MAIN AND DEVELOPMENT ESTIMATES OF SINGAPORE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, 1990 TO 31ST MARCH, 1991

Order read for consideration in Committee of Supply [3rd Allotted Day].

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Head L (cont.) -

Resumption of Debate on Question [15th March, 1990],

"That the total sum to be allocated for Head L of the Main Estimates be reduced by $100." - [Dr Tan Cheng Bock].

Question again proposed.

The Minister for Education (Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member for Bedok GRC, Dr Hong Hai, spoke yesterday on the teaching of Chinese as a second language and suggested that the Ministry should put greater emphasis on making the learning of CL2, as he said, a pleasure and a delight. I think that it may be appropriate for me to say a few words on this subject now and also on the topic of bilingualism in general. There are a number of points which I would like to make.

The first point, Sir, is that we should not equate bilingualism with only the study of the mother tongue. Bilingualism means much more than the study of the mother tongue. Bilingualism means the study of English and the mother tongue. This, Sir, I emphasize, because it is a matter of which we should be quite clear as otherwise we are in danger of going off on the wrong track.

Why does the Ministry of Education place so much importance on the study of English? After all, as Dr Hong Hai said yesterday, English is not our language. English is the language of another society, another culture. It was imported into Singapore when we were a British colony. But I submit, Sir, that there are two very cogent reasons why the study of English is important in a modern multi-racial, open economy society like Singapore.

The first reason, Sir, is to build social cohesion in our multi-racial society. Precisely because English is not the mother tongue of any of the three main races in Singapore and none of the three main races - Malay, Chinese and Indian - can claim any special affinity to the English language, this makes English neutral and an appropriate language for all races to use as a means of communicating with one another. With English as our common working language, working relations are facilitated. Efficiency is enhanced and there is greater understanding among Singaporeans of all races. This has, I believe, Sir, helped substantially to build the peaceful harmonious Singapore that we have today.

The second reason for studying English is more pragmatic. It is to equip our children with the necessary means to make their way in the modern technological society that Singapore is today. Without an adequate knowledge of an international language like English, as all countries in the world are finding today, our students will be handicapped in furthering their education and preparing themselves for gainful employment.

The problem, Sir, for the Ministry of Education is, therefore, not only the study of the mother tongue, which is necessary to enable our children to retain their cultural identity and to strengthen traditional values, but also to ensure that all our children acquire an adequate standard in English so that they will be able to get a good start in life. This is the real problem.

Considerable progress has been made in the teaching of English in the last 10 years. We have recruited many English teachers and introduced innovations like REAP and other teaching techniques. Standards of English in our schools have consequently risen. For example, the pass rate in English at 'O' level, which used to be the stumbling block for students wanting to go on to higher education, increased from 40% in 1980 to 67% last year. Indeed, Sir, the percentage of our children passing English at 'O' level is today comparable to that of English children in England. This is an achievement in which we can take considerable pride. What it means is that our education system today provides the means for our children, all of them, to have a good start in life.

Now, Sir, with regard to the study of the mother tongue, the basic approach of the Ministry of Education is to have two tracks. The first track is for children who are academically able and who would like to study their mother tongue at first language level, and the second track is for the majority of children who will learn their mother tongue at second language level.

For those who would like to study Chinese at first language level (CL1), we now have the 10 primary SAP schools, 9 secondary SAP schools and from this year, two junior colleges offering CL1 in the Language Elective programme. This provides the opportunity for roughly 10% of our school population who are academically able and who would like to study Chinese at first language level in addition to English.

For Malay or Indian children, who would like to study Malay or Tamil at first language level, we have established language centres where children can study ML1 or TL1 at the secondary school level. And, as I have stated many times, if there is demand for Malay or Indian children to study ML1 or TL1 at the primary or at the junior college level, we will institute arrangements to make this possible.

In a multi-racial society like Singapore, the Government must take an even-handed attitude to all our three official languages - Malay, Chinese and Tamil. If there is demand, we will make it possible for Malay and Indian children to study ML1 and TL1, just as we have made arrangements for Chinese children to study CL1 in addition to English.

Now, Sir, the main problem when people talk about bilingualism in Singapore is the study of Chinese as a second language, CL2, the subject brought up by Dr Hong Hai in yesterday's debate. This is a matter of continuing concern to my Ministry. We know that the majority of our children do not have problems with the study of CL2. They can tackle it in addition to their other subjects and they are able to pass CL2 without undue stress or difficulty. Last year, for example, the percentage of children who pass CL2 at the 'O' and 'AO' levels were 92% and 85% respectively. The majority of our children therefore experience no great difficulty in learning CL2 in addition to learning English. However, Sir, we know that some children have difficulties with the learning of CL2.

There are essentially two groups of children who may have difficulties with the study of CL2. The first group comprises children who are not academically able and who naturally find difficulty with CL2 as with the other subjects. These children simply need more time and a slower pace of work so that they will be able to cover the material without being unduly rushed. With the arrangements which we have now made in our schools, this is possible on a systematic basis.

The second group of children who have difficulties with CL2 are those who are academically bright and who do well in their other subjects but who do poorly in CL2. For these children, the problem is perhaps more of attitude rather than aptitude. It is important, Sir, that children who have difficulties with CL2 should not be dismissed. We should take a sympathetic attitude towards them and see how their difficulties can be overcome. My Ministry is therefore constantly trying to find ways to make the study of CL2 more interesting and to reduce the stress.

Our basic approach is to follow the principle, which I have stated in Parliament on a previous occasion, that children learn best when they want to learn. Towards this end, we have introduced improved methods for the teaching of CL2 which are more pupil-oriented. There is a certain amount of repetition and memorisation which has to be done in learning a language like Chinese which uses characters instead of an alphabet. This is unavoidable. The work simply has to be done but to the extent that we can, we should help children to learn the characters by means of better textbooks, better teaching methods, more audio-visual aids, more interesting lessons and, if necessary, more time given to supplementary lessons outside normal school hours.

To make Chinese more interesting, the Ministry is producing supplementary readers in order to help children to read Chinese at the primary school level. By next year, we will have produced 240 such supplementary readers. These readers will use the same set of characters which are required for the PSLE. They will expose the children to a greater variety of reading materials and enable them to acquire familiarity with the characters.

In addition, the Ministry is also working with a number of primary and secondary schools, which have a significant number of children who are bright but who appear to have problems coping with Chinese. The Ministry is working with the principals and teachers of these schools to see how their pupils can be helped to learn Chinese with greater enjoyment and success. With the assistance of Chinese Language specialists from the Ministry, the teachers in these schools are using more interactive teaching approaches and providing more opportunities for pupils to use Chinese in school situations. Where additional teachers are needed by the schools, they have been provided by the Ministry. All this, Sir, together with smaller teaching groups should help the schools to improve their pass rates in Chinese and make the CL2 pass rates more comparable with their high pass rates in the other subjects.

Sir, I have more to say but I may be reaching the end of my time. Should I sit down before I continue?

Dr Tan Cheng Bock (Ayer Rajah): Sir, the Minister seems to be concentrating on the weaknesses of CL2 among the students. I think there is a bias towards the English educated. This is a feeling among some of our Singaporeans. What steps has the Ministry taken to help those who are weak in the English language?

Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam: Sir, before I deal with the question from the Member, perhaps I can continue with the rest of my speech, with the Member's permission.

Sir, I just want to point out to Members the uniqueness of our situation. Sir, I do not know of any other country in the world which tries to make an entire population bilingual in two languages. Most countries which teach their children more than one language educate their children in their mother tongue first in their early years of school. The children then pick up the second language in the later part of their school career. But no system in the world, Sir, tries to educate an entire population so that every one is literate in English and at the same time has a reasonable knowledge of his mother tongue. In Japan and Taiwan, for example, the children are educated essentially in Japanese and in Chinese respectively. The learning of English in these two countries only comes at a much later stage in life.

The nearest to our situation is Switzerland. But even then, Sir, the Swiss Confederation is split up into French speaking, German speaking and Italian speaking communities. A child in Zurich, for example, which is in the German speaking community, would be educated primarily in German at the primary school level. He only starts to learn some conversational French but without taking any examinations towards the end of primary school. It is only in secondary school that French and English are introduced as formal school subjects.

Sir, I believe that the problems of implementing a bilingual policy of education in a multi-racial society like Singapore have not been sufficiently addressed. There are many issues which, to my mind, require further investigation. One issue, Sir, for example, which has worried some of our more thoughtful and perceptive principals in our SAP schools, is the long term social consequences of teaching children almost exclusively of one race in a system where they do not have the opportunity to interact daily and frequently with children of other races during a very formative period of their lives. These principals are concerned as to whether their pupils will, in later life, be able to interact easily with children of other races and develop an instinctive understanding and respect for traditions which are different from those of their own. Sir, we need to foster a core of students who are able to use Chinese at first language level. Some of these students will continue to study Chinese at university level and, in due course, help to transmit the language by occupying key positions in our society as teachers, media personnel, diplomats or businessmen.

It is for this reason that we need the SAP schools and the Language Elective pro- gramme in junior college. We should note that students in the SAP schools have opportunities to mix with children of other races, for example, when they go to junior college or when they are in national service. But nevertheless, Sir, having regard to the concern of the principals, should we not seek to improve the system by consciously providing more opportunities to enable the students in the SAP schools to interact with children of other schools and other races?

Now, Sir, another issue. This concerns the intellectual requirement for Chinese children to learn two languages - English and Chinese - which are completely different linguistically. English has a phonetic alphabet while Chinese uses ideographs to construct words. When a child learns two European languages, English and French or French and German, we know that the key is to teach the children on an oral basis first, ie, to learn to use the language orally, to listen, to speak and to understand before going into the grammar and the spelling. Once the child is comfortable with the spoken language, the writing and reading then come more naturally.

The question which we have to ask ourselves is: Does this also apply to Chinese which uses ideographs and not a phonetic alphabet? How much does oral fluency in Chinese help children to read and to write Chinese characters? If it is established that attaining oral proficiency in Chinese does help children significantly to get a better grasp of the language, should we therefore not restructure our teaching and our examinations to put emphasis on speaking, listening and understanding the language rather than on memorising and reproducing characters on demand? This would provide the opportunity for a more interactive, more interesting type of teaching and learning and make the study of the language more enjoyable, as Dr Hong Hai has suggested, and possibly lessen the anxiety of parents and students. But we cannot make such decisions off the cuff. The issues have to be studied carefully.

A third issue, Sir - how many Chinese characters should a child know so that he can be considered to have acquired a reasonable knowledge of the language and how should the study of these characters be distributed between primary and secondary schools? Sir, Members may remember a few months ago it was reported in the press that Japanese and Korean students need to learn only 2,000 Chinese characters and 1,000 Chinese characters respectively by the time they reach 12th grade, ie, when they are 18 years old and they are still able to read their own newspapers. Of course, Japanese and Korean are not the same as Chinese. As Members will probably know, modern Japanese is written in a mixture of three components - Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana. Kanji are Chinese characters while Hiragana and Katakana are sets of syllables which make up two separate syllabic alphabets. Kanji is used mainly for content words, such as nouns, verbs and adjectives while Hiragana and Katakana are used for specific Japanese words, to perform grammatical functions, to denote pronouns, adverbs and conjunctions and to render foreign words into Japanese.

The Korean writing system consists of Hanja which is mainly based on Chinese characters and Hangul which is the original Korean script. Korea has, of course, gone much further than Japan in using a phonetic script to denote both Hangul and Hanja characters.

The experience of our children learning Chinese is therefore not strictly comparable to that of Japanese children learning Japanese or Korean children learning Korean. But nevertheless, Sir, as Japanese and Korean children learn Japanese and Korean as their mother tongue and their first language and having regard to another press report in the Chinese press which quoted a Professor from the Beijing Institute of Languages, as saying that, with a knowledge of 3,000 characters, one would be able to read newspapers in Chinese, are we not overloading our students who study Chinese as a second language by requiring them to learn 3,000 characters by the time they reach 'O' level? Should we not update our words list which was last compiled in 1982, and see if we can make do with fewer characters and still give our children a reasonable proficiency in Chinese?

With regard to spreading the study of characters between primary and secondary school, we know that Chinese is not an easy language to learn and it could be advantageous for children to learn as much Chinese as possible in primary schools in order to build a firm foundation for the study of the language before the children proceed to secondary schools where they will have to study many more academic subjects. The question then arises as to how much time can we devote to Chinese at the primary school level without permanently handicapping the pupil in his learning of English and the other academic subjects. Unfortunately, our experience in this matter has not been very encouraging. Our previous attempt to give an early start and hence, more time to the learning of Chinese to about 10% of our primary school pupils in the pre-primary classes was not successful and, as Members will know, this has to be discontinued.

We are now making a fresh start with the Preparatory Year programme for five years old in the 10 primary SAP schools. Here, our aim is to try and lay a sound foundation in Chinese by taking advantage of the Chinese primary school ethos in these schools and utilizing redesigned curricula and teaching materials. If this can be done successfully, and the signs are hopeful, we then have to consider whether or not we should extend the system to more schools and thereby effectively have our children start school earlier at five years instead of six years. This is a major issue which should be carefully studied before any decision is taken.

Sir, my point in mentioning all of this is to point out that the Ministry of Education, as an operational Ministry, is not the best institution to look into these issues, many of which require intensive long term research. The Ministry has to deal with day-to-day problems. I believe that we need a centre or an institute in Singapore which can study issues not of the teaching of languages as such but of the implementation of the bilingual policy in our multi-racial society. In my view, Sir, the most appropriate institution to set up such a centre or institute for the study of bilingualism in our society would be one of our tertiary institutions, possibly the proposed National Institute of Education.

