Education Minister Heng Swee Keat outlines MOE's plans for holistic education

Channel NewsAsia, 8 Mar 2012

Education Minister Heng Swee Keat has outlined his ministry's plans to create a holistic education system and one where no child is left behind.

Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Mr Heng said that to prepare our students for the future, education must develop the whole person.

"It is less about content knowledge, as content will have to be re-learnt and even un-learnt during one's lifetime," he said.

"It is more about how to process information, discern truths from untruths, connect seemingly disparate dots, and create knowledge even as the context changes. It is about developing an enduring core of competencies, values and character to anchor our young and ensure they have the resilience to succeed."

"Developing the whole child must first begin with instilling the right character and values. We must adopt a student-centric, values-driven approach," added Mr Heng.

And to reflect the emphasis on a holistic, values-driven education, Mr Heng said that there will be a new Edusave Character Award to recognise students who exhibit exemplary values, such as resilience and tenacity, integrity, care and respect, as well as civic responsibility.

The minister said the Community Involvement Programme is an important part of character building as it builds a spirit of volunteerism.

It will therefore be enhanced and reframed as Values in Action to place a stronger emphasis across all schools on the inculcation of values through community involvement.

Under Values in Action, students will undertake personal and group reflections to discuss their experience and the role they can play in the community.

Students will be encouraged to choose community issues they are concerned about, understand them better and decide how they can make a difference.

Schools will also be encouraged to develop 4-year or 6-year development plans to move towards more sustainable learning through community involvement.

To ensure opportunities for all students, the Ministry of Education is significantly increasing its coverage of financial support for needy students.

More funds will also be given to financial assistance schemes.

The income limit for eligibility for the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme or FAS will be raised from S$1,500 to S$2,500.

Besides assessing applicants by household income, the ministry will assess them using a new Per Capita Income (PCI) criterion so that more students from larger families can qualify.

This means that students from households with a per capita income not exceeding S$625 per month will now be eligible.

For example, a family of six comprising two children, two parents and two grandparents living together, with a monthly income of S$3,600 (that is, per capita income of S$600) will now qualify.

Schools will also be given annual grants of up to S$15,000 per school every year, for the next three years.

This will allow schools to provide additional targeted support in specific ways or to students who might have just missed the FAS criteria but are deserving.

The ministry will also triple the annual funding allocated to the School Breakfast Programme, from S$4 million to S$12 million.

This is to ensure children do not start their day on an empty stomach.

However Education Minister Heng said: "But let me emphasise. It is not just about money, but an integrated approach, addressing financial, socio-emotional and learning support, in partnership with parents and the broader community.

"Ultimately, being inclusive is about giving each child the best opportunity to realise his or her potential, and in turn be able to fully participate in the workplace and in society thereafter."

The ministry will also grow the number of school-based student care centres over the next two years.

The ministry is looking to increase the number of student care centres located within schools from the current 57 to 70 by 2014.

The centres provide structured care for students, whether it's help with homework or with problems at home.

Constant interaction between the centre's staff and school teachers also means potential problems can be flagged quickly.

These centres are just one way in which the Education Ministry is lifting up students who fall behind.

The ministry also has learning support programmes in primary schools to pull up those weak in English and Maths.

Such early intervention programmes are also in place in preschools, where students from disadvantaged families are given help in English.

About 6,000 children have gone through the scheme, and another 2,200 will be included this year.

Besides helping the low-income, the ministry will also raise the level of resources to schools for them to offer more customised programmes for students.

Addressing the anxiety of parents over getting their child into a good school, Mr Heng outlined improvements made over the years, adding that his aim is to ensure that all schools are good schools.

'Neighbourhood' or 'elite' should matter less in future: Heng
Four-pronged approach to help schools level up to become 'good schools'
By Leonard Lim, The Straits Times, 9 Mar 2012

WERE you from a neighbourhood or elite school?

The answer to that judgmental question should matter less in future, if Education Minister Heng Swee Keat has his way.

In his book, every school should be a good school, and his ministry wants to develop good schools across the board, not focus on just a select few.

