DROPOUTS FROM ENGLISH SCHOOLS

Mr Tay Boon Too asked the Minister for Home Affairs and Education what plans the Ministry of Education has in regard to the problem of the large number of dropouts from English schools who become virtually illiterate some years after leaving school.

Mr Chai Chong Yii (for the Minister for Home Affairs and Education): Mr Speaker, Sir, many factors have contributed to the lapse of literacy among our school leavers. One of them is the rapid expansion of our Education in the past. Another is that many school leavers stopped using or learning English because their home and neighbourhood make them revert to dialect. The emphasis now is on teaching what the pupils can absorb. The restructuring of the Education system advocates pupils learning at their own rate (i.e, they will progress to the next higher grade only when they are ready for it). This allows pupils weak in languages to concentrate on one. These measures will help raise the literacy level of our pupils. Serious considerations are being given to provide some form of continuation education for dropouts between the ages of 14 and 18, irrespective of their language streams.

Mr Tay Boon Too (Paya Lebar): (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask a supplementary question. If a student's home environment is not conducive to his learning the language in a particular language stream, under our bilingual policy is it possible for him to learn more in the language in which he is proficient?

Mr Chai Chong Yii: Mr Speaker, Sir, the policy at the moment is that parents may decide for their children. If a pupil finds that he can study and understand better in one language, be it Chinese or English, then of course, educationally speaking, it is best for him to continue to pursue his studies in the language in which he is more proficient. The Ministry can only encourage pupils and advise parents, wherever possible, but the final decision rests with the parents themselves. I cannot, therefore, say whether they will accept the advice of the teachers.

Mr Conceicao: Sir, in respect of his reference to the lack of reinforcement in the child's environment, can the Minister of State tell us what steps are being considered to provide such reinforcement, if possible? And I think it is possible. Also, in his reference to the provision of continuing education, what is he thinking in terms of the provision of this kind of continuing education to the school dropouts?

Mr Chai Chong Yii: Sir, as for the opportunities for the child to learn more than one language, of course, exposure time is one. Teaching techniques and better teaching methods which the Ministry is at the moment trying to introduce is another. As for some form of a continuation education for the child, we are thinking in terms of language only because without a proficiency in language the child is unable to study on his own. We do not as yet have any definite plan as to what form it will take.

Mr Conceicao: Pardon me, Sir, but I would like some clarification with regard to the Minister of State's reference to the lack of reinforcement in the child's environment. I presume this is the :home environment. Therefore, I would ask, with respect, Sir, what sort of reinforcement can he contrive for the home environment to improve the opportunities of the child learning the second language?

Mr Chai Chong Yii: Mr Speaker, Sir, as far as the Ministry of Education is concerned, we can try to find out exactly what the supporting environment is. The supporting environment is, as the Member for Katong has said, the home environment in which the pupil normally speaks a language, whether it is English, Mandarin or any dialect. Therefore, it is not possible for the Ministry of Education to change the child's environment. However, as far as possible, we can try to tailor his studies according to his ability. For instance, in a class where there are so many pupils, the teacher cannot do very much for a child who lags behind, other than trying as best she can to see that the child learns as much as he can.

Mr Conceicao: Mr Speaker, Sir, perhaps the Ministry of Education might consider reaching out to the child's environment through the mass media. We have an Educational Television Service and we also have a good Broadcasting service. Will the Minister of State consider reaching out to the children who are not so good in the second language through the mass media?

Mr Chai Chong Yii: Mr Speaker, Sir, there is no doubt that at the moment the ETV service broadcasts quite a number of hours of educational material, but the Education Ministry has no plan as yet to go into this. The reason is that pupils who are weak in languages normally come from quite poor families. So even if we were to reinforce their environment with increased ETV programmes, it is still doubtful whether we can reach them effectively.

Mr Ivan Baptist (Potong Pasir): Mr Speaker, Sir, can the Minister of State elaborate on his statement about the encouragement and advice that the Ministry of Education gives to parents?

Mr Chai Chong Yii: Sir, can the Member be more specific in his question?

Mr Ivan Baptist: Sir, the Minister of State said earlier that the Ministry of Education encourages and advises parents with regard to the first or second language of their choice. It advises and encourages them to send their children to the right type of school. Can he tell us or elaborate on how the Ministry goes about advising parents in this regard? I have not really noticed such a thing going on.

Mr Chai Chong Yii: Mr Speaker, Sir, the encouragement or advice which I mentioned just now is based on our restructured Education system. It has not yet been implemented, but it is what we plan to do.

Mr Teong Eng Siong rose -

Mr Speaker: We have just four minutes left for Question Time.

Mr Teong Eng Siong: (In Mandarin): Sir, I have only a very short supplementary question. What is the cause of this problem, and has the Ministry of Education made any investigation into it? Why are the pupils found illiterate after leaving school? Furthermore, is it because the teachers are not performing their duties well, or is it because of short-comings in our society or for any other reason? I suggest the Ministry of Education should look into this problem.

Mr Chai Chong Yii: (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, the question raised by the Member for Sembawang actually calls for a very lengthy answer. I think we had better have first things first.

Mr Speaker: We have got three minutes left.