I have therefore asked the working committee, which is looking into the establishment of the NIE, to consider the possibility of the NIE, perhaps in association with other relevant and interested bodies, sponsoring an institute or a centre to look into all the problems and issues connected with the implementation of the bilingual policy in Singapore. If this centre or institute can be set up, it could be of considerable assistance to us in resolving many of the problems and issues which we face today.

Sir, I have explained at some length the steps which the Ministry of Education is taking in order to make the study of the mother tongue by our students less stressful and more enjoyable. Our objective must be that by the time a student finishes his general education at the age of 16 at 'O' level, he will have, in addition to a high standard of English, reasonable fluency in his mother tongue and a sound foundation on which, should he wish, he can build on to enhance his proficiency in the language. It will take us some years to realise this objective but it is something which is worthwhile for us to work towards.

Sir, I apologize to the Member for taking so much of his time before coming round to his question. But as I said, Sir, we are paying as much attention to the teaching of English as to the teaching of Chinese. I am happy to inform him now that with the new materials and new techniques which we have in our primary and secondary schools, plus giving more time to those pupils who need help, the majority of our children are now able to reach an adequate standard in English. As I pointed out, Sir, the percentage of our students who now pass English at '0' level is comparable to those of English children taking the same examination in England. And for those children who need more time, ie, those children who come from dialect-speaking homes or non English-speaking homes, for example, this is a matter of concern to us. We will continue looking into it.

One advantage which we have, Sir, with regard to the teaching of English in Singapore is that we are not the only country doing so. There are an innumerable number of centres and experts in England, America, Australia, Canada, all looking into this matter. Therefore, there is a huge variety of teaching materials and techniques which are constantly in use. My Ministry has been able to take advantage of these new materials. We constantly look out for new techniques to make the teaching and learning of English much more interesting and we will continue to do so.

Much obliged, Sir.

The Senior Minister of State for Education (Dr Tay Eng Soon): Sir, I just want to reply to two speakers yesterday.

Dr Tan Cheng Bock: Sir, can I request the Ministers not to give us such long answers. I think we Backbenchers have no time. They are eating into our time. Thank you.

Dr Tay Eng Soon: Sir, I completely agree with the Member and I am just going to answer the points made by Dr Arthur Beng and Dr Ong Chit Chung yesterday. They raised the question of single-session schools and I thought I should just answer them before we move on to the next subhead.

Sir, the Government has agreed to implement in phases single-session schools for secondary schools. The position to-date is that 47 out of the 140 secondary schools are already functioning as single-session schools. 37 more existing schools are going to be upgraded over the next two or three years to become single-session schools and 16 new schools are under construction for the single-session programme.

Dr Tan Cheng Bock: Sir, before I withdraw, can I request Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries to keep their replies short and sweet so that their speeches will not eat into the speaking time of my colleagues and also spare you, Sir, the agony of having to listen to long preamble speeches. With that note, I beg to withdraw.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Mr Chin Harn Tong (Aljunied GRC): ( In Mandarin): Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head L be reduced by $10 in respect of Code LA 1500 of the Main Estimates.

Some of our education policies are constantly changing and they are changing very fast. This has resulted in many parents finding it hard to follow. Although I agree that things cannot remain unchanged because if there is no change it means there is no renewal and no improvement. But when something is constantly changing, parents will find it hard to adjust. This is why we should look at this problem. Let me cite three examples to illustrate these parents' complaints.

First, take the pre-university admission standard, for example. This has been changed three times to-date. The first admission guideline was a composite standard requiring a pass in five subjects, that is to say, students must take up subjects in arts, science or commerce. These five subjects must be related to their course and the aggregate must not exceed 20 points for admission into junior college.

The second admission standard is one first language and four other subjects with an aggregate of not more than 17 points in five subjects for admission into junior college.

The third revision came two years ago, that is, one first language and three main subjects plus any two electives, and this makes a total of six subjects. And the aggregate for six subjects must not exceed 20 points for admission into junior college. The three main subjects must come from arts, science and mathematics.

Pre-university admission standards have been repeatedly changed. Many parents not only find difficulty in adjusting to the system, but teachers and students also feel they are caught unaware even though the Ministry of Education has given ample time for students to get used to the changes.

The second example was in 1979 when the Ministry of Education started pre-primary education in 30 primary schools for the five-year old children. The objective was to provide the extra year for a better foundation to be laid in the two languages. The scheme was warmly received by parents and the role has been increasing all the time and many schools, in order to meet this extra demand, have made adjustments and improvements to accommodate this pre-primary programme. In 1989, the scheme was brought to an end, the reason being that the expenditure did not balance with the result. This change by the Ministry of Education has led to many parents being disappointed and school principals and teachers expressing regrets.

The third example. In 1984, the Ministry of Education started implementing the Religious Knowledge programme, making it compulsory for Secondary 3 students to take up one Religious Knowledge study. Religious Knowledge consists of six areas in all. Among them, Confucianism, Moral Education and Buddhism can be taught either in English or Chinese, while Islamic Studies can either be taught in English or Malay. The subject is to replace the original civics and current affairs studies. This can also be considered as one of the subjects for admission into pre-university and junior college.

In 1989, the Ministry announced that the study of Religious Knowledge has become an elective subject, and it is to be taught outside normal school hours. At the same time, it was stated that Religious Knowledge would no longer be considered as one of the entry requirements for university.

At the moment, the Ministry is now re-writing the Civics syllabus to replace Religious Knowledge which has been implemented for a few years. In order to get RK off the ground, the Ministry has employed experts and consultants from overseas and held many seminars. At the same time, they also ran classes to train teachers how to teach the subject. And more important, a considerable number of teachers have been seconded to the Ministry of Education to work on the syllabus. The amount of money and time the Ministry has spent on the programme has been considerable. Although at the moment, the subject is still in existence, it has lost its effectiveness.

Sir, from the above three examples, we can see that certain major policies of the Ministry of Education are constantly changing and it is little wonder that parents and teachers all feel the same, that is, no policy will stay very long. Of course, policy changes are something that are unavoidable because new situations are constantly arising and we have to make the necessary adjustments to accommodate the demands. But when these changes are too fast and too often, it will lead to many people feeling lost, and at the same time, they feel that the planners lack foresight. This is particularly true with education because education is a long-term pursuit. Just as the saying goes, it takes 10 years for a tree to grow, but 100 years for the spirit to be established.

Dr Wang Kai Yuen (Bukit Timah): Sir, I am on an entirely different topic. I would like to address the use of school premises in the evenings.

Sir, as a result of the Ministry's decision several years ago to eliminate school watchman as part of its cost-cutting programme, the facilities of our schools became off-limit to the public in the evenings. Without school watchman around, theft and vandalism of school property have also increased. It seems that the Ministry of Education is prepared to bear such costs of replacing stolen property and lost property rather than keep school watchman around on its payroll. Since the recurrent expenditure of keeping these school watchmen around is not very high, it is likely that these posts were eliminated in the past in the zeal to reduce staff head count.

Sir, school facilities such as basketball courts and halls are scarce resources, especially for schools located within HDB estates, which I will call neighbourhood schools. Easy access to these facilities will be most beneficial to the public as the demand for such facilities is rather high. Currently, for people who want to make use of such facilities, they will go to the community centre. In other words, Sir, as a people, we are duplicating these facilities at substantial cost. By speaking up here, I do not mean to scale back the scope of community centres. They are fulfilling a very different and useful mission. But I am pointing out that community centres are unlikely to fully meet such demand for facilities. As the First Deputy Prime Minister has also called for a return to the rugged society, we can definitely put the school sporting facilities to better use.

By eliminating the school watchman, Sir, the Government saves some money. But how much money are we talking about? Even in the United States where labour cost is very high, the schools employ janitors and watchmen so that the public can make use of the school halls for badminton, volley ball and other sporting activities in the evenings. Besides, Sir, by opening up the schools to the public in the evenings, we not only give access to such school facilities, but we also draw the public into the schools and thereby making the schools part of the community, as they should be. For neighbourhood schools in particular, there should be strong interaction between the residents and the schools. After all, these residents are parents of the pupils and students studying in those schools. Locking up the schools and leaving them in darkness at night is definitely not the way to integrate such schools into our community.

Sir, I would advocate the MOE to consider measures that would allow easy access to the facilities I have talked about in our neighbourhood schools. If bringing back the familiar jaga is the way to do it, perhaps we should re-consider it. The cost must be a drop in the bucket of MOE budget. Furthermore, if MOE only hires retirees on a contract basis as watchmen, it will also provide gainful employment for retired persons.

Mr Goh Choon Kang (Braddell Heights): Sir, the bilingual policy has been the hallmark and cornerstone of our education system. Apart from those who are studying in the SAP schools, most students are taking English as first language and learning mother language at second language level.

Nobody, I think, doubts the importance of English. But some still have doubts for the compulsory study of mother tongue, especially Chinese. In particular, they feel strongly against the requirement of compulsory passing of the second language for promotions and entering university. Lately, the second sanguage requirement has also been cited as one of the push factors, pushing some Singaporeans to emigrate. As such, these Singaporeans are advocating that the bilingual policy should be reviewed with the aim to dropping the second language requirement for promotions and entering university. They also urge the Government to consider alternative languages to the Chinese language, such as French, German, Japanese, Italian, and so on, to be an examination subject without the requirement of compulsory passing for promotion.

Sir, much as I empathise with these Singaporeans, I cannot agree to their proposal. To do so is like throwing the baby along with the bath water. So removing the second language requirement for promotion in schools and entering university could also mean taking away the most important motivating factor of wanting to learn the language.

Kids do not understand the importance of preserving one's own culture and the importance of mother tongue to one's self-esteem, not until they are old enough and maybe after leaving school and perhaps having the opportunity of going through an unpleasant experience like that of Dr Hong Hai. Then it will dawn on them that they have much to feel grateful for our bilingual policy and appreciate the effort and time they have spent had not gone to waste.

In due course, I am sure also some will definitely realise that they have benefitted from the bilingual policy. They have the best of both worlds. They possess two keys, one to the east and one to the west. So doing away with the second language requirement is also not the right answer to their specific problems. I believe those Singaporeans who have difficulty with Chinese come mainly from the English-speaking homes. Like most of us in this House, they are part of the colonial past. They are monolingual. As parents, the main problem is their inability to provide a conducive home environment for their children to learn Chinese. So to solve the problem, they must hit the nail on the head.

In this respect, I think the personal experience of Dr Seet Ai Mee, as reported in the press recently, should be very useful to them. In other words, parents must play their part in helping their children to overcome the difficulty in studying the second language. Schools can also help by identifying students from such family background and offer them special assistance. Perhaps MOE can also work out some programme whereby successful experience of some schools which have been consistently successful in their second language teaching, such as Raffles Girls' School, can be shared by other schools as well. Besides, there is nothing to prevent us from making the learning of second language as interesting as possible through more interesting teaching materials, better teaching methods and so on.

As regards the updating of the words list mentioned by the Minister just now, I would urge the Ministry to proceed with care. Any move in this direction should not be wrongly perceived as reducing the importance of the mother tongue. Sir, in a nutshell, the success of learning and teaching of the second language depends on a combination of right factors - right motivation, conducive home environment, school environment, good teaching materials and so on.

Sir, whilst I am against any move that will erode our bilingual policy, I would like, on behalf of some of my constituents, to take this opportunity to urge the Minister to be more flexible in its implementation, in particular, in respect of a minority group of Singaporeans. I have in mind children from mixed marriage homes. Perhaps parents of such families can be allowed to choose a second language other than Chinese for their children. I have a case of a mixed blood child whose father is a converted Chinese Muslim and the mother is a Chinese Malay mixed blood. The family language is Malay, but the child was asked to take Chinese as a second language. I have appealed on their behalf but the appeal was turned down. I hope the Minister can reconsider this case.

Mr Sia Khoon Seong (Moulmein): Mr Speaker, Sir, it used to be that in all our primary schools, each class had a form teacher. This form teacher taught the core subjects of English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies and remained in that class for the greater part of each day. He or she was the father or mother figure to the pupils of that class. The form teacher and his or her pupils were able to build between them the kind of relationship and rapport, the lasting bond which is an essential element in a desirable teacher-pupil relationship. The form teacher knew each of his or her pupils well and the pupils in turn knew their teacher. This helped to improve discipline and enhance the opportunities to inculcate sound moral values.

Today, in all our primary schools there is the emerging phenomenon of the multi-teacher or "international class" as it is commonly called. The class has no form teacher in the sense that I have described. The chores of marking the attendance and collecting the fees are undertaken by a second language teacher who spends very little time there. And for the rest of the day, several different teachers come in and out of the class to teach the various subjects. Hence the label "international class". It is a well-known fact in our schools that the international class usually lacks discipline and is difficult to manage. These children do not benefit from the permanent stabilising effect of having a form teacher as a father or mother figure.

We have international classes in our primary schools because the staffing quota or the permitted teacher complement, as it is called, is inadequate. The permitted teacher complement formula is such that it does not allow for one EL1 teacher per class in schools where English is taught as the first language or one CL1 teacher per class where Chinese is taught as the first language. If we believe that primary education is important, we must provide our schools with adequate manpower so that they can be run well. A more liberal staffing quota, in addition to the present complement of second language and other teachers, which will enable every class to have a form teacher to look after the pupils for the greater part of each day is extremely desirable.

In our secondary schools, the staffing quota is a little more generous but with the teachers specialising in certain subjects and unable to teach all subjects, there are also problems. Giving a couple more teachers to schools involved in special projects like pastoral care and off-loading technical and domestic science teachers does not help, again because these teachers are limited by their specialisation. The workload of those who teach the core subjects of English, Mathematics and Science and subjects like Literature, History and Geography is still a very heavy one. Just as in the primary schools, there is a good case for the more liberal staffing quota in secondary schools. All efforts to improve our education system will be seriously hampered if in our schools we do not have adequate manpower to do the job better. Will the Ministry of Education not consider increasing the staffing quota for schools with suitable teachers?