Yesterday, in sketching out his vision of what good schools ought to be like, he said they should create opportunities for all and play their part in creating students with strong values and abilities, and an inclusive society.

'A good school is not good relative to another, or good in purely academic terms,' he said during his ministry's budget debate.

He listed six key attributes of a good school:

First, it cares for students, knows their needs, interests and strengths, and motivates them to learn and grow.

Second, it ensures they acquire strong fundamentals of literacy and numeracy and develops them holistically, in character, knowledge and critical competencies.

Third, it creates a positive school experience for each student, making him a confident and life-long learner. 

Fourth, it has caring and competent teachers who are steadfast in their mission to impact lives. 

Fifth, it has the support of parents and the community, working with them to bring out the best in children. 

Finally, it gives opportunities to all students regardless of family circumstances.

To help schools level up to become 'good schools', the Ministry of Education will adopt a four-pronged approach, he said.

This involves giving schools resources to offer customised programmes that best fit their students' needs; raising teachers' professional standards; encouraging learning and innovation across schools; and promoting partnerships between the schools and community.

Since taking over the education portfolio after last May's General Election, Mr Heng has touted the tagline 'every school a good school', as the ministry seeks to quell the anxiety among parents over whether their children are in 'branded schools' or 'neighbourhood schools'.

But as the House heard yesterday, such sentiments run deep.

Before he rose to speak, Mr Teo Ser Luck (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) and Ms Irene Ng (Tampines GRC) asked if anything could be done to remove the stereotypes.

Said Ms Ng: 'If left unaddressed, this will lead to ever-dwindling enrolment, and the plunging morale of both staff and students in the neighbourhood schools.

'Meeting this challenge calls for both a paradigm shift and additional support for neighbourhood schools.'

Mr Teo related how, when he asked some young working adults what schools they were from during a dialogue, some 'loudly' said they were from branded schools.

Others, however, shyly claimed their schools no longer existed. But after probing, Mr Teo learnt they were actually from neighbourhood schools.

Agreeing on a point the Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP made, Mr Heng said the term 'neighbourhood school' should not be used as an apology.

'The truth is, our schools are geographically sited in our neighbourhood, so naturally they draw students who are living in the neighbourhood,' he added.

During the debate, Mr Heng also spoke about Primary 1 places, an annual exercise often riddled with anxiety as parents clamour for their children to get the schools of their choice.

The ministry has received feedback, but 'for every rule that is currently in place, there is feedback both for and against it', Mr Heng said.

So, no form of allocation can satisfy all parents if there is a perception that there are only a few good schools. Thus, the sustainable solution must lie in ensuring that every school is a good school.

Many significant improvements are being made across schools, he said, and they will now publicise their work.

'While we continue to consider the feedback, our schools will make a concerted effort to reach out to parents on the programmes they have, and engage parents in developing our students holistically.'

And hopefully, the right question over time will be: Did you go to a good school?

Schools debate leaves questions unanswered
Ministry, parents need to stop talking at cross purposes for a start, to bring about understanding
By Ignatius Low, The Straits Times, 9 Mar 2012

FIX the system, MPs wailed yesterday, when Parliament turned its attention to the issue that every parent has an opinion on - education. Each had his own suggestions of just what needed fixing.

Yes, we are working on it, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat seemed to say in response. Although, the problem was not so much the system, as the people who use it.

So in the end, the debate resembled that familiar old situation of the student who writes a good essay, but leaves his reader feeling he has not quite answered the question.

In a day devoted almost entirely to debating the state of education here, MPs stood up one after another to raise concerns about what they thought to be fundamental problems with Singapore's education system.

Too many examinations that matter too much to the final result, they griped. Too much obsession over getting into a good school.

The result is stressed-out parents pressurising even more stressed-out children, they warned. There is no joy in learning any more and no one, literally, stops to smell the flowers, lamented Nominated MP and Nature Society member Faizah Jamal.

Instead, Singapore has become a 'tuition nation', declared Ms Denise Phua (Moulmein-Kallang GRC).

NMP Laurence Lien even put a number to it, calculating that parents spend more than $820 million yearly on tuition - 'a massive misallocation of resources nationally', he said.

