Tag: MOE

How Have Ong Ye Kung And Ng Chee Meng Showed Themselves Worthy Of Promotion To Full Ministers?

Two new ministers, Ong Ye Kung and Ng Chee Meng ascended to heaven, pardon me, appointed ministers 1 year after they were elected MPs. What have they proven in that 1 year – nothing except the usual political obfuscation and motherhood speeches.

The former can even be said to have failed first time round back in 2011 – only be reassigned to a shoo-in in 2015.

Like many of the next generation ministers, unproven in a one for one in an election contest and within the PAP uncontested for the ministerial positions they have now been appointed to. From this, the overweening sense of entitlement springs.

Well if you are an MP and especially if one who have serve 2 or more terms, would you not be mightily pissed off? This says service to the nation, ideas, hardwork for the constituents if that way inclined, ambitions for oneself, and fellow citizens, count for nothing so these products of the faux meritocracy based on nothing much more than a set of examination results get an automatic entrance to the cabinet.

The party leader don’t seem even to deem necessary to address the MPs of the merits of these appointments. Forget that the annointed ones even feel the need to persuade the MPs they are deserving. To top it off, the anointed ones will chose the new Prime Minister and the MPs will just have to nod and agree.

Woeful is our bunch of PAP MPs. What utter contempt. That’s what it means to be taken for granted. It is the consequence for being slavishly obedient and being unable or unwilling to stand out. Maybe that part-time job.is just too well paid. Maybe serving the nation is confused with being a nodding head.

* Loyalty to party is a prerequisite to get selected but not to the extent of slavish obedience and lack of dissent. The PAP stands out for not having dissent, very unusual for politics involving alpha-males and queen bees. Or there is no public airing of dissent – also not good for understanding the choices before the nation.

Facebook post by Chris Kuan

Source: www.tremeritus.com

October 30, 2016
Working After School Hours Part Of ‘Service’

I see Madam Tay Lee Chuan’s proposal (“MOE should control teachers’ working hours”; Thursday) as unrealistic, from a service and practical standpoint.

For a start, to blame the principal for pushing staff to work beyond school hours is ignoring the fact that most of the time, the principal himself also attends to after-school activities and is, therefore, not immune to putting in extra hours during week nights and weekends.

The school is providing a service, with its customers being primarily the students who are minors, and the parents. Students need constant chaperoning.

Parents pick schools with the “best service” to maximise the potential of their children. They have a strong preference for schools with the best results in major exams and strong showing at co-curricular activity (CCA) competitions, which means extra class time and training to boost results.

Most parents have full-time jobs and are not able to attend meet-the-parents sessions or student performances during normal school hours. Therefore, it is not realistic to have such sessions during weekday school hours.

As a grassroots leader, I am also aware that in many yearly major events organised by community centres, the nearby schools are invited to showcase talents, for example, in the performing arts.

This will involve students and teachers putting in extra effort to prepare or rehearse after school. This will benefit students, giving them better CCA grading and outside-the-classroom learning experiences.

All this comes at a price for everyone involved.

Quite often, schools will do their best to ask parent volunteers to chaperone or help out at such extra school activities, but few actually turn up.

Therefore, more teachers are needed on such occasions.

If the Education Ministry can train more teachers to replace those who resign, why not use the same effort to cut class size and share the work load?

Source: The Straits Times

October 11, 2016
Ex-Teacher Jailed For Tricking 13 Year Old Girl To Send Nude Photos

To those who knew him, Kuang Liang Yong was a married secondary school teacher with two young children.

But behind that respectable facade lurked a sexual predator who set out to snare naive young girls.

He took on different personas and spun a web of lies to flatter them or gain their sympathy so that he could sexually exploit them.

And he was patient and persistent.

To manipulate a 13-year-old girl into sending him 57 nude photos and videos of herself, he kept in touch with her for almost two years while pretending to be an accident victim with erectile dysfunction.

