New formula aims for more equitable school funding

THE headline of yesterday's report ("Funding cuts for top independent schools in S'pore") needs clarification.

Arising from a review of funding for independent schools, three schools will see an increase in funding of about 5 per cent this year compared to last year, three schools will get between 1 per cent and 3 per cent more, and four schools will experience a reduction of no more than 3 per cent.

In other words, six schools received additional funding, and four schools had their funding trimmed.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) regularly reviews the funding of our schools to ensure they are adequately funded and the resources are well spent.

One of the major changes in this round of review focused on the baseline funding formula.

Previously, every independent school was given the same amount of grant per student, not taking into account the economies of scale. It resulted in schools with large enrolments receiving disproportionately high funding relative to schools with lower enrolments.

The new funding formula, which has both a fixed and a variable component, seeks to provide more equitable funding to the schools.

The MOE values the support of our schools' stakeholders and community. We encourage them to work with the schools to provide a positive learning experience for our students. We also appreciate that many have donated generously to our schools.

However, in recent years, we have received feedback on the burden of fund raising placed on parents, students and other stakeholders. It is in this context that we have advised schools to moderate their fund-raising activities and to take into consideration the cost of operating any additional facilities.

As it is, the ministry already invests significantly in the infrastructure of each school. The MOE will continue to approve fund-raising requests by schools based on the educational merits of each request. This applies to all schools, including independent schools.

We also encourage schools to invest their resources efficiently in achieving maximal educational outcomes. In this context, we have advised independent schools on the judicious use of air-conditioning as we strive to be ecologically sustainable and cost-effective in operating our schools. School classrooms should be naturally ventilated. For classrooms that have been air-conditioned, we have advised the schools, where practicable, to retrofit the classrooms with fans so that these classrooms have the option of being naturally ventilated.

Over the past decade, the MOE has significantly increased its investment in education across all levels and institutions. We will continue to invest more to better cater to the strengths and interest of each child, and to nurture every child to find his own path to success.

Wong Kang Jet
Director, Finance and Development Ministry of Education
ST Forum, 4 Feb 2014

Schools hit by budget cuts look to save on costs
Raffles and Hwa Chong to review programmes and staffing needs
By Sandra Davie, The Straits Times, 4 Feb 2014

TWO top independent schools which have had their government funding lowered say the cut was "substantial" and they have to relook programmes and staffing to see where they can save on costs.

This could mean cutting back on overseas trips at Raffles Institution (RI) and Hwa Chong Institution (HCI), and reviewing the need for additional staff.

The schools could even turn to alumni for help in running enrichment programmes.

"It is an opportunity for us to relook everything," said Mr Chan Poh Meng, who took over as headmaster of RI last December.

The Straits Times reported yesterday that six independent schools have had their funding cut. This was on the basis that they used to receive funding on both their Integrated Programme (IP) and Gifted Education Programme, but now have had the IP portion of their funding cut.

All schools, including independent and mission schools, were also told to moderate the raising of funds for campus upgrading.

In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said that it regularly reviews the funding of schools to ensure that they are adequately funded and that the resources are well spent.

It also revealed for the first time another major change in the funding formula for independent schools.

"Previously, every independent school was given the same amount of grant per student. It resulted in schools with large enrolments receiving disproportionately high funding relative to schools with lower enrolments," it said.

"The new funding formula, which has both a fixed and variable component, seeks to provide more equitable funding to the schools."

Taking into account all the funding changes, it clarified that only four independent schools will have their funding cut this year, and by no more than 3 per cent.

Three independent schools will see an increase in funding of about 5 per cent, while another three will get between 1 per cent and 3 per cent more.

RI and HCI did not want to reveal by how much their budgets were cut, but Hwa Chong principal Hon Chiew Weng said it was a "challenge". He and his teachers are reconsidering the cost of running some programmes.

"For example, some immersion programmes which are run overseas can perhaps be run regionally, or in Singapore," he said. "For some programmes, we use outside vendors. We are looking at whether our alumni or older students can run these for us."