Acronyms began to fly fast and furious around the Chamber.

Review the Gifted Education Programme and the Special Assistance Plan, some said.

Review the Primary School Leaving Examination, said others - and for good measure, all other such 'standardised unified exams'.

Review the Primary 1 registration exercise, suggested Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten), while Ms Phua proposed a 'think-tank' get to the bottom of the nation's heavy reliance on tuition.

Review even the term 'neighbourhood schools', urged Mr Teo Ser Luck (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC), a proud graduate of one himself.

At least four MPs rose to recommend the Finnish model, or at least some aspects of it.

The Finns scrapped PSLE and were none the worse for it, said Workers' Party Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong, who must have broken some sort of record yesterday on the number of times a member rose to speak in one session.

Tantalisingly, the Finnish model ensures no assessment based on grades or marks is allowed for any student below 12 years old, noted Mr Lien.

The result is 'less homework, more creative play and critical thinking', concluded NMP Tan Su Shan, yet the Finns continue to produce leading student scores globally.

Well, if MPs thought they were going to get anywhere with these pithy suggestions, they were wrong.

Cool as a cucumber, and with a gentle and polite insistence that has come to be his trademark, Mr Heng suggested to the House that the problem lay less with the system, than with those who use it.

South Korea abolished exams, but that did not remove the pressure on students, he noted.

Yes, Primary 1 registration is a vexing exercise for parents, he agreed - but people have argued equally fiercely for and against every admission rule.

The most sustainable solution to the near hysteria that accompanies the yearly exercise, Mr Heng argued, was for every school to be a 'good school' and perceived as such.

And tuition?

Again a matter of perception about what works and what doesn't, said the minister, adding that he recently met a 'lovely couple' whose primary school children didn't take tuition but were still doing very well in school.

'I said, 'What do you do with them?' and they said: 'Well, we spend a lot of time with them, not just on academic work but as loving parents.'

'And I said: 'That's wonderful!''

Heartwarming as it was, I doubt that Mr Heng's little anecdote - or his factually based defence of the Singapore system - would soothe the army of anxious parents out there, or any of the MPs they must have vociferously complained to.

The failure on both sides to really connect was a pity, really, because the Ministry of Education has, in truth, made real and tangible improvements to the school system that too often end up flying under the radar. Mr Heng made another gallant attempt at summarising them yesterday.

He said that the ministry is not just levelling up students within a school through financial help schemes and special classes for weak students, but also levelling up schools within the system so that 'every school is a good school'.

Not a lot of people know, for example, that over the past five years, every school in Singapore has added 10 teachers on average to its staff, as well as six allied educators.

Another point that often gets lost in the jargon of 'edu-speak' is that the ministry has established many 'pathways to excellence'.

This means starting new types of schools that specialise in the arts or sports, for example, as well as spreading specialist programmes across existing schools, so that success in education isn't equated with getting into a brand-name institution like Raffles or Hwa Chong.

The ministry also pledged yesterday to do more work at the two opposite ends of a child's education cycle - increasing the number and variety of university places, as well as the standards of preschool education.

How can the ministry and parents stop talking at cross purposes? How can it win them round to its view that 'fixing the system' is more than just a matter of tweaking school structures and rules, but requires a more deep-seated change in how society values education, and how this is conveyed to the young?

This is critical. For Mr Heng surely knows that the real challenge for his ministry is to reach out to parents and make them better understand the import of the changes he is making to the system. Only then will their behaviour start to shift.

Unless that happens, education policy debates might well continue to be summed up this way: 'good effort, but could do better'.

More student care centres to be set up
Income ceilings raised so that more children qualify for aid schemes
By Amelia Tan, The Straits Times, 9 Mar 2012

THIRTEEN more student care centres will be set up in primary schools to benefit more needy students. This will raise the number of such centres to 70 in two years' time.

They are where pupils, mainly from low-income families, are given meals and supervised on their schoolwork.

Most are run by voluntary welfare organisations and the average non-subsidised fee is $230 a month but poor parents can pay as little as $20 a month for their children to spend around six hours a day at the centre after school.