Mr Chiam See Tong (Potong Pasir): Sir, I have three amendments. Can I take them together?

The Chairman: Yes.

Mr Chiam See Tong: First of all, may I ask the Minister for the following information?

(1) the number of graduates of the Chinese Studies Department each year for the last five years.

Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam: NUS Chinese Studies Department?

Mr Chiam See Tong: Yes, NUS Chinese Studies Department.

(2) the total student enrolment of that Department at NUS;

(3) its staff strength; and

(4) the number of staff who are Singaporeans.

I tried to get this information yesterday from the Chinese Studies Department of NUS, but I was unsuccessful. I made at least six telephone calls but everybody appeared to be very reluctant and treated the information I wanted as absolutely secret. But I cannot see why it should be kept away from a Member of Parliament if he wanted to have those information.

The Government has a massive programme to encourage Chinese Singaporeans to speak Mandarin and we have heard speakers in this House talking of the concern for the promotion of the second language. We have just heard a talk about the bilingual policy and its problems. If the Government is really serious about promoting Mandarin amongst the Chinese population, then I think, first of all, it should tackle the problem of whether there are enough teachers to teach our students in this particular language.

Sir, in the past, Chinese teachers were obtained from our local Nanyang University. But that university was closed in 1980, I believe, with about 600 graduates. Since then, many of these graduates have found other jobs, and even those that are in the teaching job would soon be reaching their retirement age. Therefore, I think it is important to augment the Chinese Studies Department of the NUS.

Sir, I have not got any statistics but I was informed that a few years back, the number of graduates per year produced by that department was only a paltry 15 in number. If that were really true, then the programme to promote Mandarin has a very serious problem indeed. The Prime Minister has spoken on this subject. We need people who are versed in the Chinese language, not only as teachers but also in the newspapers, as TV producers and as journalists. But I am more concerned with our Chinese school teachers. The Prime Minister said the problem is big. Maybe we will solve it by recruiting from Hong Kong and Taiwan to supplement the few that we can find. This may well be good for the newspapers and for the TV station, but certainly not for our schools. We do not want to have foreigners in massive numbers coming to interact with our local Singaporeans. They may pass on the wrong values to our Singaporeans and, in that process, we will have problems building up a Singapore identity.

There is in fact urgent need to look into the enlargement of the Chinese Studies Department if the Government is really serious about wanting to keep Mandarin alive in Singapore. If the number of school children becomes so great, there might even be a necessity to revive or set up a Chinese university, just to produce the number of graduates to keep up with the massive demands for the people who are versed in Mandarin. Sir, I think the Government should really address itself on this problem. They must go for the jugular and not just superficial statements and campaigns made to promote the language. But in fact there is no real substance in those campaigns.

Sir, my second cut is in regard to the expansion of vocational education in Singapore. I welcome the setting up of the third polytechnic. It is a good move. But I am more concerned with the younger children who have left school prematurely, those drop-outs in Primary 6, Secondary 1 or Secondary 2. Where do they go? Where do they get their training? Perhaps the Minister could give his thought to those who have left school earlier. What sort of vocational training, what sort of skill, what sort of vocation can they be trained in? But, of course, there is still more room even to train our school leavers because if we are to be an industrialized country, vocational training is very important. The Minister has said that he has looked at the German and Swiss experience and he would know that in Germany, 65% of the children between the ages of 15-18 years have some kind of vocational training. It is no wonder their nation is industrially so advanced. Perhaps we should try and emulate that kind of standard.

As regards the status of our students who are trained in the polytechnic, I hear that they are not given the status which they deserve. I hear that NTC2 graduates are still treated like 'O' level students. I think the Minister should also look into the possibility of in-house training for some of our school leavers. Perhaps they could encourage firms to give more in-house training.

The other question is the recruitment of foreign workers. Are we to recruit more and more skilled workers to compete with our skilled workers here? Is that fair? Because we have spent massive amounts of money training our Singaporeans and they may be deprived of jobs to compete with other skilled workers from foreign countries who may be paid less.

My third amendment refers to reducing the school class size. This is a very important area which I have brought up many times in this House and I have not yet, up till now, got a satisfactory reply. I think it is unreasonable to ask the Minister to implement this very important policy straightaway. Perhaps he could stretch it out over five to 10 years but the aim must be there. From the educational point of view, there is no doubt that there are a lot of benefits of having a small class size so that the teachers could pay more individual attention to the poorer pupils. This principle has been accepted in the independent schools. The independent schools, I would say, will accept pupils of above average intelligence and they get the benefit of educational facilities which other schools are deprived of. Why prejudice against other schools? Why favour only the independent schools? I would like the Minister to commit and to admit that he will look into this area and perhaps try to implement this policy of really reducing the class size. If the class is too big, it is just impossible for the teacher to teach effectively. Perhaps we will see less and less of our school students dropping out from schools prematurely.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs (Encik Yatiman Yusof): Sir, I have three amendments. May I be allowed to take them together?

The Chairman: Yes.

Encik Yatiman Yusof: Sir, the problem arising from an increasing number of our children pursuing their education abroad and the possibility of brain drain arising from it is not new. It has been a subject keenly discussed and debated by many quarters - educationists, education planners, teachers and parents. However, Sir, I feel that we have not found the most effective way of tackling this problem. Since manpower and human resource still remains the only source of our future survival and development, we have to do the best to overcome this problem.

Since we last talked about education abroad and its negative effect to our human resource, the problem has taken a new dimension. Not only had the cases increased in number but also the type of people, their quality and the possible loss of use of their contribution to Singapore had also increased. With a greater number of students enrolled in the English stream, an increase in the number of those who succeed in their pre-university examinations and the widening area of qualifications, both in the academic and technical fields, the tendency to seek further education abroad is becoming greater.

The increase in intake of students by NUS, NTI, and the Polytechnics has, to some extent, increased the opportunity, but it has not solved the problem. So is the new plan for the second university and the third polytechnic.

Sir, the upsurge or quest for higher education among our people is a healthy one. Individually, it is a clear manifestation of our desire to achieve excellence in life. Collectively, it is a "take-off" stage towards creating a knowledge-oriented society, a path which we have long pursued in the hope that the total cumulative result would be to help us to build a solid platform, a spring board, towards a new height for our society, our nation and our civilization.

In view of this, I welcome the series of new efforts announced by the Minister recently. By widening and broadening the scope of education and training at national level, we will be able to cater for the increasing need for our people in the field of education. However, Sir, there is a limit to what we can do. Many students will still continue to pursue their education abroad. The reasons are multi-faceted - some for personal reasons, some for intellectual reasons and some for practical and pragmatic reasons.

It is my humble submission that unless we act vigorously to strengthen their roots in Singapore, emotionally and ideologically, creating a strong sense of belonging, a sense of meaningful sharing of the future, we may end up unsuccessful or, worse still, a loser.

In this respect, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister for his long term plan and strategy to cultivate our pupils so that their feet may temporarily be abroad but their hearts and minds are in Singapore.

Sir, on the question of coordination between institutions of higher learning and research and development programme, we are fully aware that the importance of close cooperation between the institutions of higher learning and our R&D programme need not be emphasized. It has long been a proven formula for a nation's success in its economy and development.

By sharing and tapping each other's resources through a well-planned. well-coordinated and well-programmed project, we will be mutually enriching our ability in R&D. In this respect, Sir, I would like to take the opportunity to ask the Minister for an update in the cooperation in this sphere. I would be glad too, Sir, if the Minister could share with the House his thinking on this issue, especially the future direction his Ministry intends to pursue on this matter.

The adult education programme. Sir, continual education has a long history in Singapore. It is a milestone to our social mobility too. Singaporeans are fortunate because the avenue for the pursuit of knowledge, upgrading of qualifications and skills remains open for them, especially for the working adult population. The Ministry, through its various programmes and schemes, such as the VITB, has helped many who had missed the opportunity in their formal education, to better themselves. In addition, the Skills Development Fund is always available for firms to upgrade the employees' skill and ability.

Sir, with compulsory primary education and implementation of continual education programme in schools, we have created a better environment and better opportunity for our students. However, Sir, despite all these efforts and schemes, I would like to emphasize the need for us to give special and additional attention to those who realise, alas not belatedly, their mistake and choose to better themselves in the later stage of their life. In this respect, may I ask the Minister whether he intends to broaden the scope for adult education and what kind of incentive, apart from personal satisfaction, it provides to those who try to better themselves academically.

Dr Lee Siew-Choh (Non-Constituency Member): Sir, I speak on the Dainton's Report. The Government has accepted Lord Dainton's recommendations to build two universities. But from the reading of the Report, it would appear that Singapore needs, not two, but three universities. The simple reason is that more and more of our students are seeking university education. This is supported by:

(1) "The growth of students who wish to have university education has been more rapid than foreshadowed in my report about 10 years' ago", says Lord Dainton.

(2) About 9,000 Singapore students are currently studying overseas in institutions of higher education.

(3) The Report refers to past postgraduate students and major students.

(4) With the natural increase in Singapore's population, and I quote again, "the size of the 18-year-old age group would be significantly larger were Singapore's population to rise to 4 million".

(5) Lord Dainton warns against over reliance on performance in 'A' level examinations. Therefore cautious liberalization of admission criteria will certainly increase the number of students seeking higher education.

From all this, Sir, it can be seen that early in 1979 the projected number of students seeking higher education was already grossly underestimated in spite of the then prevailing "Stop at two" policy. The present 1989 projected number would certainly again be grossly underestimated, especially when the Government is presently pushing new procreation policies. In fact, it is already obvious that by the end of the 1970s there was already a four to five-fold upsurge in demand for university education. The problem was compounded by Government's decision to merge the Nanyang University with the then Univer- sity of Singapore to form a single National University of Singapore. Nantah, of course, should not have been scrapped at all. Nantah failed, not simply because its graduates were not as well recognized as the Singapore University graduates, but mainly because the PAP Government had not lived up to its promise to give equal treatment to the four streams of education.

Following the merging of the two Universities into one, stringent measures were introduced to reduce the number of students seeking university education. This is in keeping with the PAP's policy of elitism. Hence, the Goh Keng Swee's Report with a new system of education and the introduction of streaming. The result of all this, Sir, is that large numbers of students have been denied opportunities to higher education, which in turn has contributed to a large exodus of students all going for higher studies overseas. The lack of facilities for higher education is one of the main reasons for our students going abroad, not because "their hearts are not in Singapore", as Encik Yatiman said.

The Zaobao has said that in 1980 there were already 3,000 students leaving Singapore for higher education overseas. Today the number, as disclosed in the Report, has increased to 9,000. The Minister says that expansion is in line with the projection of manpower needs. But I say, Sir, that it is a grave mistake to base our national education expansion solely on the manpower needs of foreign MNCs which own most of the industries in Singapore. We should instead, Sir, base our projections on our own national needs to develop our people to their fullest potential. Education should not be seen as merely a means to an end. Education is indeed an end in itself, namely, the fullest development of our citizens as human beings. And in matters of education, we should not be miserly in the use of our surplus funds. We spend too small an amount on education. As the Report has said, and I quote:

" ... because Singapore is a small island with virtually no natural resources, its economy is more dependent on the skills and intelligence of its people than would be the case for many other countries ..."

And that, Sir, means more funds for the education and training of our people.

Though we have a small population, we could, like Denmark, still have our own Niels Bohr. We have sufficient manpower and the potential. Just think of the number of students who have been denied their university education because of the now suspended suitability certificates or of the students who have been barred in some way by the streaming of students.

Our own Chia Thye Poh, Sir, was also a budding physicist. If he had been allowed to have full development of his potential, instead of having been incarcerated in our prisons for more than 23 years, how would we know that we do not also have our own Niels Bohr?

The whole thrust of my argument, Sir, is that Government should not merely want to upgrade NTI into NTU today. It should not shelve plans for a third university. Instead, it should start preparations for the third university now and not wait and waste time. The Report fears that there may be a lowering of standards if we go too fast. The Report also states that, and I quote:

"... when the percentage of the 18 year old age group entering higher education rises above the 15-20% band, then the graduation rate diminishes and the attrition rate may, as in the USA, rise to 50%."

This may be over-cautious and over-alarmist. They must not forget that our people's attitude towards education is different from the attitude of US students towards education. Our students study hard and seriously, quite unlike some of the students in the United States. Moreover, necessary and suitable staff can always be recruited to ensure continuing high standards in the university.

In our quest for excellence and in our march towards the status of a developed nation, let us not forget that the general level of education is one of the most important indicators. Yet, presently, the number of students enrolled in higher education as a percentage of population aged 20 to 40 years in Singapore lags far behind Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and the United States. We should not waste time to catch up. The higher the general level of education, the more will this benefit our country economically, socially, politically and culturally.

In conclusion, Sir, as I have said, education is not merely a means to an end. Education is an end in itself, which is the development of our people to their fullest potential. Today, our parents and children are demanding that more and more facilities be provided for higher education. Already the Straits Times this morning reports that 16,000 school leavers have applied for 8,700 places in the three polytechnics. We have more than adequate funds. These funds should be put to good use for the benefit of our people.

The Chairman: Dr Lee, your time is up.

Dr Lee Siew-Choh: I am finishing, Sir. If the Government should have doubts, let it carry out a real and proper study and survey of the educational needs of our people. I hope the Minister will take my suggestions seriously.

Dr Tay Eng Soon: Sir, I would like to reply to a number of points raised by Members.

The first is from Mr Chin Harn Tong. In his speech, Mr Chin expressed concern that the Ministry of Education has been making too many policy changes in the last few years. Sir, let me assure him that the Ministry does not wish to make policy changes for the sake of making policy changes. It will be much easier for the Ministry to make no policy changes at all and just carry on with its day-to-day routines. But the Ministry cannot avoid making changes when it sees the need to do so.

