The gist: MPs discuss getting rid of streaming in schools, verifying of EP qualifications
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SINGAPORE - Parliament scrutinised the budgets of the ministries of Education and Manpower on Wednesday. Here are some of the key announcements.
1. Express, Normal labels scrapped with full subject-based banding
Students will be posted to secondary schools in three posting groups, instead of being placed into particular streams, starting with the cohort entering secondary school in 2024.
The posting groups of 1, 2, and 3 – mapped to the PSLE score ranges for Normal (Technical), Normal (Academic) and Express respectively – will be used only to determine which school a student goes to, and his or her initial subject levels in Secondary 1.
This full subject-based banding will be introduced in 80 per cent of secondary schools. Among the schools excluded are those offering the integrated programme and other specialised schools.
Why it matters
Unlike the existing streams that sort students into particular levels from the start, the posting groups will allow students to take a range of subjects at three different levels: G1, G2 and G3.
This reduces the impact of PSLE scores on their education trajectory and allows them to pursue subjects based on their aptitude and interests, without being constrained by academic streams. Doing away with the existing streaming labels will also reduce stigma.
2. Keeping disadvantaged kids in school
A programme to help disadvantaged students remain in school will be rolled out nationwide in 2023. The Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Taskforce (Uplift) Community Network has been operating in 12 towns since 2022.
It will now be extended to the 12 remaining towns, with the scheme covering about 1,300 students from 110 schools in 2023, up from some 900 students in 89 schools in 2022.
Why it matters
Students from disadvantaged backgrounds often find it harder to stay in school, let alone keep up academically. The scheme will significantly expand efforts to tackle the inequality resulting from this.
Schools will flag vulnerable students who show early signs of absenteeism and refer them to a coordinator in the town’s social service office, so that these students and their family can be linked with community resources and programmes.
READ MORE HERE: More help for disadvantaged and special needs students
3. Employers to verify qualifications of foreigners
In a bid to sieve out those with fake qualifications, employers will be required to verify the diploma and higher qualifications of foreigners they want to hire, starting from Sept 1.
With the introduction of a new points-based Complementarity Assessment (Compass) framework, Employment Passes will be awarded based on points scored by employers and applicants.
Qualifications, an applicant’s salary relative to the wages of his local peers, as well as the number of Singaporeans an employer hires, will contribute to these points.
Why it matters
The issue of foreigners being hired based on fake qualifications has fed into anti-foreigner sentiment in the past. Trust in the work pass system also takes a hit whenever such cases emerge.
The introduction of this gate-keeping requirement, along with the Compass framework, will go towards ensuring that foreigners who are hired have the requisite qualifications and truly complement the Singaporean core.
READ MORE HERE: Employers must verify education qualifications of EP applicants from Sept 1
4. Help for platform workers when CPF kicks in
Platform workers born in or after 1995 will have to make Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions from mid-2024, and will get help to do so. They will get five years to ramp up their contributions, at 2.5 percentage points per year.
Platform companies will also get to phase in their contributions at 3.5 percentage points per year over five years. CPF contribution is voluntary for older platform workers.
Why it matters
Mandating CPF contribution will go towards ensuring that platform workers save enough for retirement, yet many worry about how this will affect their earnings.
Giving them support for their CPF contributions ensures that they are able to beef up their savings for housing and retirement, while at the same time cushions the impact on their take-home earnings.
It will also prevent a sudden spike in costs for platform businesses.
If you have a few more minutes...
1. AI to help with jobs
A CareersFinder feature, powered by artificial intelligence, will be added to the MyCareersFuture portal by end-September to serve up personalised job recommendations and training courses for people looking to switch jobs or industries.
The CareersFinder will have access to the Ministry of Manpower’s vast database and will be able to factor in information like job transitions in the labour market, for instance, to make recommendations based on a job seeker’s responses to a quiz.
2. Building an inclusive workforce
To boost employment of persons with disabilities and ex-offenders, wage offsets will be given to employers under two schemes.
The enhanced Enabling Employment Credit will give employers an additional wage offset of up to 20 per cent for nine months if they hire persons with disabilities who have been out of work for the past six months.
The new Uplifting Employment Credit will offer a similar wage offset to employers who hire ex-offenders through the Yellow Ribbon Singapore and Singapore Prison Service employment schemes.
3. More pathways and courses
The Polytechnic Foundation Programme, which is currently open only to those from the Normal (Academic) stream, will draw from a wider range of students from 2028, after academic streams are done away with under the full subject-based banding system.
From 2026, students will also be admitted to broad clusters, instead of specific diplomas, so they will have more time to decide what to specialise in. At Institutes of Technical Education, diploma offerings will be expanded.