When he later turned his sights on a Primary 6 schoolgirl, who was his daughter’s schoolmate, he pretended to be a boy the same age as her.

He never met his two victims, relying only on text messages to communicate with them.

Kuang’s devious deeds came to light when the second girl’s father made a police report after finding out about his text messages to her.

His mobile phone was later found to contain evidence that incriminated him over the sexual exploitation of his first victim.

Yesterday, Kuang, 47, was jailed for 22 months after he pleaded guilty last month to three charges of getting a minor to commit an indecent act under the Children And Young Persons Act, and one count under the Protection From Harassment Act.

Kuang, who resigned from his teaching post at Admiralty Secondary School after his arrest, was also fined $500 for disorderly behaviour towards a police officer at his home.

ADORABLE

Court papers said Kuang met his first victim, who cannot be named because of a gag order, in early 2012 while he was with his wife and two children at Sun Plaza shopping centre in Sembawang.

After overhearing her tell the counter staff she had lost her mobile phone, Kuang approached her to offer his phone so she could call hers.

But his true intention was to get her phone number.

After his arrest, he told the authorities that he found her adorable and had taken a liking to her, despite knowing that she was only 13.

Between February 2012 and December 2013, Kuang communicated with her via WhatsApp using the moniker “Sean Romeo”.

The chat log between them was so long that it totalled more than 400 pages, the court heard.

When he first contacted her, he lied that he had got her number and name from her friends, and claimed he was interested in her.

He would chat with her about sex, telling her things like: “I want you to make love with me, forever…”

While she said she had not even kissed a boy and intended to remain a virgin until marriage, Kuang suggested that she do sexually explicit acts, such as send him nude photos or videos of herself in the shower.

In August 2012, he lied that a road accident had left him with erectile dysfunction and depression.

He peppered her with messages – often lengthy ones – and their conversations grew more explicit. (See report, below, for some of his less explicit messages.)

At some point, he told the girl that a doctor said he needed to look at photographs of young girls – particularly aged 12 to 16 – regularly to recover from his erectile dysfunction.

She finally relented and sent him 57 nude photographs of herself and videos of her doing sexual acts, despite being uncomfortable while doing so.

In return, he told her that he considered her his girlfriend and wife from the day she started sending him these obscene materials.

In time, she became frustrated because she knew nothing about him.

JAILED: Kuang Liang Yong was sentenced to 22 months’ jail. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES

She even visited the address where “Sean Romeo” lived, only to be told there was no such person.

Distressed and heartbroken, she contacted Kuang and threatened to cut herself with penknives.

The last time Kuang contacted her was on Christmas Day in 2013, when he asked her for the phone numbers of three of her female friends.

She refused, and Kuang stopped texting her, even though she sporadically messaged him to tell him that she missed him and hoped to speak to him again.

Two years later, his lust had found a new target, which would prove to be his downfall. (See report, right.)

NEIGHBOUR

When The New Paper went to his Admiralty Drive HDB flat yesterday afternoon, no one answered the door.

A neighbour, who declined to be named, said: “He’s always very friendly, very polite… He seemed an okay person. Every time I see him with his wife and two children, they were very nice to everyone.”

She said Kuang told her he had stopped teaching, citing health issues, about two months ago.

“I’m just shocked,” she said.

– Additional reporting by Joseph Lee

Second victim was daughter’s schoolmate

Two years after sexually exploiting a girl, Kuang Liang Yong turned his attention to a second victim.

None of the victims can be named due to a gag order.

In August last year, he obtained his second victim’s phone number from social networking platform Ask.fm after she replied to a question he had posted.

Kuang went through her social media profile and discovered that she attended the same primary school as his daughter.

He had seen the girl a few times when he picked his daughter up from school.

Masquerading as a Primary 6 pupil, he contacted the girl via WhatsApp, using the moniker “Guardian Angel”.

