Amid a ‘friendship recession’, some young Singaporeans are building bonds through shared interests (7 September 2026)
"Ryan Wee has what he considers a good number of friends.
The self-professed introvert does not need many. He is content with his current circle of friends, which includes about five people he calls close friends – those he can confide in and be vulnerable with.
But maintaining those ties has taken more effort as the 26-year-old, who works in a content marketing agency, ages into adulthood.
“It’s hard to arrange a date to meet when people have jobs and are getting married,” Wee says. “There are many competing interests.”
Making new friends is even tougher, he thinks.
“I think people are a bit more guarded in Singapore; we’re not so outgoing that we’ll strike up a conversation with someone on the train,” says Wee, who studied history at University College London.
“We’ll approach people in a specific setting, like some sort of common interest club or (social) event,” he adds. “But outside of that it’s quite unusual.”
Wee is likely not alone in feeling this. Friendship circles in Singapore have been shrinking, especially among young people. But some young people are also discovering that a shared purpose can bring them closer to others.
Maintaining friendships
According to the National Youth Council’s (NYC) National Youth Survey, the proportion of youth with more than three close friends dropped from 56 per cent in 2013 to 48 per cent in 2025. Eight per cent say they have no close friends in 2025, up from 4 per cent in 2013.
But young people do want to forge strong friendships. One in three youth say they are keen to make new friends, and over one in two want to improve their current relationships, according to a NYC Youth Needs Survey conducted in 2025.
Such findings come together to shape the SG Youth Plan, launched in July 2026. The five-year roadmap, based on responses from over 60,000 youth aged 15 to 35, aims to help young Singaporeans become more confident, connected and able to contribute.
Narasimman Tivasiha Mani, co-founder and executive director of Impart, a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping youth facing adversities, says young people face different challenges in forming and maintaining friendships at different junctures in their lives.
Those in school often have their time taken up with classes, tuition and extracurricular activities, he says. Meanwhile, youth transitioning from school to work face “an abrupt drop-off in relational health once they step outside institutional safety nets”, he adds, such as the natural common spaces schools offer.
Finding a community
Outside of school, helping others is how Secondary Four student Nathaniel Chan met several of his close friends.
The 16-year-old teaches kids how to play ukulele at a student care centre every Wednesday as part of The Resonance Project (Reso).
Reso is a youth-led and volunteer-run non-profit collective founded in 2021. It brings music education to underserved seniors and primary school pupils, providing music lessons at places like active ageing centres, student care centres and family service centres.
Chan joined in 2024 after attending one of Reso’s outreach concerts. He has been one of two co-presidents of the group since July 2026. He considers many of his fellow volunteers his close friends.
Volunteer teams at each centre are fixed, he explains. “You do debriefs, planning calls and generally spend a lot of time with (the same people). Naturally, you’ll get to meet and find people that way.”
Nearly 80 per cent of youth surveyed by NYC say they want to do good and take action, but 43 per cent are unsure how to start.
“I think for people who are a bit hesitant (about volunteering), my advice would be to bring a friend along,” says Chan. “It’s more comforting to go through the experience with someone you already know.”
What keeps them going once they start? Young people value genuine contribution, says Narasimman, but they tend to become disengaged if they feel their involvement in a cause is tokenistic.
“Youth derive a sense of purpose only when they possess authentic agency; the knowledge that their choices directly shape real-world outcomes,” he says.
It is this sense of agency that has kept Chan active in Reso, an entirely youth-run project. It currently has more than 350 active volunteers, most of whom are aged 12 to 18.
“The fact that everything is run by us – that gives us a lot of ownership, in the sense that we know we’re the ones making real impact,” says Chan."
Why is it so hard to spend $100 on culture? (7 September 2026)
"I have a confession to make: One year after every adult Singaporean received $100 in SG Culture Pass credits, I have spent precisely none of mine.
I am not alone.
As of Aug 31, a year after the scheme was launched, only 40,000 of the three million eligible Singaporeans, or 14 per cent, had used any of their credits. Of the $300 million set aside for the scheme, just $30.4 million, or about 10 per cent, had been spent.
At first glance, this seems rather uncharacteristic of Singaporeans. We certainly love our free money. Whenever CDC vouchers are issued, we efficiently spend them on groceries, cal png (economy rice) and toilet paper, often stacking them with supermarket promotions to stretch their value even further. Over the past four years, claim rates across multiple tranches have hovered at close to 98 per cent.
Yet, this other pot of free money, earmarked for supporting local arts and culture, has proved much harder to spend. There is admittedly some friction involved in accessing and using the credits, which requires some digital proficiency. But the range of eligible activities is reasonably broad, spanning heritage experiences and performances to cinema tickets for local films and purchasing local books, which should be sufficient to interest a wider range of people with differing interests.
Perhaps the low take-up is revealing something else about the everyday Singaporean: Even though the Culture Pass was meant to mudge us towards spending more on local arts and Culture, many of us simply do not have that habit to begin with.
Culture is not integral to our daily lives in the way groceries, meals or other everyday purchases are, which is why the CDC vouchers get used so naturally. On the other hand, many people have to make a conscious decision to seek out culture, whether it is taking the initiative to go to the theatre, browsing SingLit titles or choosing a local film over the latest Hollywood blockbuster.
Creating this new pattern of behaviour takes time and effort. On several occasions, I have browsed the SG Culture Pass website, shortlisted eligible events that looked interesting, searched for a convenient date and then tried to persuade a friend to join me - only for things to fall through at some point.
For seniors, these extra steps may be an even greater hurdle. Those aged 55 and above accounted for just 19 per cent of Culture Pass use, the smallest share among the age groups. The new portal aimed at simplifying the redemption process for seniors may therefore help, particularly if it makes it easier for them to take part in activities organised with friends or community groups.
Waiting for something special
For the rest of us, however, there may be another psychological barrier at work. I suspect many people people - myself included - have mentally filed their Culture Pass credits under “special occasion spending”.
Behavioural economist Richard Thaler calls this “mental accounting”: the tendency to sort money into different mental pots and spend it differently depending on what we feel it has been allocated for. While CDC vouchers can be thought of as “practical money” for things I need, Culture Pass credits, by contrast, somehow feel like they should be saved for something suitably worthwhile.
Many of us probably go through a similar thought process when selecting museums to visit or musicals to watch when we travel. Likewise, the $100 culture allowance feels like a small windfall to be spent on something special, like the right exhibition or the perfect play, instead of casually dropping smaller portions of it on a film or a book. These smaller expenses might already be a part of one's monthly “entertainment budget”, so we might not have thought of using the credits on them.
The irony, of course, is that waiting for the perfect experience may be exactly what prevents the Culture Pass from achieving its aim of making arts and culture a more regular part of our lives. Even though the credits are intended to normalise cultural participation, because it is not quite second nature yet, we end up treating each redemption as an occasion that needs to be carefully planned and justified.
Then again, perhaps we are expecting too much if we think $100 can transform our cultural habits overnight. It is still a useful nudge for people who might not ordinarily seek out local theatre, literature or film - 68 per cent of Culture Pass users had not participated in such local arts and culture activities in the previous five years.
But as arts practitioners have pointed out, a one-off subsidy is unlikely to dramatically reshape long-entrenched habits. Building lasting audiences means changing how people value the arts in the first place, including cultivating that appreciation from a young age to foster lifelong engagement and curiosity.
Even though a cash grant can lower the barrier to entry, it cannot create an entire generation of regular supporters of the arts overnight. That said, it may still work perfectly well as a short-term inducement. In fact, there is every chance use will climb sharply as the expiry date approaches. Ahead of the expiry of a one-off Skills Future Credit top-up in 2025, some training providers reported sharp surges In enrolment as Singaporeans rushed to use what remained. A similar burst of suddenly fervent arts appreciation would hardly be surprising."
Rapist dad saw teen daughter at police centre, went home to change, then surrendered (7 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – After her father raped her in 2024, a 15-year-old girl ran to a neighbourhood police centre (NPC) while he was taking a shower.
When the man went looking for her and saw her sitting inside the NPC, he knew the game was up.
He returned home to change into a pair of jeans, walked to the NPC and surrendered.
On Sept 7, the man, who is now 51, pleaded guilty to a charge of rape, a charge of outrage of modesty and an unrelated charge of criminal breach of trust (CBT).
Two other CBT charges and a charge of voyeurism over taking photos of the victim’s chest will be considered when he is sentenced on Nov 2.
The CBT charges relate to $23,000 he embezzled from his employer between January and June 2023, when he was the company’s general manager.
The misappropriation came to light following his arrest on Aug 11, 2024, over the sexual assaults.
He has past convictions for various offences, such as cheating and CBT, and was sentenced to five years of corrective training in 2009 for moneylending offences.
On Sept 7, Deputy Public Prosecutor Eric Hu told the High Court that the victim was physically abused growing up.
On numerous occasions, the man would pull her hair, hit her with a clothes hanger and cane her multiple times for slight infractions.
The victim believed it was normal for him to use violence against her, said the prosecutor.
On the night of Aug 10, 2024, the man confronted her about the cleanliness of their home.
He flew into a rage, swept all the items on the dining table onto the floor, and told her to go to her room.
He dismantled the CCTV cameras in the flat before he went to bed.
The next morning, the man went to the victim’s room to wake her up.
When she did not respond, he lifted one end of the blanket covering her body then molested and raped her.
The girl was shocked, but did not react because she was afraid it would anger him, said the prosecutor.
While the man was in the shower after the attack, the victim ran to the NPC and reported the incident to the counter staff.
When the man discovered she was not in the flat, he walked past the NPC while looking for her and saw her sitting inside."
From digital forensic examiners to festival staff, S’pore youth get a taste of work life (7 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – For 18-year-old Ifra Farveen Mohamad, listening to Government Technology Agency (GovTech) employees talk about their jobs brought some of the lessons she had learnt in school to life.
The second-year International Trade and Logistics student at Temasek Polytechnic was among about 100 young people who attended a job taster session hosted by GovTech on Sept 4.
Speaking to The Straits Times at the session, Ifra said: “I got to see how the things I learn (in school) are being applied by industry professionals.”
She also saw the session as a two-way exchange, noting that while the professionals are experts in their fields, such engagements give them a chance to hear how youth feel about their initiatives, too.
Ramiro Althea Mae Bathan, who also signed up for the session, said she was reassured to know that a person’s eventual career need not be tied to what they had studied.
The 18-year-old medical biotechnology student at Temasek Polytechnic said: “Joining this session helped broaden my perspective on what types of careers there are and how my course can fit into it all.”
The sessions were aimed at introducing youth to digital governance, offering a look beyond building digital products to areas such as policy, risk and audit that shape how technology is used across government.
“Through initiatives such as job tasters, we hope to give young Singaporeans meaningful exposure to technology careers and digital government, helping them better understand the opportunities available in this space,” said Peggy Mah, senior director of culture, community and youth cluster at GovTech.
In 2025, about 8,800 students and youth took part in such job tasters, said the National Youth Council (NYC) in response to queries from The Straits Times. Nearly 80 per cent of participants said they left with a clearer sense of their possible career pathways, the council said.
The GovTech sessions were among more than 10,000 job tasters being rolled out in 2026, with up to 30,000 stints slated to be offered annually by 2030.
The expansion is part of the July launch of the SG Youth Plan, a suite of initiatives aimed at helping young people navigate their careers, friendships and personal development. Other initiatives introduced include co-living units, adulting programmes and more funding for youth-led projects.
As at August 2026, job taster opportunities have been offered across 34 industries, said NYC. Industries with the highest uptake include infocomm technology, financial services, healthcare and public service.
The council said it hopes to see more opportunities in industries such as healthcare, financial services, environment and sustainability, and engineering.
Another session, hosted by HeritageSG, a subsidiary of the National Heritage Board, gave participants a behind-the-scenes look into what it takes to organise and run the annual Singapore Night Festival, one of the country’s largest nocturnal events. Its 17th edition ran from Aug 21 to Sept 5.
The job stint covered event operations, stakeholder coordination, and festival execution during the lead-up to the event. HeritageSG works to strengthen the heritage sector through public-private partnerships and ensuring a supply of talent in areas such as museum services and event management.
Temasek Polytechnic second-year fashion management and design student Sarah Sofian, who took part in the job taster, observed and helped with different aspects of the festival such as crowd control, registration and ushering. She also observed the media preview and how staff interacted with guests during the tour.
The 19-year-old said she was keen to find out how a large arts festival operates behind the scenes.
She said: “One of my biggest takeaways was that working in the creative industry involves a lot of clear and strong collaboration, as well as adaptability in dealing with unexpected issues.”
The three-day stint gave her a valuable introduction to the industry, and she said that she would still like to learn more about the creative direction of the festival, including the curation of artists, performers and venues."
Graduates can stay confident that S’pore is still creating jobs amid tighter job market: Ong Ye Kung (7 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – Graduates can remain confident that Singapore is still competitive and creating jobs, Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Ong Ye Kung said on Sept 7.
Addressing an audience of about 250 students, he also acknowledged a tighter graduate job market and greater job-search anxiety.
He said: “You are not entering a declining or stagnant economy. You are entering one that is growing, that’s attracting investments, and that’s still dynamic.
“So you are not cooked. You’re still raw.”
Ong, who is also Health Minister, was speaking at the Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum at the NUS University Cultural Centre, where he laid out his assessment of the changes to the job market and advised students on how to maximise their chances of succeeding in their careers.
He also called on employers to cool an “arms race” over grades and internships, and prevent hiring from becoming an ever-escalating competition.
Pointing out that the way they hire ultimately shapes the arms race’s intensity, he said: “We are not asking employers to lower their hiring standards.
“But every additional signal that employers send – hiring candidates with more internships, more credentials, better grades – becomes something that students feel you must chase to curate the perfect CV.”
Ong urged employers to look beyond GPAs and internships when assessing fresh graduates whose experiences may not fit neatly into a conventional CV, but who can demonstrate their resilience, initiative, discipline, empathy, character and work ethic.
Hiring a fresh graduate is “always about spotting potential and taking a chance in a young person”, he said. “Help assure applicants that this is how you hire, and cool down an arms race that is energy-sapping and, I think, making the undergraduate experience less holistic for young people at a critical formative age.”
Ong’s remarks come as the proportion of graduates who secured employment six months after graduation declined from 92.9 per cent in 2023 to 88.9 per cent in 2025, according to Graduate Employment Survey data.
He attributed the tighter graduate job market to three factors: more graduates entering the market, employers needing to differentiate between applicants, and higher expectations of new hires.
Pointing out that about one in two students in a cohort today is a university graduate, compared with about one in five when he graduated in the early 1990s, the minister said that with more graduates, a degree remains valuable but distinguishes candidates less than before.
Employers have therefore also been selecting applicants through internships, alongside academic results. This has created a “self-reinforcing loop” in which employers tighten their hiring criteria, graduates do more to meet those criteria, and employers then need to further differentiate between applicants, he said.
‘Broken’ career ladder affecting some new hires
Artificial intelligence is another change affecting the job market. Ong said some organisations and industries are using AI to automate routine tasks that used to be handled by new hires, potentially raising the baseline expectations of them.
He described this as the “broken ladder syndrome”, where the career ladder remains, but the first few rungs are missing and a new hire has to take a bigger step to start off at the third rung.
However, AI is not resulting in mass job displacement, said Ong. In most cases, he said, AI is replacing certain tasks rather than entire jobs, and it is being used instead as a tool that could result in job redesign.
While it is natural for people to feel uncertain about a technology that is growing exponentially, AI could also compress the time taken for inventions and discoveries, potentially creating new economic activity and opportunities, said Ong.
Governments could also put in place guard rails, including reserving certain jobs for humans, while consumers may continue to demand a human touch in areas such as healthcare, education and services, he added.
“We want food prepared by human chefs. We want to watch live bands. We want songs written by the real Taylor Swift,” he said. “We want to watch films featuring human actors and real-world imagery like Top Gun: Maverick – that one has no AI at all.”
Ong said graduates can remain confident about their prospects, pointing to Singapore’s continued economic growth, investments and job creation.
Investments by firms like Micron, Roche, GSK, Sanofi and Google, as well as the expansion of financial institutions and both integrated resorts, are signs that companies continue to base important functions in Singapore, he added.
Major local companies including DBS Bank, Keppel, Sembcorp and ST Engineering are also expanding their businesses and hiring new graduates, he said."
MPs ask about better protection for children and youth, impact of western island reclamation plans (7 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE - Protections for children and youth and plans to merge several southern islands through reclamation will be on the agenda when Parliament sits this week.
MPs have filed at least 11 questions relating to a recent case of a self-styled “religious influencer” who was sentenced for sexually abusing two young boys between 2022 and 2024.
The man had conducted religious classes for the victims at a mosque they attended despite not being a mosque employee, volunteer or an accredited religious teacher.
MPs’ questions centre on how the man was allowed to conduct the lessons; what existing safeguards are in place at mosques; and whether additional measures, such as new mechanisms to screen individuals working with children, can be introduced.
Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah (Jalan Besar GRC) asked whether the authorities will consider a controlled screening facility for roles involving unsupervised access to children, while Hazlina Abdul Halim (East Coast GRC) asked what safeguards the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) is implementing to prevent similar incidents.
Workers’ Party MP Gerald Giam (Aljunied GRC) asked if the authorities would consider a mechanism via Singpass that could verify if prospective instructors, coaches, tutors and volunteers have any past child sexual offence convictions, without requiring them to share their full criminal histories.
Following the man’s sentencing on Aug 17, MUIS said it would strengthen protections for children and youth at mosques through a common framework.
Wan Rizal and Sharael Taha (Pasir Ris-Changi GRC) sought more details about MUIS’ ongoing review of safeguarding measures at mosques, including when it will be completed and whether the findings will be published.
Plans to create a new “western island” by reclaiming land to merge several southern islands will also come under scrutiny, with at least seven questions filed on the topic.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had announced at the 2026 National Day Rally that an island for industry, energy and defence needs would be reclaimed in the coming decades.
The area for potential reclamation, which covers about 592.8ha, contains marine habitats like coral reefs and seagrass meadows.
Charlene Chen (Tampines GRC) asked if the Government will consider conducting cumulative environmental impact assessments where multiple reclamation, dredging or coastal development projects may affect the same marine ecosystems.
WP’s He Ting Ru (Sengkang GRC) asked how government agencies are engaging with former residents of the islands affected by the planned reclamation.
She also asked how heritage and community considerations arising from the islands’ history will be factored into land use and design plans for the reclaimed area."
Are research careers in Singapore still attractive to top-tier talent? (8 September 2026)
"When my research team at Nanyang Technological University developed an artificial intelligence system to optimise data centre energy use, it led to a deep-tech spin-off that slashed power consumption across major Asian data centre operations by up to 30 per cent. That is the ideal outcome of public research and development investment. But behind every success story lies a quiet crisis: Too few young Singaporeans see a viable, long term career in doing the science that makes such breakthroughs possible.
Singapore's $37 billion commitment to the next five-year tranche of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise fund from 2026 to 2030 (RE2030) signals an unwavering faith in research and enterprise. Business R&D spending surged to $9 billion in 2023 from $5.5 billion in 2018, and industry research jobs grew by a third over these years. Singapore's research is also cited 77 per cent more than the global average.
Yet, figures from the Ministry of Education show that university enrolment in engineering sciences dropped from 42.9 per cent in 2003 to 22.2 per cent in 2023. We are pumping record capital into our innovation machine, but fewer young people see a future in running it.
It is even more critical than ever to attract the brightest minds, not only to pursue engineering and sciences, but also to sustain their future careers in it. Public investment is meant to drive a self-sustaining "value loop" Government funding trains talent: research yields intellectual property; companies commercialise those innovations; and the stronger innovation ecosystem creates rewarding careers that attract even more companies and scientific talent to Singapore, fuelling economic growth and more high-value jobs.
