Bilingual policy re-affirmed

EDUCATION Minister Ng Eng Hen on Tuesday spent much time re-affirming Singapore's bilingual policy, especially the teaching of the Chinese language, the subject of much discussion in recent months.

The policy remains relevant for economic and cultural reasons, as bilingual skills will benefit the children given the rise of Asia, he said.

But it has to be re-calibrated to cope with what he called an 'inexorable change' in the language environment in homes, with six in 10 Primary 1 Chinese students speaking English at home now, he noted.

Six in 10 Indian pupils and 3.5 in 10 Malay pupils are also using English predominantly with family members.

He made it clear that those who can excel in the Chinese language will have the opportunity to do so. If more students want this, he would even add a new Special Assistance Plan (SAP) school to the present 25 which teach the language at a higher level.

But accepting change also means that for the rest of the students, expectations, teaching methods and even tests have to be re-calibrated to keep the language alive and useful.