The Ministry regularly reviews all its educational policies and, when necessary, changes are made so that the quality of education can be improved or changes have to be made because needs have changed. However, the long-term mission of the Ministry of Education remains unchanged. It is to bring out the best in every child so that he can grow up to be a responsible citizen and contribute towards the progress of our nation.

As for the process of making policy changes, the Ministry takes a cautious approach when considering changes in educational policies. It has to bear in mind the interest and welfare of our students - that is the primary concern. Therefore, in the process, the Ministry seeks the views of school principals, for example, through the Schools Council, teachers as well as members of the public. It also seeks the views of the GPC for Education and on occasions has asked the Feedback Unit to organise public hearings on policy changes that it has in mind.

Finally, Sir, these policy changes, are usually announced here in Parliament if they are major changes, so that Members of Parliament can be informed first-hand and have an opportunity to raise questions.

Most importantly, Sir, when the Ministry makes a major policy change, it takes into account the time that will be required for students to make the necessary adjustments, so that when it comes to affect them, they will have made the adjustments. For example, in the recent change to phase out Religious Knowledge as a subject at '0' level counting for junior college admission, the Ministry gave enough time to students to make that change. This policy will not be fully implemented until 1994. So we have given a span of more than four years for the change. Even after a change has been made, Sir, the Ministry monitors the change, assesses the effectiveness of the policies and ensures that there are no dislocations affecting the welfare of our pupils.

Sir, Dr Wang Kai Yuen brought up the subject of use of school facilities by the public and by community groups. I agree with him that valuable school facilities, such as school fields and sports facilities can and should be accessible to members of the public. This indeed is the present policy. We have asked all our schools to make their facilities available to organisations such as grassroots organisations, RCs, community centres, who wish to make use of their premises. We have avoided letting the school premises to be open to any member of the public to walk in and to use because there will be a lack of control and there could possibly be some damage to school property. But if grassroots organisations want to make use of the facilities, they can contact the school principal and this arrangement can be done.

Secondly, Sir, in the building of new schools, the plans now provide for a fence to be erected between the school field and sports facilities and the school buildings themselves. The idea behind this is that outside school hours the fence will enable people to make use of the school fields without being able to get into the school premises and possibly causing some damage to school property. This is being implemented and we will see how it will work out in future.

As for the hiring of watchman or jaga in school, the problem in the past has been that it has not been possible to find enough people who want to do that kind of work. And so the programme had to be phased out. But if in future such people can be found and can be profitably employed to look after school property for the purposes he mentioned, we will look into it.

Sir, the Member for Potong Pasir, Mr Chiam See Tong, spoke on a number of topics. I will only answer him on the subject of vocational training and its needs and also the reduction of class sizes. I will leave to my Minister to reply to him on the Chinese Studies Department at NUS.

Sir, as the Member knows, there is a comprehensive programme available now for school leavers, particularly the premature school leavers, to go on from primary or secondary school into vocational training and to come out as skilled craftsmen and technicians. This programme makes it very easy for premature school leavers to register with the VITB. For example, anybody who leaves primary school on completion of the monolingual course or who is unable to go on to secondary school is automatically registered under the automatic registration scheme in vocational institutes. In other words, they will be transferred automatically to the nearest vocational institute. The problem, Sir, is that not all premature school leavers take advantage of this, even though they are informed that they are automatically registered. So a lot of effort has to be made by VITB to let these children know that the opportunity is there. Every year, VITB sends teams of people into all the primary schools to inform them about the courses that are available and the career prospects that follow from these courses.

I must say that with a lot of effort, there has been some success. Today more than 80% of premature school leavers register with VITB to continue in basic vocational training which leads on to NTC-3 level and they can go on beyond that, if they so wish. I can assure the Member that this subject is under constant review by the VITB.

In addition to that, the VITB itself is constantly reviewing and expanding its courses. For example, it is now examining the feasibility of enlarging its apprenticeship scheme, so that those who leave school and who want training but who at the same time need a job because they need an income, can take advantage of apprenticeship training so that they can earn and train at the same time. This scheme is in an advanced stage of planning and should be launched before very long.

At the other end of the scale, the VITB has been working with industry groups to put in place NTC-1 level courses. These are the highest level for master craftsmen. This is an effort to enhance the skills in certain areas to the highest possible level. Presently, there is one NTC-1 course in place. There are four more being worked on, which should come in place within the next year.

Just to inform the Member, the linkage between schools and VITB or training in Singapore, which is not only conducted by VITB but by other institutions, is an important one. I mentioned the automatic registration scheme which is already in place. Recently, we have put in place another scheme called the joint intake exercise for 'O' level school leavers who may not make it to junior college or the polytechnics but who can certainly take advantage of the skill training courses. A joint intake exercise is now available for them to take full advantage of the wide range of courses that are available to them.

The Member also raised the question of class sizes. Recently, we sent two teams of school principals to Taiwan and Japan to look at what is done in some very good schools in these two countries, perhaps the best schools in these two countries. They found a lot of interesting things that were being done there. But one thing struck me when they came back with their report. In all the schools they visited, the class sizes were of the order of 50 per class. So let me say right at the start that there is no automatic correlation between class size and the performance of students in the schools. It does not follow automatically that just because you have smaller class sizes everything will become better.

Nonetheless, the Ministry of Education took into consideration and accepted a recommendation that was made in 1987 by a group of principals who produced a report "Towards Excellence in Schools". I think the Member may recall that this was a report based on the study by these secondary school principals, and among four key recommendations, one of them was to reduce class sizes. The Ministry has accepted this in principle and this remains our long-term objective that we want to work towards.

But as all Members know, to reduce class sizes means to increase the number of teachers. For example, presently, on average we have about 40 per class. If we were to reduce the class sizes to 30 per class, this is a 33% reduction in class size. It correspondingly requires a 33% increase in the number of class teachers. We have 21,000 teachers today. This means we have to bring that figure up to 28,000, an increase of 7,000 more teachers. Even now, we have to put in a lot of effort, including television advertisements, to maintain our strength of 21,000 teachers, let alone expand the teaching force. So that is the kind of problem that confronts us when we want to reduce class sizes. As I said, this remains a long-term goal and we have to work towards it. But remember that if we take more people into the teaching service, it must be at the expense of other sectors of the economy. We are competing in the same pool.

Finally, Sir, I want to speak on the topic raised by Mr Yatiman Yusof. He spoke about adult education. I am glad he supports adult education as we also believe in adult education. We believe that we should provide opportunities for working people to do two things: one, to upgrade themselves, to take their own skills or knowledge further; and secondly, to move into new areas of skills or knowledge which they hitherto have not been involved in. Perhaps they want to change careers and so they want to do this. For both reasons, we should encourage adult education and provide the opportunities for this.

For his information, Sir, for just one organisation, VITB, and I do not have the figures for other organisations, last year the adult education programmes provided 101,000 places. There were 101,000 people who took part in their adult education programmes. The BEST programme took in 38,000 people, the WISE programme took in 22,000 people, continuing education, which is mainly for people preparing for 'O' levels and 'A' levels, took in 24,000, and the modular skills training course which enables adults to pick up new skills took in 17,000, a total of 101,000. If you add the courses provided by the NPB and the polytechnics in their evening courses, the figure may approach 200,000. So there is no lack of opportunity, and if there is need for more of these opportunities, I am sure we will find the resources to provide them.

The Minister of State for Education (Dr Seet Ai Mee): Mr Speaker, Sir, as the Member for Moulmein has pointed out, form teachers play a critical role in schools. Each form teacher sets the tone for his or her class and is responsible for bringing the students closer together and for making the classroom like a home. Most classes, as he said, are taught by teachers from the English stream. These are in the primary schools. Some are taught by second language teachers. But these teachers do not only just teach the language and mark the register and just leave the class, but also teach moral education. Some teach art and craft and music.

Principals are aware of the problem he has brought up about international classes and the allocation of different teachers to one class is kept very low. I am afraid that the Member for Moulmein has used poetic words and exaggerated the situation in international classes. It is not as bad as he has made it out to be. Currently, with the teacher recruitment situation, as brought up by the Senior Minister of State for Education, and with the shortage of teachers, it will not be possible to have every class taught by an EL teacher. So, we will have to have these classes.

However, Mr Speaker, Sir, the qualities and skills required of a form teacher are not dependent on whether he or she is a Mathematics, Science or History teacher. While there is a place and a role for English medium teachers to be form teachers and the role models for good spoken English, there is also a place and a role for second language teachers to be form teachers, for they can be good role models of our bilingual policy and stimulate a keener interest in the second language and for other subject-based teachers to play their part as form teachers. The Ministry therefore encourages all principals to give each of their teachers regular opportunities to be form teachers, regardless of their subject specialisation and language medium.

Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam: With your indulgence, Sir, three very short answers to Mr Goh Choon Kang, Mr Chiam and Dr Lee Siew-Choh. First, regarding Mr Goh Choon Kang's point about the implementation of the bilingual policy in the case of mixed marriages, I will tell him that the Ministry is sympathetic towards this problem. We have had to take a uniform view of all cases initially in order to impress on the population and our students the importance of the bilingual policy. But we are sympathetic to the human problems that will arise from the implementation of this policy and we are reviewing our policy regarding allowing children of mixed marriages some flexibility in this area.

Mr Chiam asked for some information regarding the NUS Department of Chinese Studies. On the number of graduates who read the subject as a major subject, the figures for the last five years were: 85 for 1985, 76 for 1986, 110 for 1987, 98 for 1988 and 117 for 1989.

With regard to the other information, may I suggest that he table a question for written answer and we shall give him the information.

Finally, I fully agree with Dr Lee Siew-Choh that we should make adequate resources available for education, and we have always done so. In future, we may have to spend more money on education. As an example, for the upgrading of primary schools and giving graduate teachers to teach in primary schools and if we were to implement our scheme to extend the pre-primary year to more schools, our estimate is that the amount of money which will be required is something in the region of about $500 million. At the present time, the budget of the Ministry of Education is just over $2 billion per year, which amounts to about 4% of our GDP. An increase of $500 million would mean an additional per cent and the percentage of our GDP spent on education would rise from 4% to 5%. We have still to establish that this is necessary, Sir, but I am sure that if the Ministry of Education decides that such an improvement is desirable, we shall receive sympathetic consideration from the Ministry of Finance.

Mr Sia Khoon Seong: Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister of State said that I was trying to exaggerate the problem. I think her Ministry is trying to underplay the problem on this question of international class. If you take a school, with just only two classes that are international and, as explained in my statement earlier, these are the kind of classes that pose a lot of disciplinary problems. 80 children in two classes, not only do they pose disciplinary problems themselves, they also infect the rest of the children. The discipline will become very difficult to manage. Therefore, it is not a small problem. It is a big problem.

Now, on the question of the number of teachers. Of course, with regard to the question by Mr Chiam See Tong on the reduction in class size the Senior Minister of State gave an example and he mentioned the figure of 7,000. But the problem that I am posing and suggesting a solution does not need 7,000 more teachers. In most cases it is only a question of one or two more teachers per school. That's all. And it is only a question of 200, 300 or 400 more teachers in order to take care of this problem. I think it is not unmanageable.

Secondly, I am not talking about English medium teachers as such. I am saying that in English schools, where English is taught as a first language, you have to have the EL1 teacher as a form teacher, simply because the core subjects, English, Science, Mathematics and Social Studies, are important subjects, and these subjects have to be handled by that particular medium teacher. In a Chinese school, Chinese is taught as a first language. Likewise, you need to have enough CL1 teachers to be form teachers. So irrespective of whether it is a Chinese or English medium school, you must have sufficient English medium teachers to man the classes as form teachers if it is a English medium school. If it is a Chinese school, you must have sufficient number of Chinese teachers to man the classes as form teachers. Of course, not just only second language teachers can inculcate moral values, everybody should - second language teacher, PE teacher, form teacher, whoever he is. They all have their role to play in as far as inculcating moral values is concerned. But by the nature of things, the way the school is structured, the form teacher is someone who is in attendance with the key subjects in the class. I think all of us have attended schools before and we knew what a form teacher did. I do not have to explain that. I think to have a second language teacher, whether the second language teacher is an English medium teacher or a Chinese medium teacher, is not the most effective way of manning the classes as this will crete disciplinary problem. The Ministry may not be able to solve the teacher shortage straight away, but the Ministry is spending a lot of money on so many things, which is a good thing. And in the areas of priority the Ministry should look at this problem, maybe not this year, but perhaps a start next year and the year after.

Dr Seet Ai Mee: Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member for Moulmein's points are taken and the Ministry will look into the situation which he has presented.

Mr Chin Harn Tong: ( In Mandarin): Sir, I am not very happy with the Minister's reply, but I ask leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment by leave withdrawn.

Dr Tan Cheng Bock: Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head L be reduced by $10 in respect of Code LC 1500 of the Main Estimates.

Sir, I move this amendment because I want to share with the Ministry two ideas which I feel would lead to better integration of our students in the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools. Sir, I understand the reasons behind the setting up of our SAP schools. But one nagging concern that I have is the school environment that these students are in. Can you imagine, Sir, these students since primary 1, or some as early as in kindergarten, till Secondary 4 are doing things, playing and studying in a totally Chinese environment. The Ministry of Education has stated that there will be SAP schools for Malay or Tamil students if there are sufficient numbers. This, I believe, would lead to isolation of our better students along the respective racial groups. I dislike this and would advise the Minister and his Ministry to look into ways to avoid this without losing our purpose of allowing the better students to do English and their mother tongue at first level.