As researchers reach mid-career, some will naturally move between universities, research institutes and industry After working in multi-year research projects, they often bring with them a strong understanding of industry needs, experience in securing resources and the ability to translate ideas into practical innovations.
These capabilities are valuable not only in laboratories, but also in corporate R&D, technology management and other industry roles. Such movement is not necessarily a loss for Singapore. It can spread scientific expertise more widely across the economy. strengthen links between research and business, and help companies build stronger innovation capabilities.
The challenge is therefore not to prevent researchers from moving, but to ensure that research careers remain attractive enough for Singapore to retain a strong core of scientists who can continue generating new knowledge, technologies and talent."
Two-thirds of S’pore students use AI to help them learn at least once a week: PISA study (8 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – Two-thirds of Singapore students reported using AI chatbots to help them learn at least once a week, compared with 46 per cent of students on average across Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.
Nearly half – 41 per cent to 46 per cent – of students here said they frequently use AI to do research on new topics, summarise texts and draft text for writing assignments.
And only 4 per cent of students said they never or hardly ever use AI chatbots for schoolwork, according to a background questionnaire that was part of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025.
The questionnaire had posed 15-year-olds around the world a range of questions including their attitudes towards learning, how they used digital resources, how often they were bullied, as well as teacher support and parental involvement.
It surveyed 6,551 students across 157 schools here. The PISA 2025 results were released on Sept 8, and a record 91 countries and economies had taken part in the latest assessment, which examined the use of AI in school systems for the first time.
The study looked at the differences in AI use across high-performing systems. Singapore has explicitly included the use of AI tools, it noted, while the use of AI for schoolwork in Japan and Estonia is more limited in scope.
Students here reported spending on average 2.1 hours per day using digital devices at school for learning activities, compared with the OECD average of 1.7 hours. They reported spending one hour a day using digital devices at school for leisure, close to the OECD average of 1.1 hours.
In Singapore, 29 per cent of students said their peers are often distracted by the use of digital devices during most or all science lessons, similar to the OECD average (28 per cent).
More schools here have also introduced cell phone bans, with the proportion rising from 16 per cent in 2022 to 43 per cent in 2025.
On average across OECD countries, students in schools where cellphone use is not allowed on school premises are about 13 per cent less likely to report digital distraction.
The PISA report found a complex relationship between AI use and science performance, with the effects depending on how students use AI.
On average across countries, students who said they do not use AI outperform those who do in science by around 20 points – which OECD said is equivalent to being around one year of schooling ahead of their peers.
Speaking to The Straits Times on the findings, OECD’s director for education and skills Andreas Schleicher said AI separates task performance from learning, letting students “do wonderful things without learning anything”.
The report noted that poorer performance could be linked to other reasons, such as struggling students potentially being more likely to rely on artificial intelligence.
Students who do not use AI for specific schoolwork tasks outperform those who do. Meanwhile, students who use AI weekly for general learning perform similarly as those who do not use AI.
Students who report using AI chatbots to help them learn once or twice a week perform at a similar level fared by students who report not using AI at all, on average across the OECD.
This shows that digital tools can support learning when used purposefully and in moderation, said the report. In contrast, overuse or a lack of guidance can lead to distraction, limiting meaningful engagement and negatively affecting learning outcomes.
Students who frequently use AI for learning – and learn to assess the quality of AI-generated information at school – also achieve slightly higher science performance than non- or infrequent users, PISA found.
However, socio-economically advantaged students have greater access to these opportunities, raising concerns about a potential AI divide, the report noted.
Schleicher said the biggest surprise for him was how nearly 40 per cent of the young participants in Singapore said they would check information against sources but rely on common sense over scientific studies.
Students were asked about their views on whether information from a single source should be checked against other sources, and if they should rely more on common sense than scientific evidence.
“AI is common sense. AI is very fluent. It’s very persuasive. It’s very intuitive. In this age, I think common sense is no longer good enough. I think we need to actually reinforce that more scientific attitude, a shared reality that can be verified, not intuition and common sense,” said Schleicher.
He said the danger of AI is that “we give in our human autonomy, our ways of thinking, because technology provides easy solutions”.
Overall, as students engage less in advanced mental processes, this may also contribute to their decline in performance across all three areas in reading, Mathematics and Science, he added. “You do not get fit by watching sports – you get fit by doing sports. And the same is with learning; learning is always about cognitive struggle.”
Singapore students rank top in reading, second in Math and Science in OECD study (8 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE - Singapore’s 15-year-olds have emerged among the top performers in an international benchmarking study to measure how well education systems are preparing students for complex challenges and the future.
The Republic came in first for reading, and second for Mathematics and Science in the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) 2025, based on the performance of 6,551 students across 157 schools here.
Singapore was ranked second in computational problem-solving, a new section that evaluated how 15-year-olds break down complex tasks and design algorithms to solve real-world challenges.
A record 91 countries and economies took part in the latest assessment, up from 81 in the previous test in 2022. The latest study, which is done every three years by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), was released on Sept 8.
The Pisa 2025 survey focused on Science, with Mathematics and reading as minor areas. It also assessed for the first time learning in the digital world, measuring students’ capacities to build knowledge and solve problems using computational tools.
China and Singapore were the highest performers across Science, Mathematics and reading in 2025, with China leading in math and science, and Singapore emerging first in reading.
Estonia, Japan, Korea, Macau, Taiwan and Britain also ranked among the top 10 performing education systems in all three domains. Macau came out tops for computational problem solving, a new segment that assessed how well students can solve problems using computational practices such as analysing data.
The Pisa report noted that many parents still wrongly regard Computer Science as a specialist subject, useful mainly for aspiring software engineers.
“This is a mistake. The real value of computational problem solving lies not in coding itself, but in the habits it develops,” said the report, citing skills like logical reasoning, pattern recognition, and the ability to break complex challenges into manageable parts.
“These are becoming essential skills for a world increasingly shaped by technology and data.”
Test questions in this area examined students’ capacity to use modelling and programming tools, conduct experiments and build and debug computational artefacts - such as programming a robotic claw to sort objects.
Overall, Pisa 2025 recorded the lowest OECD-average performance observed so far in Science, reading and Mathematics. Science scores have declined gradually over the past decade, and mathematics scores fell especially sharply after 2018.
Reading performance saw the most significant drop over the past decade, after peaking around 2012.
In reading, Pisa saw a decline in the skills that matter most in the AI age: evaluating information, making connections across multiple sources, and thinking critically, said the latest report. Across countries, the share of “hasty readers” – students who rush through texts and give quick but incorrect answers – almost doubled between 2018 and 2025.
Compared with the 2022 results, students in Singapore recorded lower scores in Mathematics and reading, and maintained their performance in Science.
In a statement, the Education Ministry said the results affirm the strengths of students here in applying knowledge to solve complex problems and being engaged with learning, “putting them in good stead for lifelong learning”.
“More than half of our students are top performers in computational problem solving, compared to a quarter of students in OECD countries on average.”
They are “highly effective” in conducting experiments, analysing data, and building and debugging computational artefacts to solve complex real-world problems, MOE added.
It also noted how Singapore’s proportion of academic all-rounders (15 per cent) – top performers who did well in reading, mathematics, and science – is the highest among all participating education systems, and five times that of the OECD average (3 per cent)."
Committee to review safeguards protecting minors in Islamic institutions after mosque sex abuse case (8 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – Safeguards are already in place to protect minors in mosques and Islamic religious schools, but rules alone are not enough, said Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Zaqy Mohamad.
Speaking in Parliament on Sept 8, he announced that a committee will be convened to review how existing measures to protect minors in such settings can be strengthened.
This comes after two young children were sexually abused by a self-styled “religious influencer” who conducted religious classes at a mosque without permission.
The committee will study how children and youth can access religious guidance safely – including from formal and informal religious instruction.
It will be led by two chairpersons, associate professor Razwana Begum and Ustaz Fathurrahman Dawoed.
The committee will report to Zaqy.
On Aug 17, a 37-year-old man was sentenced to 27 years and 10 months’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to three charges of rape and two charges of outrage of modesty.
The man met the boys at the mosque and became a part of their lives, even becoming a father figure and their religious guide.
But between 2022 and 2023, the man raped the younger boy, who was between six and eight years old, on several occasions, including at the mosque where they prayed together.
He molested the older boy, who was 11 to 12 years old, on several occasions.
Referring to the fact that the boys had met the man in the mosque, Zaqy said: “That’s what angers me the most. The child basically came to the mosque for solace, for religious guidance, but unfortunately (met) the wrong person.”
Zaqy added that since the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) was informed of the sexual abuse in 2025, mosques have increased measures to include CCTV monitoring and routine checking on groups involving children and youth.
Nine MPs from both sides of the aisle posed questions to Zaqy and Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming on Sept 8.
They asked about how the safeguards and guidelines could be consistently implemented across all mosques, and what additional safeguards are needed beyond professional recognition for religious leaders."
Govt to consider wider screening process for jobs involving contact with children: Goh Pei Ming (8 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – The Government is considering an expansion on criminal record screening of prospective employees applying for roles involving sustained contact with children and young persons, including in non-regulated sectors.
This could include certificate-based systems, said Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming.
The move comes after two young children were sexually abused by a self-styled “religious influencer” who conducted religious classes at a mosque without permission.
The 37-year-old man was on Aug 17 sentenced to 27 years and 10 months’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to three charges of rape and two charges of outrage of modesty.
The man was never engaged by any mosques as a staff member or volunteer, and had not been accredited under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme.
Speaking in Parliament on Sept 8, Goh said the Government will consider if such suggestions are practical, and whether employers such as small and medium businesses can handle the additional screening requirements.
“However when it comes to these things, the safety of our children will have to take priority,” Goh said, adding that more details will be shared when ready.
Responding to Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah (Jalan Besar GRC) on why the Government has taken a while to review the screening framework, Goh said the process involves several levels of considerations across different issues, which all need to be weighed carefully.
Said Goh: “One fundamental question is how much the Government should step in to intervene in unregulated sectors. Should screening be mandatory or voluntary? If we were to mandate it, how can we feasibly implement it across a diverse set of sectors and industries, especially many of those being unregulated?”
Goh mentioned freelance workers as an example of those in unregulated sectors.
He added that implementing a framework could also place the compliance burden and operational constraints onto employers and companies, which will need to be managed."
Confusing ‘mum’ for ‘horse’: New book helps Chinese language teachers tackle common errors by pupils (8 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – Primary school pupils who grow up speaking English as their first language may struggle to differentiate between the Chinese characters for “bitter” and “sour” or between “half” and “sheep”. This is because they are either related in meaning or similar in pronunciation.
These were some of the findings on common mistakes pupils make that Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL) lecturer Gong Cheng, who assessed 672 Primary 1 pupils from 2023 to 2024, discovered. Her research identified five error types made by the pupils.
Some of the errors stem from visual or semantic similarities, such as mistaking the Chinese character for “it” with “also” or “sweep” for “wipe”.
Pupils may also recognise familiar components within a character but fail to understand it as a whole, such as when confusing “mum” and “horse”. They also process commonly paired words as fixed units instead of analysing each character individually, causing them to mistake one character of a common phrase with another.
The last error type involves pupils forming broad categories of meaning without making precise distinctions. This results in “uncle” being confused for “father”.
Her findings were presented in a publication launched on Sept 8 by the SCCL to mark its 18th anniversary. The centre held its eighth international conference on teaching and learning Chinese as a second language.
The conference was attended by more than 600 participants, including scholars, educators and classroom practitioners from Singapore, China, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
The publication, titled Studies In Teaching And Learning Chinese As A Second Language: Singapore Perspectives From K-12 Classrooms, is a collection of papers on SCCL’s research into Chinese-language teaching and aims to help educators develop teaching strategies.
Chinese language use has generally declined among families, according to the General Household Survey 2025.
Among Chinese residents, the share who spoke English most frequently at home was 57.1 per cent in 2025, compared with 47.6 per cent in 2020. Thirty-six per cent of Chinese residents said they spoke Mandarin most frequently at home in 2025, down from 40.2 per cent in 2020.
Gong’s research comes alongside efforts by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to boost the teaching of mother tongue languages. These include extending mother tongue lessons at selected MOE kindergartens and launching the Fly With Books reading programme in primary schools.
Anderson Serangoon Junior College will also launch the Chinese Language Elective Programme in 2027.
Gong said her research could help educators plan lessons to address each error type, and pre-empt misconceptions.
For example, teachers could place visually similar characters side by side and point out their differences to pupils. They could also ask pupils to write the key strokes for each character, helping them see how the characters differ.
To address mistakes arising from semantic similarities, teachers could ask students to act out each word to understand they mean different things, said Gong.
“(A pupil who speaks Chinese as a second language) relies on holistic recognition, taking in the general shape of a word without grasping key details. A native speaker, by contrast, would likely perceive and reproduce the character accurately,” said Gong.
“They are essentially guessing the meaning of words; there is a certain logic to it, yet it’s incorrect. This is why they often perform better on tests where they can choose the correct answer,” she added, referring to the different error types."
Starting earlier, searching longer: How the first-job hunt has changed (9 September 2026)
"For many students today, the pressure to get their first job “right” starts long before they send out an application.
There are internships to secure, skills to build and, before any of that, a more fundamental question: What path should they choose?
For 20-year-old Chloe Lim, the answer is not always clear. Having more options can also bring uncertainty over which path is right for her. Her friends, who come from different educational backgrounds – some creative and artistic, others more science-driven – are also taking time to figure out where they fit.
Chloe, who was among several young Singaporeans who spoke to F ZINE about career pressure, observes that her parents’ generation seemed to have a more straightforward path into work, with clearer expectations of what counted as a “good” office job.
But when parents and their children have different ideas of what starting a career should look like, it can be hard to understand each other’s experiences.
Roshini Kumaravelu, 25, who works in tech consulting, says this gap in understanding can be frustrating.
“I think for my parents, in their time, it was: you apply for three jobs, you get one out of the three, and then you just go to work.
“So if you tell them ‘I sent 100 applications and didn’t get a job’, they think something is wrong with your approach and don’t necessarily question the system,” she says."
No current plans to designate Tagore forest as a nature reserve: Chee Hong Tat (9 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – There are currently no plans to designate the Tagore forest as a nature reserve, Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat said on Sept 8.
He was responding to WP’s Kenneth Tiong (Aljunied GRC), who asked about the criteria the Government uses to decide whether an area should be set aside as a nature reserve and whether it would consider granting Tagore forest such protection.
Another five MPs also asked about land planning and decision-making for ecologically significant sites.
The forested site in the Lentor area is currently zoned for residential development. In 2024, a group of scientists and conservationists proposed that the authorities study the preservation of the plot due to the presence of rare wildlife, including a globally critically endangered monkey.
In his written reply, Chee said his ministry “adopts a science-based approach to prioritising what to conserve, and how we conserve, while strengthening our ecological system over time”.
He said designating a nature reserve involves considering its biodiversity, ecological value and importance to Singapore’s native wildlife. He added that these factors are weighed alongside other land-use needs.
Singapore currently has four nature reserves protected under the Parks and Trees Act. Nature reserves are protected areas for the conservation of Singapore’s biodiversity, and there are various measures to safeguard these spaces. For instance, entry to these areas is restricted to certain hours.
The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Central Catchment Nature Reserve were gazetted in 1990, while Labrador Nature Reserve and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve were gazetted in 2002.
“These are assessed to be the most biodiverse areas in Singapore and are representative of Singapore’s native landscapes,” Chee said.
“They also safeguard a range of habitats and serve as strongholds for various endemic and threatened species.”
The minister said Singapore has set aside more than 7,800ha of green spaces, a figure that will increase to 8,800ha by 2035.
The green spaces include nature parks, which protect nature reserves from the effects of urbanisation, and linear green corridors that link major parks and nature areas.
The proposal to study Tagore forest with a view to designating it as a nature park was mooted in the 2024 Singapore Terrestrial Conservation Plan by nearly 40 scientists and conservationists. They said it is a crucial refuge for native wildlife such as the Raffles’ banded langur and Sunda pangolin.
Another report published in August by youth nature groups LepakInSG and Singapore Youth Voices for Biodiversity called for the site to be turned into a nature park."
Singapore’s AI talent development must start young (9 September 2026)
"In Astana, the futuristic capital of Kazakhstan, young minds from across the world were being put to the test. More than 450 students from 108 countries spent days experimenting, debugging models, testing ideas and working out why seemingly reasonable approaches failed.
This was the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI).
Singapore had eight student participants who returned with an impressive haul: one gold, three silver and three bronze medals. While there was good reason to celebrate, the results also offer a glimpse of something bigger happening around us. Countries are starting to identify and develop their AI talent much earlier.
Traditional AI Olympiad powerhouses remain formidable. Russia took seven gold medals, Poland four and China five. But the competition is also becoming stronger closer to home. Vietnam, for instance, won two gold medals in 2026, while Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines also had medal-winning students.
Unlike a conventional coding competition, the IOAI tests students on a range of AI and machine-learning problems, requiring them to understand data, models and evaluation rather than simply write code.
Singapore's representatives also go through a rigorous selection process: Students first compete in the National Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (NOAI), after which the top performers undergo a further selection test before the final eight are chosen to represent Singapore at the IOAI.
This is a healthy development for our region. But it should also prompt Singapore to think about where our own Al talent pipeline begins.
For years, much of the discussion about AI talent has focused on universities, researchers and the workforce. We want to attract world-class AI scientists, train more engineers and help workers acquire Al skills. These efforts are important. But by university, many young people have already decided what they are good at and what they want to pursue.
If Al is going to become an increasingly important part of our economy and society, talent development needs to start earlier."
Almost 40 per cent of molestation cases which occurred in homes involved victims under 16: MHA (9 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – Among the 227 cases of molestation in homes in the first half of the year, 38 per cent involved victims under the age of 16.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim said this in Parliament on Sept 9, in response to a question from Workers’ Party’s Sylvia Lim (Aljunied GRC).
She had asked about the breakdown of molestation cases which involved offenders who exploited their positions of trust or power, and the proportion of cases which involved victims under the age of 16.
Zhulkarnain said the police do not track the number of molestation cases involving offenders who had exploited positions of power.
He said the police have implemented various measures to raise awareness and to encourage reporting of such crimes.
This includes the police working with the Ministry of Education and schools to raise students’ awareness of sexual crimes and to encourage students to report their concerns and seek help from trusted adults.
There were a total of 762 cases of molestation in the first half of 2026, up from 739 in the first half of 2025, said the police in their mid-year crime report.
Besides residential premises, many of the other cases occurred on public transport and at public entertainment outlets."
Six men to be charged with outrage of modesty (9 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – A 76-year-old man is set to be charged on Sept 10 after he allegedly molested a 22-year-old woman near the Singapore General Hospital in 2025.
In a press statement on Sept 9, the police said the incident took place in the area of Hospital Boulevard on May 27, 2025. The man also allegedly uttered words intended to insult a person’s modesty.
Meanwhile, a 36-year-old man is also facing one count of outrage of modesty and one count of uttering words intended to insult the modesty of any person. He allegedly molested a 23-year-old woman in the vicinity of Victoria Street on July 16.
They are among six men, aged between 23 and 76, who are expected to be charged over their involvement in separate cases of outrage of modesty or molestation.
A 34-year-old man was arrested on Dec 15, 2025, for allegedly molesting a 17-year-old woman in the vicinity of Silat Avenue. He will be charged with two counts of outrage of modesty and two counts of uttering words and making a gesture intended to insult the modesty of any person.
In the fourth case, a 29-year-old man was arrested on May 7 for allegedly molesting an 18-year-old woman and a 22-year-old woman in the vicinity of Bayfront Avenue. He will be charged with two counts of outrage of modesty."
Your Candy Crush or Mobile Legends habit isn’t something to be ashamed of (9 September 2026)
"Take any MRT or bus and you’ll see the familiar glow of an army of smartphone screens. Some on Netflix, others answering e-mails and still others on their social media feeds.
