STUDENTS FACING PSYCHOLOGICAL PRESSURE (Counselling/support services)

Mr Gan Kim Yong asked the Minister for Education what counselling or support services are available in the schools or in his Ministry to help students in the primary and secondary schools cope with the psychological pressure they may face from time to time.

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam (for the Minister for Education): The Ministry of Education adopts a comprehensive approach towards addressing the social emotional needs of pupils.

There is a comprehensive pastoral care system in all schools. All pupils are taught lifeskills, which cover topics relating to personal and interpersonal effectiveness. All teachers in schools are trained in basic counselling skills and emergency behavioural management skills to equip them to be first-line caregivers. Support within the school is given by two Teacher Counsellors in every school, and Emergency Behaviour Management Officers who have received advanced training in counselling and crisis intervention. Since last year, at the school cluster level, we have also introduced a system, what we call the School Counsellor Scheme. We have trained retired education officers in counselling, and they provide an additional layer of support to the schools. Further, schools may refer serious problems to the Ministry of Education's Guidance Specialists or Educational Psychologists.

While schools provide support for the pupils, the support from the home is of paramount importance. Parents can help their children to set realistic expectations for themselves and to develop strength of character in them which will enable them to cope with life's challenges. Schools and parents need to work together to achieve this.

Mr Gan Kim Yong (Holland-Bukit Panjang): Sir, can I ask the Senior Minister of State whether there are any programmes or any efforts made in identifying students who are potentially at risk and, if such a programme exists, what follow-up programmes are there to help these students cope?

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: Sir, yes, the programme exists. This is in fact what our teachers are trained for and, in particular, the specialists within the schools and within the clusters are trained to monitor behaviour, to detect problems early, where we can, and to follow up case by case with the students concerned.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Sir, could the Senior Minister of State explain whether there are any programmes that will help to counsel the parents in managing their expectation of the students?

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: Sir, when problems arise, the Counsellors and Emergency Behaviour Management Officers do work closely with the parents. They are trained principally to deal with the students, but they look at the case in its totality and they operate in close dialogue with the parents as well.

Dr Lily Neo (Jalan Besar): Sir, may I ask the Senior Minister of State whether it is possible to equip the teachers in the classes to be able to pick up psychologically abnormal children as our children spend a large part of their time in schools? This is to be able to refer these kids for further check-ups so as to prevent the unwanted consequences, the extreme of which is suicide.

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: Sir, as I mentioned, teachers are trained to detect problems. They are not experts. They may not be able to detect all problems early enough. I do not think we would want to burden teachers with too many duties of this nature. Their principal task is to teach their classes well, to attend to their charges, to be able to spot problems when they arise, and to deal with them. But we should not put the responsibility on them to engage in too much diagnostics. When problems present themselves, they will have to react sensibly and in a fashion that provides care for the students. But we should not increase the duties of the teachers too far beyond their existing responsibilities.

Dr Lily Neo: Sir, I was referring not so much to the diagnostic type of capability but more on the teaching part where a teacher is able to pick up abnormal behaviours or characters in the students and to refer them for more assessments.

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: Sir, if I understand it correctly, that is indeed part and parcel of being a teacher. If they spot problems, they will follow up on it.

Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman (Sembawang): Sir, in relation to dealing with more difficult cases, I understand that independent schools have used the model of employing full-time social workers and school counsellors to deal with more difficult cases. Will the Ministry consider allowing Government schools to employ professional social workers or school counsellors to be based in schools to deal with the cases directly and more immediately?

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: Sir, there is certainly no restraint on schools employing further resources but, as I mentioned, every school has two Teacher Counsellors who have been specially trained for this purpose. This is on top of the basic training which every teacher receives. So we have several layers of support beyond every teacher. First, the specialised Teacher Counsellors in every school, two per school; second, what we started last year, at the cluster level we are training retired education officers, providing them advanced training in counselling skills; and, third, at the level of the Ministry itself, where our specialists will be able to help schools when problems arise.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Sir, can I ask the Senior Minister of State whether he will consider allowing schools to partner with professional voluntary organisations which are professionals in counselling as this, to a certain extent, will also alleviate the workload on the teachers? And, bearing in mind that some of these problems are not just within the school, it could involve the family as well as the parents and the siblings. So, would it not be more efficient and productive to allow professional organisations to collaborate with the schools in providing counselling support?

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: Sir, that is indeed the methodology. When schools refer serious cases to the Ministry of Education, we will often, in fact, assist the school by referring the case to appropriate agencies, which include the Child Guidance Clinic, Family Service Centres and various voluntary organisations.

Dr Ong Seh Hong: Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State whether the Ministry would consider actually doing more work on primary prevention rather than on secondary and tertiary prevention, when a problem happens. Many of these emotional and psychological problems could be alleviated or reduced if the students, family and teachers are properly trained to deal with their stress and emotional problems, and so on and so forth.

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: Sir, the answer has to be, in principle, yes, we should try to detect problems as early as possible. The question is how much of a teacher's time and energies can be focused on detecting problems that are not already apparent. There has to be a limit to what we can expect a teacher to do. Their principal task is to teach the curriculum well and to bring up their charges well. They will not be able to detect all problems early enough. The principal responsibility has to remain with the family. Teachers and schools will work closely with parents in that regard, but the principal responsibility is with the family.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo (West Coast): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State what is the success rate of such counselling programmes that have been instituted in schools.

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: Sir, I do not have figures on the success rate. But the impression that I have is that the programme has been quite effective so far. Schools have been able to deal with the problems that they see, work with parents and help turn around a child. In general, that has been the experience, but I do not have figures with me.