Taskforce to help children from disadvantaged families not a reactive move, says Indranee

SINGAPORE — Dismissing suggestions that the recent move to set up a taskforce to help children from disadvantaged families was reactive in nature, Second Minister for Education Indranee Rajah stressed on Thursday (Nov 1) that the Government had recognised the problem of inequality early on.

The Government's focus is to tackle the problem “vigorously” and improve the lives of Singaporeans who might “have not been able to do as well” as the country progressed over the years, she told reporters on the sidelines of her visit to an Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) programme at East Coast.

Ms Indranee, who chairs the newly formed inter-agency taskforce looking to improve students’ motivation and tackle absenteeism and drop-out rates, was asked by reporters if it was set up in response to a report on educational mobility among students here.

Even though the eight-member taskforce called Uplift — short for Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Taskforce — was announced days after the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) report last week, Ms Indranee said it was conceptualised “well before” that.

Among other findings, the OECD report showed that Singapore has among the largest gap when it comes to students’ sense of belonging at school based on their socio-economic status. It also noted that students from lower socio-economic status do not fare as well compared to the country’s top scorers.

Pointing to the parliamentary debate on the President’s Address earlier in May, Ms Indranee said the Government had already flagged that the problem of inequality is one that requires urgent attention.

“We have actually managed to uplift a great number of people,” said Ms Indranee, who is also the Minister in Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance.

“We have actually managed to improve the lives of many. But this does mean though, that there will be a group that has not been able to do as well, and we want them to do well too. So, that is the thinking and the philosophy behind Uplift.”

Asked on Thursday whether there is still a need for streaming, Ms Indranee reiterated that the original intention of streaming was to help students progress based on their learning needs. And it was effective as it has “greatly reduced dropout rates”.

The minister, who at a dialogue on Monday conceded that streaming had an “unintended side effect” on how pupils view themselves and are perceived by others, added: “So, what we want to do now is to make sure that you can still retain a system which allows students to learn at their own pace. But at the same time encourage more social mixing, more empathy and programmes, which allow people to still do things together so that they get to see each other for who they really are.”

Turning to outdoor education, Ms Indranee, who visited the new OBS campus at East Coast and Changi, said around 14,000 students would have gone through OBS this year.

This is more than double the figure in previous years, where around 6,000 students went through it annually.

The Government is also on track in fulfilling its National Outdoor Adventure Education Masterplan, which includes building the S$250 million OBS campus on Coney Island by 2021, she added. Under the plan, which was announced in 2016, the aims is to have all Secondary 3 students go through a five-day OBS expedition-based camp to build up resilience and promote social mixing among youth.

As part of its expansion to support student-based programmes in the mainland, OBS had acquired the East Coast and Changi campus, which were formerly owned by the People’s Association (PA). The East Coast site used to house the National Community Leadership Institute (NACLI) campus, while the premise in Changi premises used to be the PA's Water-Venture outlet. 

New training equipment is also used to promote team building and to help students cross different terrains.

One example is the “mudskipper”, a cart-like piece of equipment, which students can load their tents and food rations on and use during their land expedition. It can even be turned into a boat if students have to cross the river or sea.

Hwa Chong Institution student Lee Yi Heng, 15, who is among the 440 students going through the OBS programme this week, said that having different students from various schools undergo the programme together promotes social mixing.

“Previously, our camps were held in school, and there’s little chance of meeting students from other schools and backgrounds,” said the Secondary 3 student.

“This is a good way to forge friendships and you have to make an effort.”