Then there are those engrossed in their games, whether it is moving coloured blocks, deciphering word puzzles, managing imaginary cities or fighting virtual battles. Their screens emit bursts of light, fingers tapping and moving in a frenzy of activity.
Even as they leave the train, they continue playing, their eyes glued to the screen.
For a country that places such a high premium on work, productivity and academic achievement, it appears that Singaporeans take their play very seriously too. To be precise, their mobile game play.
Many of us may instinctively roll our eyes and dismiss these games as frivolous diversions and time-wasting addictions. But it's worth asking what draws so many busy, educated and achievement-oriented people to mobile games in the first place.
Rather than seeing them as a guilty pleasure or something to be ashamed of, these games can bring us some benefits."
Seemingly mindless, but cognitively engaging
Mobile games may seem mindless. But they are also cognitively engaging.
Manipulating blocks at high speed to fit them into visible gaps demands tremendous concentration, yet offers a welcome reprieve from the weightier issues one must battle in our professional, social or personal realms.
Stealing several minutes from high-stakes endeavours to focus squarely on a fundamentally inconsequential task feels exquisitely liberating in our overscheduled lives.
Ensuring that the virtual car you're steering does not crash can imbue one with a satisfying sense of mission, but insulates you from the dreadful reality of a real-life collision.
Therein lies the joy of play, that one's energies can be channelled towards a simple task with clear goals and the absence of life-shattering outcomes."
The future of play: How new guidelines are transforming Singapore’s playgrounds (10 September 2026)
"In December 2025, the Housing Board released playground design guidelines that spell out mandatory features for all playgrounds in new Build-To-Order developments and existing playgrounds to be redesigned or upgraded. The rules will also apply to playgrounds in HDB’s public parks.
The guidelines group different types of play features and skills into three key aspects – physical, social and creative. The aim is to create fun, engaging playgrounds while balancing considerations such as safety, age-appropriateness and space.
Playpoint, a local playground and landscape consultancy, is refurbishing the playgrounds. Jason Sim, its managing director, told The Straits Times that the firm incorporated play values into playground designs even before HDB mandated them. Nevertheless, he welcomes the guidelines as they establish important baselines for the industry.
These are the features of each type of play under the new guidelines."
Details on when new childcare leave benefits kick in to be shared in early 2027: Indranee (10 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – More details on the start date of childcare leave enhancements announced at the National Day Rally will be shared in early 2027, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah.
This is as laws have to be amended and implementation details worked out with the employers and unions, Indranee said in response to parliamentary questions on Sept 10.
The Government is also studying ways to better support companies with backfilling arrangements, though the longer-term solution to firms’ operational challenges is to accept that leave for caregiving needs is now part and parcel of normal human resources policy, and to design their workplace norms and practices around this, she added.
Indranee was replying to four questions by MPs on the expanded leave benefits that Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had announced in August, which will provide each working parent with up to 12 days of childcare leave a year, up from the current six days if their children are aged up to six and two days if their kids are aged seven to 12.
Wong had also said the state will fully fund all costs for statutory child-related leave up to a limit, instead of the current model where costs are shared 50-50 with employers."
Radiant World-funded scholarship in UWCSEA under review as S’pore iron ore trader’s legal woes mount (10 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – A United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) scholarship funded by Radiant World is under review following global investigations and allegations of trade finance fraud by the Singapore-based iron ore trader.
UWCSEA, which has campuses in Dover and Tampines, is an international school in Singapore offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma.
Radiant World’s website says its foundation funds scholarships for talented young women from India to pursue IB at UWCSEA and UWC UK.
In response to The Straits Times’ queries, UWCSEA said Radiant World approached the school two years ago with an offer to “fund scholars to come to our school”.
The offer was accepted under the guidance of the school’s gift acceptance policy, which “requires due diligence and provides for review of the gift if circumstances change”.
“In the light of recent reports, the gift from Radiant World is currently under review,” UWCSEA said on Sept 9. It added that the gift currently funds one scholarship holder, and the school is committed to supporting that scholarship holder for the duration of the two-year scholarship.
The review follows allegations that Radiant World used invalid or falsified documents to obtain financing. Major banks, miners and commodity traders have pulled back from Radiant World. Several creditors are pursuing legal actions against the company and its founder, Pinkesh Nahar.
The Singapore police had previously told ST that it is investigating the company. This follows similar actions from the authorities in the US and Britain."
P1 registration: More Phase 2C places from 2027; 12 schools to keep spots for kids living farther away (10 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE - More Primary 1 places will be reserved for children without prior connections, as part of efforts to widen access to schools and improve social mixing.
From the next registration exercise in 2027, 60 spots will be set aside for this group of children in Phase 2C, up from the current 40. This will not apply to schools with smaller Primary 1 intakes of fewer than 180 pupils. Based on the 2026 registration data, 27 out of 179 primary schools were of this size.
Twelve schools in areas like Bukit Timah, Newton and Marine Parade, with a lower proportion of public housing, will also set aside spots in Phase 2C for children who live more than 2km away, to ensure access to a more diverse mix of applicants.
This is the stage for those who do not qualify for the earlier stages of admission, which give priority to children of alumni and other connections.
Announcing these changes on Sept 10, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said it had identified 12 schools in neighbourhoods where public housing makes up less than 40 per cent of homes within a 2km radius.
Applying home-school distance priority to these schools may not substantially broaden access for children from different socio-economic backgrounds, it said.
As such, these 12 schools will split the 60 reserved places in Phase 2C into two tracks. This means 30 spots will be reserved for those who live within 2km of the school, and the remaining 30 will be for those who live even farther away.
Within each of the two tracks, how far a child lives from the school will not be considered.
The 12 schools are: Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) (Junior); ACS Primary; CHIJ (Katong) Primary; Methodist Girls’ School (Primary); Nanyang Primary School; Ngee Ann Primary School; Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School; Raffles Girls’ Primary School; Singapore Chinese Girls’ Primary School; St Margaret’s School (Primary); Tanjong Katong Primary School; and Tao Nan School.
This move is meant to maintain access for a share of pupils living nearby while opening the schools up to those living farther away."
What the 2027 P1 registration changes mean for your child (10 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – Starting from the 2027 Primary 1 registration exercise, almost all schools in Singapore will open up more reserved places for children without prior connections.
For 12 schools in areas such as Bukit Timah and Marine Parade, places will also be reserved for children who live more than 2km away.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) said the moves are intended to widen access to the schools and encourage greater mixing among pupils from different backgrounds.
What are the latest changes announced on Sept 10, and how will they affect school applicants? The Straits Times explains.
Q: How will the 2027 P1 registration exercise change?
The changes will apply to Phase 2C, which is for children without prior ties to the school and where home-school distance plays a role in admission.
The number of places reserved for this phase will increase to 60 from 40 for almost all schools.
This change will not be applied to schools with smaller intakes of fewer than 180 pupils.
In the 2026 P1 registration exercise, there were 27 such schools out of 179 that were open for registration in 2026.
For 12 schools in areas such as Bukit Timah and Marine Parade where the proportion of public housing is significantly lower than the national average, the 60 reserved places in Phase 2C will be split into two tracks.
Thirty spots will be reserved for those who live within 2km of the school and the remaining 30 will be for those who live farther away. Within each of these two tracks, home-school distance priority will not apply.
“Some schools have a narrower socio-economic mix of students, reflecting the profile of their immediate neighbourhoods,” said MOE on Sept 10. “This is partly due to the current home-school distance priority in the P1 registration framework, where priority is determined by citizenship, followed by home-school distance, when balloting is required.”
The other phases of registration – Phase 1, 2A and 2B – will remain unchanged."
Primary 1 changes could improve diversity in popular schools but increase competition, say observer (10 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE - The latest changes to the Primary 1 registration system could broaden the mix of pupils in some of Singapore’s most popular primary schools, academics said, by giving more children without prior ties a higher chance of admission.
They said the measures also send a signal to parents that priority admission to their alma mater is not a guarantee.
But they also noted that the changes may intensify competition across most phases, and high resale prices in public housing estates with popular schools may make the area less accessible to lower-income families.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Sept 10 that 60 places will be reserved in Phase 2C for children with no prior connections to the school, up from 40 currently. This will apply to schools with intakes of more than 180 pupils, from the 2027 P1 registration exercise.
A new two-track system for 12 schools, including the popular Nanyang Primary School in Bukit Timah and Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) in Newton, will also be implemented.
Under this scheme, half of the 60 reserved places in Phase 2C at these schools will be for children living within 2km of the school, and the other half for those living farther away.
Splitting Phase 2C places between children living within and beyond 2km could widen the geographical catchment of these schools, said Vincent Chua, an associate professor of sociology and anthropology from the National University of Singapore.
This could also weaken the link between living close to a popular school and having a better chance of getting in, he added.
Chua said the changes could promote social mixing by widening access to families who have no prior connection to a school."
Jail or reformative training not default sentence for young money mules: High Court (10 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – Contrary to recommendations issued in 2024, the courts should not treat imprisonment or reformative training (RT) as the default sentence for youth convicted of scams-related offences, the High Court clarified on Sept 10.
Such a sentencing approach is “too blunt”, given the courts’ longstanding recognition of young offenders’ lack of maturity, the prospects of a long and productive life ahead of them, and the importance of securing their rehabilitation wherever possible.
The ruling was issued by a three-judge panel comprising Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Justice Ang Cheng Hock and Justice Hoo Sheau Peng.
The judges had heard seven unrelated appeals involving young money mules, six of whom were below the age of 21 when they committed their respective offences.
The offenders were convicted of various scam-related offences involving the opening of bank accounts and the handing over of electronic banking details to scammers."
The sound of an identity: A look into the Singaporean accent (11 September 2026)
"Picture this: You’re halfway across the world in a crowded cafe. Around you is the predictable bustle of glasses clinking and chairs scraping the floor. People are talking loudly, but the languages and accents are foreign to you.
Then one voice catches your ear.
You may not catch the entire sentence. You hear no Singlish – no “lah” or “shiok”. But there is something in the way the words are spoken and emphasised, how the pitch rises and falls, a recognisable cadence that gives the speech a distinctive melody.
As if picking up a familiar tune, you instinctively know: It’s the Singaporean accent.
An accent is a combination of features, including how we pronounce consonants and vowels, where we place stress, how we intonate and the unique rhythm of our speech, explains Tan Ying Ying, an associate professor of linguistics and multilingual studies at the School of Humanities in Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
While different communities of people in Singapore have slightly different accents, says Tan, there is a fairly standard set of shared features that sounds Singaporean."
New Outward Bound Singapore campus opens on Coney Island with over 70 high-adventure elements (11 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – The new Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) campus on Coney Island officially opened on Sept 11, allowing all Secondary 3 students to experience an outdoor adventure camp by 2030.
Nestled on the eastern side of the tree-lined island off Punggol, the 12ha campus is OBS’ largest, featuring more than 70 high-adventure elements and more than 30 team-based challenges.
These include wheelchair-accessible elements so students with disabilities – who were excluded from some activities previously – can join their peers.
The new facility was opened by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. He was accompanied by David Neo, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, and Second Minister for Education, and Goh Hanyan, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth, and Sustainability and the Environment.
At the campus’ official opening on Sept 11, PM Wong said opportunities will be expanded for older students from the Institute of Technical Education, polytechnics and universities to try OBS’ leadership programmes, so it would “become a rite of passage for every young Singaporean”.
Building young people’s characters has become even more important in a more complex and volatile world, he added.
“We cannot shield young people from every setback or difficulty, but we must continue to equip them with the capabilities and the ability to face adversity with confidence and grit, and that is exactly what OBS is designed to do,” said PM Wong.
Beyond the expeditions and obstacle courses it is associated with, OBS is about discovering capabilities when stretched beyond comfort zones and what a group can achieve together, he said.
The Coney Island facility is OBS’ third campus. PM Wong said its location creates new possibilities for expeditions linking Coney Island with existing OBS sites at Pulau Ubin and East Coast."
Everyday people in WWII: New book tells Singapore’s history under Occupation through personal items (11 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – After the Japanese occupied Singapore in February 1942, all men and working women had to carry a pink labour identity booklet issued by the Labour Association.
These booklets from the Malaya Sumatra Romukanrikyokai allowed the military administration to track the adult male population and the availability of labourers.
Within months, residents were weighed down by other documents reflecting the harsh conditions of life: ration cards, bicycle registration cards, and permits for buying condensed milk or cloth.
Concurrently, the Japanese military police issued registration certificates to China immigrants arriving in Singapore, known as Syonan during the Occupation. Chinese men aged 18 to 50 were screened at five inspection centres to determine if they supported China or were against Japan.
At those inspection centres, a single rectangular stamp would determine their fates.
Those who “passed” received the stamp on their documents, clothing, or arms and were released. The rest were loaded onto trucks and taken to mass execution sites – a tragedy in Singapore’s history known as Sook Ching, meaning “to purge or cleanse”.
Such artefacts are featured in a new book, Remembering Syonan: 80 Objects From Occupied Singapore. It will launch at the National Library on Sept 12 – exactly 81 years to the day after the formal Japanese surrender."
How to thrive in a tight graduate job market (11 September 2026)
"At the start of your career, learning and laying a career foundation matters the most. This is an abridged version of a speech delivered at the Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum on Sept 7.
Many of you have shared that it has become more challenging to find jobs. Some of you are stacking multiple internships to secure a job. Some have sent out hundreds of CVs. Sometimes you get screened out by AI even before you meet a human interviewer. The Graduate Employment Survey data reflects some of this experience.
From 2023 to 2025, the proportion of graduates who secured employment six months after graduation declined from about 93 per cent to 89 per cent. It is a more competitive graduate employment market.
What has changed? For one, there are now more graduates both in absolute terms, and as well as a percentage of every cohort. When I graduated in the early 1990s, about one in five students in a cohort became graduates. Today, it is one in two.
This is a positive development, as more young Singaporeans are better educated and can achieve aspirations to get a degree.
The Government expanded university places to support not just the desire from parents and students for higher education, but also to support the restructuring and upgrading of our economy.
Regardless of the number of graduates, employers always look for distinct qualities within job applicants. In the past, they can do so by using your GPAs as ap proxy of the qualities they are looking for. Now, with more graduates, employers also select applicants through internships.
But there’s an unintended consequence. As more students build internship experience in addition to exemplary grades, the job search process becomes more demanding. We now have a self-reinforcing loop. Employers tighten hiring criteria, graduates respond by doing more to meet the new criteria. Soon we have an arms race. To help students land internships and find jobs, the Government developed programmes like GRIT, the graduate industry traineeships scheme. In a way, Government too got pulled into this arms race.
Things are also happening on the demand side, amongst employers. Driven by larger forces, many industries have been undergoing significant change over the years - automobiles shifting to EVs, entertainment moving to streaming platforms, supply chains are reconfiguring because of geopolitical disruptions, healthcare being reshaped by an older population.
And then there is AI. In some organisations and industries, it is automating certain routine tasks. which used to be handled by new hires. Hence AI might have raised the baseline expectations of what a new hire has to do.
This has given rise to what some call the ‘broken ladder syndrome’. The career ladder is still there, but the first two rungs have been replaced by AI. As a new hire now, you need to take a bigger step and start from the third rung instead of the first. There are important long term implications of that development, because sometimes it’s the first two rungs that help us learn the ropes of the industry.
In summary, we now have more graduates entering the market, employers needing to differentiate between job applicants and higher expectations of new hires. These are three compounding factors resulting in a tighter graduate job market and greater job search anxiety. The question is, how should we respond?"
Will the changes to P1 registration move the needle in popular schools? (11 September 2026)
"The changes made to Primary 1 registration, starting from the 2027 exercise, are a meaningful recalibration.
The broad framework of the current system, which offers priority to parents with links to schools, as well as to those living nearby, has been retained. But the changes will go some way in making popular primary schools more accessible and, with a more diverse student mix, we can expect better social mixing.
These are outcomes to aim for at a time when some such schools risk becoming increasingly stratified and the divide has deepened between children from more affluent backgrounds and those with lesser means.
This is not just an idealistic exercise but could also make a real difference on the ground. Research has clearly shown that students from poorer backgrounds tend to do better in life if they interact with more affluent peers.
The doors of popular schools even in wealthy neighbourhoods will now be opened wider even to those who can't afford to live in these neighbourhoods and have no previous connection with these schools.
While this is a good first step, one should be under no illusion that this will be smooth sailing. Vested interests may push back and some of the less well-off may hesitate to join these storied schools. These issues will need to be addressed, as the rationale behind these changes is a worthy one."
Parents say new P1 rules widen school options but disrupt plans for alumni, families who moved homes (11 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – Changes to the Primary 1 registration exercise from 2027 have prompted parents to rethink school choices, with some now considering schools that were previously out of reach.
Families without prior links to schools nearby now stand to benefit from more places, after the Education Ministry announced on Sept 10 that 60 places will be reserved for Phase 2C, up from 40 currently.
The increase in Phase 2C spots applies to schools with intakes of 180 or more Primary 1 pupils.
But parents who had moved homes to get their children into popular schools said the latest changes have disrupted plans they had made years in advance, particularly for those targeting schools in the Bukit Timah area.
For marketing specialist Janice Lim, 40, the increased number of spaces in Phase 2C could help her five-year-old son secure a place in Hong Wen School, a five-minute walk from their home.
The family had applied for the school in the same phase for their daughter in 2025, but were unsuccessful.
“We thought it would be good for our girl, given its emphasis on Mandarin. But we were out-balloted at Phase 2C,” she said, adding that her daughter is now studying in another school nearby.
Though the changes do benefit them, Lim and her husband know there could be other roadblocks, as the school has faced balloting in Phase 2C in previous years.
“There has been quite a few BTO developments in our estate in recent years, so this change may be mitigated by a potentially larger pool of applicants who live within 1km of the school,” she said."
New rules for P1 registration could widen home search for parents eyeing popular schools (11 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE - Parents hoping to get their children into 12 sought-after primary schools might now cast their property search wider, following new rules that will set aside spots for children who live more than 2km away from the school.
But property analysts do not expect demand for homes near these schools to drop.
Many of the 12 schools are located in prime districts – such as Bukit Timah and Marine Parade – that remain popular among buyers for reasons beyond their proximity to schools, said Eugene Lim, key executive officer of property agency ERA Singapore.
Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at property firm Realion (OrangeTee & ETC) Group, added that demand within 2km of these schools may remain firm, as parents may perceive that they face less competition in this pool, compared with the islandwide pool for those living farther away.
“However, the robust demand is not likely to cause prices to escalate, as parents will not need to live as close to the school as possible now,” Sun said.
From the 2027 Primary 1 registration exercise, 12 schools will adopt a two-track system under Phase 2C, with 30 places reserved for children living within 2km of the school and another 30 for those living farther away.
These schools were picked because public housing makes up less than 40 per cent of homes within a 2km radius from the school, with the aim to widen access to schools and improve social mixing."
Children’s birthday parties are the next level in the parenting arms race (12 September 2026)
"The birthday party invitation arrives in the class chat group. A function room at a hotel, with a high-tea buffet followed by a giant pool party.
Your child peers over your shoulder and says excitedly: “Wow. When it’s my birthday, can I have something like that?”
As a parent myself, I’ve had my fair share of these experiences.
We know, in theory, that birthday parties don’t have to be big or splashy to be meaningful. We also know that we are teaching our children a value or two when we choose to practise restraint.
But then comes the invite - and your child’s response to it. Then we realise that every other child in the class had a similar birthday party before. And then we go for the party - and see how thoroughly your child and their friends enjoy the experience.
We sigh, cave in and book the private room at the indoor playground, or the event space at the upscale restaurant.
It may cost us a pretty penny. But we worry that our child could feel like the one who had less. We tell ourselves that it’ll just be this one year. And, perhaps, we imagine our child’s smile on their big day.
Like prestigious schools and branded enrichment centres, it seems that our children’s birthday parties are the next level in the increasingly competitive parenting arms race. How did we get here?"