I therefore propose that either all SAP schools must twin with national type schools, or all SAP schools should have students from all racial groups but having separate programmes for each group whilst studying in the same environment, ie, within the same school. They are our brighter top 10% students, and they are potential leaders of our society. Their formative years are important and they should not develop prejudices and attitudinal set patterns that will hinder their decision making in future. The twinning of schools would allow the schools involved to develop programmes in the non-academic areas. For a start, like games, having a common rugby team with players from both schools, common football team, netball team, and also common cadet or scout groups. If such programmes work out well, then other areas, including shar- ing academic teaching methods, could be explored. These schools should be sited preferably close to each other. More details could be worked out by the Ministry and the schools. We must not just talk about a multi-racial society. We must make it work. And we have done so with our GRC and our HDB estates policy. I hope this integration programme of the SAP schools will further reinforce the concept of racially integrated neighbourhoods in our HDB environment.

The Chairman: Mr Goh Choon Kang.

Mr Goh Choon Kang: I am not speaking, Sir.

Mr Peh Chin Hua (Jalan Besar GRC): ( In Mandarin): Sir, I wish to question the graduation ceremony held by the junior college students. I observe that their ceremonies were different from that of my time when I was a student. During my time, graduation ceremonies were held with mixed feelings - sadness for parting and happiness for graduating - in the school hall which was simple but yet solemn. But, nowadays, some graduation ceremonies of junior colleges are held in high-class hotels and in a luxurious way where the style and expenditure are outrageous.

According to a report in the Lianhe Zaobao, students have even spent about $150 to $500 on clothing. This function lasted till midnight, till the wee hours. Some even stayed in the hotel so that they could have the party throughout the night. I am of the view that since students of the junior college have excellent results in the 'A' level examination, with their talents and intelligence they would be an asset to the nation. If today students have cultivated this lavish habit, unlike their ancestors who were thrifty and hardworking, they do not augur well for the image of future masters of our country.

I fail to understand why the management of these junior colleges could allow the students to have such luxurious graduation parties. They even joined them in the celebrations. I believe that the Ministry of Education does not intend to encourage students to spend money extravagantly before they start to earn and to forget the virtues of thrift and hard work of their ancestors.

I suggest that graduation ceremonies be held in the school hall without lavish expenditure, but as a solemn occasion before they depart from the college. The students should not take the opportunity to show off as in a beauty contest, for example. I therefore urge the Ministry of Education to pay attention to this development. Otherwise, the 'O' level and PSLE students would also follow suit and similarly hold functions in high-class hotels. Then the consequences will be hard to imagine!

Encik Abbas Abu Amin (Pasir Panjang GRC): Sir, I would like to commend the Ministry of Education for its continuous efforts to improve the standard of physical education in schools.

Last year I raised the importance of physical education and the concern on the acute shortage of physical education teachers. I would like to know, Sir, what further progress has been made to recruit and train sufficient PE teachers, especially in primary schools.

In line with this, I wish to know what steps have been taken to implement the various recommendations made in the Report of the Advisory Council on Sports and Recreation (ACSR).

Sir, in the ACSR report on the "Future Strategies", it states, and I quote:

'The Ministry of Education will have to revise the PE curriculum to emphasize the development of motor skills especially in primary schools. It will also have to develop a programme to use non-teachers as aides and instructors in schools. The Ministry will also have to ensure that pupils who have exceptional talents are encouraged and given the opportunity to develop their skills.'

Sir, I would like the Minister to enlighten me on this development.

Encik Abdul Nasser bin Kamaruddin (Hong Kah GRC): ( In Malay): The proposal mooted by the First Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Goh Chok Tong to channel the tertiary fees subsidy for Malay students to MENDAKI has, I believe, drawn a mixed reaction from the Malay community. Some perceived the proposal as a move by the Government to take away the pri- vileges they have been enjoying all this time. Others thought it reflected a commitment on the part of the First Deputy Prime Minister to strengthen the MENDAKI Foundation and build a more independent Malay community.

Sir, I do not disagree with the First Deputy Prime Minister on this issue. Indeed, I support him. One cannot deny that his is a good idea, good for both the Malay community and MENDAKI as it faces the more challenging years ahead. MENDAKI will be able to use any surplus from the subsidy so channelled to finance its efforts to accelerate the development of the Malay community. And yet, one cannot disagree either that the fees subsidy issue requires careful, sensitive, fair-minded and practical handling, as it is not a matter of just transfering the funds.

I would like to suggest that the Government consider initially having the Public Service Commission or the Ministry of Education assist in handling the transfer of subsidy and administering the bursaries/scholarships therefrom.

Sir, an interesting point about the statement by the First Deputy Prime Minister on this issue is that he stressed that the proposal to channel the fees subsidy applies only to tertiary education, and does not include primary and secondary schools and junior colleges. Malay students in primary and secondary schools and junior colleges will continue to enjoy remission of fees.

In this connection, I would like to draw the attention of the Government to the fees of the independent schools. Many Malay parents who send their children to the independent schools have had to pay the school fees. This seems contrary to what the First Deputy Prime Minister said, and I repeat, on the basis of his statement, Malay students should continue to enjoy exemption of fees in primary and secondary schools and junior colleges.

The independent schools we are establishing are not as yet fully independent. These schools still operate under the 'protective umbrella' of the Ministry of Education, unlike private schools like Stamford College, etc. Our independent schools continue to receive Government assistance in the form of grants, building maintenance subsidy, and many other forms of assistance. I would like to urge the Ministry of Education to exempt Malay pupils from paying school fees in the independent schools until such time as the schools become 'fully independent'.

The Malay community, on their part, must be ready for the day in the years ahead when these schools become 'fully independent'. We can expect the number of Malay children joining these schools increasing year by year. When that day comes, Malay students will no longer be exempted from paying the fees charged by the school management. The Malay community must prepare itself for that eventuality. The same applies to MENDAKI. It must keep up its efforts in administering educational grants, bursaries, scholarships to needy students from the independent schools.

Once again, as long as independent schools are not 'fully independent' of assistance from the Ministry of Education or the Government, I appeal to the Ministry to give Malay students the opportunity to enjoy exemption from fees in these schools like they do in Government primary and secondary schools and junior colleges.

The Chairman: Order. I think we will take a break now.

Thereupon Mr Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House.

Mr Speaker: Order. I suspend the Sitting and shall take the Chair again at 2.55 pm

Sitting accordingly suspended at 2.30 pm until 2.55 pm. Sitting resumed at 2.55 pm

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Debate in Committee of Supply resumed.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Head L - (cont.)

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education (Encik Sidek bin Saniff): ( In Malay): Mr Chairman, I would like to reply to the points made by Mr Abdul Nasser Kamaruddin, Member for Hong Kah GRC.

Mr Chairman, at the moment, Malay students in Government and Government-aided schools do not pay school fees. However, all students of independent schools, regardless of ethnic origin, are required to pay school fees.

Independent schools are administered by management boards appointed with the approval of the Minister for Education. The boards, together with the school principals, are responsible to the Ministry and their respective school communities with regard to the management and performance of their schools. The independent schools enjoy a high degree of autonomy and manage their own administrative affairs, like recruiting their own staff and fixing their fees. With such autonomy, the schools are able to set their own objectives and provide an educational environment that meets the individual needs, interests and abilities of their students.

The independent-school concept is a means of achieving excellence in education. These schools are encouraged to find new methods or approaches in teaching and administration, as well as to initiate, revise and develop school programmes that would result in quality education capable of accommodating students of different talents and abilities.

Sir, although all students of the independent schools are required to pay the school fees, the Ministry has given assurance that every student who has secured a place in an independent school can be certain, I repeat, certain of studying there even if he or she cannot afford it financially. The Ministry has a rather generous financial assistance scheme to help poorer students in independent schools pay the required school fees. In addition, the independent schools themselves have set up a number of bursary schemes to assist needy students.

I wish to emphasise here that parents must be prepared to pay for good education, such as that offered by the independent schools. With the fees they collect from their students, these schools are able to introduce new programmes and accommodate smaller class sizes. This brings to mind the point made by the First Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Goh Chok Tong when he proposed that Malay students pay the fees for tertiary education. The community must remember that those who can afford it should pay the fees. By doing so, they are helping those students who are less able financially and that way, the community will in the long term be able to rise and stand on its own feet.

The MENDAKI-Ministry of Education Joint Committee, of which I am the Chairman, has forwarded its views on the proposal to MENDAKI. I understand that MENDAKI is now studying our recommendations.

Mr Chairman, the Government is responsible for providing every opportunity for every citizen of Singapore to obtain quality education and improve himself or herself. In the effort to help the Malay community upgrade themselves socially and economically through education, the Joint Committee has undertaken the task of finding ways and means of raising the community's educational performance. Among the first of its tasks is to come up with a scheme to identify excellent Malay/Muslim students who can stand as a model to be emulated by the others. With this in mind, the MENDAKI scholarship scheme has been set up to nurture Malay/Muslim students with the potential for academic excellence. These scholarships have been used at all six independent schools and at Raffles Girls' School. We have taken the initiative this year to award bursaries to 10 bright Secondary One students.

The Joint Committee is also concerned about the performance of Malay students in three core subjects, English, Mathematics and Science, at primary level, as this is the level where foundations are laid. The Committee will be working with MENDAKI to reflect this concern through such initiatives as asking parents to play a role in motivating their children, working with school principals and teachers to obtain regular feedback and organizing remedial programmes, special centralised tuition classes, etc. To build interest in Mathema- tics and improve the performance of Malay students in Mathematics and English, the Committee will be taking the following measures: firstly, having a regular Mathematics column in Berita Harian; secondly, conducting classes using Computer-based Learning (CBL) techniques at community centres with the support of Malay/Muslim organisations.

Sir, all these activities have been planned by us based on input from the Malay community. My Committee organised a number of tea discussions in November and December last year to get feedback, views, comments and suggestions on the problems of Malay/Muslim students. Dialogue sessions were held with school principals, professionals, educationists, representatives of social and religious organisations in the Malay/Muslim community, and Muslim graduates and undergraduates of tertiary institutions. These sessions have been very useful and worthwhile.

The most notable outcome of this has been the call to organise parent-education programmes. The establishment of a counselling service for Muslim parents was also thought necessary. I am pleased to state that MENDAKI has organised a programme on child development and parenting for adults.

Sir, efforts to upgrade the performance of Malay/Muslim students will bring the desired results if all concerned parties work together. This requires the active involvement and participation of the government, society, the home and the students themselves in the drive towards the said objectives.

Dr Tay Eng Soon: Sir, I want to reply to two Members, Mr Peh Chin Hua and Mr Abbas.

Mr Peh raised the concern that he has for the prom nights organised by the junior college students. He pointed to the extravagance and he expressed concern that this is getting out of hand. I think we should take a more sympathetic view about this. In his time, he had proms held in the school hall. In my time, I had none. Nowadays, many junior colleges hold theirs in a hotel. Times have changed.

Sir, the organisation of these prom nights is left entirely to the students' councils at these junior colleges and they are, of course, also advised by their teachers. They raise their own funds. Students obviously are willing to pay because the money comes from the parents. So they have these functions.

We have to understand why they want these functions. This is a culmination of their two years of junior college education. In fact, I would say it is a culmination of their 12 years of education, as many of them see it. They have reached the end of school education. They are going on from there in their separate ways to many other places. It is also a relief after their 'A' level examinations. So for once in their young adult life, they want something different and they let their hair down. I think we should see this in a sympathetic and a fatherly point of view.

Sir, having said that, I note also that sometimes they want to outdo one another. Junior college A would want to do something better than anybody else and so they have a more extravagant function. I think there should be some moderation in this. Like all good things, when you have too much of it, it becomes a bad thing. I will certainly convey the Member's views to the principals of the junior colleges and ask them to put more moderation and perspective into these functions. But I think there is nothing wrong for young people to have a little celebration after 12 years of schooling.

The other point was raised by Mr Abbas regarding physical education. He has asked whether the Ministry has implemented recommendations made by the Advisory Council for Sports and Recreation. I am happy to report to him that we have implemented most of the recommendations with the exception of one or two which are still under study. But also recently the First Deputy Prime Minister called for a return to the rugged society which our Prime Minister had called for in the 1960s. Sir, I certainly support that call. We are, with affluence, in danger of becoming a flabby society, a soft society, and I do not think the problem is only that of the physical ruggedness. It is also a problem of mental ruggedness or robustness of mind.

The call is very timely. The Ministry of Education will study this to see how and in what way school programmes can be changed or new ones can be initiated to bring about a more rugged ECA programme for school children which will develop them not only physically but mentally. The thinking of the Ministry is that we should focus on the outward bound programme. That is one programme where students can experience outdoor life. They can develop not only physically but develop courage because some of the activities challenge them to take risks. Other programmes will be looked into.

Secondly, the Member asked whether we were training enough physical education teachers. The number is still not enough. We have trained over 300 now since implementation of the College of Physical Education. The College will continue to train more and more teachers to make the programmes in both junior colleges, secondary and primary schools a better one.

Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam: Mr Speaker, Sir, just a few remarks on the point made by Dr Tan Cheng Bock on the SAP schools. As I explained earlier today, we need the SAP schools in Singapore to foster a core of students who will learn Chinese as a first language and subsequently have enough expertise to transmit the language to other generations. As I said, if there is demand from Malay and Indian children to learn ML1 and TL1, we will also make arrangements to make this possible.

With regard to his point as to whether there will be problems and whether we should allow these children more opportunities for integration, I have discussed this previously. I think the more opportunities that we can arrange for integration, as the principals themselves have suggested, obviously this must be desirable. We will look into his specific suggestions about twinning of schools and see whether this would be possible.

Dr Tan Cheng Bock: In view of the short and neat answers, I beg to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Mr Sia Khoon Seong: Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head L be reduced by $10 in respect of Code LD 1500 of the Main Estimates.

Sir, I have two amendments and I shall take them together.

The Chairman: Yes.