At RI, Mr Chan highlighted its gap semester programme as one area the school will review. The scheme, which began two years ago, allows Secondary4 students to take nine weeks off school to pursue projects of their choice, such as a work stint, an overseas trip or a community initiative. On average, about 10 per cent of the cost is subsidised by the school.

RI also has several centres, such as the E.W. Barker Institute of Sports, which give students the chance to take special electives like sports psychology and medicine. "We have to ask ourselves if these programmes really do meet the objectives we have in mind and whether we can achieve the same outcomes in a more cost-effective way," said Mr Chan.

He added that his school will consider carefully before hiring more teaching or support staff.

Most parents interviewed or who gave their views online said the latest measures helped narrow the gap between rich and poor, but some argued that schools should be allowed to keep the extra facilities paid for by alumni.

"I went with my son to an independent school Open House last year and only then did I find out that they study in air-conditioned comfort," said shop manager Florence Kee, 39, who has two children in primary school. "I was also blown away by the facilities. But I also thought how unfair it was to everyone else."

But a board member of a leading school disagreed.

"I believe that facilities such as swimming pools make it easier to deliver an all-round education," he said. "If the schools can raise the money for such facilities, then MOE should allow it."

Schools raise funds 'not just for campus upgrading'
Parent, alumni donations also help to fund scholarships, programmes
By Amelia Teng, The Straits Times, 5 Feb 2014

DONATIONS from parents and alumni who want to help schools are for more than just campus upgrading.

The donors support scholarships, bursaries and education programmes, several schools in Singapore said yesterday. Some even support their alma mater in non-financial ways.

They were responding to the Ministry of Education's call for schools to moderate fund raising for improved facilities, saying that the Government has given them the hardware they need.

Schools must get the ministry's approval to raise money for "non-standard" facilities such as swimming pools. The ministry said it will continue to approve fund-raising requests based on their "educational merits".

While the curbs apply to all schools, some independent and mission schools have bigger and better facilities than others, thanks to donations from their alumni.

For instance, the first school in Singapore to have a swimming pool - Anglo-Chinese School in Barker Road - opened its Olympic-size Shaw Pool in 1970, named after its benefactor, the Shaw Foundation, whose chairman, Dr Shaw Vee Meng, is an ACS old boy.

Independent schools like Raffles Institution, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and Hwa Chong Institution also have pools.

Alumni at Hwa Chong gave $200,000 towards setting up an undergraduate scholarship in 2012 to fund students going to local universities.

A school spokesman said former students also support the school in non-financial ways such as by giving career talks, acting as mentors or being judges for competitions.

A Raffles Girls' School (RGS) spokesman said the school has two major ongoing fund-raising initiatives.

One is for the new $50 million Braddell Road campus, which it plans to move into in 2018. This is still in the early planning stages but $4.2 million has been raised so far.The second initiative is the RGS Filiae Fund, set up to provide financial assistance and scholarships to deserving students.

Alumni support is a big factor for many local schools with proud traditions and long histories.

Mr Wee Kok Wah, an old boy of St Andrew's Secondary and president of Singapore-listed Stamford Tyres, said school building funds, scholarships and bursaries are "meaningful causes".

He donated to the building of the 20ha St Andrew's Village, which houses its kindergarten, primary and secondary schools, and junior college. It boasts a swimming pool and tennis courts. Mr Wee said alumni donations are "voluntary" and "based on the relationship the alumni member has with the school".

RGS alumni Jayne Leow, who is in her 40s and whose daughter is in Secondary 3 at RGS, said: "The school has never pressurised parents or my daughter to contribute to the school's fund raising."

One board member of an independent school, who declined to be named, said: "Being independent implies that old boys have some ownership and should have discretion in what makes a good school in terms of its hardware and software."

He added: "The school board should also not be too lavish and build facilities that are good to have but not essential to students' development. What is more important are the programmes and values of the school - those are what make students well-educated."

School facilities today
The Straits Times, 4 Feb 2014

Facilities in schools have come under the spotlight after the Ministry of Education cut funding for six independent schools. Along with other mission schools, these schools were also told to moderate fund-raising activities for campus upgrading. Here's a look at common facilities across secondary schools, and others that are considered "non-standard".