Between August and September last year, Kuang persistently sent the girl lengthy text messages, telling her she was very pretty and that he loved her. He would text her throughout the day, even in the early hours of the morning.

If she did not reply, he would lie to her that he was “on the verge of breaking down”, was heartbroken, or feeling “worse than death itself”.

He also kept an eye out for her whenever he took his daughter to and from school.

On Aug 27, he texted her, indicating that he might have been stalking her: “Juz reached home? Todae u took longer than usual cos u left with (a friend) around 10.43am or something like that.”

The girl was uncomfortable with his messages because she did not know who he was.

Her father found out about Kuang’s text messages and called Kuang’s number. When he heard a man answering the call, he was worried about his daughter’s safety.

He made a police report on Sept 6 last year and two officers went to Kuang’s HDB flat 10 days later. When one of them asked for his mobile phone, Kuang became hostile and started shouting. He was arrested, and his phone was seized.

Excerpts of what he said

TO THE FIRST VICTIM:

AUG 26, 2012:

“I can’t walk right now… neither could I talk… Only the girl who genuinely loves me and is loved by me can help me… by showing me her sexy or nude pictures of herself.”

(A few sentences later)

“I’m a useless man… Can’t talk with u, can’t walk or run with u, can’t protect u… and more importantly, can’t even make love with u… how to tell u that I love u when I can’t even.”

(A few more sentences later)

“Remember u told me u were ready and can send me your pics bathing in the bathroom yesterday afternoon? I was so happy cos that shows how much u love me and how important I am to u.”

SEPT 12, 2012:

“I already lost my voice, my ability to walk (and) ability to have sex… If u don’t even want to text me… I rather die… No point no hope… Everything lost…”

JUNE 20, 2013:

“U said u can help n send me pics n video everyday. Perhaps u have sent n I did not receive ba. Haiz… Poor me still thinking got gal waiting for me to erect so can make love one day.”

TO THE SECOND VICTIM:

AUG 29, 2015:

“U were initially wearing a PE shirt n blouse n I guess it got too warm and uncomfortable for u n u decide to just go with your shorts. U were still as stunning as ever. Though your sweat trickled down your chin, u still easily stood out as the most sporty and pretty gal amongst your group of friends.”

SEPT 2, 2015:

“I was like behind the wall where u stood waiting for ur parents juz now… silly me right?”

TNP PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

Judge: He exploited naive young girl

He was a middle-aged secondary school teacher who masqueraded as someone else to sexually exploit a naive and ingenuous young girl.

That was how District Judge Terence Tay described ex-teacher Kuang Liang Yong during sentencing yesterday.

He said Kuang had persuaded his first victim, who said she had never kissed a boy before, to photograph or take a video of herself doing explicit sexual acts so he could satisfy his sexual appetite.

He also said he was particularly disturbed that Kuang had tried to broaden his sphere of influence by asking the victim for the phone numbers of three other young girls.

As for the second victim, the judge said the facts clearly demonstrate the premeditation and deliberate intent of Kuang’s actions, and a jail term was warranted.

He rejected the defence’s plea for Kuang to be placed on a mandatory treatment order.

Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Amanda Chong had called for Kuang to be jailed for more than 20 months.

She said he had embarked on a sustained campaign of deception and emotional manipulation in order to elicit the first victim’s sympathy.

She added that the offence would have been difficult to detect if Kuang had not been nabbed for stalking the second victim.

A Ministry of Education (MOE) spokesman said yesterday that the ministry takes a serious view of misconduct by educators, who are held to high professional standards.

The spokesman, who was replying to The New Paper’s queries, added that anyone involved in serious misconduct would not be allowed to remain in service.

“We have a stringent selection regime for teachers. We also have regular platforms to emphasise our high expectations. The ministry works closely with schools to safeguard the well-being of our students,” he said.

The spokesman added that only a very small minority of the teaching force had fallen short of the expected standards.

