[note: information and updates based on press reports and press releases extracted from www.moe.edu.sg.]

Changes to the teaching and testing of Chinese language in schools
Come March, the Ministry of Education will be announcing changes to the way Chinese language is being tested and taught in schools. These announcements will be made during the Committee of Supply debate in Parliament.

The ministry has been studying teaching models from China, the United States and Switzerland – which are more focused on helping student to be comfortable in speaking and using the language rather than on writing. We can expect to see changes in approach that will take into account students' differing grasps of the language at the point of starting primary school (rather than a one-size-fits-all), and variable teaching modes in both primary and secondary school. Already, Chinese is being taught using English in selected primary schools and the oral component of examinations has also been increased. We are likely to see more refinements along the same lines in future.

These impending changes are a welcome acknowledgement of the increasing numbers of students who speak predominantly English at home, and are struggling to cope with Chinese in school. Such is the concern among many parents nowadays that they are starting their children off on Chinese tuition from as young as nursery, so that they will be able to cope in primary school.

Food for thought:

‘Teaching a student Chinese language as a second language is fundamentally different from teaching students whose mother tongue is Chinese. Our teaching approaches must reflect this.' - Dr Ng Eng Hen, Education Minister

This is a significant announcement given that for decades, we grew up associating ‘mother tongue’ with  ‘second language’  in schools, and that the choice of language was usually assigned automatically based on ethnicity. The changes will cast a lifeline for those who may be Chinese in ethnicity but whose effective ‘mother tongue’ – the language first spoken by a person in childhood, or the language in which the person is most conversant in and uses to communicate with family members – is English. Hopefully, we can expect changes that will go beyond just making it easier for them to cope with learning Chinese, but will make them want to use the language in practical settings, and appreciate Chinese culture as well. And ideally - that such amendments and improvements for the teaching and testing of Chinese as a second language be considered for Malay and Tamil as well, so that other students will also stand to benefit.



More regulation of sexuality education in schools
Sexuality education can always been a contentious topic – with no clear consensus among parents and schools alike on who should be the ones responsible for this. Even school teachers – who face their students on a daily basis – do encounter difficulties in broaching this sensitive subject to their students. As such, schools often depend on external trainers to conduct such programmes on their premises. However, there was public uproar last year when it was found that in some schools, the sexuality education programme contained messaging that condoned homosexuality and stated that anal sex was ‘healthy’ if consensual and done with a condom. This particular programme was developed by AWARE, which was found to have overstepped the guidelines set by MOE.

Following this, the MOE tightened up regulations and and started vetting and approving agencies planning to conduct such classes in schools. A list of external agencies which schools can choose from when selecting a trainer for sexuality education programmes will be released soon. MOE is also conducting its review of the sexuality education curriculum, which is expected to be completed by the second half of the year.

Food for thought:
Across the board, there will be greater screening of the messages on sexuality that are going out to students. Parents who are jittery at the thought of facing questions from their kids will take comfort in the fact that their children are less likely to be exposed to ideas and values that they themselves are not ready to grapple with for chances are, the content will probably take on a less liberal slant, with more nods to current societal norms and values. . However, the heightened monitoring should not be added reason why the responsibility for sexuality education should be left to schools.  Future updates from MOE on its sexuality education curriculum will likely reawaken the debate on this issue, and refresh concerns about the impact of other sources of information and influence such as social networks and the mass media.

A new statutory board and more regulation for private education 
With a private school in the news every few months for unwelcome developments ranging from premature closure to fake degrees, this sector has been faced with the uphill task of salvaging its reputation among students seeking alternative pathways to education.  With the setting up of the Council for Private Education as a statutory board on 1 December last year, this imposes more regulation in the private education sector to thwart shady practices among errant players. Private universities, commercial schools and international schools which have already registered under the current Education Act will have 18 months to sign up with the new statutory Board, while all other schools must sign up by February 20 this year if they want to continue operations.

Schools will only be allowed to register if they show evidence of proper systems in place for both academic and administrative matters. Improved safeguards to protect students’ fees means that they will need to provide insurance for both local and foreign students, and will now only have two options – to limit their collection of school fees to two months only, or purchase fee protection insurance which will allow them to collect up to six months of fees. Schools will also need to show that they have independent academic and examination boards to develop and review curricula, testing and other academic policies. In addition, a student services centre will also be set up within the next few months to enable students to find out more about private education and/or lodge complaints against errant schools.

Food for thought:
The tightened regulations will help assuage the worries of parents concerned about  fly-by-night operators or bogus degrees after years of hard work. This will hopefully increase competition and professionalism within the sector, but may also result in higher fees if schools pass on some of the increased administrative costs to their students.

What are your thoughts on these new developments? Do share with us.

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