TIONG BAHRU CONSTITUENCY (Building of new schools)

Mr Ch'ng Jit Koon asked the Minister for Education whether sites have been reserved for schools in the Tiong Bahru Constituency; and whether it is planned to build new schools in that Constituency in the near future and what type of schools.

Dr Lee Chiaw Meng (for the Minister for Education): Mr Speaker, Sir, a site at the junction of Jalan Membina and Gagak Selari Barat has been reserved for a primary school in the Tiong Bahru Constituency. Owing to great shifts in the population caused by the Housing and Development Board building programme, certain areas like Toa Payoh, MacPherson /Aljunied, and Tanjong Pagar/Queenstown, which includes the Tiong Bahru Constituency, are now suffering from acute shortages of school places. To rectify the uneven distribution of schools, the Ministry of Education has initiated studies on schools required in the next 10 years so that suitable sites can be reserved in centres of population, and funds will be provided by the Ministry of Finance. The school building programme will give priority to the areas where the demand for school places is most urgent.