FREE SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS

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FREE SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS: 3.

Ms Braema Mathiaparanam asked the Acting Minister for Education (a) how many students applied for free textbooks for this school year (2003); (b) how many were successful in their applications; (c) what are the criteria used to process such applications; and (d) whether the Ministry will look into why it is necessary for the content of primary school textbooks and workbooks to be changed each year and split into two sections, making it difficult for children to share their books across the years.

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: Mr Speaker, Sir, under the Ministry of Education Financial Assistance Scheme (MOE FAS), needy students can apply for waiver of school fees and part of the miscellaneous fees, as well as free textbooks if they are in primary or secondary schools. For junior college students, recipients of the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme receive a bursary of $500 which they can use to buy textbooks and other necessities. As at October 2003, there were 10,729 students receiving assistance under the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme. We do not track the number of applications received.

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The income criteria for the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme are pegged to that for the MCDS' Public Assistance scheme. They were last revised in January 2003. Under the existing criteria, a citizen student would be eligible for the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme if the family's gross monthly income does not exceed $900 for families with one or two children, and $1,050 for families with three or more children.

Ms Braema Mathi asked why it is necessary for the content of primary school textbooks and workbooks to be changed each year. This is not the case. New or revised instructional materials are introduced together with revisions to our syllabuses which take place every six years. These revisions are to ensure that what is taught to our students is forward looking and remains relevant to our needs.

Ms Braema Mathiaparanam: May I ask the Minister that it is great that the content remains more or less stable for six years. Is there any guidance that the Ministry can give the publishers such that the textbooks do not get printed with new inclusions that children cannot share textbooks across years?

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: As long as the syllabus remains unchanged, it is not of material significance whether one publisher comes out with a new textbook to improve on what another publisher has produced. If the syllabus is unchanged and these are textbooks which are used by our schools, they are all equally good. But the Ministry is not responsible for deciding on whether improvements or enhancements are to be made by individual publishers.

Ms Braema Mathiaparanam: Does the Ministry issue any guidelines then, please?

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: We certainly do not require publishers to keep updating their textbooks every year.