance. Any such complaints will be duly investigated and, if substantiated, followed by appropriate disciplinary action.

Mr Tay Boon Too (Paya Lebar): (In Mandarin): Sir, I would like the Minister of State for Education to clarify two points. The first is about bad conduct. What is the criterion for bad conduct?

Secondly, can the Minister of State say whether his Ministry will take strict measures to deal with complaints by parents of students to Members of Parliament at meet-the-people sessions?

Dr Lee Chiaw Meng: Sir, as regards the second point, I have just answered it in the last sentence of my answer to the original question. I said that any such complaints will be duly investigated and, if substantiated, followed by appropriate disciplinary action.

On the question of what is the criterion for bad conduct, it must be persistent bad conduct. The pupils must first be warned and their parents notified, and if the pupils do not improve, then they will be asked to leave school.