COMPULSORY EDUCATION BILL

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Debate resumed.

Mr S. Iswaran (West Coast): Thank you, Mr Speaker, for allowing me to join in this debate on the Compulsory Education Bill.

Sir, at first glance, this Bill would appear to be something of an anomaly. We live in a society which holds educational achievement in high esteem and as a core value. We have an economy which attaches significant and tangible premium to education and skills. We have a Government which not only devotes significant resources to education but also constantly encourages, cajoles and even admonishes its people to train, retrain and pursue lifelong education. The Minister has given us empirical evidence previously in this House that this has worked with 97% to 98% of each cohort enrolling for primary one. The question that begs to be asked is why do we need this Bill to make education at the primary level compulsory. Perhaps the answer lies to some extent in the fact that in each cohort there are several hundred students who do not enrol for primary education. Many of them, as we are aware, do have perfectly good reasons. But there would be a minority for whom this is not the case and it is for them that we should be acting, and acting decisively. This Bill would be a worthwhile addition to our statutes if it is able to help this small group of young Singaporeans acquire the education that they are indeed entitled to.

Sir, the Bill is worthy of support because it makes a statement on the importance that we in Singapore attach to education. It does underscore the responsibility of parents in this very important endeavour and it does endow the Ministry with the authority and the wherewithal to ensure that no child misses out on education due to parental neglect. Indeed, Sir, it is difficult to quarrel with this Bill at the level of its ideals and principles which underpin it. Who in their right mind can justifiably oppose a Bill that says every child should be given a chance to be educated and realise his full potential?

The challenge in this Bill, in my opinion, is in its implementation and the enforcement of its provisions. As the proverbial saying goes, the devil is in the details.

Sir, the Compulsory Education Board has an unenviable task. It must steadfastly uphold the spirit and intent of this legislation and yet it must adopt a deft and sensitive touch in its enforcement. Why? The family is central to a child's development. Parental involvement and support is key to a child's educational advancement.

In my years as CEO of SINDA, there is one thing that I have learnt and it is that state or institutional support can never replace the role of the parents or the family in the child's development. Yet the Bill allows for quite severe penalties to be imposed on parents if they do not comply with the provisions of this Bill - a fine of up to $5,000 and up to 12 months' imprisonment.

Mr Chiam argued earlier that there should be no imprisonment and that the fine should be reduced. I find that odd because if an Act is to be effective, then the enforcement and the penalties that go with the enforcement must be of sufficient deterrent quality. This is where the catch of this Bill lies: vigorous and assiduous enforcement of this Bill will, in my opinion, undermine the very intent of the Bill. It could lead to non-cooperation, resentment and even family breakdown. Certainly, Sir, a dysfunctional family is not a conducive backdrop for academic or educational pursuits.

Sir, the Compulsory Education Bill cannot be a panacea for deep-seated problems that might lie within a family. No one involved in this endeavour should go away with the wrong impression. The Compulsory Education Board must therefore exercise great flexibility and restraint in carrying out its duties. The Committee under Senior Minister of State for Education, Dr Aline Wong, has already exercised considerable restraint and flexibility and that is evident in the manner in which it has dealt with specific issues such as those to do with madrasahs and home schooling. And also in wanting to approach this very new element of our society in an incremental manner by addressing primary education first.

But all said and done, we still need safeguards to make sure that this process does not run awry. We must ensure that the imposition of the penalties that are provided for in this Bill are used only as a last resort and only after all other avenues have been exhausted. In the Bill itself, there is a two-stage process. The Compulsory Education Board can investigate and then make recommendations on what ought to be done in a particular case to the Director-General of Education. He or she in turn would then be the arbiter, as it were, for the final course of action. This two-stage process has its merits. Certainly, Sir, I would go one step further and say that we need to ensure that even for the manner in which the Compulsory Education Board carries out its duties, there are adequate provisions and protocol, if necessary, to make sure that they do not go about this in a manner that might create more problems than it solves.

I for one would certainly not be unhappy if the provisions of this Bill, particularly those pertaining to the extreme penalties, are observed more in their breach than in their practice.

The other level, Sir, is resources. If the Compulsory Education Board is to do a proper job, and by that I mean making a concerted effort to investigate thoroughly into the circumstances of the families referred to it, then it needs resources - social workers, educationists, and maybe psychologists to counsel the family, etc. That is the very minimum we must ensure that this Board has so that it is able to come out with robust and worthwhile recommendations. I would therefore ask the Minister to assure this House that that indeed would be the case, that first the provisions of this Bill will be implemented with a deft touch and sensitivity. Secondly, that the Compulsory Education Board and the related authorities that will enforce this Bill would be given adequate resources to ensure its intent is fully realised in practice.