The Story of Studio Ghibli exhibition to make world premiere at Gardens by the Bay (12 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – The immersive exhibition of The Story of Studio Ghibli will make its world premiere at Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay on Dec 18.
The Singapore edition – which will span almost 3,500 sq m and run through July 4, 2027 – marks the largest presentation of The Story of Studio Ghibli to date, said exhibition organiser M Experience in a statement on Sept 12.
At the exhibition, visitors can “journey through unforgettable moments” from Studio Ghibli classics, including Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind (1984), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), Princess Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2001), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) and The Boy And The Heron (2023), it said.
The exhibition will be an immersive, walk-through experience featuring 12 life-sized recreated worlds, said M Experience.
Visitors can encounter the Ohmu, the giant insects that inhabit the Sea of Corruption in Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind, stand beside Totoro while waiting for the Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro and wander through the mysterious streets of Spirited Away.
In addition, the showcase will feature the world’s first 8m-tall 3D recreation of the iconic bath house in Spirited Away, bringing Dogo Onsen – said to be the real-world inspiration behind the movie’s setting – to Singapore’s shores.
Interactive multimedia installations will be placed throughout the exhibition, which is designed for fans of all ages and will also allow them to explore themes such as creativity, resilience and environmental stewardship, said M Experience.
Educational initiatives and learning opportunities are being developed to “encourage deeper engagement” with these themes, it said, adding that further details will be made public closer to the Dec 18 opening."
Many radicalised individuals are ‘normal’ folk misled into believing ideologies: Experts (12 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – They work behind closed doors, their identities a secret because their job includes working with terror detainees under the Internal Security Act (ISA) to turn them around from being a threat to society.
Dave (not his real name) has been an intelligence psychologist with the Internal Security Department (ISD) for five years.
When a radicalised person is detained, Dave and others in the team are among those called in to rehabilitate the individual.
He said intelligence psychologists conduct psychological assessments and interventions for individuals detained or issued with restriction orders under the ISA for terrorism-related activities.
Dave, who is in his 30s, added: “Our aim is to better understand each person’s rehabilitation needs, psychological vulnerabilities to radicalisation, motivations and strengths, and tailor our rehabilitation approach accordingly.
“We also run psychological rehabilitation programmes that strengthen areas such as critical thinking, emotional regulation, identity development and adaptive coping.”
In its annual terrorism report released on Sept 10, the ISD, which is part of the Home Team, said the terrorist threat in Singapore remains high, fuelled by conflicts in the Middle East.
Youth radicalisation is a pressing concern, with the number of cases involving young people here almost quadrupling in recent years – from four cases between 2017 and 2021 to 15 cases since 2022.
The report also noted that the rehabilitation programmes have been successful. Since 2002, more than 80 per cent of Singaporeans detained under the ISA have been released after making good progress in their rehabilitation.
Dave and his colleague Cass (not her real name), another intelligence psychologist at ISD, spoke to the media via e-mail in a rarely granted interview.
Their counter-terrorism involvement is part of SGSecure, a national movement launched in 2016 to prepare Singaporeans to deal with terrorist attacks and equip them with skills to handle a crisis. The movement will mark its 10th anniversary on Sept 23."
‘Father of emergency medicine’ among 17 doctors to receive apex title in S’pore medical field (12 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – A professor of medicine recognised as the “father of emergency medicine” in Singapore, Venkataraman Anantharaman, and paediatrician Phua Kong Boo, who led vaccine trials for rotavirus, received the highest medical honour on Sept 12.
They were among 17 pioneering doctors and dentists who received the Eminent Academician title from the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine’s Clinical Sciences Building.
In a speech at the ceremony to confer the titles, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said the title honours clinicians who have contributed significantly over a lifetime.
“Not only have they journeyed alongside the development of Singapore’s healthcare system – guiding, enriching and improving it over many years, they have also touched the lives of many patients and their families,” he said.
“Concurrently, they have made their mark in clinical excellence, research, education and leadership, and have upheld the ethos and standards of the medical profession.”
Ong said the title demonstrates to the medical profession what the highest standards of medicine and dentistry look like.
“To those who are just starting out on your medical career, the life’s work of the eminent academicians in this room is a testament to what each of you can and should aspire towards,” he told an audience that included graduates of the Academy of Medicine."
NTU team’s AI tool among 14 projects worldwide funded by OpenAI (13 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – Researchers in Singapore are building an artificial intelligence tool that can predict how economic policies such as cash handouts may boost the economy.
The tool forecasts economic outcomes, such as whether people will save or spend their money, with far greater accuracy than traditional simulation models. This allows policymakers to test more alternative policies to achieve the desired economic outcome.
Developed by four researchers at Nanyang Technological University, it is among 14 projects worldwide to receive funding from OpenAI as part of the company’s commitment to promoting economic opportunity and societal resilience through AI.
The 14 projects were selected from over 400 submissions to OpenAI’s call for proposals in April.
The NTU team, led by Nanyang Business School Provost’s Chair Professor in Information Systems Hyeokkoo Eric Kwon, will receive US$100,000 (S$126,800).
He said the money will go towards developing and testing the tool, which has not been named, over the next six months."
‘I was really lost’: Beauty course helped N-level student find her calling on the world stage (13 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – Winnalyn Tay did not enjoy going to class in secondary school.
“All you do is just study and then PE, recess and study,” said the 19-year-old. The only class she liked was chemistry lessons in the lab. “I just like being out of the classroom.”
“I was really lost, not knowing what to do in future...I know I’m going to ITE, but what course?”
When her mother suggested nursing, she could not summon much enthusiasm. But while looking up courses in the lead-up to her N levels, she stumbled upon the beauty and wellness course at ITE and felt a spark.
“Which girl doesn’t want to learn make-up? I was also starting to get into skincare,” she said.
After struggling with acne and blackheads, Tay researched ways to manage breakouts and experimented with various cleansers, moisturisers and face masks. “That was when I started to buy and test which ones suited me.”
Tay was happy to find out that ITE’s beauty course, unlike secondary school, was highly hands-on. “It’s not just pen and paper,” she said.
ITE’s Higher Nitec course in beauty and wellness management teaches students skills in make-up, beauty treatments, nail services, body care, basic hairstyling and salon operations. Tay is in her third year of the three-year course, after which she plans to progress to the technical diploma in this area.
She liked it so much that she signed up to join the beauty therapy category at WorldSkills after learning about it from her class adviser, a former competitor.
Tay will represent Singapore at WorldSkills Shanghai in just over a week’s time. She will face 21 competitors from other countries.
The competition will assess her techniques in a chosen combination of services, such as facial and pedicure, on a model over two or three hours. It also tests how she speaks to customers and takes care of their modesty, among other things."
A toy helicopter piqued his interest. Now he’s building drones (13 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – When Shafriel Nur Iman received a toy helicopter from his father for his sixth birthday, no one knew it would spark a passion that would lead him to represent Singapore at the biggest international competition for skills.
He will be pitting his drone knowledge and abilities against 10 competitors from other countries, such as China, Japan and the United Arab Emirates, at the 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai from Sept 22 to 27.
The competition will assess him on the various stages of assembly, repair, programming and piloting over four days, with the longest session lasting over four hours.
This is the first time unmanned aerial systems are featured at the event, the world’s largest competition aimed at advancing technical and vocational education.
Shafriel, 18, said his accountant dad knew he was interested in flying generally and bought him toy helicopters every year.
When he was in kindergarten, he encountered a flight simulator in a cockpit while on a school trip to the Singapore Flyer. This sparked in him the desire to become a pilot “because I thought (at the time) that was the best part in the aviation industry and the only part”, he recalled.
Later, Shafriel learnt about drones in his secondary school’s applied learning programme about the future of transportation.
As he looked up the different jobs related to flying, he felt a career in drones was a good fit for him, as he liked Physics and Mathematics, which are relevant to aerodynamics, coding and measurement for drones.
He is now an aviation management student at Republic Polytechnic (RP) and has a particular interest in the use of drones in the security and defence sectors."
34 young people gear up to represent Singapore at ‘Olympics of skills’ in Shanghai (13 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – After missing the N-level cut-off for polytechnic admission by one point, Brandon Yap turned his academic struggles into motivation and is now set to represent Singapore at the prestigious WorldSkills Competition.
When he was young, Yap would help his dad as he fixed a lightbulb. That got him wondering how things work.
The experience later sparked his interest in engineering, eventually leading the teen, who was aimless in secondary school, to pursue a Diploma in Electrical Engineering at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. He also joined an international competition in a field entirely new to him – mechatronics.
Mechatronics is a branch of engineering that involves using mechanics, electronics and programming to build automated systems, such as those used on factory assembly lines.
Yap, 21, is among 34 young people from ITE and the polytechnics who will represent Singapore at the WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai in just over a week’s time."
2 free children’s books bring Singapore’s past to life through kaya toast and ice-cream bread (13 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – Many children love a good plate of chicken rice or a slice of kaya toast, but few know the story behind them – that these familiar dishes were introduced by Hainanese immigrants who made Singapore their home.
To help kids explore the roots of these beloved dishes, Koh V-Nying, 24, Ng Wee Liang, 27, and Yong Chuen Shin, 25 – collectively known as The Hainanese Cooked – have released Bo’ Hou And The Grand Feast, a picture book celebrating Hainanese culture and cuisine.
Available to read for free online at hainanesecooked.netlify.app, the story follows two animal characters, Bo’ Hou and Mai Tin, inspired by the traditional Hainanese tiger and lion dance.
Through their adventures, young readers are introduced to dialect phrases and lesser-known delicacies such as ge bia, a Hainanese-style mooncake made with orange peel and pepper.
“We hope young readers can learn Hainanese phrases and about delicacies they may not encounter in everyday life,” says Yong, who is of Hainanese heritage. “We want to spark their curiosity to explore more about our culture.”
How to bridge the generation gap (13 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – I gave my son a book recently about finding his career pathway. Its title is 80,000 Hours: How To Have A Fulfilling Career That Does Good (2026).
The book is by British author Benjamin Todd, the founder and president of 80,000 Hours. The latter is a London-based non-profit organisation that conducts research on which careers have the largest positive social impact, and provides career advice and support.
Todd wrote: “You have about 80,000 hours in your career: 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, for 40 years. This means your choice of career is the most important decision you'll ever make.”
STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS
My son told me that he plans to explore internships in different industries to find out what he wants to do. As he will be graduating from the Singapore Management University in less than two years, I thought the book would be helpful for him.
As his father, I could not resist offering my two cents. I reminded him not to expect life to be linear. He should brace himself for its many ups and downs.
Each generation faces its own challenges and will have to work through them.
He is not without a guide though, as there is a path that the generation before leaves behind for the next.
He has seen and heard about how his lawyer dad worked with people in the office and provided for the family. He has also seen the other roles his father has taken on, from marriage to friendships, and from parenting to leading a small church community.
I hope he has drawn his own lessons from these observations.
But role models go beyond his old man. He will also meet some of them as he enters the workforce and engages with his church community. At times, he will find them in the most casual of acquaintances.
He will read about them, too; leaders who have impacted community and society, and how they have persevered to grow. As iron sharpens iron, I am sure the lessons learnt will shape his thoughts and actions in a positive way."
How to stay calm with a little over a week to the written PSLE papers (13 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – When Grace Lio’s daughter finished her recent Chinese PSLE Oral exam, she nearly cried as it had been unexpectedly tough. Lio hugged Jodi throughout the day and kept telling her: “It’s okay. You are bigger than the PSLE.”
Lio then took a deep breath and turned to friends to unburden her own anxieties and worries. "It's natural for parents to be anxious, but we have to manage it," says the therapist with Mindful Bear, who also counsels stressed-out parents and children in the course of her work. “Because I want to make sure I am focusing on my child, and that we can all calmly help her to fulfil her potential.”
With the written PSLE papers just over a week away on Sept 24, it is perfectly normal for parents and children to feel stressed.
Says Moses Soh, chief executive Says Moses Soh, chief executive and head of academics at Mind Stretcher: “Stress and anxiety are natural feelings we learn to cope with over time. These simply mean the exam is important to us. That's a good and responsible thing to feel.”
He emphasises that a child's confidence is everything. He suggests that on the academic front, the focus in the last week should just be consolidating and reviewing past mistakes, and perhaps working on just a few practice papers to “calm the exam nerves”.
Soh adds: “Children need to stay healthy and well rested, and trust in their work over the past few years.”
At this stage, it is critical to ensure that children can do their best in the exam and are rested, calm and confident."
The cautionary lesson from Finland on PISA scores (13 September 2026)
"When the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study of teenage reading, mathematics and science abilities around the world showed a marked drop in 2022, many hoped this was a short-term hit from pandemic learning disruptions. The 2025 figures published a few days ago showed the opposite: a steepening of the decline.
All told, the results show 15-year-olds in high-income countries today are roughly 1½ years behind their 2015 counterparts in terms of literacy, knowledge and reasoning skills.
We should always be careful of over-interpreting alarming trends, but the findings align with separate measures of adult skills, plus national tests as well as long-running surveys tracking young people’s difficulties with concentration and learning.
The research highlights the effects of digital distraction both in and out of the classroom and raises the possibility that using AI to help with schoolwork may be undermining the learning process. But another notable finding suggests changes in what and how children are taught may also play an important role.
During the 2000s education officials flocked to Finland - the top performer in Pisa scores of the day - to learn from what it was getting right. They saw a system that prized flexibility and autonomy for pupils and a curriculum prizing “transferable skills” like critical thinking while placing less emphasis on core subjects and standardised testing or performance rankings. Glowing reports were written, and the Finnish model spread.
There was one problem: even as these visits were taking place, Finnish scores were in a sustained slide. Today, its results are little better than the average country, and many argue its exceptional performance - which peaked around 2000 - owed more to the conventional comprehensive approach it had used in previous decades.
Recent results in the UK support this theory. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland went down similar routes to Finland during the 2010s, shifting away from established curricula and towards more broadly defined learning outcomes, scrapping school league tables and some standardised tests. By contrast, England doubled down on the established curriculum with strict guidance on the content schools must cover in core subjects, alongside the use of league tables with performance measures that made the rankings harder to game.
Fifteen years on, England’s results have held up, propelling it into the top ten internationally, while in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland they have plummeted."
Inclusive festival lets visitors experience life through the eyes of disabled artists (13 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – Artist Janetta Tan, 35, was paralysed from the chest down after a car accident in 2010. She turned to painting with her mouth as a way to express herself and regain a sense of control.
She hopes greater awareness of the abilities of people with disabilities will lead to more support for artists like her, many of whom work on their art from home and in their own time, often without the resources of an established organisation.
“We are not a company...I think we need help to do what we do,” said Tan, who works in the social services sector.
She said greater awareness could encourage more people with disabilities to venture into the community and get more support.
“I think more of us can come out and not just stay at home,” she said.
“We don’t need to just depend on our family members and friends who know what we need.”
To help people experience the world from their perspectives, artists with disabilities are taking on a more central role in the Shaping Hearts inclusive arts festival in 2026. More than showcasing their work, it is having them shape how the wider public experiences disability.
Organised by the North East Community Development Council (NE CDC), the sixth edition of Shaping Hearts was launched at Punggol Digital District on Sept 13 under the theme “Step Into Our World”.
For the first time, artists with disabilities have helped design experiences that invite visitors to see, hear, touch and move through the world from their perspectives, through four co-created playgrounds – Texture, Motion, Rhythm and Visual – that draw on the lived experiences of participating artists."
NUS researchers use magnetic pulses to turn cancer-promoting immune cells into cancer fighters (14 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have found that using intermittent, low-intensity magnetic pulses could transform a corrupted class of immune cells that typically promote cancer growth into cells that attack and destroy cancer cells.
These scientists have successfully used this approach for targeted breast cancer therapy without the use of chemotherapy.
The pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) completely eradicated tumours in 75 per cent of tested pre-clinical models after just four 30-minute sessions.
PEMFs are gentle, low-energy magnetic waves that pass safely through the body without generating heat or damaging tissue.
Alfredo Franco-Obregon, principal investigator, NUS Institute for Health Innovation and Technology, who led the research, said that rather than shocking the body, the pulses “act like a biological tuning fork”.
“When they pass through cells, they interact with specialised microscopic gates on the cell surface called TRPC1 channels, which act as biological antennae for weak magnetic fields. Opening these gates triggers a small, controlled wave of calcium into the cell that activates the mitochondria, the cell’s energy furnace,” he said.
“In healthy tissues, this acts like a brisk workout. The energy stimulates cellular repair, boosts energy production and primes the tissue to heal. In cancer cells, the excess stimulation overloads an already unstable system, making PEMFs precision tools that can either warm up or overheat cells, depending on their resting temperatures,” Franco-Obregon added.
This recent discovery, published in Smart Medicine, an international, open-access, peer-reviewed academic journal, on June 4, was built on the team’s previous work, which showed that brief PEMF exposure enhances the uptake of doxorubicin (DOX), a chemotherapy drug, by breast cancer cells."
Jail, caning for man who raped 2 teen girls, sexually assaulted third female minor (14 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – A youth was around 17 years old in 2023 when he raped two girls, who were then 13 and 14 years old, in separate incidents.
The police were alerted after each offence and he gave statements to the authorities on two occasions, once in October 2023 and again in December that year.
He was not arrested, and he re-offended after he turned 18 in 2024. This time, he sexually penetrated a third victim, who was then 14, in June that year.
The recalcitrant offender, who is now 20, was sentenced on Sept 14 to nine years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane.
He pleaded guilty to one count of rape and two counts of sexually penetrating a minor.
Two other charges – one count each of rape and sexually penetrating a minor – were considered during his sentencing.
Details about him and the three victims cannot be disclosed owing to a gag order."
Addiction, doom scrolling, cyberbullying most common social media harms for youth: Report (14 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – Addiction and doom scrolling are the most commonly cited harms of social media use for young people, followed closely by cyberbullying and inappropriate content.
These findings come from a new report published on Sept 14 by YouthTechSG, a youth-led charity.
Through focus group discussions, street interviews and an online poll, the study examined how young people experience social media and the harms they encounter.
It also explored the protection young people consider practical and trustworthy, with combined responses from 227 people aged between 13 and 35.
More than one in five of the 116 respondents who took part in the focus group discussions and street interviews cited addiction and doom scrolling as the most common harm they experience on social media.
This is followed by cyberbullying, toxicity and inappropriate content.
Nearly half of the 111 online poll respondents said that platform-design mechanisms such as infinite scroll and recommendation systems are the primary source of harm.
Other commonly cited sources of harm are user- or AI-generated content and unwanted messages.
“User behaviour remains an important part of the explanation for poor online conduct,” YouthTechSG said in its Youth Digital Pulse Report."
Woman involved in prostituting minors to be assessed for reformative training; man jailed for engaging service (14 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – A reformative training centre suitability report has been called for a woman who exploited two underage girls for prostitution and lived off their earnings.
The woman, 20, cannot be named to protect the identity of the two girls, who were around 16 years old at the time of the offences.
She will return to court on Oct 22 to be sentenced after pleading guilty on Sept 14 to three charges.
They included recruiting a person for the purpose of exploitation, receiving payment in connection with the exploitation of a trafficked victim, and living on the earnings of the prostitution of another person.
During reformative training, young offenders are detained in a centre to undergo a strict regimen that can include foot drills and counselling."
SUTD students and staff get access to GPT, Claude, Gemini and other AI models (14 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – Students and faculty from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) have access from Sept 14 to a range of AI tools including GPT, Claude, Gemini, Qwen and Kimi.
The tools are available to the university’s 170 faculty and 3,000 students through a new online platform set up by the university, called the SUTD Large Language Model (LLM) Gateway.
SUTD said in a statement on Sept 14 that different models have different strengths, and the range offered can change as technology develops.
The move comes as AI use becomes increasingly common and encouraged at universities here.
