SINGAPORE - Primary and secondary school students in Singapore learn about its political system and Constitution, said Minister of State for Education Sim Ann on Friday.

"The concepts of citizen rights and obligations, democracy, our electoral system, principles of our Constitution and the structure of government are covered in the character and citizenship education, social studies and history curricula in primary and secondary schools," she said in Mandarin.

In a wide-ranging speech in Parliament addressing several education issues, she said that the Ministry of Education wants to drive home the message that values matter, including the importance of the collective good.

She noted that over the course of the week's debate on the President's Address, Members of Parliament had asked if the national education curriculum included information on the Constitution and Singapore's political system.

The answer, said Ms Sim, was yes.

Mr Low Thia Khiang (Aljunied GRC) and Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong, both of the Workers' Party, had raised the issue earlier in the week.

Mr Low had argued that national education should enable students to understand their rights and obligations as citizens in a democratic society, as well as values and concepts associated with democracy like mutual respect and diversity.