STANDARD FACILITIES

- School field

- Computer lab

- Science lab

- Library

- Indoor sports hall

- Dance and drama studios

- Home economics room

- Basketball court

NON-STANDARD FACILITIES

- Swimming pool: Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), Raffles Institution and Hwa Chong Institution each have one Olympic-size swimming pool.

Some other mission schools like St Andrew's Secondary and Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) also have swimming pools.

Outram Secondary is the only fully government-funded school in Singapore to have a swimming pool.

- Tennis courts

- Squash courts

- Gym facilities

- Cricket facilities

- Rifle range

- Research labs and centres

- Street soccer court

Funding cuts for top independent schools in S'pore
MOE also tells schools to moderate fund-raising for campus upgrading
By Sandra Davie, The Straits Times, 3 Feb 2014

SIX top independent schools in Singapore have had their funding cut and, along with other mission schools, have been told to moderate fund-raising activities for campus upgrading.

In addition, they will have to comply with a new directive urging all schools with air-conditioned classrooms to install fans and use air-conditioning only when necessary.

The six schools rank among the top in the Singapore education scene, comprising the Raffles secondary schools and its junior college, Hwa Chong Institution, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and NUS High School of Mathematics and Science.

They all run both the Integrated Programme (IP) and Gifted Education Programme (GEP). The IP provides a seamless secondary and junior college education with students bypassing the O levels. The GEP caters to students in the top 1 to 2 per cent of their cohort.

School officials did not want to disclose how much funding was cut, but The Straits Times understands all six schools used to get additional per capita grants for each student on the IP and GEP, but now have had the IP portion taken away. Alumni and sources close to the schools estimate the IP portion is between 4 and 8 per cent of operating budgets, or over a million dollars a year.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has also told all independent and mission schools to "moderate" their fund-raising activities for campus upgrading.

Schools need to get MOE approval if they want to raise money for "non-standard" features such as swimming pools. MOE is now warning that it will give the green light only if the facility is "essential" to school programmes.

The raft of changes comes at a time of rising concern over the worsening student diversity in top schools here. Even Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong commented that top secondary schools were becoming "closed circles" last year when announcing MOE's plans to encourage more students from poorer socio-economic backgrounds to aim for a place in the most competitive schools.

MOE will also from this year start restricting the number of places in any primary school reserved for alumni parents.

The gap between Singapore's top and neighbourhood schools has over the decades widened partly as a result of factors like bigger and better facilities built with alumni funds.

Parent Annie Lim, 47, who chose not to send her son to an independent school, applauded MOE for being "sensible".

"Why should some schools have pools and tennis courts? I'd rather taxpayers' money is spent building such facilities for a cluster of schools."

However, one alumni member, who served as a member of an independent school board, asked if MOE was going too far. "I hope it doesn't lead to MOE bringing everyone down so that all schools are more or less equal, instead of levelling everyone up."

In a reply to The Straits Times, MOE said it reviews schools' funding regularly and in a holistic manner. After taking everything into account, it added, independent schools saw changes in "total resourcing" ranging from cuts of 3 per cent to increases of 5 per cent.

As for the curbs on fund-raising, MOE said it "already invests significantly in the infrastructure of each school" and added schools should consider the cost of operating these non-standard facilities.

MOE will continue to encourage independent schools
By Sandra Davie, The Straits Times, 3 Feb 2014

THE Ministry of Education told The Straits Times that it will continue to encourage and support the development of independent schools, which play a vital role in the more diversified education landscape here.

It emphasised this even as it confirmed that it had cut per-student funding this year at six top independent schools, including Raffles Institution (RI), Hwa Chong Institution, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and NUS High School of Mathematics and Science.

Along with mission schools such as the other Anglo-Chinese schools, the six schools have also been told to moderate fund-raising for campus upgrading.

This has raised concerns among parents whose children attend these schools, as well as alumni members.

Asked for the reasons behind these moves, MOE stressed that funds for all schools, including the independent ones, are reviewed regularly and holistically.

While agreeing that the recent review for independent schools meant less funding for some, it has also resulted in more money for others.

After taking everything into account, independent schools saw changes in "total resourcing" ranging from cuts of 3 per cent to increases of 5 per cent.

