SPECIAL ASSISTANCE PLAN (SAP) SCHOOLS

1.24 pm

Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam: Mr Speaker, since March this year, there have been a number of speeches by Members of Parliament and letters in the Press expressing concern as to whether the present mode of operation of the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools was hindering inter-racial mixing of students with the consequent worry that this could lead to a lack of understanding and appreciation among the SAP students of the need for multi-racial harmony and tolerance in Singapore.

Sir, I would like to address these worries by underlining one fundamental point and that is the Government's commitment to multi-racial harmony and tolerance as the bedrock of Singapore's survival and prosperity. Multi-racial harmony and tolerance are fundamental in a multi-racial society like Singapore. It is important, indeed vital, that all our children and indeed all our people should learn to get on well with one another, to respect one another's traditions and practices and to accommodate these traditions and practices where necessary.

Children who study in a multi-racial school naturally have the most opportunity to mix and interact with children of other races, thereby developing an understanding and appreciation of the values, cultures and sensitivities of the various racial groups in Singapore. In the SAP schools, the students are almost exclusively Chinese and opportunities for interaction with students of other races are obviously fewer than in a multi-racial school. This does not mean, however, that the students in our SAP schools cannot mix and interact easily with children of other races or develop an understanding of the need for multi-racial harmony and tolerance in our multi-racial society.

Sir, I shall explain later the reasons why I have arrived at this conclusion, but let me first remind Members on why the SAP schools were set up in 1979. The SAP schools were set up for two purposes:

(i) To encourage a number of our academically able and linguistically talented students to study both Chinese and English at first language level; and

(ii) To preserve and keep alive the traditions and ethos of the old Chinese schools in a number of our best schools in order to provide a conducive environment for the learning of Chinese Language and Chinese culture.

To ensure that the Chinese Language and culture will be kept alive and healthy in Singapore, in spite of the continuing and daily onslaught of Western influences through the media, it is necessary to have a core of able students who are proficient in English and Chinese and who are steeped in Chinese culture and values. These students will be our writers, newspaper reporters and editors, TV producers and personnel and teachers in the future. Knowing CL1, they will help to transmit Chinese culture to future generations of Chinese Singaporeans.

Sir, I met with the principals of the eight SAP schools and Chinese High School on 4th July to discuss whether the present mode of operation of the SAP schools had the effect of hindering their students from developing an understanding and appreciation of the need for multi-racial harmony and tolerance in our multi-racial society and whether they felt that changes were needed to the present mode of operation of the SAP schools.

Sir, the views of the principals are summed up in a letter which was sent to me after the meeting. I would like to quote from the letter. It is dated 10th July 1990, and it says:

'Dear Minister,

We refer to the meeting with you on July 4 concerning whether the present mode of operation of the SAP schools will lead to a lack of understanding and appreciation among our students of the values, cultures and sensitivities of the various racial groups in our multi-racial society and whether it is necessary to make any changes to the present mode of operation of the SAP schools.

Our views can be summarised as follows:

(i) While the SAP schools aimed to preserve and keep alive the traditions and ethos of the old Chinese schools, they are different from the old Chinese schools in that, in the SAP schools, the students learn both English and Chinese at first language level whereas, in the old Chinese schools, the students learn CL1 and EL2. As the students in the SAP schools are fluent in English, in addition to Chinese, this enables the students to mix easily with students from other schools in inter-school ECA activities;

(ii) In our school programmes and activities, there are many opportunities for the SAP schools to bring home to our students the importance of multi-racial harmony and tolerance in a multi-racial society like Singapore. Events such as celebrations of major festivals, exhibitions of cultural artifacts, talks on customs and religions of the three main racial groups in Singapore figure prominently in the activities of our schools; and

(iii) The majority of our students go on to junior college for their Pre-University education. These students have shown that they have the ability to mix and relate well with their counterparts from non-SAP schools as well as students of other ethnic groups.

In view of the above, we are of the opinion, while we should continue to monitor the situation closely, there is no pressing need to make major changes to the mode of operation of the SAP schools at the present time.

We thank you for the opportunity to make our views known to you on this very important matter.

Yours sincerely,

Signed

Principals of Anglican High School, Chung Cheng High School, Catholic High School, Maris Stella High School, St. Nicholas Girls' School, Nanyang Girls' High School, The Chinese High School, Dunman High School and River Valley High School.'

Sir, in addition to the principals of our SAP schools and Chinese High School, I also met with the principals of our junior colleges to discuss this subject. The junior college principals confirmed the point made by the principals of the SAP schools that, in the junior colleges, the SAP students interact and mix freely and comfortably with students of other ethnic groups as well as students from non-SAP schools.

Sir, I have confidence in the judgment of our principals. They meet with the students daily. They, together with their teachers, are the people who know the students best. They are in the best position to assess whether the present mode of operation of the SAP schools hinders their students from developing an understanding and appreciation of the values, cultures and sensitivities of the various racial groups in our multi-racial society and should therefore be changed.

As the principals suggest, the Ministry will keep the situation under close review. We will help the SAP schools to create more opportunities for their students to mix and interact with students of other schools, for example, by twinning the SAP schools with suitable multi-racial Government or Government-aided schools, as has been suggested by Dr Tan Cheng Bock. Overall, Sir, I agree with the principals that there is no pressing need to make major changes to the mode of operation of the SAP schools at the present time.

The Ministry will always welcome suggestions from Members as to how we can further help students in our schools, including the students in the SAP schools, to understand the need for multi-racial harmony and tolerance in our multi-racial society and to develop an appreciation of the values, cultures and sensitivities of the various racial groups in Singapore. In this connection, the Ministry is working out ways to increase the number of schools which will teach Malay and Tamil as a second language in addition to Chinese during school time in the schools. This will ensure that access to our schools, particularly the popular schools, will be open to children of all races provided that they meet the required standards.

Sir, I now come to another point which has been raised in the Press, ie, that as the SAP schools enjoy special resources not available to other schools and as they teach only EL1 and CL1, thereby attracting almost exclusively Chinese children, this is not fair to non-Chinese children who do not have the opportunity or who may not have the inclination to study in the SAP schools.

The Government's position on this point is very clear. I have stated on more than one occasion that we take an even-handed attitude towards children of all races in our education system. We will ensure that no child in Singapore is discriminated against simply because of his race. Pupils who are eligible and who wish to study ML1 or TL1 can already do so at the Ministry of Education's Language Centres. Furthermore, just as we have established the SAP schools to enable Chinese children to learn EL1 and CL1, we will establish similar schools to enable Malay and Indian children to learn EL1 and ML1 and EL1 and TL1 respectively if there is demand.

To sum up, Sir, the SAP schools are a valuable part of our education system in Singapore. The SAP schools fulfil a need to nurture a core of students who are fluent in English and Chinese at first language level and who will be the transmitters of Chinese culture to future generations of Chinese Singaporeans.

The Ministry will continue to keep the situation under close review and increase opportunities for students in SAP schools to integrate and mix with children of other schools but there is no pressing need to make major changes to the mode of operation of the SAP schools at the present time.

Finally, the Ministry will continue to maintain an even-handed attitude towards children of all races in our education system. Just as we have made special provision for Chinese children to study EL1 and CL1, we will make similar provision for Malay and Indian children to study EL1 and ML1 and EL1 and TL1 if there is demand.

Sir, as I understand that some Members may like to debate my statement, following precedent, I propose to move an adjournment of the House to enable Members to do so.