Mr Sia Khoon Seong: An important element of the Education Ministry's efforts to enhance and upgrade the professional image and status of teachers must be the improvement of the working conditions of teachers in schools. For sometime now, we have heard of the intention of the Ministry of Education to implement a scheme to provide executive and clerical officers as well as technicians to relieve teachers of the administrative chores that burden and detract them from the main task which is to teach. So far, we have seen no concrete steps taken to carry out this intention. In the meantime, the non-professional chores of teachers continue to increase and no assistance is forthcoming.

In primary schools especially, the demands of various educational programmes put an almost unbearable amount of preparatory work on the shoulders of our teachers. They need assistance to prepare their lessons well. Perhaps a good idea that merits consideration is the employment of technicians who can assist in the preparation of teaching materials and other areas as well. Teachers will then have more time to concentrate on teaching.

Something also ought to be done to give teachers a more comfortable and conducive working environment. Firstly, I am sure that the Ministry of Education will agree that principals and teachers should have their offices and common-rooms air-conditioned. Each teacher should be given adequate space in which to sit and work. All these things may seem almost mundane but they are important factors which contribute to work efficiency and job satisfaction.

Mr Peh Chin Hua: Mr Speaker, Sir, I support Mr Sia's proposal.

Singapore is a tropical country and the lifestyle of Singaporeans has changed with the economic development and progress of our society. Nowadays, many places and public facilities such as shopping centres, supermarkets, offices, MRT, buses, hotels, and even hospitals, are air-conditioned. Hence, a comfortable environment would definitely improve work efficiency. We have since overlooked the working environment of our teachers. They also require a comfortable workplace. I therefore urge the Ministry of Education to provide air-conditioning in the teachers' room in all schools. This would not only improve their morale but also encourage others to join the teaching career.

I would also like to appeal to the Ministry of Education to provide fax facilities in every school, as faster communication and information would improve the productivity of the schools.

Mr Choo Wee Khiang (Marine Parade GRC): ( In Mandarin): Sir, the Primary 3 streaming, on the surface, seems like an old tune replayed. But its effects on the society are immense. If you ask any parent whose children have been through the Primary 3 streaming, they will tell you they feel lost, and especially those with children who are sitting for the Primary 3 streaming examination. Why is this so? This is because children who are streamed to the monolingual stream face the following disadvantages.

First, parents will feel that the child's opportunities are limited. They may be denied a place in the ordinary secondary school and even the 'A' level examinations. Therefore, they feel that streaming at Primary 3 is a disadvantage to the slow developers.

Second, children become pessimistic as they give up hope in the seventh or ninth year. They lose the motivation to learn. They become rebellious, and this is bad for their psychological development. The children's attitude in school becomes poor and the school also looks at them from a different angle, leading to their loss of interest in studies and creating disciplinary problems in class. They play truant and their language ability in the first and second language is very poor. They cannot even read the newspapers. Because of the fact that students in the extended stream are uniform in their ability, there is a lack of competition. There is no motivation as a result. So their PSLE results are less than desirable. Furthermore, there is little likelihood that they will ever be absorbed into the express stream.

Another point is that from the feedback received from teachers, ie, those who are sent to teach the monolingual students, they find there is immense psychological pressure. They are faced with anxiety when they teach the programme. They also find class discipline difficult. This is especially true with female teachers who, as soon as they step into the classroom, find that maintaining class discipline gets in the way of academic progress. So I would like to ask the Ministry of Education the following questions:

Firstly, in recent years, what results has the streaming at Primary 3 yielded?. Secondly, since the implementation of the Primary 3 streaming, how many students have been channelled into the monolingual stream and the extended stream. Thirdly, what are the prospects of these primary school students when they leave school and what is their future?. What has the Ministry of Education done for the long term objective of the scheme, particularly for the Primary 3 streaming scheme? Will they consider implementing streaming at Primary 6 instead of at Primary 3? Or if the Ministry can consider the recommendation brought up by Dr Tan Cheng Bock in the 1987 budget, if I am not mistaken, the possibility of subject streaming. I hope the Ministry will review streaming at Primary 3. Some of these students have now grown into teenagers and have entered the society. We have a different problem at hand now.

I would also like to remind the Minister of yesterday's discussion and our Prime Minister's comments in the Asia Magazine. So we hope that Singaporeans will have a good foundation in their mother tongue and benefit the society in the long run.

Dr Ong Chit Chung (Bukit Batok): Sir, as a parent, I appreciate all the good work the Ministry of Education is doing in our schools. It is particularly encouraging to watch the Ministry's advertisements on television, portraying the teacher as a decision-maker and a leader of men.

We must, therefore, do all we can to upgrade the support service and equipment in our schools, so that the principals and the teachers can focus on planning and teaching.

Executive officers should be assigned, in my opinion, to take over some of the administrative chores from the principals and teachers.

Sir, we spent millions of dollars on library books and audio-visual equipment, and yet do not provide for library staff and audio-visual technicians. In these circumstances, all sorts of duties are then farmed out to hard-pressed teachers. A teacher becomes a jack-of-all-trade in the school and it takes the joy out of teaching.

In terms of equipment, more personal computers should be provided and the fax machine should be made available to all our schools.

Air-conditioning should, in my opinion, be a standard feature for libraries, computer rooms, staff room and the principal's office. Indeed, the factor workers in our air-conditioned assembly plants are working in more comfortable surroundings than our esteemed teachers and principals.

Dr John Chen Seow Phun (Hong Kah GRC): Sir, in our strive towards excellence in education, we have encouraged competition among schools and students. We have done so by allowing students going to secondary schools to choose their own schools, and secondary schools are free to determine their own admission standards. We have also introduced independent schools to allow these schools to develop autonomously to achieve greater success. I support these efforts. However, I observe a worrying trend, ie, a rapid stratification of schools. We are creating a spectrum of schools where we have the very good ones at the top and the poorer ones at the bottom. We are collecting in these poorer schools a relatively large group of students who are academically poor and socially having a lot of problems. Parents avoid sending their children to these schools.

Sir, free competition results in excellence and inevitable stratification. But we must ensure that the whole spectrum of schools will move forward in every aspect of their education, instead of having the good ones becoming better and the poor ones becoming poorer. Sir, I would like to ask the Minister to consider how we can better help the students in these poorer schools. They are handicapped by the environment they are in because bad peer influence is certainly very pronounced and serious. That is why certain schools have a high number of juvenile delinquencies, with some of them connected to secret society activities. Furthermore, in view of the shortage of good principals and teachers, these schools or these students are even more disadvantaged. If having good principals and teachers is a solution to this problem, then let us attract more capable people to the teaching profession by rewarding them enough.

Sir, we believe in equal opportunity in a meritocratic system for all Singaporeans. We accept that Singaporeans come from different family backgrounds and living environment, and therefore the starting points are different. The question is, how do we improve the opportunity for those at the bottom so that eventually the whole society will be better off.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education (Mr Tang Guan Seng): Sir, Mr Sia Khoon Seong, Mr Peh Chin Hua and Dr Ong Chit Chung have raised the question of providing more equipment and improved facilities as well as more non-teaching staff in schools.

Sir, it is part of the Ministry's on-going effort to provide more equipment and improved facilities to schools in order to provide a more effective learning and working environment. For example, primary schools and secondary schools will be provided with more computers for administration purposes. Under the school-link project which enables prompt communication among schools and with the Ministry of Education HQ, each primary and secondary school has been provided with one personal computer. Under the same project, from financial year 1990, each secondary school will be given up to four additional personal computers and each primary school up to three. These additional computers will cost about $7 million. To improve communication links, all junior colleges have been supplied with facsimile machines. The feasibility of extending this facility to all schools is being studied taking into account factors such as cost, the setting up of a data receiving system in MOE HQ and security of information.

With regard to the air-conditioning of school facilities, the Public Works Department has been asked to estimate the capital and recurrent cost of air-conditioning selected facilities in schools which may include the principal's office, library, AVA room, music room and staff room. A decision will be made once the full implications of cost are available.

Mr Sia also touched on the problem of employing more non-teaching staff. I agree with the Member that this will enhance the administrative support to schools. The Ministry has requested the Management Services Department to look into the requirement of non-teaching staff in schools. The Department is still finalizing its recommendations.

Mr Sia Khoon Seong: I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn

Mr Goh Choon Kang: Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head L be reduced by $10 in respect of Code LF 3200 of the Main Estimates.

Sir, under the proposed changes in the education system, the Institute of Education will be merged with the College of Physical Education to become the National Institute of Education. This combined institution will also be linked to the future Nanyang Technological University, either as a full faculty or as an institute within the university.

Sir, IE has a long history of its own and also its own identity. Over the years it has also proven that it is able to stand on its own. So some Singaporeans are of the opinion that such a link-up with NTU will reduce rather than enhance the specialised image of the teaching profession. The question is, why IE could not be left to develop independently and keep its own identity? There are also questions raised as to why should it be affiliated to NTU and not NUS. I hope the Minister can comment.

Encik Yatiman Yusof: Sir, in supporting the amendment, I would like to thank the Ministry of Education for coming forward in providing training programmes and facilities for kindergarten teachers. I believe that such programme is of tremendous help in upgrading the kindergarten teachers' skill in handling our young children.

Recently, there is a considerable interest in nurseries among parents. This is manifested by the increase in the number of parents sending their children to nurseries. In view of the development, I would like to ask the Minister whether he has plans for his Ministry to provide training programme also for nursery teachers?

Dr Seet Ai Mee: The MP for Tampines GRC has asked whether the Institute of Education has training courses for nursery teachers. The answer to that is, "Yes." At the request of the Ministry of Community Development, the IE now conducts courses for child care personnel:- basic courses, intermediate courses and advanced courses. Since child care centres cater for the following categories of children - infants and toddlers, nursery children and kindergarten children - it follows that IE therefore is teaching nursery school teachers.

Sir, the Member for Braddell Heights has questioned the link-up between NTU and IE. I do understand the sentiment expressed for retaining an independent IE to train teachers. The issue was discussed at length and with much heart search at the IE/CPE Development Committee and we came to our recommendation because it was felt that the Institute will be strengthened by its association with a university. Many teachers' colleges and institutes overseas have aligned themselves with universities and many eventually became part of the universities for the very same reasons. It was felt that there was wisdom in aligning early as early amalgamation would prove easier.

Mr Chairman, Sir, we had also come to the conclusion that it was necessary in the process of upgrading teacher training for the introduction of a degree programme for primary school teachers - this would not only enhance knowledge of and training thereof of teachers but would also continue to attract the good and the talented into the teaching profession. Sir, a degree programme is best conducted within or with a university, with the teacher trainees doing university subjects, together with educational subjects. Being a part of that university is therefore an option to be preferred. Also, as the new NTU will not initially have Arts and Science faculties, the departments in the IE could be, as it were, again I use this word, "embryo schools" from which will develop the Schools of Arts and Sciences of the NTU, that is, the relationship between IE and NTU will be a symbiotic one. IE will contribute to the growth of NTU, and NTU will support the academic development of the NIE.

Sir, this is a special symbiotic relationship and this can only apply if NIE is to be linked with the NTU. If the NIE were to be part of NUS, a possibility which was studied at length, the NIE would benefit from the academic development and relationship but would have little to contribute to the growth of the established old University. That sharing strengthens relationship and binds is a truism. The NIE and NTU sharing and symbiotic relationship, if developed and nurtured properly, will result in a strong NTU with a strong teacher training institute within it, the NIE.

The Chairman: Mr Goh, would you like to withdraw your amendment?

Mr Goh Choon Kang: Sir, in view of the explanation given by the Minister of State, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Dr Lee Siew-Choh: Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head L be reduced by $10 in respect of Code LG 3200 of the Main Estimates.

Sir, tuition fees should be kept to a minimum if Government is serious about education and development of our people to their fullest potential. But over the last few years, Government has increased the tuition fees many times well beyond the ability and capacity of many parents to pay. Government has introduced more scholarships and bursaries, no doubt, and also loans for students. But those poorer students from the lower middle-income group still find it very difficult and many may be deterred by the high tuition fees from seeking places in the university.

What I have said, Sir, sounds like repetition of what has been said repeatedly. But the Minister should also realise that complaints have not ceased to be made all the time.

I hope, therefore, Sir, that in view of our huge surpluses year after year, the Minister will review the policy of tuition fees and reduce such fees for our undergraduates. 3.35 pm

The Chairman: It is 3.35 pm. Dr Lee, I am afraid you have to withdraw the amendment. It is guillotine time.

Dr Lee Siew-Choh: All right, I will withdraw.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $1,809,485,200 for Head L ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $300,000,000 for Head L ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.

Head M -

Mr Goh Chee Wee (Boon Lay): Sir, I beg to move,

That the total sum to be allocated for Head M of the Main Estimates be reduced by $100.

Sir, I would like to raise two issues: one concerns the public education programme to keep Singapore clean and green and the other concerns the global action to protect the environment. I will first touch on the public education programme.

Sir, Singapore has done relatively well in keeping our environment clean and green. Due credit must be given to the Government in creating a modern city with the much needed greenery and cleanliness. We have cleaned up a river, we have launched anti-littering campaigns, we have planted hundreds and thousands of trees, and the Government has also imposed stringent standard on emission from vehicles and factories.

Much of this has been achieved, apart from campaigns and education, by the use of legislation like imposing fines on offenders, but our people are still littering. In 1988, 6,600 people were convicted for littering. When the Ministry stepped up enforcement last year, the figure rose to over 10,600, and most of the offenders were in the 21 to 30 years age group and had been exposed to public health education programmes on littering. Obviously, the message on littering has not sunk in.