It also said that the per capita operating cost of educating a secondary school student had almost doubled in the past decade, going from $5,700 in 2004 to $10,800 last year.

MOE added that it will continue to invest more into schools here.

As for the curbs on fund-raising, MOE stressed that this applied to all schools. It explained that there was less need for such funds to be raised since the Government has already ensured that each school has what it needs in terms of hardware.

"MOE already invests significantly in the infrastructure of each school to ensure that each has an adequate set of facilities that caters sufficiently to the holistic education of its students."

But it was ready to be flexible and will continue to approve fund-raising requests on a case-by-case basis, based on their "educational merits".

The ministry is also targeting the use of air-conditioning in classrooms, advising independent schools to install fans where practicable.

This will allow such classrooms to rely on natural ventilation, as is the case in all other schools here.

Most parents interviewed by The Straits Times said MOE was on the right track.

One even suggested that facilities such as swimming pools and tennis courts should not be built by schools individually, but in a central location for all schools within a cluster to share.

Others, such as businesswoman Anthea Goh, 40, who has two children attending independent institutions, said these schools should be allowed to provide extras as students are charged much higher fees.

At independent schools, fees average $300 a month, while those for mainstream secondary schools are around $22.

Another parent who has a son in RI was against the curb on air-conditioning.

Said the former primary school teacher: "I used to teach and it can get really hot about 3pm. I really do think it is a lot more conducive to have air-con."

'Thumbs up' for reducing air-con use in classrooms
By Amelia Teng, The Straits Times, 4 Feb 2014

MOST parents and students are backing a new Education Ministry directive to use less air-conditioning in school classrooms - with some calling it a "luxury".

Even top independent schools where it is standard - including Raffles Institution (RI), Hwa Chong Institution and Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) - will have to comply with the guideline.

The Straits Times reported yesterday that schools with air-conditioned classrooms have been asked to install fans and use air- conditioning only when necessary.

Air-con bills can run into tens of thousands of dollars a month for larger schools.

Hwa Chong officials say the school started cutting down two years ago as part of its efforts to go green.

RI headmaster Chan Poh Meng said the school is looking into how it can minimise air-conditioning use but admitted that it will take a while. "We believe in what MOE is doing, so we are looking at how this can be done without causing too much pain."

Mrs Mazlita Abdul Jabbar, 38, who has a son in Secondary 3 in Raffles Institution, said that the ministry's move is "fair enough" if it is cutting down on luxuries.

"The kids should go through a bit of 'normal' and you can't give them all the comfort all the time," said the accountant.

Mr Lim Shuh Shien, 40, who has a daughter in Secondary 1 in River Valley High School, said: "Normal classrooms should not be air-conditioned. Why should we allow students to be in such comfort?"

The manager in an electronics manufacturing company said having air-conditioning in facilities like dance studios and computer labs is "acceptable" as the students do not spend the bulk of their time in these rooms.

"From an environmental perspective, using more air-conditioning also depletes energy resources," he added.

However, Mrs Esther Yap felt that having cooler classrooms will help children to learn.

The 48-year-old sales coordinator, who has a son in East Spring Secondary, said: "My son tells me that without air-conditioning, he feels so sleepy and cannot concentrate.

"But it's unfair that some schools have air-conditioning and most schools don't. Every child should be given an 'equal' environment to study well. Sometimes my children compare their school with other schools and think it's not so good because it doesn't have air-conditioning."

Mrs Teng M.L, 43, a tutor who has a son in Secondary 3 in Raffles Institution, agreed.

"The environment affects your learning, so you feel lethargic when you're hot.

"Perhaps schools can limit the number of hours air-conditioning can be used," she said.

One 16-year-old student who graduated from Raffles Girls' School last year admitted that she and many of her peers had taken the luxury of air-conditioning for granted, adding that the school does remind students to use it responsibly.

"Classes are penalised (by being booked) if we forget to turn off the air-con when we're not using it," she said.

Can students of premier schools sweat it out?
If top schools raise their own funds, what's the big deal about them having air-conditioned classrooms and swimming pools?
By Sandra Davie, The Straits Times, 6 Feb 2014

LAST November, two parents sought my help in selecting a secondary school for their children. I recommended a few which their sons could have comfortably gained entry into, based on their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) results.