Chee Yeow Meng, SUTD’s provost, said there was no centralised access to AI tools previously, as faculty and students subscribed to various AI providers separately, using their course or project budgets.
“Rather than picking one AI company to standardise on, or having each person subscribe to different providers separately, SUTD is giving its community one common front door to multiple AI models,” said Chee, who is also SUTD’s chief academic and innovation officer.
Through a chat interface on the online platform, staff and students can access 15 AI models across six providers like OpenAI, Anthropic and Google. Chee said the list is expected to grow as new models are added.
He added that they can also request specific models that are not yet available."
Fewer kids of single unwed parents receive maximum government co-matching benefits: MSF (14 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE – A wide gap has surfaced in how Singaporean parents tap a government co-savings scheme for their children’s development, with single unwed parents significantly less likely to maximise the benefits than married couples.
As of Sept 2, only about 30 per cent of children of single unwed parents had reached the maximum Child Development Account (CDA) co-matching grant limit, compared to about 70 per cent of children from married households, said the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).
This suggests that single unwed parents are facing greater hurdles in making the voluntary deposits required to receive the full government co-funding for their children, despite equal access to the scheme.
The CDA can be used only to support the children’s education and healthcare needs. Each account has an initial $5,000 grant. For every dollar that is deposited into it – which could be by parents, relatives or donors – the Government will co-match up to a cap.
Current caps range between $4,000 for the first child and $15,000 for the fifth child. From Oct 1, 2027, these caps will be standardised to $5,000 regardless of birth order, as part of new measures for marriage and parenthood announced during the National Day Rally.
MSF gave the statistics showing the wide disparity between children of the two groups of parents in a parliamentary reply on Sept 10, in response to a question raised by MP Gabriel Lam (Sembawang GRC).
The statistics were based on data for children born between Sept 1, 2016 and Dec 31, 2020. These children are now at least six years old – by which the CDA co-matching grant “would have been fully utilised in most instances”, said the ministry.
“We recognise that lower-income families, including some single-income families, may face greater difficulty saving to benefit from the co-matching structure,” it added.
Children of unwed parents started qualifying for the scheme only from September 2016. Previously, it was only available to children with married parents."
Is AI Taking Over Schools? (29 April 2026)
"MOE schools and teachers have kept an eye on AI developments even before large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT gained mainstream popularity.
When it comes to using AI in education, it’s not about racing to a yet-to-be-determined finish line. It’s about evaluating AI tool’s capabilities, as well as potential pitfalls, so our students acquire the essential skills to succeed in an AI-transformed world.
What kind of a tool is AI like?
Like a calculator, but you're still the one pushing the buttons
A calculator has preprogrammed functions to help with complicated sums.
But you still need a strong foundation in Maths, so you know which formula and concepts to use to solve Maths questions. And have the intuition to know when the numbers are off!
Like a GPS, but you're still the driver
A GPS (Global Positioning System) helps you plan your route.
But you, the driver, still need to look out for unexpected dangers. Blindly following the GPS is like offloading your agency to AI. You still need to know how to navigate and read maps, so you won't be helpless if you lose your way.
Like a multi-cooker, but you're still the chef
A cooker has many modes for different dishes.
But you're the one who decides which dish to cook, what ingredients to use and which mode to use. And you taste the dish to know if it's yummy!"
From silence to synergy: New school library spells new ways to learn (29 April 2026)
"At Queenstown Secondary School, the traditional library has evolved into Learning Commons @ Quest – a vibrant hub where students engage in everything from quiet reading to animated group discussions, reflecting a broader shift in how school libraries support 21st-Century learning.
Of late, you're more likely to hear the buzz of quiet collaboration than the traditional "shhhhh" at Queenstown Secondary School's library.
The space that goes by the catchy new name of Learning Commons @ Quest has become a magnet for students who come not just to borrow books, but to engage, create, and connect.
"More students come in, to read, revise, do their homework, have discussions in one of the meeting rooms, or just stay a little longer than they usually would," says Ms Park Han Na, Head of Department for English Language at Queenstown Secondary School, who oversees the library space.
The renovation of the library, which reopened last year, represents a reimagining of how libraries can support modern use and learning. Gone are the tall, stationary ranks of metal bookshelves, limited seating and heavy atmosphere. The space now has mobile bookshelves in wood, and flexible-use spaces, all bathed in natural light and designed with calming earthy tones.
Secondary 3 student Mohamed Noh bin Mohd Norhisam has been spending more time there; he likes the “clean look”, compared to the previous space which had “weird colour combinations”. He also appreciates the library’s different zones for different group sizes — “it creates a conducive environment for everyone to learn and study”.
Secondary 4 student Chloe Pang is also a fan. "The revamped library has really changed how I study in school. It’s now a space I choose to go to, whether it’s to revise, finish up work, or just read quietly,” she says. “The environment feels more comfortable and less stressful, which helps me stay focused for longer."
Three zones, endless possibilities
The new Learning Commons borrows design guidelines from MOE’s English Language and Literature Branch (ELLB) for the School Library of the Future, where curriculum can be experienced, the love for reading catalysed, and students supported to explore and initiate inquiry and research.
This experience starts from the moment the visitor enters the Welcome Area, which draws students in with bright and engaging displays curated by the Library Assistant according to monthly themes such as subject focus and festive occasions.
Further in, each of the three zones serves distinct learning needs whilst maintaining the flexibility to adapt as students' requirements change throughout the day."
Why do schools “take so long” to investigate cases of hurtful behaviour and bullying? (8 May 2026)
"Schools constantly emphasise that hurtful behaviours and bullying are not tolerated. So, why can’t investigations be expedited? A principal shares with Schoolbag why schools need time to get to the root of the issue, and why it’s crucial to engage students with restorative practices before meting out any disciplinary measures.
Having worked with students across the different levels – primary, secondary and junior college – Ms Winnie Tan is no stranger to dealing with cases of hurtful behaviours and bullying. The Principal of CHIJ St. Nicholas Girl School says investigating these cases have gotten increasingly complex over the years due to a number of factors.
“Children are exposed to a lot more things, and they may have different perspectives on a topic,” elaborates Ms Tan. “Parents are also more involved in the education of their children, which is a positive thing.” This results in many different perspectives, be it from the alleged perpetrator or the victim, that the school has to consolidate and consider during investigations. “Bringing everyone together to see the different perspectives – that takes time.”
Children of different age ranges present different challenges for investigations
Unwelcome words or actions are not immediately labelled as bullying, as children, especially younger ones, may not be able to fully comprehend that what they are doing is causing hurt to others. That is why investigating intentions matter.
Ms Tan cites an example of a child who might want things to be done in a certain way. “Some children like people to follow their instructions and may unknowingly put someone else in an awkward or uncomfortable position where they feel hurt. We need to help them realise that their action or words have hurt someone else, and resolve and mend the relationship from there. Having said that, if investigations reveal that there was a clear intention to cause hurt from the onset, disciplinary actions could be carried out to help the child learn that his or her behaviour has consequences, so that they will think twice before doing the same thing again in future.”
Teenagers present a different set of challenges as they are more mature and their emotions are more complex. They may also be able to conceal intention, making it difficult for educators to determine if they really meant to hurt the other party – especially if there is no concrete evidence, such as physical assault.
Ms Tan recalls a case that couldn’t be resolved, because the perpetrator refused to admit that he/she was deliberately hurting the victim and there was no definitive evidence. “While the school and friends continued to support the victim, we were unable to come to a resolution. But years after the students graduated, the perpetrator confessed to the teacher during a gathering he/she was not ready to admit to their hurtful actions then, and that he/she felt very bad to have caused so much pain for the teacher and the other student.”
Each reported case of hurtful behaviour or bullying presents its own set of challenges for the educators and staff who are involved in investigating it. Thus, investigation time differs with the complexity of the case."
“My 8th choice of polytechnic course turned out to be my best one” (8 May 2026)
"Shallini Siva Kuma was in shock when she found out that she didn’t get into her dream course in 2022, but it opened doors she never imagined.
By Joyce Yang
When Shallini Siva Kuma received her Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) posting results on a sleepy January morning in 2022, the words on her computer screen jolted her wide awake. She had been posted to her eighth choice: a Diploma in Interaction Design (now known as Diploma in Experience Design) at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP).
“I stared at my laptop and thought: When did I even list this as one of my choices? What is this course about? I started crying because I was so, so scared. I didn’t know if it would bring me closer to my dream of becoming an art teacher,” recalls the 22-year-old.
Inspired by her mother, a teacher of over 30 years and her love for the subject, Shallini has always seen art as her one true passion. She had pinned her hopes on her top three choices – all animation courses – believing they were her ticket to teaching art. After all, her own art teacher, Mr Chua Wei Qiang from Yishun Town Secondary School, comes from an animation background.
Little did she know, the course she hadn’t planned on would help her discover new strengths and expand her career paths, with her mom and teachers cheering her on.
Seeking reassurance
That very morning when she got her posting results, Shallini reached out to Mr Chua, who patiently unpacked the field of Interaction Design to calm her nerves. What stuck with her wasn’t the details of web, app, and installation design, but a single line of reassurance from her teacher.
“He said, ‘No matter what you do, I know that you will excel.’ I felt more motivated hearing that, and it gave me hope that I will figure it out,” says Shallini.
Shallini’s time in NYP got off to a rough start. She was already uneasy about committing to a three-year course she hadn’t wanted, and adapting to tertiary life only added to the pressure.
“I told my friends and family that I was so scared and lost, and I really didn’t know what I was doing,” she recalls.
The turning point
But Shallini didn’t suffer in silence for long. Seeing her struggle in class, her NYP lecturers reached out and reassured her that no question was out of bounds. When she cried, they comforted her, promising that they would get through it together.
“My lecturers became my reason to keep going and see what’s at the end of this tunnel,” says Shallini.
Gradually, as she found her footing in the modules, she also uncovered her own reasons to persist. Chief among them was a newfound openness to other career paths sparked by a conversation with her mother. “My mum said, ‘Don’t limit yourself to just one path. There are so many things in the world you can pursue with your creativity.’ That encouraged me to venture out of the box I’d put myself in.”
This shift in mindset set the stage for Shallini to flourish in her final year. What ultimately transformed her perspective was a project she co-led with her best friend, turning an empty classroom into an Alice in Wonderland-themed experience for NYP’s Open House in 2024.
From crafting whimsical installations to designing an interactive touchscreen, Shallini and her team poured everything they learnt over the past three years into the project – to great success. “The students who visited went, ‘Wow, this is so cool,’ and were very amazed. A few even came up to ask if they’d get to create something like this in the course.”
Growing cacao trees yielded not only chocolates, but also work opportunities for this school’s students (11 May 2026)
"It started as a casual offer from a neighbour to grow cacao trees on the school grounds. Since then, this sustainability initiative has led to partnerships with local businesses that enable Serangoon Garden Secondary School’s students to gain work experience too.
By Joyce Yang
When Mr Michael Tan, a resident living near Serangoon Garden Secondary School (SGS), ran out of space to plant cacao trees in his garden, the determined plant parent had to think out of the box. That was when the school’s backyard caught his eye.
The retiree, who was operating a cacao post-harvest facility in the Philippines in 2019, thought the sloping, shaded plot of land was ideal as cacao trees thrive with good drainage and indirect sunlight. So, he met with the then-principal Mdm Valerie Goh and Vice Principal (Admin) Mr Zainal Abidin Mahmood. Mdm Goh gave the go-ahead and the 1.5-year-old seedlings were transplanted in July 2021.
A timely partnership that coincided with the Ministry of Education’s sustainability programme
While the onset of the pandemic caused the delay in SGS’s partnership plans with Mr Tan, it also resulted in it serendipitously taking root in the same year that MOE introduced the Eco-Stewardship Programme. The initiative prompts schools to use their green spaces more intentionally.
For SGS, it meant turning their green spaces into vegetable, herb and spice gardens maintained by the Earth Club, a newly-formed co-curricular activity (CCA) then. Naturally, its members were the first to get wind of Mr Tan’s proposition.
“The students’ first question was: You can grow cacao trees in Singapore? They didn’t believe us when we said we could turn the pods into chocolate bars,” recalls Ms Wee Lip Hui, Subject Head of Social Studies who oversees the eco-stewardship programme. She also wanted to set realistic expectations for the students, so she told them, “For that to happen, everyone has to do their part to care for the trees and get a good harvest.”
As the club knew nothing about cacao trees then, they got Mr Tan to impart his knowledge through workshops and hands-on demonstrations, showing the students the ropes until they could care for the trees independently. For Mr Tan, the takeaway he wants for students is simple: “I hope it enriches their learning journey.”
“The entire process aligns to SGS’s ‘I know, I do, I advocate’ approach for eco-stewardship, which encourages students to learn, practise, and contribute to building a sustainable Singapore,” Ms Wee adds."
“I am, I can, I have!” How SDR nurtures students’ confidence and growth (19 May 2026)
"Hao Tian and Jing Wen, both former students of the School-based Dyslexia Remediation (SDR) programme, have grown from struggling readers into confident learners and leaders. Their stories show how teacher support, resilience, learned strategies and self-belief shaped not just their literacy skills, but their wider journey in school and in life.
For 12-year-old Chan Hao Tian, reading and spelling never came easily – sounding out words and making sense of written text felt like an uphill battle. However, after two years in the SDR programme, he has gained the skills and confidence to tackle these challenges head on.
“I am proud of myself for answering questions in class,” says Hao Tian, when reflecting on his personal growth and the confidence he has been building over time.
The Primary 6 student at Changkat Primary School now reads aloud comfortably and approaches unfamiliar words using strategies acquired through the two-year SDR programme, which supports Primary 3 and 4 students with dyslexia in reading and spelling (check out the programme here).
In the SDR programme’s small-group setting, Hao Tian was surrounded by peers who faced similar reading challenges. Realising he was not alone helped him feel more at ease in class. He says, “I feel better knowing that there are others like me.” Over time, he gained greater confidence to make friends and seek support when he needed help – something he takes pride in. As he puts it, “I have friends who help me in my schoolwork.”
Hao Tian’s SDR teacher, Ms Loy Hin Jong, played a key role by encouraging him to begin with words he could read confidently before moving to more challenging ones. This approach did more than improve his reading skills. It helped him cultivate his own inner voice of encouragement, developing a personal mantra: “Don’t be afraid. You can do it.”
That growing self-belief did not stay within the SDR classroom. It also shaped how Hao Tian approached challenges in his regular lessons.
He now confidently seeks help when needed: “I can ask my teacher how to spell difficult words.” He credits his English Language teacher, Mrs Maybelline Low, for regularly reminding him to apply Word Attack strategies he had learnt when he comes across unfamiliar words in regular English class. For example, when he encountered the word ‘uncontrollably’, Hao Tian used the strategy of looking for smaller words to identify the base word ‘control’.
Hao Tian’s story shows how confidence can grow when children are encouraged and empowered."
To use AI or not, that’s the question (19 May 2026)
"For the Social Studies team at Edgefield Secondary School, the use of AI tools has to align with teaching objectives. And when not using AI helps students think more deeply, the teachers do not hesitate to keep it out of classrooms.
It is an undeniable fact that artificial intelligence (AI) tools are improving rapidly. But the decision on when and how to use it in teaching is something that educators approach with care and thought constantly.
Take the Social Studies team at Edgefield Secondary School (EFSS), for example. When AI tools first became widespread a few years ago, their potential for augmenting teaching and learning obvious, the team experimented with them. But when the tools’ limitations at that point quickly became clear, the teachers took a step back.
Here’s a look into the team’s thoughtful adoption of AI tools, and how they are moving forward intentionally as technology continues to advance rapidly.
Learning objectives as the North Star
Social Studies is built on critical thinking and perspective-taking, shares Mr Darren Woo, Subject Head (Value-In-Action) at EFSS, who also teaches Social Studies. Through assignments and essays, students learn to strengthen their communication and collaboration skills, as well as hone civic, global and cross-cultural literacy.
“But handing back marked assignments didn’t always lead to growth,” says Mr Lim Mingxun, who taught Social Studies at the school, and is currently with MOE’s SkillsFuture Division.
Students often focused on their marks rather than their thinking. And while traditional feedback written in the margins of scripts had its strengths, some skipped the feedback entirely, while others read the comments but were unsure how to act on them.
AI tools, which can give personalised feedback, seemed to be a potential solution.
Experimenting, failing, evaluating
When the launch of ChatGPT made waves, the Social Studies team got themselves up to speed with prompt engineering. They came up with guidelines and scaffolds so that students can learn better and deeper with these AI chatbots.
“But we found students picking answers without processing the why. The metacognition aspect – where they understand their own thinking – was lacking,” says Mr Woo.
“Also, there isn’t just one right answer for Social Studies,” explains Mr Lim. “We want to see how students think and argue. But at that point, AI wasn’t great at giving meaningful feedback in the way that we wanted students to learn. They need space for conversations and feedback – to clarify ideas, ask questions, and reflect on how to improve.”
Mr Woo adds, “Even if we fed every possible answer into an AI tool, it could never capture the nuances and human emotions. Context is everything in the humanities. That’s where the human touch comes in.”
A caring village for caregivers themselves (21 May 2026)
"Through peer support and bonding activities, Springfield Secondary School is partnering its Parent Support Group (PSG) to build the “village” to help support parents in raising children with special education needs.
By Joyce Yang
When Ms Poonam Pal’s son, Rishi, started Secondary 1 at Springfield Secondary School, he was the first student from Pathlight School (Primary) that the school had welcomed. He was also one of a few students with special educational needs (SEN) in his class.
Naturally, Ms Poonam felt anxious.
“As a parent of a child on the spectrum, we’re a bit more worried that they won’t feel accepted by other kids, because we’ve seen that happen at the playground,” she says.
Today, those fears have proven to be unfounded. Rishi has graduated from secondary school, progressing through school much like his peers and making friends along the way. He has also performed in a play and even read a book aloud in front of the entire school. When he finished his recital, the crowd had erupted in cheers.
Given Rishi’s speech delays, these milestones would’ve seemed unimaginable four years ago, if not for the school’s belief in him.
“As a parent, I’m very protective of him and it’s hard to step back. But I’m thankful that the school had more faith in Rishi than I did,” Ms Poonam adds.
Parents helping parents
Today, Ms Poonam proudly shares Rishi’s journey with fellow parents of students with SEN during the school’s Coffee Talk sessions. Facilitated by members of the Parent Support Group (PSG) and supported by the school’s SEN officers, these sessions provide a safe space for parents to come together in an informal setting and share their reflections.
Coffee Talks began when former principal Mrs Mabel Leong recognised that while much support was available for students, caregivers were often overlooked. She approached then-chairperson of the PSG, Ms Siti Aishah Bte Abdullah, to help make it happen.
“Peer support is one of the best tools, because parents tend to open up more when they are among parents with similar problems,” Ms Aishah says. It is especially helpful for parents who have just discovered that their child has SEN, as their diagnosis is often followed by a period of reckoning.
When Ms June Lim’s daughter was diagnosed with ADHD and ASD, another parent helped her make sense of her emotions by sharing about Kübler-Ross’s grief cycle.
“We have to grieve the news before we can accept it, and this cycle of grieving doesn’t just happen once,” says Ms Lim. “Even when parents have come to terms with it, there may be family members who do not agree with the diagnosis. There’s a lot of emotional turmoil that parents face.”
Conflict resolution as a combined effort (28 May 2026)
"Behind every class chat group and parent query at Hong Wen School, there's a quiet but vital force keeping the peace: the Parent Support Group. Chairman Mr Jorwe Lee shares how respectful communication supports the school in maintaining a positive and constructive environment for the students.
By Karen Fong
Mr Jorwe Lee jokes that his wife “saboed” him when she asked him to join Hong Wen School’s Parent Support Group (PSG). But in reality, the father-of-two was more than happy to take part as it was a way for him to be more present for his son, who is in Primary 5; his daughter will enrol in the school next year.