Source: www.tnp.sg

October 8, 2016
Juliana Johari – Satu-Satunya Guru Melayu Terima Anugerah Presiden

Seorang guru bahasa Melayu menerima Anugerah Presiden bagi Guru yang disampaikan oleh Presiden Tony Tan Keng Yam di Istana hari ini (1 September).

Cik Juliana Johari dari Sekolah Rendah Qihua merupakan salah seorang daripada enam penerima anugerah tersebut.

Mereka dipilih daripada 2,557 guru yang dicalonkan untuk anugerah tersebut pada tahun ini.

Para penerima anugerah diiktiraf atas dedikasi mereka kepada pembangunan holistik murid-murid mereka melalui pendekatan yang inovatif.

Sebagai peran contoh, mereka juga berkhidmat sebagai pelajar sepanjang hayat dan mentor kepada rakan-rakan sekerja mereka.

Penerima anugerah itu dipilih oleh sebuah panel yang dipengerusikan oleh Cik Denise Phua, pengerusi Jawatankuasa Parlimen Pemerintah bagi Pendidikan.

Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

September 2, 2016
Private Schools Need MOE Permission To Admit Singaporean Children

The Ministry of Education (MOE) is keeping a closer watch on children who are not part of the mainstream school system.

Previously, permission from MOE was needed only for Singaporean children who wished to be homeschooled or attend Foreign System Schools such as the Singapore American School.

But smaller, full-time private schools, some of which base their programmes on overseas education models, will also now need to get permission from MOE if they wish to admit Singapore citizens at the primary and secondary levels.

The Sunday Times understands that at least six private schools here are affected by the new rule.

These include Victory Life Christian School (VLCS), Heritage Academy and TLS Academy, all private schools offering the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) curriculum widely adopted in the US. All are registered with the Council for Private Education, and admit a mix of local and foreign students.

Asked about the new rule, MOE would say only that it “would like all Singaporean children to attend our mainstream schools to acquire a common set of core values, knowledge and skills”.

Mrs Jan Boey, 62, VLCS’ founder, said she worried about the new rule at first but now welcomes it after seeing that Singapore students who do not fit the mainstream can still be admitted to the school.

“MOE wants national education for all Singapore citizens. It is good for the ministry to know which are the students who pull out from the mainstream, and that there is a place where students who cannot fit into the system can turn to,” she said.

Under the Compulsory Education Act, a child must attend a national primary school. Only those with special needs or attending designated religious schools – the six madrasahs for primary school-going children and San Yu Adventist School – may be exempted.

The period of compulsory education is limited to Primary 6. On average, there have been about 50 homeschooled children per cohort in the past five years, the MOE said.

VLCS, located in Balestier Point, has grown from having only 17 students in 2002 to about 130 now. There are currently 42 Singaporean students enrolled in grades seven to 12. They earn an American high school diploma based on their school credits and can take the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

Mrs Boey said: “Some parents feel that their children need a safer environment that teaches values alongside religious education.

“Other children were bullied in school, and did not like going to school, and their parents had to look for an alternative.”

Last month, three Singaporean siblings who relocated here after growing up in Japan were given the nod by the MOE to join VLCS.

Mrs Candy Yim, a missionary in her 40s, said she decided to send her three children, aged 12 to 15, to VLCS even though they had considered public schools.

“The standards of English in Singapore are very high, compared to Japan, and my son would have entered the Normal (Technical) stream if he joined a public school.

“Under the ACE curriculum, the students can get school credit for Japanese, and the Christian environment is also good for them.”

Heritage Academy in Yishun will welcome its first students soon. Most students are foreigners from regional countries, though a few Singaporean parents have asked about its secondary curriculum.

Said education policy expert Jason Tan of the National Institute of Education: “Mainstream education is seen as a prime means of socialising young people and preparing them for adulthood. The authorities want to regularly monitor students who are not part of the mainstream system. Even one child who slips through the cracks could be one child too many.”

Source: The Straits Times

August 16, 2016