Just look at the Singapore River and the Kallang River. The Ministry of the Environment had done a remarkable job of cleaning up the two rivers. The Ministry officials had received gold medals, as promised by the Prime Minister. But today, people are sabotaging the good work. They are either throwing rubbish into the rivers or into the open drains which find their way into the rivers. The Ministry of the Environment's workers are fishing out two lorry loads of rubbish from the Kallang River everyday. It must be startling news to all that every month Singaporeans throw about 72 tonnes of rubbish into major rivers, drains and canals. In the housing estates, people are throwing rubbish away indiscriminately. They litter the open space, playground, common corridors, anywhere, except their own apartments.

Old habits die hard. We still need to continue with our public education programme. I suggest we start or re-start a campaign to inculcate the habit of keeping our environment clean and green. We can join in the celebration of the Earth Day, which is now an international movement to protect the environment and to save the earth, so to speak, or we can designate a certain day of the year as Environment Day. On that day, let us encourage the residents to clean their estates, stop littering, spruce up public places and plant more trees. To stress the importance of keeping the air clean, we can encourage our population to refrain from driving their own vehicles on Environment Day. They should instead take public transport, particularly the MRT. The Ministry of Health can also come in by asking people not to smoke on Environment Day.

Sir, I believe that we have to continue with our public education programme, and I would appreciate the Minister's response to all the suggestions I have made.

Encik Ibrahim Othman (Bedok GRC): Sir, striking a balance between economic growth and protecting the environment has always been a problem for developed countries. Lately, the need to protect the environment has been very encouraging. At the international level, the United Nations intend to organise an international conference on environmental protection soon to highlight the need to protect our environment.

In Singapore, Sir, urbanisation and industrialisation were and are the fundamental causes of pollution. Various measures have been taken to minimise, if not eradicate, the problem of pollution. We have succeeded in protecting our environment and the Ministry of the Environment should be congratulated for the effort to keep our environment clean. Furthermore, our image as a Garden City has enhanced our reputation among the nations of the world.

Sir, much has been said about air and water pollution. Still, I wish to focus our attention on the problem of littering, and I share the points made by the Chairman of the GPC for the Environment, Mr Goh Chee Wee.

Littering has been a persistent habit for some. Nowadays, it is a common sight to find our housing estates littered with trash. Recent statistics released by the Ministry of the Environment indicate that for the months of January and February this year, there were more than 1,000 cases of littering. Many years ago, we had this Keep Singapore Clean campaign. It has been very successful in constantly reminding our population to keep our environment litter-free. Education in schools has also played a constructive role in teaching pupils to keep our environment clean.

Sir, I wish to ask the Minister what steps the Ministry of the Environment is taking to continually educate the public to keep the environment clean. Secondly, would the Ministry consider reviving the Keep Singapore Clean campaign and perhaps combine it with a Keep Singapore Green and Pollution-Free campaign?

Encik Yatiman Yusof: Sir, in supporting the amendment moved by the Chairman of the GPC on the Environment, my mind is still fresh with memories of massive oil spills affecting the East Pacific and East Atlantic coastal regions. I imagine an oil slick 20 km long being spilled by a huge tanker near Singapore. Considering the size of the coast, the amount of money that is spent to provide excellent man-made coastal areas and the plan that MND has for the coast in Changi, what will be the extent of damage?

Sir, for Singapore, oil spill of such a scale would be disastrous unless we are fully prepared to overcome this problem early. And this problem is real. Only yesterday there was an explosion, indeed, from a tanker. And we were fortunate enough because there was no oil spill resulting from the explosion.

I want to draw the attention of the House to the seriousness of this problem, and I would like to ask the Minister while we are preparing ourselves in terms of providing the facilities, acquiring the latest technologies in overcoming this problem, and training our people to be better prepared, are we really fully prepared to face problems of massive pollution of that scale? I would appreciate if the Minister could enlighten the House on this.

The Minister for the Environment (Dr Ahmad Mattar): Mr Chairman, Sir, both Mr Goh Chee Wee, Chairman of GPC for the Environment, and Mr Ibrahim Othman have stressed the need for Government to continue with public education programmes in order to keep Singapore clean and green. In fact, Mr Ibrahim Othman wants to know the various steps my Ministry will be taking in terms of enforcement, education, etc. to maintain a clean and green environment.

Sir, since the launching of the first Keep Singapore Clean Campaign by the Prime Minister in 1968, the Government has car- ried out numerous campaigns, conducted public health education programmes, organised anti-littering enforcement and built up an efficient cleansing workforce and system. All these have collectively brought about an achievement which has won Singapore much praise and world recognition as one of the cleanest cities in the world.

But, Sir, there is need to sustain the drive to bring home the anti-littering message. Sad to say, littering is still prevalent in HDB housing estates, beaches and parks, car parks and other public areas. The way to solve the littering problem and to eliminate any man-made pollution to the environment is to raise the level of environmental consciousness in our society.

In our effort to raise the level of environmental consciousness in our society, my Ministry will try to reach out to the population through several ways. First, we will have a publicity blitz through the mass media. Second, we will work very closely with the Ministry of Education to reach out to school children. And third, we will also work very closely with grassroots organisations to reach out to residents in housing estates.

Both Mr Goh Chee Wee and Mr Ibrahim Othman have suggested that perhaps we should have an Environment Day organised. I am happy to say that the idea of Environment Day is being carefully considered by my Ministry and activities for the proposed Environment Day will include tree planting and other environmental aspects such as clean markets, clean rivers, smoke-free environment, good landscaping, etc, etc. The overall aim of this Environment Day is to inculcate amongst Singaporeans a greater sense of awareness, appreciation and concern for their living environment. As for, the other suggestions by Mr Goh Chee Wee we will consider getting the cooperation of the Ministry of Health and also the Ministry of Communication and Information.

I now turn to the issues raised by Mr Yatiman Yusof. In particular, Sir, he wants to know the steps taken by Government to equip ourselves to face possible massive sea pollution resulting from disasters similar to those faced by other coastal countries.

Under the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act and regulations thereunder, all owners of oil refineries and oil terminals in Singapore are required to store equipment and dispersants to deal with any oil pollution of Singapore waters. In addition, Sir, PSA also maintains a fleet of 12 tug boats with anti-oil pollution equipment on board. An Oil Spill Contingency plan is also administered by the PSA to coordinate emergency action to be taken in the event of an oil pollution.

There is also in existence a mutual assistance plan with Indonesia and Malaysia to combat oil pollution. In this respect, the three countries carried out a joint exercise two years ago coordinated by Indonesia, and Malaysia is currently planning the next exercise.

Members may be interested to know that a draft ASEAN Contingency Plan is now under consideration. Under this plan, a member country, faced with an oil pollution incident that is beyond its capability to handle, may approach one or more ASEAN member countries for assistance.

Some of the international oil companies in Singapore have established what is known as Tiered Area Response Capability (TARC) for dealing with oil pollution in the region. The objective of TARC is to maintain a supplementary oil spill response equipment stockpile to augment the capability of the area. The primary area of TARC is the Straits of Johor and the Straits of Malacca and the most significant feature of TARC is the mobility, including air transportation of equipment to the pollution site and equipment for aerial spraying of dispersants.

Sir, with the measures that we have at hand now, I think it should be sufficient to meet any massive oil pollution of the seas around us.

Mr Goh Chee Wee: Sir, while still on the subject of environmental pollution, I would like to raise a question concerning our role in the global action to protect the environment.

Sir, environmental issues had dominated the agenda of many of the world forums in recent years. There is now a world-wide concern that pollution caused by man's action is threatening the earth and its inhabitants. The prevention of ecological catastrophe calls for global action. Not until recently do people talk so much about the damage to the ozone layer in the atmosphere caused by the use of chemicals like CFCs. The damage to the ozone layer which shields the earth from an overdose of ultra-violet rays have disastrous consequences to human beings. The prolonged exposure to ultra-violet rays causes skin cancer and other diseases.

There has also been talk about the greenhouse effect which causes the earth to become warmer and warmer. The increase in the amount of so-called greenhouse gases such as the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere contribute to such a greenhouse effect. The Singapore Government has supported the world-wide action in environmental protection. It has become one of the first countries in the developing world to sign the Vienna Convention on Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer. As a signatory to the Protocol, the Government is obliged to take positive action to reduce the consumption of CFCs in Singapore.

While the Government is taking positive action, I believe there is a lack of awareness among the population as to what role could they play and what action could they take in the world-wide campaign to protect the environment. This is where I believe the Ministry of the Environment can work with private organisations and the consumer bodies to educate the public and to create awareness. For instance, the CFCs are commonly used as aerosol propellants. There should be a campaign to educate the public not to buy aerosol products which contain CFCs. There are substitutes for CFC gas. The manufacturers should be asked to use substitute gases. The Government should ultimately ban the use of CFCs in aerosol products. But in the meantime, we could require aerosol manufacturers to label on the cans or containers whether the product contains CFC. Consumers should then be encouraged to buy only those aerosol products which do not contain CFCs.

Just to illustrate the kind of education which we can introduce to create awareness, let me read some of the letters which I have received from a number of small school children sometime last year. The students were, of course, guided by their teachers in writing these letters. But in the process, they learn and education starts from the school. Let me quote this letter from a student of Dover Court Preparatory School. The letter reads:

'Dear Mr Goh Chee Wee. I am a student at Dover Court. My name is Olof. I come from Sweden. I am eight years old. I am learning about the earth. I know that there is a hole in the ozone layer. I want to ban making and using aerosols with CFC. So can you try to ban this also, Mr Goh Chee Wee?'

That is one. There is another letter also from the same school. We know he is guided by the teacher, but this is the education process. It reads:

'Dr Mr Goh Chee Wee. Hello, my name is Chris Sani. I came from Thailand. I am nine years old. I am studying about the earth. I have found that the CFCs are eating the ozone layer. The CFCs are very dangerous because the CFCs can make the hole bigger. Can you ban the shops selling aerosol? Can you read this letter to the Government?'

So I am doing this now. Will the Minister please take note?

Sir, another source of pollution which would have long-term effect on the earth and the environment is the large quantity of plastic packaging materials, including shopping bags, which are being used and discarded away these days. Plastic bags now in use in Singapore are the traditional non-biodegradable types which become solid indestructible trash when thrown away. According to estimates, Singapore shoppers snap up more than 4 million plastic carrier bags every month. Our supermarkets and department stores have been very generous in handing out the plastic carrier bags. How are these bags being disposed of? They could be burnt in the incinerator together with the other household garbage. But it gives out carbon dioxide and possibly other noxious fumes. And if they are thrown away and even buried as refuse, the plastic refuse will remain there for hundreds of years. They will not disintegrate.

There are biodegradable or photodegradable bags which are good substitutes. The photodegradable bags disintegrate after being exposed to daylight for a certain period. There are manufacturers of such photodegradable bags in Singapore but there is little local demand. The products are primarily for export. Here again, public education will be useful. The supermarkets and stalls should be persuaded to use the photodegradable bags. Consumers too should be educated to understand the problem of environmental pollution caused by the use and disposal of the plastic bags. Besides plastic bags, there is a whole range of packaging materials used by restaurants, fast-food chains and supermarkets which are non biodegradable. They pose the same ecological problem. The solution calls for the use of substitute materials and the recycling of these packaging materials. I would therefore like to ask the Minister whether positive action should be taken by the Ministry to deal with the environmental pollution matters which I have just mentioned.

Dr Ahmad Mattar: Mr Chairman, Sir, Mr Goh Chee Wee has raised an issue which is of concern not only to us in Singapore but also the world: protection of the ozone layer.

Singapore became a party to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in January last year. Introduced in 1987, the Protocol seeks to reduce and eventually phase out global production, emission and consumption of certain types of CFCs and halons that are damaging the ozone layer.

Since October last year, measures have been taken to reduce controlled CFCs imported into and used in Singapore to 1986 consumption level. And further reductions will be made commencing July 1993 to bring down the consumption to 80% of the 1986 levels and to 50% of the 1986 level beginning July 1998. The three types of halons controlled under the Protocol will be frozen at the 1986 level commencing January 1992.

Sir, CFCs are very widely used in Singapore in four sectors: electronics, air-conditioning and refrigeration, packaging,and the aerosol sector which the Member has touched on. Of the four sectors, CFCs in aerosol is least essential and, as the Member has suggested, could easily be replaced by suitable substitutes. In fact, Sir, countries like the USA, Scandinavia and certain European countries have already banned the use of CFCs in aerosol products in the early 1980s, except for use in pharmaceutical sprays and in the electronics industry.

The recent move by a supermarket and a pharmaceutical chain in Singapore to retail only ozone-friendly products is indeed laudable. I hope other supermarkets and pharmaceutical chains in Singapore will follow suit.

But just in case, Sir, the voluntary phasing out of CFCs in the aerosol industry comes too slowly, then, of course, my Ministry is planning to impose a ban on the retailing of aerosol products that contain CFCs. We are monitoring both the locally manufactured as well as imported aerosol products containing CFCs to determine a suitable date for the ban to be implemented. Of course, a grace period will be given to those affected to enable them to make the necessary adjustments to comply with the ban.

With regard to educating the public, my Ministry will certainly work with consumer organizations and so on to create awareness among the consumers in Singapore on the use of CFC products.

Mr Goh also spoke on the need to use biodegradable packaging as one of the measures to protect our environment.

Sir, disposable packaging in Singapore today is either recovered for recycling or ends up as refuse which is then disposed of at either our incineration plants or at our sanitary landfills. Since the packaging material is incinerable, so the bulk of it is in fact incinerated. For the small fraction that ends up at our sanitary landfills, it is mixed up with other refuse, compacted and covered with a layer of earth. Even if the packaging is non-biodegradable at that stage, it will not pose any threat to our environment. But, certainly, I will agree with Mr Goh Chee Wee and my Ministry will encourage manufacturers of packaging to continue using material which is biodegradable and, therefore, environment-friendly.

Mr Goh Chee Wee: Sir, I thank the Minister for his reply and beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Mr Goh Chee Wee: Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head M be reduced by $10 in respect of Code MC 1500 of the Main Estimates.

