Imposing parking fees on teachers is about Government's 'self-discipline': Ong Ye Kung

SINGAPORE — The decision to impose parking fees on teachers at all schools stems from the Government's duty to abide by a "system of internal self-discipline", said Education Minister Ong Ye Kung on Friday (May 25).

"Charging for parking, therefore, is primarily a decision borne out of duty. But this duty does not diminish our appreciation of teachers and educators," Mr Ong wrote on Facebook.

Free parking for teachers was pointed out by the Auditor General's Office (AGO) in 2015 as going against the civil service's clean wage policy. The AGO's report stated that free parking in education institutions was "tantamount to hidden subsidies" beyond a staff's salary.

The AGO's finding "went against years of Ministry of Education (MOE) practice", Mr Ong noted in his Facebook post.

"Yet we have to respect our internal system of checks and balances. We cannot pick and choose which finding to address or comply with — we take them all seriously," said Mr Ong. "This is about upholding the value of self-discipline."

He was responding to a speech made last week by Marine Parade GRC Member of Parliament Seah Kian Peng on the final day of the debate on the President's Address.

In his speech, which was widely shared on social media, Mr Seah said the use of the clean wage argument to justify imposing parking charges at all schools is "laughable and an insult" to teachers, and called for a shift away from using economic reasoning in policymaking.

Mr Ong said he told Mr Seah that he agreed with him that "we should never allow ourselves to see things from a purely economic lens".

"As Kian Peng said, it is a reminder about the kind of conversations and discourses we should be having," said Mr Ong. "That policy decisions should be grounded not just on economics, but more importantly on values, morals, and public duty."

However, Mr Ong noted that the entire public service "subscribes to the discipline of having a clean wage, so every public officer knows that his salary is all he gets — there are no hidden benefits".

"This is one of our core practices to ensure a clean government. As Kian Peng said, clean wage surely must be a moral idea. Indeed, it is," said Mr Ong.

He stressed that governance or running a public service system "is not always about taking a purist market-based approach". And it is not the case in Singapore, he pointed out.

"In fact, a large part of public service is to provide goods and services - defence, education, public housing – that are either undersupplied, or not supplied by the market at all," he said. "In everyday life, we do social work, volunteer our services, help our friends and neighbours. It's about kindness and generosity, which have no economic price."

He added: "Perhaps for the same reason, for a long time, we didn't charge parking for teachers in schools and servicemen in camps."

Nevertheless, the Government has put in place checks and balances in its system, Mr Ong noted. The AGO checks on practices pertaining to the use of public funds, and its observations and findings are published and subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

The decision to charge teachers for parking in schools was announced in March, and will take effect in August. It came about two years after MOE said it was reviewing carpark charges for schools "in accordance to civil service guidelines".

Mr Ong reiterated that following the AGO's finding, MOE "took some time, discussed with educators, sought their understanding, and decided on how best to follow up and address the (issue)".

The ministry has explained to its educators the need to abide by the clean wage policy, and that "we cannot be giving a benefit just to one group of teachers who drive". Free parking is also at odds with the rest of the civil service, Mr Ong reiterated.

Still, Mr Ong said he thanked Mr Seah for "speaking up for teachers". "I am heartened to see so many people coming forward to express their appreciation of teachers," he said.