EFFECTS OF REDUCTION OF CL2 PERIODS

Mr Yeo Choo Kok asked the Minister for Education whether he is aware that as a result of the reduction of CL2 periods by some principals, the CL2 teachers of these schools end up in teaching more classes and increasing their teaching and marking loads and whether this trend will lead to a deterioration of the standard of Chinese in schools.

Mr Tang Guan Seng (for the Minister for Education): ( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, there is no trend indicating a deterioration of the standard of Chinese amongst our pupils. In fact, from the PSLE and 'O' level results over the past few years, the opposite is the case. Between 1981 and 1986, the PSLE pass rate for CL2 went up from 96.6% to 98.8%. For 'O' levels, the CL2 pass rate went up from 82.5% to 90%.

The workload of CL2 teachers is within the workload expected for all teachers. CL2 teachers teach on average the same number of hours as teachers of other subjects.