Both parents didn't go with my suggestions. One, an accountant, listed Raffles Institution as first choice, while the other went for Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), hoping that the entry score for the school would come down.

Neither parent bought my argument that the schools I had recommended were very good ones that would provide a solid education for their children.

The accountant parent e-mailed to ask me if I had seen the facilities in RI - the air-conditioned classrooms, the swimming pool, tennis courts and various institutes. "It's very impressive. I would say even a little too much. There's no way the non-independent schools can compare to that." She went on: "Why would anyone buy MOE's line that every school is a good school?"

My recommendation of the four schools was not based on their facilities, but their programmes and their school leaders whom I had met.

Unfortunately, like the accountant mother, many parents latch on to the obvious when choosing a school - the facilities that these schools boast of.

On Monday, when The Straits Times revealed that the Education Ministry had reviewed the funding for independent schools, put curbs on their fund raising for campus upgrading and advised them to cut down on the use of air-conditioning, many parents who wrote in to me and The Straits Times supported the moves.

One parent, Mrs Annie Lim, said that even as she admired RI's facilities and programmes, she was struck by the unfairness of it all. "It's not fair that just a select group of kids get these top-notch facilities when the others don't," she said.

I must confess to having had similar thoughts when I visit the likes of RI and ACS.

Why is it that these students get to study in air-con comfort and learn how to swim or play tennis in their school's own sports complex, while their peers in non-independent schools swelter in the heat and have to use the public swimming pools? It just doesn't strike me as being fair.

What's the implicit message we are giving our young? That some children, especially the brightest or the children of the rich and well-heeled, deserve nicer schools than others?

Of course, the counter to this is to argue that these facilities were built with private alumni and donor funds, not state funds.

But there is also the issue of maintenance. Those in the know tell me it can cost tens of thousands of dollars a month to air-condition classrooms for a school. The cost is partially covered by the higher school fees that independent schools charge. I am told that schools may also dip into their reserves. But part of the maintenance cost will end up coming from the operating budget given to schools, which is based on the government grant for each student. This is taxpayers' money.

I have no argument with public money being used to provide an enriched curriculum to stretch academically able students further. After all, many will go on to play important roles in the country in many sectors.

But public money and alumni donations can, I feel, be used to narrow, not widen, the gulf between top schools and others.

For example, some parents have suggested that instead of donating to their alma mater, generous individuals or organisations could be persuaded to donate to the setting up of a sports complex shared by a cluster of schools.

Some alumni and parents have suggested that schools do more fund raising to cover the operating costs of these non-standard facilities. True, this would remove the thorny issue of using state funds to provide air-conditioning for an elite group of students.

But too much fund raising is not always a good thing. The Education Ministry said on Monday that it had received feedback on the burden of fund raising placed on parents, students and other stakeholders. It explained that it was in this context that it had advised schools to moderate their fund-raising activities and to take into consideration the cost of operating any additional facilities.

Some parents have also argued that the higher fees of about $300 a month charged by independent schools (compared with $22 for mainstream ones) should be enough to cover the higher costs of, say, having air-con rooms or maintaining swimming pools.

But the real cost of educating a student in schools with top-notch facilities and smaller classes is in the region of $30,000 a year - about 10 times what students now pay at independent schools.

That's the range of fees charged by international schools here, including Anglo-Chinese School (International), which receives no funding from the Education Ministry. ACS (International) charges Year 5 and 6 students $27,000 a year.

Bring down barriers

ONE parent who wrote to me said candidly that she had no issue with an independent school not having a swimming pool, since her son, like many of his schoolmates at RI, can swim in the swimming pool at their condominium home or at the country club.

To be sure, not every child in an independent school will have easy access to a pool at home. But it is a fact that in recent years, more students enrolling in the leading independent schools come from privileged homes. By providing extra facilities, the schools extend their privileges further.

As sociologist Vincent Chua, who studies social networks, has pointed out, the narrowing diversity in the top schools has a multiplier effect. Students born into families with wealth and social connections mingle with others like themselves, and are able to share resources and trade opportunities. The exclusive networks they form yield benefits beyond graduation when they go on to university and later on in the job market.