Sir, food poisoning cases are on the increase. Last year, 1,631 people suffered from food poisoning compared to 1,145 people in 1988. No less important is the fact that the level of food hygiene in some of our restaurants and stalls is enough to turn one's stomach. Over the last few months, we have been treated periodically to horrific accounts of hordes of cockroaches and traces of faeces prevailing in the kitchens of even some popular licensed eating establishments and stalls. Following complaints made by customers who frequented these eating places and suffered food poisoning as a result, the Ministry of the Environment inspected these premises and brought to light the disgusting details of dirt and filth which accompany their food preparation.

If the details are not sufficiently nauseating, worse still follows when the methods of food preparation of illegal manufacturers are periodically exposed as their rural hideouts are raided. We were told of popiahs or spring rolls made in shanties adjacent to open sewers, meat fried next to rubbish dumps with water drawn from a dirty well, flies hovering everywhere, etc.

I must commend the Ministry of the Environment for stepping up enforcement action over the last one year. The Ministry has succeeded in uncovering a number of illegal manufacturers which operate from their remote and unhygienic rural hideouts. I suggest the Ministry keep up with the vigilance with the view to stamping out all illegal food factories in Singapore.

In the last one year, the Ministry has brought a number of illegal food manufacturers to court. It has also charged a number of licensed eating establishments for various offences. However, it appears that the penalties imposed on the offen- ders are not stiff enough to serve as an effective deterrent. I recall that in January this year, after two illegal food operators were fined the maximum of $1,000 each, one of the two culprits was photographed sporting a cheerful smile and making a "V" sign in a triumphant mood. This was reported in the Straits Times on 26th January. I am sure the Minister has seen this. He is showing the "V" sign to the Minister actually. So what is the Minister going to do?

Sir, I believe there must be stiffer penalties for such offenders. One could reasonably equate the sale of unhygienic food to a criminal offence. The consumption of such unhygienic food could cause food poisoning. It could even threaten the lives of those who consume the food. And unlike a criminal offence which might cause hurt and injury to an individual, food poisoning can hurt tens and hundreds of people.

I would like to ask the Minister for the Environment whether the Government would consider further enhancing the penalty to deal with such offences. I would like to suggest that in cases where the offence is serious, ie, causing serious food poisoning and endangering the lives of those who have consumed the food, a mandatory jail sentence must be imposed. Besides that, the offenders must be made to pay compensations to victims who have suffered food poisoning.

Encik Ibrahim Othman: Sir, I wish to commend the Ministry of the Environment for conducting the first food hygiene course. This course aims to upgrade the standard of food and personal hygiene among food handlers. As there are more than 72,000 food handlers now, it will take about three years for everyone to go through the course. I strongly agree with the requirement that all new food handlers and those whose licences have been suspended to undergo this course and pass the test before they can be registered as food handlers with the Ministry of the Environment. My questions for the Minister are: (1) whether the Ministry is going to monitor the food handlers who have passed the test to ensure that they put into practice what they have learnt from the course; (2) how will the monitoring be done? (3) are there plans to conduct further upgrading courses in the future to keep food handlers abreast of the latest food hygiene requirement.

Mr Chin Harn Tong: Sir, the adverse publicity and the existing quantum of fine have not, despite the Ministry's previous assurance to this House, seemed to be very effective deterrents against illegal food manufacturers and food vendors. Besides, I think the publicity would not have the desired effect if many members of the public skip the news item when reading the newspapers or viewing the television. The Ministry should therefore amend the Environmental Public Health Regulations as soon as possible to increase the fines for such offenders. Incidentally, may the Minister inform this House as to what sort of fines have been imposed by the court on the offenders and how many have been jailed so far?

Sir, the unlicensed food factories are normally found in the rural areas. The Ministry should therefore step up its enforcement actions to search kampongs and squatter areas to weed out the illegal food manufacturers and bring the offenders to task. Members of the public can also help the Ministry by giving information on possible offenders.

Sir, I am glad that the course on food hygiene is now being conducted for all food handlers in eating establishments and food centres. The Ministry should not speed up the course just because of the large number of existing food handlers, ie, about 72,000 persons.

Sir, the media of instruction are Chinese, English and Malay. I hope that for those Chinese participants who do not speak Mandarin, English or Malay, dialects should be used. "Promote the Use of Mandarin" campaign should not apply to this course because of the overriding requirement of public health.

Sir, I hope that, in future, Singaporeans can eat out with a peace of mind.

Mr Teo Chong Tee (Changi): ( In Mandarin): Sir, the Minister for the Environment announced in last year's budget session the planned policy of privatisation of hawker centres. I hope the Minister can tell the House whether the Ministry has come up with a comprehensive plan and guideline for implementation, and if so, how the scheme is progressing. Could the Minister also tell us whether they will be selecting certain hawker centres for the scheme or whether all the present hawker centres will be affected.

Sir, I suggest the Ministry of the Environment make use of the opportunity afforded by this plan to build some second generation hawker centres to experiment with the scheme, because all the present hawker centres were built to accommodate the mobile and street hawkers of earlier years. They have now all settled down.

As Singaporeans' standard of living has been greatly raised, we certainly need to build more new and modernised hawker centres which adopt modern hygienic management methods. For example, in some Southeast Asian countries, hawker centres have adopted the use of a coupon system in exchange for food. The advantage is that hawkers can then concentrate only on preparing the food and this conforms to a higher hygiene standard.

Sir, I am not saying that we adopt these methods wholesale. Perhaps the Ministry can think out better and more advanced methods to manage these modern hawker centres that will be built.

Mr Goh Chee Wee: Sir, the Ministry of the Environment announced sometime ago that it had decided to privatise the hawker centres in phases. I would like to ask the Minister if the Ministry has finalized the plan and schedule of privatisation.

The privatisation exercise would affect the existing stallholders. In fact, the livelihood of some of the stallholders may be in jeopardy if they fail to secure a stall after the hawker centre is privatised. I suggest the Ministry give ample notice to the stallholders concerned. They should not be caught by surprise.

As we know, there are shortcomings in the way the stalls are designed in the existing hawker centres. The space for each stall is small and there is inadequate washing area. I suggest the Ministry take the opportunity of privatisation to upgrade the hawker centres. Make it a condition that the successful tenderer must introduce some specific improvements to the existing centre.

What I have in mind is the provision of central washing facilities for all the crockery items. Presently, each stallholder in the hawker centre provides his own utensils and crockery and does his own washing. Very often, the crockery are not properly washed. This is very unhygienic. That is how infectious diseases spread. So why not centralise and, if possible, mechanise the washing of these crockery? We can require the successful tenderer to provide centralised and mechanised washing of crockery for all the stallholders. In fact, the hawker centre operator can provide a standard range of crockery items for use by the stallholders for a fee. The operator can be responsible for clearing, washing and providing crockery to all the stallholders. In this way, we can improve the cleanliness of the crockery and the standard of hygiene at the hawker centre.

The other matter of concern to the Ministry and that of the members of the public is that the food handlers usually handle food and money at the same time. This is again an unhygienic practice. The Ministry suggests that the food handlers should not touch the food with their bare hands. They are asked to wear gloves. But if the hand which handles food also handles cash at the same time, then wearing a glove does not help to improve the practice of hygiene unless the hawker remembers to take off the glove each time he handles cash.

Perhaps the hawker centre operator can introduce a coupon system. Under the coupon system, the customers can buy coupons from a central cashier and use them to pay the individual stallholders. [Interruptions.] A clean coupon, and not re-usable.

Dr Tan Cheng Bok: Biodegradable!

Mr Goh Chee Wee: The customers can buy coupons from a central cashier and use them to pay the individual stallholders. In this way, the stallholder need not handle cash. Of course, some may find the coupon system cumbersome. So other alternatives can be explored.

An hon. Member: Credit card.

Mr Goh Chee Wee: Yes, if we can advance to a stage of using credit card. But I think we still have not reached that stage. A possible alternative is for the hawker centre management to arrange with all the stallholders that payment would be made only at the central cashier counter. When a customer sits down and orders his food, his purchases would be indicated on an order chit which could be presented to the cashier for payment when he leaves. The individual stallholder would be credited with their sale collections at the end of each day.

I hope the Minister will consider all the suggestions that I have made.

Encik Ibrahim Othman: Sir, since 1975 vacant hawker stalls in market and food centres have been reserved for street hawkers and hardship cases. By 1986 all street hawkers were cleared. Since then and until lately, only hardship cases have been considered. I understand that the Ministry has stopped accepting new hardship cases for hawker stalls. There are also about 600 approved hardship cases on the waiting list. They will be given three opportunities to select a stall by the end of this year.

Sir, with the recent move to discontinue the hardship policy and the intention to tender vacant stalls to the general public, I hope the Ministry of the Environment could consider giving hardship cases a preferential margin of, say, 10% of rental of the highest successful tender bid. In other words, I am suggesting that the Ministry still compile a list of approved hardship cases. As and when there are vacant hawker stalls for tender, then these applicants under the hardship criteria can be asked to tender for them too. If their bid is 10% less than the highest bid, perhaps the Ministry can give them the tendered stall. This way, the Ministry can continue to help hardship persons earn a living by operating a hawker stall.

Mr Teo Chong Tee: ( In Mandarin): Sir, although my GPC colleagues have made certain suggestions on food hygiene, I still wish to stress certain aspects of it here.

In the last one or two years, the Ministry of the Environment has discovered many large scale illegal food manufacturers and vendors in the rural areas. They hide in these deserted, filthy areas which are infested with mosquitoes and insects and prepare food under unhygienic conditions without proper supply of electricity or fresh water. These vendors and manufacturers utilize cheap means of production of foodstuff, without giving the slightest consideration to the consequences. Under these conditions, they produce food like barbecued meat, roast port, minced ngo hiang and coconut milk products, etc. and then sell them to the hawkers, retailers and even to the restaurants. Without proper control, these unhygienically prepared foodstuffs may contain excessive chemicals and preservatives. Thus, they may pose a threat to health. The result of consuming such food may be food poisoning and other diseases. If not for the efforts of the Ministry of the Environment, many members of the public would not have realised that these people actually exist and the harm that they could do to the society.

Sir, in our society today there are many people who have their meals at the hawker centres and in the restaurants. For this reason, we must make sure that our food hygiene standard is maintained in order to protect the health of the people. We are very glad that the Government and the Ministry of the Environment have adopted appropriate measures in cracking down these illegal activities and charging the culprits in court. However, I feel that the punishment is not severe enough and I call for more severe measures and tougher punishment to totally eradicate the existence of these illegal food manufacturers in order to protect the health of the people.

Sir, I hope the Minister can also tell the House how many cases of illegal wholesale food producers have been discovered and charged in court since 1989 and what preventive measures the Ministry of the Environment has adopted against these activities.

Dr Lee Siew-Choh: Sir, privatisation is in fashion with the PAP nowadays. I have just learned that there are 600 hardship cases waiting to be hawkers. If the new policy is going to be implemented, and speakers before me have already spoken as if it is going to be implemented very soon, then these 600 hardship cases will lose an avenue previously open to them to earn a living for themselves and their families. I think this does not square up with the repeatedly mouthed policy of Government that it wants to help people so that they may help themselves. Now these hardship cases want to help themselves but the Government will not give them the chance to do so.

I will skip some of the things which other people have already said. The existing hawkers of course will find it very difficult and I have known of many hawkers in Hill Street Centre, for example, who are finding it very difficult. The Government blames the hawkers who give up their stalls, saying that they have poor culinary skills. This might be true in some cases but, in general, most hawker foods are more or less of the same quality. You go to any hawker stall, you are provided with the same type of food more or less. The fact is that hawkers mainly give up their stalls and pitches if they are badly sited, and if customers find it very inconvenient to patronise them when there are no parking facilities. Not everyone, Sir, is lucky enough to have a hawker pitch in Newton Hawker Centre.

As I have said, many hawkers in Hill Street Centre, (Level 3) have given up the ghost. Neither are those people who are in Level 2 doing well. Yet many of these hawkers have excellent culinary skills. They have been in business for 10, 20, even 30 years. But they have to give up and they cannot survive once they are driven away from their old original pitches and are resettled in some new areas.

It can easily be seen, Sir, that the reason why hawkers fail and give up their pitches is not because they lack culinary skills. The blame, if blame has to be fixed, lies squarely, wholly, totally and completely on Government - on Government's urban renewal, on the poor planning and siting by Government planners, on Government officials who sit in their air-conditioned rooms and believe that they know best, on an uncaring Government which uproots large sections of our population, resettles them in far away places and so drives away the customers who usually patronise the hawkers for their meals everyday. Some of the hawkers have been briven to outlandish places and they are forced to give up. Many of them have been proved, all to the same area and these hawkers cannot survive under those circumstances.

Instead of blaming the hawkers, Government should have a good look at itself and ask how it can really help to improve the lot of the hawkers. But we must not forget, Sir, the regular customers and consumers who patronise the hawkers. Eating out has become a way of life, and almost every consumer will be affected if the tender system is to be called for hawker centres. Since the hawker contractor will probably raise rentals, it is only to be expected that the hawkers will somehow try to pass the burden of higher rentals on to the customers. Ultimately, it is the common man-in-the-street consumer who will have to pay the higher charges. This has already happened in some shopping complexes which have hawker food centres. Such are the consequences of hawker centre privati- sation and of privatisation in general. Privatisation does not benefit the consumer at all. That is why many people all over the world have strongly opposed privatisation. And I hope the Government will see the dangers of the proposed new hawker policy and desist from causing more hardships to the people.

The Chairman: Order. Moment of interruption.

Thereupon Mr Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House.

Dr Ahmad Mattar: Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Main and Development Estimates for the financial year 1990/91, and ask leave to sit again on Monday, 19th March, 1990.

Mr Speaker: So be it.