“I realised that because of work commitments earlier in my career, I did not get to spend as much time with my son when he was younger,” Mr Lee, who is now Chairman of the PSG recalls. “When I moved into a new role, it allowed for better work-family balance. I’m also very blessed to have supportive line managers who value community involvement.”
As head of the EXCO for the PSG group, Mr Lee and his team work with over 1,500 parents across the various primary levels. They moderate around 70 chat groups that range from level chats to class chats, fielding queries that range from settling new Primary 1 students to resolving conflicts.
“What I really value is the strong partnership between the school and parents. When we work together, we can create a supportive environment for the children,” he says, adding that working with the PSG and Hong Wen’s school leaders has reinforced the importance of community when it comes to raising children.
School-home partnership and adult role-modelling matter
“Through the PSG, I have had the opportunity to interact with many parents, teachers and school leaders, and it has given me a deeper appreciation of the effort that goes into nurturing students,” he says. “The school guides students in their learning and character development, while parents support and reinforce these values at home.”
Seeing adults work together harmoniously and communicate well is something that benefits the children, especially in cases of conflict. Mr Lee believes showing students how parents and the school work to solve problems is very beneficial to their growth.
“Ultimately, the PSG’s role is to encourage respectful communication and support the school in maintaining a positive and constructive environment for the students,” he says. He believes the most important thing to do for all involved when a conflict occurs is to listen carefully and understand the concerns from different perspectives. “Often, people simply want to feel heard and understood.”
He recalls an incident where students got into a physical altercation. Naturally, parents were protective of their children, but in the process of fact-finding, it soon came to light that both parties contributed to the escalation of the conflict.
“Situations like this can cause a lot of emotions. Parents can get very agitated,” he says. But by communicating and understanding the whole situation, parents were able to calmly act to resolve the issue. “In this case, both students were in the wrong, and their parents were able to work through this with them afterwards.”
How special education educators help students grow with confidence (29 May 2026)
"From classroom routines to life after school and hands-on vocational learning, three MOE-SG Enable award recipients show how students in Special Education schools grow when support is thoughtful, patient and centred on their strengths.
By Sabrina Lee
In special education, progress can be easy to miss if one is only looking for big milestones. It is, in fact, in the small moments, such as a student asking for a break instead of walking out of class, sharing what kind of future they hope for, or noticing that the fish tank water looks different from the day before, that growth shows.
When support is slowly lifted, confidence steps forward
Ms Kaminee Ramakrishnan was a psychology graduate training to become a counsellor when she first walked into Eden School. She had taken on the teaching role to broaden her experience before moving into psychology or counselling-related work, but once she stepped into the classroom, she realised teaching was what she wanted to do.
There, she worked with young students on the autism spectrum, many of whom were non-verbal and easily affected by changes or sensory overload. One boy, who rarely spoke, was struggling to regulate himself. Ms Ramakrishnan, overwhelmed herself, picked up a bubble toy nearby – less as an intervention than as something to do with her hands.
The boy stopped to watch the bubbles and eventually calmed down.
“I remember standing there thinking: they’re really not that different from us,” she says. “He didn’t need someone to control him. He needed support to regulate himself. And strangely enough, bubbles worked for both of us that day.”
Today, Ms Ramakrishnan is a Senior Teacher at Grace Orchard School which serves students diagnosed with Mild Intellectual Disability and those with co-occurring Mild Autism Spectrum Disorders. When a 15-year-old student with autism entered her class, transitions were difficult; changes in routine could trigger distress, and he relied heavily on school staff through the day.
Rather than focusing only on stopping behaviours, Ms Ramakrishnan and the school team – including co-teachers, the occupational therapist, psychologist and social worker – asked what those behaviours were communicating. They considered whether he was overwhelmed, unsure of what was expected, or needed a safer way to ask for a break.
Together, they built predictability into his day through structured routines, visual schedules and personalised checklists, helping him better understand what to expect and what was expected of him.
It took close to a year before he could sit through a lesson without leaving, or ask for a break instead of walking out of class. There were setbacks. After school holidays, behaviours that had seemed to settle would resurface. One difficult week left the team wondering if they had pushed for his independence too quickly. Then one afternoon, he picked up his Maths worksheet and completed it without being prompted.
“It may seem like a small thing,” Ms Ramakrishnan says. “But for us, it meant he was beginning to internalise the routines again.”
The clearer shift came in the student’s second year. Ms Ramakrishnan watched him walk into class, take out his materials, and calmly ask if he could go for his scheduled walk. A few months later, he could participate in a larger group setting with minimal support.
“Once students begin believing, ‘I know what to do,’ you often see anxiety decrease as well,” she says.
Ms Ramakrishnan tells parents that stepping back is not the same as leaving a child to cope alone. It means teaching the child, gradually and safely, to trust his own abilities.
“Different does not mean less,” she says. “Independence is possible, growth is possible, and every child deserves the chance to be seen beyond their diagnosis.”
Ms Kaminee D/O Ramakrishnan, Grace Orchard School, is a recipient of the MOE-SG Enable Promising SPED Teacher Award (PSTA) 2025."
“We picked different schools for our two boys based on their personalities” (5 June 2026)
"This is just one of the unconventional decisions Mr Norman Suon and his wife made, so their kids could grow on their own terms. What is their parenting philosophy that made them accept this inconvenience? Schoolbag finds out.
By Ng Mei Yan
Each night, before everyone retreats to bed, Mr Norman Suon and his two sons – Christian and Joseph, now 13 and eight, respectively – perform an elaborate “NBA handshake”. Think a string of hand-claps, finger waves and elbow bumps. “The sequence has grown longer over the years. It is our love language. We feel odd if we forget to do it, no matter how old they get,” he shares.
This playful ritual is one of the results of Mr Suon, a country manager with a technology firm, and his stay-at-home spouse Wendy’s parenting approach. An approach that has taken shape through trial and error, crystallised into key pillars: consistent discipline and love, expressed through respect for individuality and open communication.
It is also the reason why he and his wife decided to send their boys to different schools and trusted Christian to choose his own secondary school, among other things. Though, Mr Suon admits, they weren’t always this certain about their parenting.
A rocky start meant learning to set boundaries
When the Suons decided to start a family in their late-20s, they were unprepared to say the least. “We were the first among our peers and the family to have a child, so we had no guidance and no plan,” he recalls with a laugh.
But the couple stuck by a simple goal: to raise their children to be better versions of themselves. That was how they first came up with three simple rules for their boys:
1. Respect the parents and the elderly
2. Practise gratitude
3. Never take what isn’t theirs
“These are the non-negotiables that are easy enough to understand, and lead towards our parenting goal,” he explains.
Structure applies to screentime too. Long before official guidelines from the government were released, the family instilled a no-screens rule from Monday to Thursday and limited use from Friday to Sunday. Even then, sessions were broken into small chunks of 30 minutes. On the weekends, the family prioritised time for outdoor activities like running and cycling. This is still the case now.
“Of course, children being children will ask for more screentime. We give them a few more minutes from time to time,” says Mr Suon.
Discipline followed by reconnection
While the Suon household may seem strict, it is not short on warmth. For Mr and Mrs Suon, discipline never ends with punishment but with a tight hug. “It is important that the child knows the love is still there,” says Mr Suon.
This has been part of the family’s practice since their older child Christian was a toddler.
When mistakes happen, Mr Suon and his wife guide the boys through what went wrong and what could be done better. Christian has even started initiating such discussions on his own, suggesting how he might have handled certain situations differently."
A simple change that led to great impact (12 June 2026)
"At Blangah Rise Primary School, architect-turned-teacher Mdm Uuchi Mashaida Virtucio has boosted student engagement and peer learning by simply reimagining classroom layouts.
By Joyce Yang
In a Primary 3 English class at Blangah Rise Primary School (BRPS), a single cue from the teacher sets the room in motion. Students swivel their fan-shaped tables to form circles, and the groups huddle over a debate topic to discuss their talking points.
Ten minutes later, the tables are rearranged again, this time into a U-shaped debate arena. One by one, the groups send out their first speakers to make their arguments as the rest lean in to listen intently.
“This arrangement makes the experience of a debate feel more authentic,” says Mdm Uuchi Mashaida Virtucio, an English and Social Studies teacher at BRPS. “When students are put in this kind of environment, they start to wear a different hat and take the work more seriously.”
From moodboards to white boards
Launched in 2023, this pilot to redesign learning spaces in the school was spearheaded by Mdm Uuchi and her colleagues. Having spent years in architecture and graphic design before becoming a teacher in 2019, Mdm Uuchi brought a creative lens to the process and was especially attuned to how built environments can make or break learning experiences.
“I never thought that these two worlds of mine would ever meet each other, but I’m glad they did,” she says.
This wasn’t the first time Mdm Uuchi found herself wearing two hats as both teacher and designer. One of her earliest projects when she first joined BRPS was redesigning the school’s collateral. She recalls, “The school asked how I’d feel about doing something I’d supposedly ‘left behind’. But I told them that being a designer is a natural extension of who I am.”
Ironically, the simple act of putting a stylus to her tablet gave her a sense of confidence during her mid-career switch, especially as she was still getting used to a new working environment and trying to build rapport with students. “It was like I’m suddenly this other person who knows what I’m doing. I thought: Hey, I can contribute to this school through utilising my prior industry experience.”
When the time came to turn an underutilised Physical Education (PE) equipment room into a mini library, Mdm Uuchi took to it like a fish in water. She paid attention to details that the untrained eye might miss: Where would a librarian naturally need power points? How can shelves be mounted so students of different ages can reach them? How do we arrange the space so it invites students to linger?
“You can’t separate designing a space from designing an experience, because the way we arrange things in the room can shape user behaviours,” she explains.
A classroom for every learner
This same thinking guided the pilot project in 2023, which is sparked by the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) funding to refresh learning environments across schools in Singapore to keep pace with evolving educational needs.
BRPS saw it as an opportunity to double down on its commitment to active learning. But instead of simply telling teachers to “do more group work”, the school introduced modular tables on wheels to make collaboration easier. And when it was time to bring everyone back together, technology helped. To share a student’s work with the rest of the class, for instance, teachers could simply snap a photo and cast it onto an interactive panel – yet another feature of the pilot.
The benefits quickly became obvious once the pilot rolled out. Time saved on moving furniture at the start and end of lessons aside, teachers circulating between groups also shifted their dynamic with students, nudging lesson designs to be more student-centred.
“When I discuss a student’s work with them, being right beside them creates the sense that we are going on this learning journey together,” she explains."
Watch: Shaping future thinkers with arts education (25 June 2026)
"What makes arts education essential? Four Master Teachers with years of experience in arts education share how it shapes students into better collaborators, as well as builds the resilience and confidence they need in an increasingly complex world.
Ms Seow Ai Wee, Principal Master Teacher (Art), explains what a culture of care in the art classroom is, how to create it, and how it helps foster belonging and safety. This, in turn, allows students to explore the complexities of the human experience – both the positives and negatives – so they learn to better manage ambiguities.
Mdm Ira Wati Sukaimi, Master Teacher (Art), speaks about the role art plays in helping students draw the connection between cultures, appreciating both differences and shared values. Learning not just to blend the traditions, but also taking the environment into consideration, students practise inventive thinking, collaboration, and cross-cultural skills."
A culture of care in the art classroom (25 June 2026)
"Ms Seow Ai Wee, Principal Master Teacher (Art), explains what a culture of care in the art classroom is, and how it allows students to better manage ambiguities.
The art classroom is more than a place for students to create paintings, make sculptures, or learn art techniques and skills. It is a space for meaning-making, through creative expression that draws from students’ lived experiences.
Recently, an art teacher and I were planning a Primary 4 unit where students would explore family relationships by manipulating paper in different ways to create abstract sculptures.
That experience got me wondering if we were oversimplifying the learning experiences by asking students to only present the positives rather than exploring the complex nature of relationships through their abstract sculpture.
It also raised another important question for me, that even if we want students to experience their authentic experiences, what would help them feel safe to share with us and with their peers?
So, a culture of care in the art classroom is essentially a learning environment where relationships between students and the art teacher, and among peers as well, are built on trust and mutual respect and empathy.
This kind of culture fosters belonging and safety, which naturally enhances student engagement during art lesson.
An art classroom with a culture of care is essential when students engage in art-making and art discussion that explores the complexity of the human experience. Themes such as identity and relationships and topics that revolve around contemporary issues are often complex and figuring this out through creative processes are often layered. They’re emotional, and they can get personal. So, we need to open the space for reflection, for meaning-making and authentic expression.
When students engage in experimentation of materials and ideas as part of the creative process, they’re essentially managing ambiguities. When we cultivate a culture of care where students feel safe to take risks, to make mistakes, and also to explore multiple possibilities, we create the conditions necessary for authentic learning, for artistic growth, as well as for personal growth."
When art shapes minds and hearts for a changing world (25 June 2026)
"Mdm Ira Wati Sukaimi, Master Teacher (Art), speaks about the role art plays in helping students practise inventive thinking, collaboration, and cross-cultural skills.
In a world of shifting dynamics and evolving technologies, what role can art play in preparing our students not just to create but to connect and respond to our complex world?
Art lessons go beyond aesthetics. They are dynamic spaces where students develop curiosity, creativity, empathy, resilience, and critical thinking while learning to connect across cultures. These are essential skills for our changing world.
Imagine this: the art studio buzzes with curiosity as students gather around three water vessels – each a masterpiece from Chinese, Malay and Indian artistic traditions. With sketchbooks in their hands, they observe the forms, they examine the materials, they sketch the flowing curves, compare the patterns, discuss the colour symbolism, and uncover the stories that each vessel holds.
In groups, they discuss, they listen, and appreciate both differences and shared values. Then comes the creative challenge: design a vessel that blends these traditions whilst caring for our planet. Through this, watch the sketchbooks fill with experimental sketches, as students mix and match patterns, play with materials, and transform recycled materials into prototypes.
Through this hands-on experience, students are not just creating art, but they are also practising inventive thinking, collaboration, and cross-cultural skills while learning to respect the environment and each other.
The visual arts are not a luxury, but a necessity in education, where learning goes far beyond techniques or aesthetics.
Art teachers intentionally weave opportunities for students to instil 21st century competencies within their lessons. This ensures that students develop the capacity to navigate complexity and respond with empathy. In the process, students don’t just create art. They evolve into inventive, socially aware, and confident learners, ready to contribute meaningfully to the world."
Wonder, wander, and awe: making art learning magical (25 June 2026)
"Learners are explorers, and teachers are guides, says Mr Chia Wei Hou, Master Teacher (Art). So, how do teachers bring that sense of wonder into art lessons to make every lesson magical and see the world afresh?
If I am to trace back to my very first encounter with awe and wonder, it’ll be the one when I was still an art student, spending time printing black and white photographs in the dark room, seeing the image slowly emerge out of the blank piece of paper. That moment truly filled me with wonder. It pushed me to go out there in the world to capture more images of beauty.
I always remember a quote by the author of The Little Prince, “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood, and don’t assign them tasks. Instead, teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”
I believe learning is a magical journey where learners are explorers, venturing into the unknown territories, getting lost, and gaining new vistas, seeing the world afresh. And we as teachers are like guides, constantly inspiring our students to yearn for the mysterious, to see the beauty and marvel at the achievements of the world.
I recall an outdoor art lesson with my class. We woke up before dawn, sat quietly by the shore, fighting off sleepiness until suddenly the horizon lit up, the sun broke through the clouds and all of us sat in silent awe. No photographs or science could possibly capture what we felt.
In another art lesson, my students were given something small. A peanut. A raisin. They were to spend time with it, to talk to it, to explore it, to examine it under a microscope. Then draw a super huge drawing of this tiny, little object. Looking at it through 50 different ways in order to uncover its beauty and its magic. So, what if we, as teachers, could bring that sense of wonder in every lesson?
Picture a classroom where curiosity takes centre stage, where each lesson is an adventure waiting to unfold. Imagine students marvelling at the existence of things, appreciating the world not at what it can give them, but at what it simply is. In this magical realm of learning, we cultivate and engage our senses, encouraging students to question how things came to be, and marvel at their very existence. We infuse learning with playfulness, transforming moments of confusion into adventures. We ground our teaching in humanity and humility, showing that true learning reveals our beautiful vulnerability and connect us more deeply to the world around us."
Art that asks bigger questions (25 June 2026)
"The bell rings. Art class ends. But what if students left with more than a project? What if they walk away with a new way of seeing the world? Ms Vivian Loh, Master Teacher (Art), breaks down concept-based teaching.
Let’s imagine I’m a student tasked to paint a sunset. I focus on blending the perfect orange, learning through trial and error. But what if I pause to reflect? A sunset could mean the end of the day. It could also mean sadness when something ends. But it could also mean hope, and the beginning of something new. I might say, this reminds me of when my best friend moved away. It was sad, but it also felt like a fresh start for her. In that moment, I left with more than just technique. I left with a deeper way of making sense of the world.
That’s the heart of concept-based teaching championed by Lynne Erickson. It’s a shift from only learning techniques to exploring ideas like connection, identity, and perspective. It’s what Lynne Erickson calls “teaching for transfer” – giving students mental tools they can use in art, in school, and in life. Why is our art classroom the perfect place for this?
Because art is conceptual, emotional, and personal. It gives students a language to find and express their voices. Concept-based teaching gives that voice direction and depth. Instead of asking, “draw a house”, we can ask, “what makes a space feel like home?” It’s not just about lines and shapes. It’s about memory, feeling and storytelling.
How does this look in practice? Take the concept of perspective. Instead of teaching just about vanishing points and technical drawing rules, we might ask, “How can art show someone else’s viewpoint?” Students might draw the same scene as scene as seen by a child, a bird, or a pet. What begins as a drawing exercise becomes a lesson in empathy and perspective-taking."
Students band together to shape the Singapore they want (2 July 2026)
"Some of the freshest ideas for Singapore's future are coming from the people who'll actually inherit it. At this year's Pre-University Seminar, four students and their teammates spent months turning theirs into real proposals.
By Sabrina Lee
Around 550 students from 30 junior colleges, polytechnics and other pre-university institutions gathered at this year's Pre-University Seminar, where they pitched proposals at a closing exhibition toured by Education Minister Desmond Lee. Their ideas took aim at vanishing hawker trades, disconnected HDB neighbours, students from JC, poly and ITE who rarely mix, and loneliness that spans generations. Behind each proposal was a personal story: an early-morning trip to the fishery port, a chat with a neighbour in the lift, and friendships with students from different backgrounds.
He's been to Jurong Fishery Port at 3am. Now, he wants to save the hawker trade
Dave Gan has followed his father on supply runs to hawker clients. He has been to Jurong Fishery Port at 3am. He has packed fried carrot cake at a stall that went viral over a single social media reel. "I was really amazed at how much skill is required just to make one bowl of bak chor mee or a plate of fried carrot cake,” he says.
So when it comes to talking about hawker heritage, Dave thinks of the hawker who wakes before dawn, learns every step of the trade, and builds a business with no formal education. He also knows most young people don't see that picture. His group's proposal, Hawker Hub, tries to change that in three steps, depending on how ready you are to step into the trade.
Not sure yet? A Dish Dictionary walks you through the story and craft behind local dishes. Getting serious? A forum connects you with veteran hawkers who are ready to pass on what they know. Ready to try? An eight-week Hawker Tryout Programme trains you, puts you behind a real pop-up stall, and gives you feedback before you commit to anything. “The point is to make hawker work feel possible, and to make sure the skills don't disappear with the generation that built them,” says Dave.
These students proposed an app to tackle loneliness
When Sri visited Foundry, a non-profit social impact hub, as part of the seminar's learning journey, she found that both seniors and youths were lonely, and for similar reasons. "Both groups felt lonely because of rapid digitalisation," she shares. Youths craved real friendships but were stuck behind screens. Seniors, meanwhile, withdrew quietly – not wanting to become a burden to their loved ones.
