SCHOOL DROP-OUTS

Mdm Claire Chiang See Ngoh asked the Minister for Education if he will build a typology of the drop-outs between 1995 and July 1999 on (a) how many were expelled and for what reasons; (b) how many voluntarily withdrew and what were the causes; (c) how many eventually got readmitted to schools; and (d) how many overaged children are currently on waiting list for readmission to schools.

RAdm Teo Chee Hean: Mr Speaker, Sir, for the period January 1995 to August 1999, an average of 24 students per year were expelled from primary or secondary schools. As you can see from the numbers, schools rarely expel pupils, and only as a last resort, when these pupils are recalcitrant and have committed serious offences. Before this stage is reached, however, schools would have counselled such pupils and their parents, and put in the utmost effort to correct pupils' behaviour.

I have already addressed the issue of how many voluntarily withdraw from school, and the proportion who are eventually re-admitted, in my response to a question on the previous occasion. The Ministry of Education allows students who have dropped out from school to return, so long as they are not more than two years above the correct age for the particular level. This rule is put in place because children who are much older than their classmates often have great difficulty fitting in socially. But as I explained at the last sitting, we also do make some exceptions and these exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis.

Mr Speaker, Sir, our schools do not keep a waiting list for overaged students who want to be re-admitted. In any case, there is no real shortage of school places and those who can gain admission or re-admission will be admitted.

Mdm Claire Chiang See Ngoh: Could the Minister consider, instead of adopting an ad-hoc approach, broadening and relaxing the two years overage limit if VWOs and schools are willing to help and admit these students to mainstream schools; and if the Ministry is willing to relax this as a policy, could we try to implement this in the year 2000 to arrest the attrition rate?

RAdm Teo Chee Hean: Mr Speaker, Sir, two years is actually quite reasonable and, as I explained earlier and also at the last sitting, we do make exceptions for such cases. In fact, because of our streaming system, we do actually have quite a variety of ages at particular levels. For example, those students who need four years to take their 'O' levels take it in four years; those who need five years take five years. Those who need two years to do their 'A' levels do it in two years; those who need three years do it in three years. In fact, within the school system already, there is a differentiation possible within each course of study that the student takes for different ages to be there. And on top of that, there is also the possibility for students who are two years above that age to be admitted into the system and we do make exceptions as well if there are good reasons for those students to be back in school. So there is a considerable amount of flexibility already built into the system.