Students to get free digital access to SPH Media Trust's vernacular news
About 143,000 secondary students set for a boost in learning of mother tongue languages
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All secondary school students will get free digital access to Lianhe Zaobao, Berita Harian and Tamil Murasu newspapers and other content until 2027 to aid their learning of mother tongue languages.
About 143,000 students across 136 secondary schools here will benefit from a new programme called "News At Your Fingertips".
The programme, which will start next month and run until 2027, is funded by a $15 million donation from charity foundation Ngee Ann Kongsi, said the Ministry of Education (MOE), SPH Media Trust (SMT) and Ngee Ann Kongsi in a joint statement yesterday.
It will also cover digital access to those titles for all mother tongue teachers in Singapore's primary and secondary schools, junior colleges and the Millennia Institute for them to use as resources in classrooms.
Access will be given once every two weeks during the school term for all the titles, the statement said.
Those studying the Chinese language will receive a ZBSchools.sg digital account which they can use to access Lianhe Zaobao's e-paper and its student publication zbComma, while students learning Malay will get access to Berita Harian's e-paper and student supplement Generasi Gelia.
Tamil-language students will get Tamil Murasu's e-paper and content such as Illayar Murasu, a column covering teen issues and human-interest stories.
SMT is the holding company of SPH Media Group, which publishes all three titles.
The partnership was inked yesterday by MOE director-general of education Wong Siew Hoong, Ngee Ann Kongsi vice-president and chairman of the donation and charity sub-committee Jamie Teo, and SMT chief executive Teo Lay Lim at a ceremony at Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School in Yishun.
The $15 million sum will be disbursed evenly each year till 2027.
Ngee Ann Kongsi president James Teo said his organisation firmly believes in empowerment through education, and hopes that the new programme will help students understand important issues in Singapore's vernacular languages.
Education Minister Chan Chun Sing, who witnessed the signing of the agreement, said in a speech that bilingualism is a cornerstone of Singapore's society and his ministry wants to make language-learning exciting and current.
He added that students are now exposed to a myriad of information online and guiding them to be discerning is an important part of education.
SMT chairman Khaw Boon Wan said the organisation is working with community partners to promote news and media literacy, especially among students and young people.
"Embedded in this effort is our support for the Government and the community in promoting mother tongue languages and in supporting their daily usage. Against the larger English-speaking environment, our mother tongue languages must remain alive and relevant," he said, adding that SMT will step up its role in the effort to preserve them.