For most, their fees are subsidised by the Government, and this year, it is extending the help to more families by raising the qualifying income ceiling.

It will be lifted from $2,500 to $3,500 a month.

This will reduce the fee paid by say, a family earning $3,000 a month, from $200 to $125 per month.

More details of the subsidy will be given today by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports.

The move to make student care centres affordable for more families is among several measures the Government is introducing to help needy students get a leg up, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat in Parliament yesterday.

Essentially, it has raised the qualifying income ceiling of several aid programmes to open the door to more students.

For the Edusave Merit Bursary, the new ceiling is $5,000 a month, up from $4,000.

It will benefit an additional 10,000 students, bringing the total to 40,000. They will receive cash awards ranging from $200 to $500 a year.

Mr Heng set out these changes in his reply to MPs, who had asked what his ministry is doing to help students from needy homes go further in life.

Ms Irene Ng (Tampines GRC) said teachers play an important role in helping such students. She cited a Qiaonan Primary pupil who was badly affected by his parents' divorce. His teachers took him under their wings and he made the grade to enter secondary school.

Mr Baey Yam Keng (Tampines GRC) noted how potential dropouts from disadvantaged families would bloom when mentored by adults.

These stories led Mr Heng to cite Kheng Cheng School in Toa Payoh to illustrate how schools help their needy pupils by tapping on various schemes and programmes.

He visited it recently and found that teachers would contact parents of new pupils within three days to identify the needy ones. The school would tap on the Trips for International Experience Fund and the Opportunity Fund to help these pupils pay for special programmes.

Also, weaker pupils are taught in smaller classes to bring them up to speed in their schoolwork.

Said Mr Heng: 'It is not just about money, but an integrated approach, addressing financial, socio-emotional and learning support, in partnership with parents and the broader community.'

In the case of the MOE's Financial Assistance Scheme for primary, secondary, junior college and centralised institute students, the income ceiling is going up from $1,500 to $2,500 a month.

This will double the number of beneficiaries from 40,000 to 80,000. They will have their school fees waived, receive a 75 per cent subsidy for fees for national examinations, and be given free uniforms and textbooks.

Beyond these programmes, there is another avenue. Students can get help in cash or kind from their school advisory or school management committees, which will get $15,000 more a year for the next three years.

Both parents and educators cheered the intensified effort to help the needy.

Widow Koh Bie In, who earns $800 a month as a childcare centre cook, pays $20 a month for her daughter Michelle to attend the student care centre at MacPherson Primary.

The 11-year-old is one of the top primary five pupils.

Said Madam Koh: 'I don't have to worry about my daughter being on her own. But more importantly she gets help with her schoolwork.'

S$3.6m help for dyslexic students
By Sharon See, Channel NewsAsia, 8 Mar 2012

The Education Ministry is piloting a S$3.6 million school-based dyslexia programme in 20 mainstream primary schools.

The programme will target Primary 3 pupils identified through a screening process by the end of Primary 2.

It's part of the ministry's efforts to improve the quality, accessibility and affordability of special education (SPED).

Primary 3 student Lee Wei Jun had trouble understanding what he was reading because there were a lot of words he could not decipher.

Late last year, he was assessed to be dyslexic. But he is now improving, thanks to a special class taught by an Allied Educator, who is helping him visualise what he is reading.

The lessons, conducted four times a week outside school hours, are part of the school-based pilot programme.

Previously, students with dyslexia who needed more help could go for extra classes conducted by the Dyslexia Association of Singapore. But the Education Ministry said many of the younger students have found it difficult to travel to these centres for special classes outside of school hours.

Ms Junainah Sadar, Allied Educator (Learning & Behavioral Support) at Greenridge Primary School, said: "There's a close partnership between parents, teachers and us. Because it's school-based, the level of communication is very tight."

The ministry will also streamline the application process for special education (SPED) schools by setting up a Multi-Agency Advisory Panel.

The panel will develop a standard application process for all 20 such schools.

"With the standard application process, parents would not have to make multiple applications to different SPED schools - only one will be required. We aim to implement this fully by October 2012," said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education Sim Ann in Parliament on Thursday.