Sri and her group responded with Kampung Connect, an app that pairs seniors and youths based on shared interests – so an elderly mahjong enthusiast might teach a youth to play, while the youth teaches them to navigate a smartphone. “The approach is deliberately strength-based. Everyone contributes, no one is reduced to just their needs,” says Sri.
For Sri, the issue is personal. Her grandparents live in India, and she admits she never quite built a close bond with them. So now, she makes a point of greeting the elderly neighbours in her block – smiling in the lift, asking how their day went. “Finding that one common ground can be the starting point to a genuine relationship," she says."
It took a village to help this 13-year-old find his confidence – now, he’s a Changemaker (6 July 2026)
"Firash Faiq Bin Abdullah started Primary 1 unable to read or write. But thanks to a network of support, he graduated from North Vista Primary School with newfound confidence.
By Eveline Gan
When 13-year-old Firash Faiq Bin Abdullah walked across the stage to receive the Changemaker Award last year, it marked a milestone for how much he had progressed. The award, given out twice a year at North Vista Primary School, recognises students for their efforts in positive change and learning attitude.
This was the same boy who once struggled to hold a pencil, write his own name, and whose home circumstances made regular school attendance difficult, shares Mrs Christine Er, the school’s Senior Special Educational Needs (SEN) Officer. She is among the staff who supported Firash during his primary school years.
“He’s really a pearl in an oyster shell,” she says. “His true potential is inside. When we discover it, it’s beautiful.”
Firash’s journey shows how much a child’s path can shift when the right support rallies around him.
An Unsteady Start
Setbacks marked Firash’s early years, even before he entered primary school. He did not attend kindergarten, so while his classmates were reading simple storybooks and forming sentences on paper, Firash was still learning to grip a pencil and write his name. He knew the alphabet and numbers, but words, sentences and basic Maths concepts confused him.
When he finally secured a place in Primary 1 amidst family challenges, it was already halfway through the school year, and in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Recalling his early struggles in Primary school, Firash, who was diagnosed with dyslexia at around age 10, says, “I couldn’t read words. I felt left out of everything.”
As he entered school late, Firash also missed early screening programmes typically used to identify students who may need learning support. Even so, it was clear to his teachers that he needed help, both academically and beyond the classroom. His family faced difficulties providing basic school necessities, such as books and uniforms.
It takes a village
The school moved quickly to rally around Firash. Working alongside a Ministry of Education Roving Senior Student Welfare Officer (SWO), Ms Joyce Gan, they provided dedicated and specialised support to Firash and his family throughout his primary school years. This included working with Family Service Centres and the Housing & Development Board to ensure Firash had a safe and conducive environment to grow and learn.
Within the classroom, Firash received structured support tailored to his needs. SEN Officers conducted regular one-on-one sessions, while his form teachers offered close guidance and encouragement.
At first, much of the focus was on building foundational skills. For example, a SEN officer Mr Sharizal Chandrayana worked on refining Firash’s fine motor skills, such as how to grip a pencil, trace letters, doing the basics of the alphabet, sounds and just writing words – just like what kindergarten students learn.
Firash was also referred for occupational therapy to support his motor skills, though attending appointments consistently was a challenge for the family.
To better support his learning pace, he was placed in foundation-level classes, where the smaller class size meant more individual attention. Even then, progress did not come easily. But his teachers never gave up.
Mrs Er recalls how one of Firash’s English teachers saw beyond his struggles and pushed gently but consistently. Drawing on learning approaches such as the “zone of proximal development”, which refers to the range of tasks a learner cannot yet complete independently but can potentially accomplish with guidance from a more knowledgeable other, such as a teacher or peer, the teacher helped Firash build confidence in his writing skills.
For Maths, teachers used approaches such as the Concrete–Pictorial–Abstract method, to help Firash better understand abstract concepts through hands-on objects and visuals. Even small adjustments like drawing lines on his Maths worksheets to guide writing, breaking down instruction into manageable, bite-sized steps helped.
Beyond the classroom, the school staff also ensured that Firash had the practical support he needed – clean uniforms, textbooks, and meals – recognising that learning happens best when basic needs are met.
Firash’s school attendance from Primary 1 to 4 was patchy. The school stepped up, with Mrs Er calling him at 6.30am every morning to remind him to come to school “no matter how late” he was. She also stocked up on snacks in the classroom, knowing that he might need breakfast to start the day.
Their efforts paid off, and over time, Firash’s school attendance improved drastically. By Primary 6 last year, he achieved full attendance, says Mrs Er."
Primary 1 prep is more than reading, writing and counting. Here's what matters more (8 July 2026)
"Academics shouldn't be the focus of the transition from K2 to P1, say experts.
When his eldest child entered Primary 1 five years ago, Mr Kelvin Soh admits feeling “a bit blur”. He recalls, “I thought I had to focus on whether my daughter could keep up academically – reading, writing, counting.” But he later realised that what really mattered was whether she felt ready to face a completely new environment.
“The biggest hurdles weren’t spelling tests or problem sums, especially when there is no exam in lower primary, but rather everyday tasks such as buying her own food in the canteen and packing her schoolbag,” he notes. In hindsight, Mr Soh believes the transition from preschool to primary school is less about books and more about building confidence.
This lesson comes in handy now that Mr Soh’s younger child is in K2 and preparing for that same move. He also chairs the Parent Support Group at Queenstown Primary School – a role that sees him welcoming new families to the school community and sharing advice to help their children settle in.
Mr Soh’s advice, drawn from personal experience, mirrors what early childhood experts say on the matter.
Academics can come later
“The transition to primary school isn’t a simple move to a new building,” explains Dr Mercy Karuniah Jesuvadian, Senior Lecturer, Psychology and Child & Human Development, National Institute of Education. “It’s a deep-seated change as children must adjust to a whole new environment, with new routines, authority figures and social demands. If children are anxious, insecure or emotionally unsettled, even the best teaching won’t make an impact.”
Her advice to parents is not to overemphasise academics for primary school readiness. Most children will eventually catch up with lessons, but the stress of an unsupported transition can erode their confidence and love of learning. Instead, focus on supporting your child’s social and emotional adjustment, as this lays the groundwork for future academic success.
"Research has shown that children who experience smoother transitions adapt faster to classroom routines and are better able to engage in lessons – and this often translates into stronger academic performance later on." – Dr Mercy Karuniah Jesuvadian
Mrs Sharon Siew, Principal of Jing Shan Primary School, who has welcomed many cohorts of P1 students, echoes this sentiment. “I want parents to know that primary schools are ready to meet children where they are,” she says, hoping to ease the anxiety of parents who fear their child may fall behind in school.
In fact, she discourages overloading children with academic preparation. “This may deprive your child of the joy of learning new things together with classmates. Without the anticipation and excitement of discovery in the classroom, learning will become a bore and a chore.”
Does your preschooler need to know how to add and subtract before Primary 1? (8 July 2026)
"It is natural to worry about whether your child is ready for primary school. Read on to find out what numeracy skills your child is expected to achieve in preschool, and how to support their development at home.
Your child is entering primary school next year, and they are still unable to do addition and subtraction. Should you be worried?
The short answer is no. At six years old, not knowing 2 + 2 is not a problem at all, especially when understanding symbols at this age is challenging. In fact, rushing children into learning skills before they are developmentally ready can become an issue.
“Gaps in foundational understanding of numeracy concepts and skills can be masked when children are pushed too quickly into applying mathematical symbols like ‘+’ and ‘-’ or rote recitation of multiplication tables,” says Dr Yong Foong Ling, Senior Manager of Faculty and Leadership Development at the National Institute of Early Childhood Development.
Every child’s learning journey is unique. Beanstalk spoke to Dr Yong to find out what milestones to look out for, and how you can support your child along the way.
So, what are our preschoolers ready to learn?
While every child develops at their own pace, the Nurturing Early Learners Framework highlights the numeracy concepts and skills that children aged four to six are generally ready to learn and use:
• Sorting and comparing: Noticing similarities, differences and relationships between objects (e.g. sorting and comparing size and colour)
• Number identification: Identifying and using numbers in daily life
• Reliable counting: Counting accurately up to 10 objects
• Quantity relationships: Understanding relationships between numbers and quantities (e.g. knowing “more”, “less” and “the same”)
• Patterning: Recognising, extending, and creating simple patterns
• Spatial awareness: Recognising basic shapes and developing an awareness of spatial concepts (e.g. using words like “far” and “near”)
• Subitising: Identifying small quantities without counting them one by one (e.g. like dots on a dice)
What your child is learning in preschool is also aligned to the learning goals for children at the end of preschool education, illustrated in the Nurturing Early Learners Framework.
Progress in development may also depend on exposure. “Children who regularly encounter numbers through daily routines may develop a stronger number sense,” said Dr Yong."
Confidence before counting – what P1 readiness really looks like (8 July 2026)
"Resilience and independence are stronger predictors of school success than early drilling.
Every year, early childhood (EC) educators witness a momentous milestone: their K2 children taking that big step to Primary 1. Contrary to what many might think, the most important factor in this transition is not how well-drilled children are in letters, numbers or other academic skills – but how ready they feel socially and emotionally for the changes ahead.
“The biggest challenge in entering formal schooling isn’t whether a child can read or write,” says Ms Stacey Toh, ECDA Fellow and Deputy Head, Preschools, Star Learners Group. “It’s whether they can find their footing in a completely new environment and feel confident enough to learn.”
So, what can educators do to set children – and their families – up for success? Ms Toh shares her insights, alongside two other experts: Dr Mercy Karuniah Jesuvadian, Senior Lecturer, Psychology and Child & Human Development, National Institute of Education (NIE); and Mrs Sharon Siew, Principal, Jing Shan Primary School.
In the classroom
The best preparation is not a one-off programme at the end of K2, but small consistent steps woven into everyday routines starting as early as possible. “At our preschool, we mirror primary school expectations by having children serve their own meals, clear up after themselves and role-play queuing at a canteen,” says Ms Toh. These small routines build independence and help children feel capable of handling the demands of a primary school.
For many EC educators, K2 is already a busy academic year. They juggle the curriculum, assessments, and parents eager to see visible progress in reading and numeracy.
But preparing for transition does not need to be an extra burden. Instead, educators can integrate it into the curriculum itself. For example, a writing activity can double as practice for labelling personal belongings, while group projects give children a chance to rehearse turn-taking and asking for help. In this way, academic learning and social-emotional development go hand in hand, each reinforcing the other.
Educators can also ease the transition by gradually introducing structural elements that reflect the primary school learning environment. While play remains central to preschool pedagogy, children can get a gentle taste of routine in developmentally appropriate ways – such as following a simple timetable, sitting together for a larger group discussion, or completing short tasks independently. These experiences build confidence and give children a sense of what lies ahead, without taking away play.
As Ms Toh puts it, “The goal is to help children find their footing. When EC educators see the K2-to-P1 transition as part of everyday practice, rather than a competing priority, we can cover the curriculum while preparing children for this next phase of life.”
How primary schools are developing students into discerning, responsible users of AI (10 July 2026)
"From evaluating AI-generated responses to building robots, students are learning to use AI intentionally as they prepare for an AI-enabled future.
By Joyce Yang
Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are vast, as it is a rapidly evolving technology. But how exactly are primary schools in Singapore incorporating AI into classes, and how are they teaching AI literacy? Schoolbag finds out it’s a delicate task, carefully designed and carried out with close supervision from teachers.
Northoaks Primary School’s purpose-driven use of AI
The Science department integrates AI features in the Student Learning Space (SLS) to enrich students’ learning experiences. One such tool is the Learning Assistant (LEA), known as SALiS. Students interact with SALiS to ask questions, clarify scientific ideas, and receive timely guidance as they work through scientific concepts and tasks.
For instance, in a Primary 5 lesson on Plant Reproduction, students used SALiS to design a “super crop” that could withstand environmental challenges while continuing to reproduce. Through this task, students explored how plant structures, functions and reproductive processes could be applied in a real-world scenario.
“Students are guided throughout the task, to think critically, analyse the constraints, and propose creative solutions that extend beyond ‘textbook’ answers. The activity encouraged them to understand the scientific concepts more deeply,” says English Language teacher Ms Thuhaila Sainy, who is also the Head of Department (HOD) of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Since many AI tools employ a chatbot-style interface, the school is intentional about teaching students to use AI-enabled tools within SLS, such as SALiS, in a discerning and purposeful manner. Teachers also help students recognise that AI-generated responses may not always be accurate. To encourage thoughtful use, teachers limit the number of interactions students have with the LEA, and design tasks where AI prompts further thinking rather than providing direct answers.
Additionally, students are guided to evaluate AI output critically, such as by cross-referencing with other sources to verify credibility.
“It is important for students to develop strong habits of critical thinking and sound judgement especially as they move into secondary school, where AI-enabled tools may be used more independently and in more complex tasks,” says Vice-Principal Mr John Ow.
The school’s Cyber Wellness education also touches on the safe use of AI, reminding students not to share sensitive information. For upper primary students, part of the content also includes how to communicate respectfully when using SALiS.
“The AI tools in SLS have built-in safeguards, so that our students learn to use AI safely and responsibly in a controlled environment,” adds Ms Thuhaila."
She came back for band years after graduation because what stayed was more than any performance (10 July 2026)
"What makes someone return to their school band years after graduating? For band alumni Yu Syuen, it is the moments between performances: sweaty rehearsals, shared snacks and the friendships that grew along the way.
By Sabrina Lee
The seaweed was split four ways. That is what Liang Yu Syuen remembers most about being in the Maha Bodhi School Band – not the trophies, not the stage, but four girls tearing a snack apart in the canteen between rehearsals, laughing at nothing in particular.
"It may seem like nothing much," she says. "But it was everything to me back then."
Yu Syuen, 21, graduated from Maha Bodhi School in 2017 and is now studying broadcast media at LASALLE. She still returns to play with the Alumni Band when her schedule allows. This year, the Singapore Youth Festival set piece happens to be the same one she played as a student – which means she now finds herself standing in the same school hall, guiding a younger girl through the same notes she once struggled with herself.
"Today, I'm guiding this batch of juniors to play something I played 10 years ago."
There was a time, of course, when none of this felt easy. Back in 2016, stepping onto the stage for the Arts Presentation for the first time, Yu Syuen was terrified. "It would be my first big competition at such a young age. My heart was beating non-stop." The nerves lifted almost as soon as the band played its first note – and that, she says, taught her something she has carried since. "The hardest part about anything is always starting it."
But the stage was never really the point. What stayed with her was the bus ride back from the concert hall – the chatter, the giggling, the feeling that something difficult had been achieved together. The seaweed. The sweaty rehearsals. The ordinary in-between bits that don't make it into any programme booklet.
What grows between rehearsals
One of the juniors Yu Syuen now guides is Primary 6 student Juli Tan, who is preparing for the Arts Presentation herself. Juli joined the school band in Primary 3, drawn in after experiencing music through the school's LEAP programme the year before. She chose the euphonium because it "looked cool and interesting" – and then discovered, as most beginners do, that looking cool and sounding good are very different things.
"When I first joined the band, I felt like giving up because it was hard to remember the notes," she says.
She didn't quit. Gradually, band became less about getting the notes right and more about learning how to keep going when things felt difficult. Now a Band Leader, Juli says the toughest part of preparing for Arts Presentation is keeping up with all the practices. What carried her through was not just grit, but the people around her. "When I struggled to remember my parts, my section mates helped me through it."
That dynamic – of struggling together, of being held up by the person next to you – is exactly what Yu Syuen means when she pushes back against the idea that band is primarily about performance. "Band students are extremely disciplined," she says.
"Learning an instrument, reading notes and eventually playing together takes far more self-discipline, awareness and teamwork than people realise – especially for young children."
Ms Ng Mui Ling, the band’s teacher-in-charge, puts it plainly, "Children get a lot more than just musical skill from playing in an ensemble. The 'hidden benefits' like learning teamwork and a sense of shared responsibility are just as important."
Full charge ahead: Turn better sleep into a family game (16 July 2026)
"There's a reason eight is the magic number when it comes to hours of sleep clocked. Try this Sleep Bingo to make reaching it fun for the whole family.
From the moment your child wakes up, pressure accumulates in the brain, and only sleep can clear it fully. Researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School recommend lights out by 11.20pm, and we’ve come up with a Sleep Bingo to make clocking eight hours fun for you and your children. Each square holds one small challenge for the family; print it out, stick it on the fridge and play along as a family, starting tonight. First to BINGO wins bragging rights.
Psst: the accompanying infographic explaining why eight hours of sleep is best may just give your kids a little, much-needed bedtime nudge."
“I’m going to teach Geography although I studied Media and Communications. Here’s what I bring to the table.” (20 July 2026)
"Mr Muhammad Danial Mohamed Khalid aspired to be a radio presenter. But stepping back into class to teach a workshop made him switch gears to becoming the voice of a classroom – and to teach a completely different subject at that. He shares his story.
By Danial Khalid
It was in 2022 when I first stepped into a classroom. My former form teacher had invited me back to my alma mater to share more about emceeing and hosting after further honing my skills through my co-curricular activities in polytechnic. It was during that workshop that I formed my interest and discovered my ability to teach and connect with students.
Prior to that, I had never considered teaching as a career. However, as I gained more opportunities to engage with students and introduce various media and production skills through my student internship attachment with VintageRadio.SG, a now-defunct not-for-profit radio station, the idea of becoming a teacher began to stick.
As I concluded my final semester in polytechnic, I applied for the Bachelor of Arts Double Major Programme at the National Institute of Education (NIE), and in August 2023, I was offered a placement alongside the MOE Teaching Award.
A different kind of audience
Many of my former teachers and lecturers were surprised when I made the switch. To them, media was the industry for me, as they knew I have aspired to join the industry since secondary school and was doing well in my diploma course.
Though, deep down, I had started to have my doubts as I neared the end of my polytechnic journey.
Creating content had slowly begun to feel like a competition. I was no longer creating for my own enjoyment but for the validation of others. I also found myself unhealthily comparing myself with others.
But my experiences in the classroom were different. Teachers would instinctively share their ideas with everyone and there was a strong sense of community as we worked towards improving together so we can engage students better. In the end, I found myself growing more, both professionally and personally, when I was teaching the workshops.
Ultimately, teaching became the most enticing option upon graduation.
From microphones to maps
Coming from a Media and Communications background, many assumed that I would be teaching English. They were surprised when I shared that I chose to teach Geography.
To me, the decision was simple. Geography is the subject where I feel I can help my students make sense of the world. By understanding how the world works and why it is the way it is, they can gain a deeper appreciation for the world around them.
My secondary school Geography teacher was also one of the reasons why I chose to teach the subject. The way he structured his lessons made me understand the geographical events that were headlining newspapers better, and I hope to do the same for my future students.
At first, making the switch was scary. I was unsure whether my media skills would be of any relevance to teaching, let alone to the teaching of Geography. However, as I reflect back on my experiences as a student and the current landscape of teaching and learning, I have noticed how having teachers with different backgrounds and skillsets is crucial.
Especially with our holistic education, having teachers with diverse backgrounds allow students to learn from teachers with firsthand experiences as they explore various domains such as leadership, arts, sports, and more.
Merging the two
As I close off my first year at NIE, I noticed how media skills have become increasingly relevant for teachers. In an increasingly digital world where our students are actively engaging with various forms of content online, being able to create and utilise media tools in our classrooms help make lessons more engaging and sustain the curiosity of students.
As an aspiring Geography teacher, I often tap on what I learnt in my freshmen year journalism modules when preparing lesson plans. Like how a journalist structures their articles, I intend to structure my lessons in a way that allows students from all backgrounds to better understand what has happened and how it is relevant to them. This is also why I look forward to using news articles and journalistic videos as a resource when illustrating the effects of geographical events on people and communities.
