MOE ‘taking time’ to carefully review free parking policy

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Education (MOE) today (Jan 12) said that it is taking the time to carefully review car park policy for schools, following online debate over free parking at the institutions.

“We seek your patience and understanding,” said the MOE said in a Facebook post, noting that “there has been much online chatter on the review of free parking in schools”.

“We understand the concerns raised and we are with you in appreciating the dedication and hard work by all our teachers,” said the MOE, which is considering civil service guidelines and recent observations by the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) in its review.

In July last year, the AGO had said that three education institutions did not charge or charged below market rate for use of their car parks, and that was “tantamount to providing hidden subsidies for vehicle parking”. The AGO added that such practices are not in line with the requirements laid down in the Government Instruction Manuals.

In the AGO’s 2014/2015 Financial Year report, it said the Institute of Technical Education missed out on an estimated S$66,000 per month in parking charges as it did not charge for the use of its car parks. The AGO also cited Singapore Polytechnic (SP) and Temasek Polytechnic (TP) for undercharging.

The AGO noted that the monthly licence fee paid by SP’s car park operator would have been about S$120,000 more a year if the polytechnic charged users the market rate for parking, while TP had foregone an estimated S$590,600 in revenue due to undercharging for the six months leading to Nov 30, 2014.

The MOE review that could result in teachers at national schools and junior colleges paying carpark fees at their institutions has drawn intense debate since it was reported last week. Should the fees be implemented, some 360 schools and colleges will be affected.