Turning to affordability, as announced in Budget 2012, the household income ceiling for the SPED Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) will be raised from S$1,500 to S$2,500.

Larger families with per capita income of S$625 or less will also be eligible for the revised SPED FAS. About 1,500 SPED students are expected to benefit from the enhanced FAS, up from 600 students who benefit from the existing FAS.

Students on the SPED FAS will receive a full waiver of school fees, free textbooks and uniforms and a 75% waiver of examination fees.

Ms Sim Ann also explained how the Education Ministry plans to improve the quality of teaching and learning in SPED schools.

She said the ministry has already been actively expanding training opportunities for SPED teachers.

"All untrained teachers who join SPED schools have to undergo a one-year full-time training programme at NIE, leading to the Diploma in Special Education (DISE)," said Ms Sim Ann.

"Senior teachers and Heads of Departments in SPED schools can acquire management skills in the NIE Management and Leadership in Schools (MLS) programme. We also offer scholarships to SPED teachers to pursue Masters degrees at both NIE and overseas universities."

"We are exploring the possibility of working with overseas partners to offer a SPED undergraduate degree programme," added Ms Sim Ann.

Besides teacher training, the curriculum development in SPED schools will also be strengthened.

A draft Curriculum Framework launched last November, which specifies a set of Education Outcomes and Learning Standards that SPED students should attain after 12 years of education, will be developed further.

Curriculum Leadership Teams will also be formed in all SPED schools.

The Education Ministry is also looking at ways to retain talent in the sector so that expertise and knowledge can be continually built up.

She said: "MOE will support NCSS (National Council of Social Services) and VWOs in reviewing salaries in SPED schools, so that schools can continue to attract and retain talented and committed teachers, Allied Health Professionals and other staff members. Additional funding will be available for SPED schools to effect salary increases this year."

And with the recent announcement to extend the Special Employment Credit to SPED graduates, Ms Sim said the ministry will also focus on more ways to prepare these students for future employment.

Fewer scholarships for foreign undergrads?
By Amelia Tan, The Straits Times 8 Mar 2012

MR BAEY Yam Keng, an MP for Tampines GRC, yesterday called on the Government to reduce the number of undergraduate scholarships given to foreigners.

It hands out about 1,000 each year.

Mr Baey said he was not asking for the Government to 'turn off the tap for foreign students'. Rather, he wanted Education Minister Heng Swee Keat to review the scholarship scheme for foreigners and allocate more resources to Singaporeans who were needy or had good results.

He told the House he could understand how Singaporeans felt about losing university places to foreigners, as he had been in their shoes.

After his A levels, he applied to the National University of Singapore's medical faculty. He was rejected.

He found out later that two of his classmates from Malaysia and Hong Kong, whose A-level results were not as good as his, were admitted to the medical faculty.

Mr Baey, 41, also called on organisations to check the comments scholarship applicants make on social media platforms, for a thorough background check on them.

Recently, a Chinese undergraduate scholarship holder made insensitive comments about Singaporeans on his microblog.

Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong said he was 'uncomfortable' that only 67 per cent of foreign scholars graduated from the universities with high honours.

He suggested the Government cut the intake by one-third, to admit only those with the potential to get high honours.

He noted: 'I am sure the Public Service Commission sets high standards for our local scholars.'

Minister of State for Education Lawrence Wong said his ministry will continue to control the intake of international students, and over time they will form a smaller proportion of the student body.

'Over time, the international students will form a smaller proportion of our student body. But we must manage this carefully and find the right balance,' he said.

International students, he said, added diversity to student life and gave Singaporeans a chance to interact and study in a cross-cultural environment.

The Education Ministry had earlier announced that the proportion of foreign students will fall further to 15 per cent by 2015 from the current 18 per cent, even as more places are created for Singaporeans.

Debate over giving cash for showing good values
Some worry it promotes materialism, while others say it sends message that values are vital
By Stacey Chia, The Straits Times, 10 Mar 2012

THIS is one instance where some people feel monetary rewards are not appropriate. While many welcome the new Education Ministry's Edusave Character Award, they question the need to link a cash value to it.

