PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM

Mr Gerard Ee asked the Minister for Education what is being done to ensure that all children leaving the school system at the primary level can read and write in basic English.

RAdm Teo Chee Hean: English is a core subject in the curriculum. The first 4 years of primary school make up the Foundation Stage in which the teaching of English takes up one third of total curriculum time. At the end of the Foundation Stage at Primary 4, pupils are assessed on their attainment in listening, speaking, reading and writing in English. Their performance in English, together with their attainment in Mathematics and Mother Tongue, decides the educational programme that pupils will undergo at Primary 5 and 6, the Orientation Stage.

Pupils who are academically weak and deemed to be best taught at a slower pace are placed in the EM3 stream at Primary 5 and 6 where they are taught Foundation English. In Foundation English, the minimum targets for reading and writing at the end of P6 may be summarised thus:

• Pupils can read simple stories, newspaper articles and

magazine articles for enjoyment or information;

• Pupils can understand the main ideas and details of what

they read and demonstrate their understanding by correctly

answering the comprehension and vocabulary questions;

• Pupils can generate enough ideas to write a narrative or

descriptive composition on a familiar topic.

• Pupils can present ideas in a logical way to complete

functional types of writing, such as notes, messages, postcards

and instructions.

In addition, the Ministry provides schools with support in the following ways:

• Teachers are provided with in-service training so that they

have a range of strategies and approaches to teach weak pupils

reading and writing.

• School libraries are given funds to purchase a variety of

reading materials to meet a range of reading abilities;

• Many schools have specialised personnel such as the

Learning Support Coordinator who assists teachers to plan and

teach remedial programmes.

These measures ensure that even the weakest pupils attain at least the basic literacy skills of reading and writing by the time they complete 6 years of primary school.