MPs propose compulsory pre-school education, official poverty line and unemployment support

SINGAPORE - Establishing a clear poverty line, making pre-school education compulsory and introducing unemployment support were among the proposals made by MPs in Parliament on Monday.

They spoke at the start of a five-day debate on the President’s Address. Madam Halimah Yacob’s speech on April 10 emphasised the need to strengthen social safety nets, among other key priorities for the Government.

Her speech marked the start of the second session of the 14th term of Parliament, which resumed after a two-week recess.

Here are four suggestions by MPs to improve social support:

Mr Vikram Nair (Sembawang GRC) on raising pre-school attendance

Noting that it is important to ensure that all children attend pre-school, Mr Vikram suggested that pre-school education be made compulsory, or to have strong measures to encourage universal attendance.

It is vital for schools to remain as the “great leveller” for education, he said.

In the past, children would attend school and learn things such as the alphabet. Today, with most children attending pre-school, the entry benchmark has risen, he added.

“Basic literacy and numeracy is required for children attending Primary 1, failing which more may fall behind.

“This means those who miss pre-school, who are predominantly from lower-income families, will start off on the back foot. It is therefore even more important to ensure that pre-school is attended by all children,” he said.

Associate Professor Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC) on establishing a poverty line

It is time for Singapore to establish an official poverty line, said Prof Lim. The Workers’ Party MP said such a line should be based on components that go beyond “just crude ‘basic’ needs of housing, food and clothing”.

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A committee to determine this should be set up with representatives from the Ministry of Social and Family Development as well as leaders from civil society and academic experts, he suggested.

All thresholds for government assistance, in particular, financial assistance scheme ComCare, should be pegged to this poverty line or higher, he said. The local qualifying salary (LQS) should also be tied to this line.

The LQS is a wage threshold imposed by the Manpower Ministry on companies that hire foreign workers. Such firms have to pay local full-time workers a minimum of $1,400.

Prof Lim noted that current support schemes have varying income thresholds, such as a maximum monthly income of $1,500 to qualify for public rental flats, while ComCare’s threshold is closer to $1,900.

Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines GRC) on providing unemployment support

Unemployment support should be introduced for workers who are involuntarily forced to leave their jobs, such as when they are retrenched, said Mr Choo.

This support can be linked to training and job search help, in order to preserve the work ethos of the workforce.

“We must not forget that the longer one stays out of the workforce, the poorer employment outcomes will be,” he said.

Hence, should unemployment support be introduced, it should taper off with time to ensure that individuals remain incentivised to re-enter the workforce, he added.

He also noted that while training and reskilling are an important feature of the nation’s work ethos, it may be demoralising for workers to continually do so but be unable to secure employment, in particular, for older workers whose runways are much shorter.

While such risks cannot be completely removed, he said they can be moderated by having more place-and-train programmes. 

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Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) on caregiver support

Ms Yeo called for more support for three particular groups – working women who double as caregivers, freelancers and adults with special needs.

She also called for more practical support to be given to help move the needle in shifting cultural caregiving norms.

She suggested that caregiving leave could be considered for workers and that flexible work arrangements should be extended by employers where possible.

For freelancers, she asked Singaporeans to bear in mind the invisible risks borne by platform workers the next time they tap their services. These include risks to their physical safety when delivering food or other logistical requirements, and concerns over the adequacy of their retirement savings, health safety nets and housing.

She also said more must be done to help adults with special needs to ensure they live in a safe and dignified manner, supported by members of the community.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.