Education Minister Heng Swee Keat said in Parliament on Thursday that teachers can nominate students for the award, which will be launched this year.

The yearly award comes with a cash sum of $200 to $500. Up to 10,000 students are expected to get it every year.

The award is in line with the Education Ministry's push to promote values in schools.

But the move has prompted concerns that the award, which is supposed to encourage people to demonstrate good values, may backfire and promote materialism instead.

National University of Singapore sociologist Tan Ern Ser said praise from authority figures and acceptance by group members should be sufficient rewards for good character.

'Extrinsic rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation to do good. One may end up doing something just for the monetary rewards, without a real change of character,' he added.

A parent, Madam Yvonne Lim, 39, feels that verbal recognition is good enough.

'I don't want my child growing up doing things only when he will be rewarded with money,' she said.

Psychologist Geraldine Tan from the Centre for Effective Living said she normally recommends parents avoid giving incentives such as money and food.

She noted that there were also students who did good passively and that it would be difficult to accurately identify those deserving of the award.

'You should not be able to put a fixed value on things like good character,' said Ms Tan.

Mr Dennis Ang, 35, a former junior college teacher, said many students are already doing charitable work, and without a reward.

'It seems more like a formality to me but it's good. There will need to be guidelines to aid the selection process,' he said.

Psychologist Daniel Koh from Insights Mind Centre said people in general respond better to positive reinforcements, but the award should not be made glamorous 'because it takes away the basic principle - to help and not to show'.

There was also a lively discussion on The Straits Times Facebook page.

Ms Serene Chew posted that such an award gives people the impression that good behaviour will be rewarded with money.

'Is this really the way to teach or encourage our next generation to have the right values and expectations in life?'

In a response to queries from The Straits Times, a Ministry of Education spokesman said the new award is to send a strong signal of the importance of values and character development.

'Similar to the other Edusave awards, the monetary award serves as encouragement but is not meant to reduce character and values to a dollar figure,' the spokesman added.

But some applaud the move to give the cash award.

Mr Richard Chew, principal of Yusof Ishak Secondary School, said it is like any other cash award, which students can use to supplement their education.

'The Edusave Scholarship award and Eagles award are also monetary awards; this shows that values are given just as much importance by the ministry,' he added.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education, shares similar views.

He said he supports the award as it is one way to keep the importance of character and values in the minds of educators, students and parents.

'Perhaps money doesn't have to be attached to it, but it's something that will probably need fine-tuning in time.'

Mrs Jenny Yeo, principal of South View Primary School, said she does not oppose a monetary incentive.

She recalled that a pupil once donated $500 from his Edusave Scholarship award of $800 to the school.

'Selection will be stringent and I believe they will use the money wisely,' she added.

Cash for character sends a wrong signal
Monetary awards for students cheapen the natural drive to do good

By Sandra Davie, The Straits Times, 13 Mar 2012

EDUCATION Minister Heng Swee Keat announced a new Edusave award last Thursday - one that he hopes will encourage character building in young Singaporeans. Teachers will nominate students for the annual Edusave Character Awards to be given to those who demonstrate exemplary values and civic responsibility through their behaviour and actions.

Each year, up to 10,000 students are expected to win the award which comes with a cash sum of $200 to $500.

Mr Heng announced that the ministry will also increase the value and double the number of Eagles awards. These are given to those who display leadership or excel in non-academic work, such as in co-curricular activities. About 17,000 students receive the award now. The sums will be raised: from $150 and $200 to sums between $250 and $500, for primary pupils all the way to Institute of Technical Education students.

Like most people who have commented on the initiatives, I welcome the Eagles award for recognising students who excel in the non-academic areas.

I also welcome the principle behind the new character education awards, as this allows schools to recognise exemplary behaviour and hold up role models. As an Education Ministry spokesman said: 'Similar to the other Edusave awards, the monetary award serves as encouragement but is not meant to reduce character and values to a dollar figure.'

But having a cash amount for such an award may inadvertently end up doing exactly that - raising a citizen who expects cash for good behaviour. It sends all the wrong signals.

