A Singaporean school - Illustrative photo (Photo: straitstimes.com)
Singapore (VNA) – About 5,000 teachers have left Singapore’s teaching force in the past five years, reported by Singapore’s Ministry of Education on October 3, prompting calls from observers to make efforts to retain them by reducing their administrative duties.
Nearly 70 percent of resigned teachers participating in a poll conducted by The Straits Times said they quit due to a heavy administrative workload, forcing them to spend more time on paperwork and organising school events than on teaching.
Long working hours (12 hours per day) was another reason for resigning, they added.
However, the resignation ratio of teachers has remained low at 3 percent and the teaching force of more than 33,000 has remained stable, said the Ministry of Education (MOE).
The top three reasons for teachers resigning were childcare, other family considerations and a desire for a new job, the ministry added.
Head of the Singaporean Government for Parliamentary Committee said the annual teaching resignations were not overly alarming, compared to other industries, but every excellent educator who leaves the sector is still one too many.
The MOE attempted to tackle the issue last August, by hiring more staff to help teachers with paperwork and increasing monthly wages from 4 to 9 percent for up to 30,000 teachers.-VNA
Singapore’s Education Minister Heng Swee Keat will attend the 47th Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) Council Conference in Hanoi.
A Vietnamese delegation attended a seminar themed “Smart Learning for the Future of Asia” as part of the Asia Education Expo 2013 which took place in Singapore on November 20–22.
The Republic of Korea (RoK), China and Japan agreed on May 3 to reinforce the regional financial safety net, along with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), by launching a new financing facility programme meant to extend greater support in case of a financial crisis.
A technical issue combined with an extreme heatwave was blamed for a series of explosions at a military base that killed 20 soldiers and injured several others in Cambodia on April 27, the country’s Ministry of Defence said in a May 2 statement as reported by the Xinhua news agency.
The Customs Department of Thailand is scheduled to commence the collection of value-added tax (VAT) on imported goods sent via postal services, regardless of the goods value, starting in May.
A lecturer from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine has warned Thais to be more vigilant against COVID-19, saying infection rates appeare to be worsening with higher hospital admissions, deaths and severe cases.
Malaysia should harness the collective expertise and resources to drive sustainable growth and development of the halal industry, according to Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
Laos has officially restored the 10% value-added tax (VAT) rate starting May 1, in a bid to support the country’s budget revenue and socio-economic development.
The ASEAN Future Forum 2024 (AFF 2024) entered its second plenary session in Hanoi on the afternoon of April 23, discussing ways to ensure comprehensive security for the people-centred ASEAN Community.
The first session of the ASEAN Future Forum 2024 (AFF 2024) in Hanoi on April 23 focused on fast and sustainable growth for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) and the ASEAN Alliance on Carbon Markets (AACM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration and accelerate the implementation of carbon crediting programmes across Southeast Asia.
ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn reaffirmed ASEAN leaders' commitment to empowering the youth to unleash their full potential when he had a dialogue with ASEAN youth in Hanoi on April 22 on the sidelines of the ASEAN Future Forum (AF 2024).
The Thai Government is being urged to increase the proportion of renewable power generation to more than the target of 50% set in the power development plan (PDP).
The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) of Indonesia on April 21 lifted its tsunami advisory issued previously following the eruption of Mount Ruang in Sitaro district of North Sulawesi province.
Thailand expects to export about 1 million tonnes of durian, valued at an estimated 130 billion THB (3.53 billion USD) this year, with most of the shipments to China, according to Minister of Agriculture Thammanat Prompao.
The 72nd meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) and related meetings are being held by the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of Vietnam in the central city of Da Nang on April 22-26.
Enhancing regional food security and tackling the pressing challenges of climate change will be key agendas defining Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (lower house) Johari Abdul told the press on April 19.
A Singaporean school - Illustrative photo (Photo: straitstimes.com)
