SINGAPORE — The recent online uproar about the Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) lesson package on the Israel-Hamas conflict has led to some teachers being abused and highlights how damaging online misrepresentation can be, said Education Minister Chan Chun Sing.

Speaking on Monday (March 4) during a debate on his ministry’s spending, Mr Chan also cautioned against “potential external interference” from parties with an agenda to undermine Singapore’s cohesion.

Mr Chan’s response came after numerous posts began circulating on social media channels late last month, voicing concerns over what schools are teaching students about the conflict in Gaza.

Presentation slides purportedly used during the lesson were also circulated online, including one that illustrated the conflict using an example of two students quarrelling after a football match.

Online commentators alleged that the Ministry of Education (MOE) had trivialised the conflict in Gaza by comparing the grave situation there with a football match.

Mr Chan revealed that the slide in question was not issued to all schools, but was in fact added by one school to help students relate to the subject matter.

He added that some online users have also “selectively picked out” a slide from the lesson presentation to assert that schools were telling students that the situation in Gaza only started on Oct 7.

Hamas launched an attack on Israel on that day, killing over 1,100 and taking more than 200 hostages. This was followed by a military response by Israel that to date has killed over 30,000 in Gaza, mostly women and children.

On Monday, Mr Chan said the cherry-picking of the slide “insinuated that MOE was pro-Israel” and that the ministry had characterised one side as aggressor and the other as victim. This has riled up many people, he added.

Debunking this point, the minister said that the actual words used on that particular slide were referring to “events since Oct 7”. It was also preceded by another slide that emphasised how the conflict has a long and complex history.

“This is indeed a sobering reminder that in the online space, it is not always easy to separate those who question the material with well-meaning intentions, from those who join the fray with ulterior intent, to stir up negative emotions on an already sensitive topic,” said Mr Chan.

The minister said that MOE has also provided background material for teachers on the historical developments behind the conflict.

However, this was meant to be shared with students who wished for more information on the history only, as the learning objective of the CCE lesson was not to teach history.

PUBLISHING SLIDES 'WOULD NOT DO JUSTICE'

A few Members of Parliament (MP) also rose to ask about how MOE was dealing with the misinformation around the slides.

Dr Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah, MP for Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency (GRC), asked whether the slides should be published to the public.

In response, Mr Chan said after extensive discussions, the ministry concluded that doing so "would not do justice" to what teachers teach in class, because "the slide doesn't speak".

"We have tested this and no matter how we try to make the slides public or available, if it's done selectively without interpretation, we will still come back to the same issue," he said.

Mr Chan did not directly respond to Dr Wan Rizal's question on whether Singapore's fake news law can be used against platforms circulating slides purportedly from the MOE-issued slides when in actual fact they were not. 

Mr Chan also responded to a question by Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Mohamed Sharael Mohd Taha regarding one particular slide circulated online, which gave an example of two students quarrelling after a football match.

The minister clarified that the slide was not the version that was issued by MOE to all schools, but was instead inserted in the slides presented by "one particular school" as the teacher wanted to help students of a certain age group "relate to something that is more relatable to them".

Mr Chan did not identify the school in his clarification.

While he said that teachers should be given space and trust to communicate with their students — and in this case the teachers "tried their best" to do so — the minister reiterated that it is never MOE's intention to trivialise the conflict.

RUDE, ABUSIVE COMMENTS TOWARDS EDUCATORS

Mr Chan said on Monday that the episode has led to some educators receiving rude and abusive comments.

A photo of one educator was also circulated online with a caption containing a racial slur, insulting her as an uneducated person of her ethnicity. Some have also egged on the spreading of her photo to make her "viral".  

“While we may disagree on issues, personal attacks and racial slurs against fellow Singaporeans cannot be condoned,” Mr Chan said.

He added that the ministry takes the incident very seriously and will investigate all instances of abuse or harassment towards its educators.

Mr Chan's comments come after Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan gave remarks during MFA's budget debate last week on the Israel-Hamas war, when the latter said Israel’s military response had "gone too far".

Dr Balakrishnan said that if Singapore allows external issues to sow discord domestically, Singapore "will be vulnerable, we will not be independent, we will not have autonomy." 

Mr Chan said on Monday that “some external online parties” have taken active interest in the discussions surrounding the CCE lesson. 

Some have also joined in the discussions to further incite anger and unhappiness, while others “play on Singaporeans’ conscience to adopt their positions”, he added.

“It is not difficult to guess the agenda of these external parties,” said Mr Chan. “We have to be careful to not fall prey to their attempts to rile up our people and undermine our cohesion.”