First, cash rewards turn good behaviour into work. It sends the message that if they are paid for it, then it must be work. Students may also conclude that showing kindness must be difficult or noteworthy, as they are rewarded for it.

A school principal related the instances of good behaviour for which some of her students were rewarded with book vouchers. One student was rewarded for helping an old lady cross the road. Another, for helping a classmate on crutches.

'Aren't these acts of kindness something that should come naturally to all your students? Why the need to reward them with vouchers?' I asked her.

I hope the character education awards given out to students will not be for acts such as returning money found in the school field or helping a disabled classmate. I was brought up to believe that helping others was my duty - and would be loath to have a new generation taught that helping others deserves a cash award.

Giving money to students for character and good behaviour also creates in students a sense of entitlement: They may come to expect to be paid for doing something they should already be doing. It could lead them to expect rewards and recognition when they follow school rules or don't talk in class.

Worst of all, cash rewards cheapen the intrinsic motivation to do good. Good behaviour carries its own reward because it offers students self-respect, confidence, and the feeling of being part of a class grouping or school body that needs and appreciates them.

Rather than resort to giving money, schools and parents can be a little more creative in coming up with ways to reward exemplary behaviour.

Most psychologists and parenting experts would agree that giving recognition encourages desirable behaviour.

Schools and parents can capitalise on young people's natural desire to be praised and get recognition, by highlighting exemplary deeds in class or in the community, and holding up such students as role models to their peers.

A very simple device for teachers is to write a note home, as my primary school teacher used to do. If I performed a good deed, my teacher would note my good behaviour in a 'character report card', to take home to my parents. The teacher would write down in detail what I did and attach a gold star to it.

I still remember how thrilled I was to receive one of these notes for helping a classmate in composition writing.

There was the initial presentation of the note in class, which brought applause and appreciation from my classmates. Psychologists will say that the use of such group rituals is a very good way of recognising and rewarding desirable behaviour.

A second round of positive stroking came when I went home and showed my parents the note. And because it was displayed on the dining table, I received further praise and reinforcement when friends and relatives visited my home.

Buoyed by that experience, I started offering free English tuition to my classmate and her two siblings regularly.

It was a simple note, but one that had real value that lasted. I suspect the feeling would have been different if I had been given money or a book voucher.

Cash is not always the best way to recognise students for their efforts.

As it is, many schools already have simple, effective ways to promote good, kindly behaviour - such as awarding students collar pins and certificates.

Some school heads have said they intend to keep their school-based awards that recognise character and good behaviour, and make the Edusave cash awards the pinnacle awards. This is wise.

I would go even further. I would prefer the ministry to keep its cash awards and come up with other more meaningful ways to recognise good values. For a start, they can encourage schools to come up with school-level awards and fund programmes that do this.

And for the Ministry of Education (MOE)-level Edusave Character Awards, a trophy or medal might suffice. It could be presented at an annual ceremony, perhaps with a video or a booklet that documents some noteworthy acts of character or that shares inspiring stories of students' good or brave deeds.

There is no shortage of creative ways to recognise character and promote the inculcation of good values in schools.

A cash cheque is not the best option.

Edusave Character Award as vital and valuable as its academic equivalent: MOE

WE THANK senior writer Sandra Davie ('Cash for character sends a wrong signal'; Tuesday) and readers for their feedback on the new Edusave Character Award, and for the opportunity to reiterate the rationale behind it.

The Ministry of Education's (MOE) aim is to provide a holistic education to all our students, centred on the inculcation of values and character.

We are glad that many parents and members of the community agree with us about the importance of character and values. Currently, there is a range of Edusave awards that recognise outstanding students in each school, such as the Edusave Scholarship.

However, these are primarily based on academic achievements. This is why we introduced the Edusave Character Award, and pegged it at the same level as the Edusave Scholarship. The objective is to send a clear and strong signal of the importance that the MOE places on character and values, on a par with achievements in the academic domain.

The Edusave Character Award will recognise a small number of students in each school who are exemplary in character, and who can inspire others as role models.