If Singapore wants to be an inclusive society, we have to ask ourselves if there is a better way to spend alumni and donor funds.

Why not spend on programmes that boost the chances of children from disadvantaged homes getting into schools that will stretch their horizons, instead of spending it on things that boost opportunities - or just creature comforts - for children who already have a socio-economic head start?

Already, there is a widening social gulf between students in the top independent schools and those in the neighbourhood schools. Former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew revealed in 2011 that half or more of students from brand-name schools had fathers who were graduates, compared with one in 10 in neighbourhood schools.

The dilemma for top schools and their alumni and supporters is this: Should they use their considerable networks and resources to buy facilities and programmes to benefit their own elite circle and entrench lives of privilege for another generation? Or on programmes to increase diversity, and to help other able students access these halls of learning?

It all turns on what kind of students they want to nurture. Smart youngsters who may see air-conditioned classrooms and swimming pools as their entitled lot in life, or smart and rugged, well-rounded students able to sweat it out with the rest.

Why some may be cool with having air-con in class
By Janice Heng, The Straits Times, 6 Feb 2014

I CONFESS: The secondary school I attended had air-conditioned classrooms.

Unlike many of our peers in other schools, we didn't have to contend with Singapore's humid, drowsiness-inducing heat. I think we did recognise this as a privilege, not an entitlement - but I doubt we would have been happy if asked to give it up.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has now done just that, telling schools to opt for fans and use air-conditioning only when necessary. It has also told them to curb fund raising for "non-standard" facilities such as pools.

The context for this, said the MOE, is that it already invests in infrastructure so that each school has "an adequate set of facilities".

Perhaps the move aims to curb ostentatious displays of school wealth, in the form of Olympic- size swimming pools, a range of courts for racquet games, or overly grand performing arts facilities.

Yet, what will this achieve?Will students in other schools feel any better, or cooler, now that their peers no longer enjoy air-conditioning? Only if you uncharitably ascribe to them a deep capacity for Schadenfreude.

Few would deny that air-conditioned classrooms are a luxury. But taking this luxury away does not improve things for anyone.

Nor does it address anything more than a single symptom - or symbol - of the disparity between so-called elite schools and the rest.

The fundamental issues are over-representation of the socio-economic elite in top schools, and the exclusionary culture which may result - the danger of such schools becoming "closed circles", in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's words last year.

And these issues cannot be tackled by switching from air-conditioning to fans.The message students might take away is that equality is reached simply by pulling down those at the top. Some might even assume that this move happened because their peers in other schools resented their standards of comfort.

And that line of thought is one that can only breed division, rather than bridge disparity.

Dr Koh heats up air-con debate
By Tessa Wong, MyPaper, 7 Feb 2014

TELLING schools to cut down on air-conditioned classrooms is akin to "removing air-conditioning in A-class (hospital) wards to keep the C-class patients less envious", said Dr Koh Poh Koon.

The former PAP candidate for Punggol East was criticising the recent Education Ministry directive to schools with air-conditioned classrooms to install fans and use air-con only when necessary.

Writing on his Facebook page, Dr Koh said: "Instead of making it comfortable for all students, we have decided to make it equally uncomfortable for everyone... We must not be tempted to ensure equality in society by pulling down those at the top."

He added: "I hope we will...not be populist in our policies."

Post by Koh Poh Koon.

Speaking later to MyPaper, Dr Koh clarified that he had nothing against reducing air-con usage in schools if it was meant to save energy. But if the intent was about "making it a so-called level playing field, then it's really creating equal misery".

The former student of the now-defunct MacRitchie Primary School, Maris Stella High School and Hwa Chong Junior College pointed out that many public places like libraries, as well as buses, are air-conditioned, as are many homes. "So should most Singaporeans not use air-con too?" he asked.

By using air-con as a signifier of elitism, "we are equating it with outward materialism and opulence. But I don't need air-con to be a snob. Elitism is a mindset."

Post by Ministry of Education, Singapore.

Related

Funding review not meant to 'level down' schools

Changes to the Funding of Independent Schools