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Pri 1 maths syllabus to be tweaked from next year

NG JING YNG
jingyng@mediacorp.com.sg

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Singapore Pupils entering primary school next year will be given more breathing room to grasp basic numeracy skills with the Ministry of Education (MOE) planning to drop part of the Primary 1 mathematics syllabus as part of its regular curriculum review. A ministry spokesperson told Today that minor changes will kick in from next years Primary 1 cohort. For instance, Primary 1 students will no longer learn about measuring and comparing objects physical mass through the use of non-standard units like paper clips and apples. They will also not be taught about 3D shapes. They will instead learn about the orientation of objects such as whether they are facing left or right or pointing up or down. These minor changes improve the sequence of the topics being taught without increase in content, added the spokesperson. In tandem with these changes, the

The syllabus is already very tight for Primary 1 and doing away with some topics will allow for more breathing space It is important to have a strong foundation so that it will be easier for them to understand more difficult concepts later on.
An experienced primary school teacher
format of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) for mathematics will be adjusted for these students come 2018. No details on the format change are available yet, but the MOE said schools will be informed of the change two years in advance. The syllabus adjustments come after the MOEs regular curriculum review done every six years and they are in line with the Primary Education Review and Implementation (PERI) initiated by the MOE to provide a more all-rounded

primary school education. Primary school teachers Today spoke to welcome the latest move, saying it bridges current gaps in students understanding and allows more time for students to grasp the remaining topics. A teacher who has been teaching for seven years agreed that teaching children left and right orientation is useful because not all know their left from their right and this knowledge is needed when it comes to heuristics problems. Another primary school teacher with more than 30 years of experience said: The syllabus is already very tight for Primary 1 and doing away with some topics will allow for more breathing space. Noting that not all students enter primary school with a good knowledge of numeracy, she felt lightening the syllabus load will give teachers more time to impart basic numeracy skills. It is important to have a strong foundation so that it will be easier for them to understand more difficult concepts later on, she said.

Plans for govt and non-profit bodies to co-manage hawker centres

Ashley Chia
ashley@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE New hawker centres to be built over the next decade could be comanaged by the Government and nonprofit organisations, such as social enterprises and cooperatives, said the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources yesterday. It agreed with most of the recommendations made by the Hawker Centre Public Consultation Panel, which had submitted its final report last month. The expert panel had suggested that new hawker centres could be managed and operated on a not-for-profit basis, with a dedicated management team assigned to oversee daily operations and management at each hawker centre. While the National Environment Agency (NEA) retains oversight of hawker centre management, the ministry said it welcomes proposals from non-profit organisations which are interested in working with the NEA to manage hawker centres. The Government has the responsibility of ensuring that the model of management for its hawker centres is practical and sustainable over the long term in achieving the main objective of ensuring affordable food in an environment that is clean and hygienic, said the ministry. The Government plans to build 10 new hawker centres over the next decade. The panels recommendation was welcomed by social enterprises such as Breakthrough Missions, a halfway house that provides rehabilitation programmes, and Dignity Kitchen, a food centre management and training school for the disabled and the disadvantaged. Mr Koh Seng Choon, Dignity Kitchens

Over the next decade, hawker centres like this could be managed and operated on a not-for-profit basis with a dedicated management team at each hawker centre to oversee daily operations. Today file photo

executive director, however felt that hawker centres cannot be 100-per-cent run by a social enterprise because it will not be able to cover overheads. Instead, he suggested that at least 60 per cent of the stalls should be rented out at commercial rates for the centre to remain financially sustainable. As he works with those with special needs and ex-offenders, Mr Koh also felt that a dedicated management team overseeing operations at each hawker centre would have to be trained to manage the workers. Proper equipment, like cashiers with buttons marked with Braille for the visually-impaired, would have to be built for those who have special needs, he added. To ensure hygiene practices are con-

sistent, the NEA is studying the feasibility of a single agency managing cleaning services for existing centres a suggestion made by the panel. For this proposal, stall holders will bear the cost of table cleaning together with the service and conservancy charges, which will ensure their part in upholding sound hygiene practices. Adam Road Food Centre, for example, has such a service but stall owner Mohamad Ibrahim, 37, thinks that adding a centrally managed washing service would be better. It will help make our work easier and I dont mind paying extra for the service, he said. To make hawker centres more environmentally-friendly, recycling facilities,

such as recycling bins and food collection points were also suggested by the panel. A hawker stall assistant, who only wanted to be known as Mohamad, was sceptical. Singaporeans are used to leaving their dirty dishes behind. They can even eat with them still on the table. They just dont care, said the 55-year-old. Agreeing with the panels recommendations, the ministry said it will consider these suggestions in the building of the new hawker centres while taking into account cost, functionality and affordability. The Government will also study how best to incentivise stallholders and patrons to adopt environmentally-friendly practices, added the ministry.