For instance, these may be students who have shown resilience and have done well despite their difficult circumstances.

The monetary award can be used by students for their educational needs, such as books and stationery. Our school leaders and teachers are very mindful of the need to foster the intrinsic motivation of their students to do good deeds.

Indeed, the building of character and inculcation of sound values are part of the important work that our schools do on a daily basis. Many schools have already devised their own ways of recognising good character and exemplary values in their students.

Taken together with other initiatives, such as the reframing of the Community Involvement Programme as 'Values in Action' and the integration of Character and Citizenship Education in all aspects of the curriculum, the Edusave Character Award is part of the MOE's ongoing effort to provide a more holistic educational experience for all our students.

We will continue to work closely with parents and the community on this journey.

Dr Cheong Wei Yang
Director, Planning Division
Ministry of Education
ST Forum, 17 Mar 2012

Strict criteria for character award
By Amelia Tan, The Straits Times, 20 Mar 2012

STUDENTS who are given the new Edusave Character Award would have come through a rigorous selection process, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat said yesterday.

He said it was important that schools prevent the process from degenerating into 'a contest among students to show who is better'. He added that getting the award was not a matter of a student simply having helped someone cross the road, but would be the result of 'key factors' having been considered. The schools and his ministry will work together to set up the criteria.

The minister was speaking to reporters, who asked him to respond to readers who had written in to the Forum page of this newspaper to say giving a cash award to students who had carried out praiseworthy deeds diminished the value of those deeds. The Education Ministry announced this month that up to 10,000 students each year could expect cash sums of between $200 and $500 for being of good character.

Mr Heng said yesterday: 'The award should not detract from the fact that doing good should come from intrinsic motivation, and it should be seen in relation to all the other things that we are doing to promote this 'values and character' education.'

Shaping character is everyone's job

Editorial, The Straits Times, 19 Mar 2012

THE cash that comes with the Edusave Character Awards for students, announced recently by Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, is just a token, of course, and does not diminish the intent of recognising worthy actions by putting a dollar value to them. However, the flurry of comments that followed the announcement point to what might lie ahead as discussions grow around the formidable task of character and citizenship education, described aptly by Mr Heng as the 'most difficult' to teach well. First, the widespread interest and contributions of the community as a whole will be essential for the sustained development of strategies and practical programmes geared for different groups. Second, the tone and tenor of the discussions that take place will matter - for example, whether philosophical divides will surface on how to balance individualism and teamwork. Not least, all should be able to constantly see the wood - namely the desired outcomes of character education - for the trees.

The new programme will bring together Civics and Moral Education, National Education, and Social and Emotional Learning. But schools alone certainly cannot build character and citizenship, as many have noted. Ultimately, parents and the immediate family circle might well have the most profound impact on the young.

On the push for imparting lasting values, some educators are frank in their admission of doubts, as observed by a National Institute of Education professor: 'Teachers come to me and say, 'I'm embarrassed, I'm not sure if I'm practising the values that I'm teaching'.' This is a central question that all parents ought to address, as it will be futile to tell the young to 'follow what I say and not what I do'. Serving as a role model for the young at home becomes all the more important as their world is often dominated by celebrities and popular culture that convey antithetical values. For example, a role model like Bobby Charlton is hopelessly outnumbered by others in the spotlight like Ryan Giggs and Carlos Tevez. Parents can help counter the influences of media personalities by quietly and steadfastly demonstrating the values that guide their own actions. It takes considerable time and effort to build character, of course - one more task on a parent's already long list of priorities. But it is not something that can be left to schools alone, or left to chance.

As former US president Theodore Roosevelt observed: 'Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.'

Related
FY 2012 Committee of Supply Debate: 1st Reply by Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Education on Student-Centric, Values-Driven Education: Nurturing an Inclusive and Stronger Singapore

FY2012 Committee of Supply Debate: 2nd Reply by Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Education, on a Leading Post-Secondary Education Sector for an Inclusive and Stronger Singapore

MOE to Enhance Financial Assistance and Learning Support to Benefit More Students

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Signalling Importance of Holistic Education: Changes to Edusave Awards