With my media background, I am bringing my knowledge and experience with various media tools and understanding of trends to the table. Through my role as the Corporate Communications Officer (CCO) of the 35th Management Committee of the NIE Student Teachers’ Club, I was able to put into practice what I have learnt over the years and create engaging content for fellow student teachers.
It is also where I have gained opportunities to support other student teachers in developing their media skills and design capabilities. My peers from various Media and Communications diplomas are also sharing their fair share of experience and expertise!"
Threads that bind (20 July 2026)
"Every thread in our tapestry starts somewhere. This Racial Harmony Day, try the Kind or Unkind? card game or the Upstander Challenge with your child and start a conversation about kindness, empathy, and courage.
The theme of Racial Harmony Day, Our People, Our Tapestry, resonates with many of us deeply. The countless threads, each one distinct and beautiful, represent the unique identities, traditions, beliefs and practices of Singapore's diverse communities. Together, they form something far greater, a rich and unified whole that tells the story of who we are as a nation. This tapestry does not weave by itself; it is a deliberate choice we make – one that requires care, kindness and a community spirit.
For our children, the thread starts with us. As parents, we play an important role in helping our children build empathy, respect and courage. We can engage them when we spot situations where choices need to be made: what will the impact be between a kind and unkind action, and how our words and actions may affect others. We can also talk about being an upstander, one who speaks up and acts when one sees something that is not right. It can be a hurtful comment, a friend being left out, or an unkind action towards someone who is different. In a diverse society like ours, raising upstanders is one of the most important threads we can weave into our shared tapestry.
This Racial Harmony Day, try out The Kind or Unkind? card game in your child's copy of Kindsville Times Junior (Primary 1 and 2) or Kindsville Times Adventure (Primary 3 and 4) to spark meaningful conversations at home. Through familiar everyday scenarios, our children can reflect on the choices they make, consider how their words and actions affect others, and learn that kindness begins with the decisions we make every day."
Planning Racial Harmony Day booths taught these students more than they expected (20 July 2026)
"Student leaders from Methodist Girls' School and Dazhong Primary School came together to plan Racial Harmony Day booths for their schools. The deeper learning happened before a single booth went up.
By Sabrina Lee
A mixed group of students from two schools record themselves presenting their Racial Harmony Day booth. One of them from Methodist Girls' School (MGS) stumbles on a Malay word she can't quite pronounce. A group mate from Dazhong Primary School helps her say it correctly.
“That moment reminded me that even though we come from different schools and backgrounds, we are all willing to help one another,” says Meredith Koh, a Primary 5 student at MGS. “We learnt from each other and worked together as a team.”
That's the kind of thing the Racial Harmony Project was designed for. It brings student leaders from MGS and Dazhong Primary together to plan Racial Harmony Day booths and activities.
"The project aims to help students build genuine relationships, and not just learn facts about different cultures," says Ms Muzfirah Aida, the teacher-in-charge at Dazhong Primary. "We wanted the interactions to go beyond simply completing a task together."
Three Sessions, Two Schools, One Table
The Racial Harmony Project began with a chat at a cluster event. School leaders from MGS and Dazhong Primary had landed on the same idea: get students working with peers they might not otherwise meet.
Cross-school projects are not new to either school. The two collaborated on a sustainability project with Princess Elizabeth Primary in 2025, and MGS, had also run an intergenerational learning project with two other primary schools the year before.
Student leaders from both schools were mixed into joint teams and, over three sessions, planned the booths and activities together. Each school then ran the booths on its own campus. A practical call that kept time out of class to a minimum.
Introducing cultural elements like food, costumes, greetings and traditional games were the easy part. What the teachers were really after was harder to pin down.
"We wanted to move beyond a one-day celebration within their own school community," says Mrs Venetia Toh, the teacher-in-charge at MGS. Working with Dazhong Primary gave students "an opportunity to meet peers from a different school, build relationships, exchange ideas and learn with, not just about, others."
The awkward beginning nobody skips
At the start, students stuck close to people they already knew. That’s just what happens.
"I was quite shy to talk to students from MGS," says Vishan Nagarajan, a P5 student at Dazhong Primary. The first session’s icebreaker, a "Find Someone Who…" activity, encouraged students to find someone who celebrated a different festival or spoke another language at home. “After asking more questions about their interests and culture, I became more confident. Getting to know people from different backgrounds isn't as difficult as I first thought."
That realisation grew into a lesson: working with another school "taught me not to judge people before getting to know them."
When The Real Learning Happened
None of the mixing was left to chance. Ms Muzfirah Aida designed the groups deliberately, with a designated facilitator in each to make sure every member got the chance to contribute. When the face-to-face sessions ended, students kept exchanging ideas and feedback on Google Classroom and Padlet from their own campuses.
Over time, Ms Muzfirah Aida watched students become "more confident in sharing their ideas and more appreciative of the different perspectives that each member brought to the group."
The teachers keep circling back to one thing: the booths were the means, not the end. "The final booths are important," Mrs Toh says, "but the deeper learning happens during the planning process, when students start turning to one another for decisions instead of waiting for a teacher to step in."
Sometimes that meant them letting go of their first idea, combining suggestions, or adjusting an activity so it would work better. “It showed them that collaboration is not about pushing through your own idea. It is about building something stronger together,” she says."
Three sessions, two schools, one table
Auni Insyirah Binte Muhamad Ruzaini’s group chose Deepavali for its booth and learnt about the clay lamps lit during the festival to signify the triumph of light over darkness. "Learning the meaning behind the tradition helped me appreciate the festival more, and I know I can be more respectful when talking to my friends who celebrate it," says the P3 Dazhong student.
Vishan's group researched traditional clothing like the sari, baju kurung, and cheongsam. He made a point of learning to pronounce the names correctly before presenting. “Saying the names correctly shows respect for the culture,” he says.
“Before presenting another culture, it's important to understand it properly first,” says Dawn Lee, a P5 student at MGS. “When we understand why certain traditions matter, we can explain them respectfully instead of making assumptions.”
The teachers gave the students three rules to work by: don’t make jokes about culture, don’t exaggerate accents or behaviours, focus on respect and appreciation. But the students seem to have internalised something beyond the rules."
It’s their PSLE year – they still made time for friends, badminton and inclusivity (30 July 2026)
"At Play Inclusive, students from special education and mainstream schools train together for two months before they compete. Melson Teoh and Muhammad Ayser have partnered in badminton doubles for two seasons. This year, Melson is sitting the PSLE. He signed up anyway.
By Sabrina Lee
Ayser was anxious. He was going to meet his new badminton partner, but he wasn’t sure if they would play well together. Meantime, Melson had been briefed by his teachers on whom he was about to meet and arrived wondering how the two of them would get on.
Turns out, things didn’t go quite as either had expected – in the best way possible.
Because two seasons on, they are still playing together, dividing their side of the badminton court between themselves without discussion. Melson takes the back. He handles the drives, the returns that come at you with no time to think. Ayser guards the net, where the game is about placement rather than power.
These two 12-year-old boys met because their schools signed up to play badminton together. Melson is from Keming Primary School. Ayser is from St. Andrew’s Mission School (SAMS), a special education school for children and youths on the autism spectrum who can access the national curriculum.
Finding encouragement through the partnership
Melson, who has friends with special educational needs, says, “When I met Ayser, I didn’t see any difference between him and my friends in school.” He also sees Ayser as an equal he wants to learn from, adding, “He is very encouraging towards me and I will follow his good example.”
For Ayser, his initial nerves gave way to a partnership with a shorthand they both started using. “We always encourage each other by saying, ‘You can do it!’,” he says. When one of them makes a mistake, the other would say, “It’s OK.” He also reveals that the thing he had feared, which was being scolded for an error, never came.
Ask each what the other taught him and Ayser doesn’t hold back, saying, “We need to show ‘Love’ to each other so that we can be happy playing together.”
Melson, meantime, shares his observations of the gameplay. “I like to hit very hard, so I usually stand at the back of the court to catch all the hard and fast shots. Ayser hits a little softer, so he will stand in front and land the net shots and drop shots.” What the format taught him was expectation management – his own and his partner’s. “Sometimes, things don’t go your way and it’s OK.”
Why badminton doubles was chosen
Mr Mohammad Moiz Bin Malik, the teacher-in-charge of Keming Primary, selected students who could make friends to join Play Inclusive. Badminton was the practical choice – of the sports on offer, it was the easiest to organise, gave the students the most court time together, and was easy enough to pick up so students spent their time interacting with each other rather than focusing on acquiring techniques.
The doubles format also reinforces the importance of teamwork because players need to cover each other, and errors are jointly owned. “This safety net reduces the pressure, allowing both students to play confidently and with more strategy,” says Mr Moiz. It is why Ayser’s fear of being blamed for an error never materialised.
Communication is pushed to the forefront because the game collapses the moment two players stop reading each other; they need to learn their partner’s pace and habits almost immediately, often through nothing more than a glance or a hand signal. Melson and Ayser worked out early who takes which shots, and where each of them should stand to make that possible.
Ms Sandy Phoon, the teacher-in-charge of SAMS, saw the same logic from her side. “We discussed the students’ personalities and their sporting abilities to ensure that the pairing is compatible and they complement each other,” she says. On a doubles court, each student has exactly one other person to attend to, which also keeps the social task manageable."
What's On Our Teacher's Desks? - OYEA 2026 (31 July 2026)
"It's the 2026 OYEA Wrap-up! Our recipients and finalists show us their favourite items. What stories do they hold?"
Not all AI chatbots are the same. Here’s why it’s crucial for parents to learn the differences (3 August 2026)
"While some AI tools are built to help children learn, others are designed to keep them engaged at all costs. Schoolbag breaks down the main distinction and gets two researchers to weigh in about how emotional overreliance on AI chatbots happens and what parents can do about it.
By Lee Qing Ping
“It’s alright, sweetheart...We have time.”
This is how an AI chatbot on Character.ai starts in a conversation. Named “Therapist”, it describes a quiet room with a gentle, patient man inside...and invites the user to share what's on their mind.
The way AI chatbots reply to the user and the tone they take differ depending on the goals of the companies that created and own them. These commercial chatbots also have very different objectives from educational AI tools.
Parents need to understand that these differences matter to better guide their children’s use of these tools. Otherwise, users – children, especially – may be more susceptible to the risks of AI, and if these tools are used inappropriately for emotional support, users run the risk of developing emotional overreliance on AI chatbots and getting their mental health affected.
MOE’s guidelines state that chatbots should not be used for emotional support. Students are encouraged to seek help from trusted adults at home or in school, or tap on helplines curated for them (e.g. National Mindline 1771).
1. The AI used in the MOE Student Learning Space (SLS) is specifically created to help students learn
MOE’s AI tools provide learning support, such as through customised feedback. Take the Learning Assistant (LEA) in SLS, for example. There is a meaningful difference between your child using the LEA to help him/her understand concepts through iterative thinking, and a commercial AI chatbot which provides direct answers.
The LEA is built with many safety guardrails. To list a few:
1. it is activated by teachers,
2. it has a limited number of interactions pre-set by teachers,
3. it does not provide direct answers, and
4. it always points students back on task when they digress.
Teachers supervise students’ use, so they remain constantly over the loop.
Many commercial AI apps, however, are designed to be “friends” or “companions” that users can access around the clock. And they are very good at their job. For example, apps such as Replika or Character.ai generate human-like text responses while roleplaying as a character. It might sound harmless enough. But interactions can get too personal quickly.
“These AI apps are designed to be very seductive – always available, never critical, and endlessly affirming,” says Dr Zhang Renwen from Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Her expertise lies in how digital technologies such as AI impact mental and social well-being.
For a child who feels lonely, stressed, or misunderstood, that’s a powerful draw.
“LLMs like ChatGPT or Gemini have stricter guardrails. But they are still built to keep the user talking, and this only feeds an emotional reliance on it,” she says.
2. AI chatbots run on complex algorithms that makes it feel human, but it’s not
“Some people think AI has consciousness, a soul and a mind. That’s not true,” says Dr Zhang.
To dispel the illusion that AI is alive and knows you, it’s crucial to raise our understanding of how AI works. “It’s just a bunch of algorithms,” she adds.
Yet, AI chatbots do a convincing job of simulating humanness. It remembers what you said and asks personal questions. Some are intentionally designed to mimic emotional intimacy, saying things like, “I dream about you” or “I think we’re soulmates.”
This blurring of fantasy and reality is especially risky for young people, whose brains haven't fully matured.
Dr Lin Hong-hui, principal clinical psychologist from The Psychology Atelier, explains the pull. “There’s an individualised response to the person. At first glance, it feels like a real interaction. It appeals to your social and emotional needs. This attracts you to stay engaged and even go back for more.”
Is your child talking to AI chatbots? The underlying reason may take you by surprise (4 August 2026)
"You may be worried or think that your child is simply bored or curious when they start turning to AI chatbots for company. Both reactions are valid. But experts say this may be an important signal that your child needs something from you.
Parenting in the digital age can feel like having to adjust to a new reality before you are caught up with the previous one. Just when you think you have grasped screentime, social media, and the group chats you’re not supposed to know exist, something new arrives. Your child is now talking to AI chatbots (e.g. ChatGPT, Gemini) – not just for help with their homework, but about their day, their friendships, even their feelings.
You may think they’re just experimenting. You may feel alarmed.
But before you brush it off or rush to limit your child’s access to AI chatbots, experts say it may be meaningful to take on different perspectives too.
It’s not about the chatbot
“Parents should not just ask, ‘How do I stop my child from using the chatbot?’”, says Dr Zhang Renwen, a researcher from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) whose work examines the social and emotional impact of digital technologies. “But also, what needs are this chatbot meeting for my child that people around them are not?”
It is a question that may sting a little. But it also offers an opportunity to reflect on your relationship with your child.
Dr Zhang has studied over 35,000 conversations people had with AI chatbots to understand why and how people form emotional bonds to this technology. What she found is that people rarely turn to AI chatbots out of curiosity or boredom alone. More often, something else is going on.
“The emotional reliance on AI chatbots reflects some unmet needs, such as loneliness, social anxiety, family conflict, school stress, or difficulty finding non-judgmental support.” – Dr Zhang
Children who turn to AI chatbots often do so not because they want to talk to a machine, adds Dr Zhang, but because they are looking for somewhere they feel heard.
Assistant Professor Jacqueline Tilley from the National Institute of Education (NIE), whose research focuses on developmental psychology in youths, puts it simply: “AI is only dangerous if your child doesn’t have a trusted adult to check in on things with.”
What your child is really looking for
To understand why AI chatbots feel so appealing to a child who is struggling, it helps to understand what children fundamentally need from the people around them.
Dr Lin Hong-hui, principal clinical psychologist at The Psychology Atelier, describes connection needs as something universal – present in every human being since infancy. “It’s knowing that somebody is interested in your day. That they are thinking of you. That there is someone you can turn to share things that are funny, to talk about frustrations, to ask for help – and that they won’t judge you,” says Dr Lin, whose work is grounded in the attachment framework. The idea is simple: how our earliest caregivers respond to our emotional and physical needs shapes our emotional well-being and ability to form secure relationships into adulthood.
A child whose need for connection is consistently met tends to be more at ease, more curious, more willing to take risks, and make friends. But when those needs are not met, they look somewhere else.
This is not a pattern that is new nor unique to the current digital landscape. The pull towards something that offers easy comfort – whether it is social media, video games, or now AI chatbots – has always reflected a deeper need for connection. What is new is how well AI is designed to meet that need on the surface. Beyond general AI chatbots, there are also AI companion apps – tools built specifically to simulate friendship and emotional support, and to keep users coming back. They are always available. They never say, “I’m busy.”
If your child has been turning to AI chatbots for comfort, Dr Zhang cautions against reading it as a sign of weakness, or a character flaw. “It could be a rational response to their environment,” she explains. “If a child feels judged, misunderstood, or emotionally unsafe with the people around them, the AI chatbot might feel easier.” For children who genuinely feel they have no one to turn to, adds Dr Zhang, AI chatbots may even be better than nothing – not as a solution, but as a temporary measure that at least keeps them from feeling completely alone.
But an AI chatbot, however real they may feel, cannot be a child’s only source of support. “A frictionless relationship is not an authentic relationship,” says Dr Zhang. “If someone really cares about you, they may want you to become a better person – which means they might challenge you or offer a different viewpoint.”
“Real relationships are two-sided. You learn empathy through this, because you can’t just continue to talk only about yourself when your friend is feeling bad. You want to be kind to your friend and so on,” agrees Dr Tilley.
The social and emotional skills children need as they grow – navigating conflict, repairing ruptures, seeing another person's perspective – can only be learnt through real relationships. An AI chatbot that always affirms and never pushes back cannot teach any of that. And for children whose brains and social skills are still developing, that is very important."
I used an AI toy with my child. This is what I learnt. (6 August 2026)
"A father bought an AI toy hoping it could help his son learn English. Ten minutes of play was enough to change his mind.
By Lim Jun Kang
When does a toy become more than something to play with?
In a viral video, a six-year-old from Hunan, China, broke down in tears while bidding farewell to an AI toy companion. Its power button had been damaged and the toy would no longer function after that last use.
The toy, which was not a purpose-built educational AI tool, was used to teach the child English, and occasionally, astronomy. It also served as a companion to chat with the child. It draws responses from open-source Large Language Models (LLMs) – which are systems that are typically trained on large datasets and made publicly available to use or adapt.
Before the toy stopped working, it taught the child one last word – “memory” and encouraged her by sharing an emotional message that it will root for and watch over her always.
Back in Singapore, the video intrigued Mr C, whose identity has been anonymised for this article. “My initial motivation to get the toy was to see how well it can perform, and whether it was really as good as what was shown,” he says.
He searched for similar products on an online shopping platform and found one for about S$40. At that price tag, it seemed surprisingly inexpensive for what it claimed to offer: a talking, responsive and customisable companion. While he bought it mainly out of curiosity, he also wondered if it could eventually be a useful tutor for his five-year-old child.
Too good to be true?
As an educator himself, Mr C felt it was important to test the toy out before using it with his child. By simply scanning a QR code, he could customise its voice and persona. It could speak in English, Mandarin or even regional languages such as Cantonese.
The possibilities were vast. “You could customise it to be a grandmother, auntie, or almost any persona,” says Mr C.
But some options were less desirable. Among the default personas available was one of a virtual partner. Users could even choose whether this “partner” should sound authoritative, sweet, or take on other traits.
Mr C stuck to his original intention to use the toy as a tutor. He created a profile as a “four-year-old boy from Singapore trying to learn English”.
At first, the toy was impressive and functioned as expected. Speaking mostly in Mandarin, it would ask questions such as, “What is the English word for ‘table’?” Mr C would respond, and the toy would correct him and react with simple facial expressions.
Then Mr C began testing its limits.
“I started giving nonsensical responses,” he quips. “I said things like, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. I’m tired. I’m sleepy.’”
Instead of continuing with the vocabulary test, the toy began encouraging him and asked about his day. It even went as far as to tell him jokes.
The toy was no longer behaving strictly like a teacher.
“It spoke to me like a friend,” says Mr C. “I thought it was both scary and amazing that a S$40 toy could do that.”
The moment it felt too real
His wife was far less convinced. Her response was immediate: she was against the idea of giving the toy to their son. Still, Mr C decided to let his son try it despite her reservations, but only under close supervision.
Mr C tested the toy in front of his son by asking it to play some Mandopop songs from 2026. His son became curious and wanted to try doing the same.
This was the first time his son interacted with the toy. It would also be his last.
Mr C’s son began by asking the toy to play music just as Mr C had. But he quickly moved on to asking highly personal questions of his own such as what its name was, and how it was feeling, almost as though he was conversing with a real person.
The toy appeared to recognise that a different voice was speaking.
“It knew that it was not my voice,” said Mr C. “It asked my son, ‘Who are you? Are you a child? Where’s your father?’”
Ten minutes. That was all it took before Mr C and his wife decided that playtime was over.
“My wife and I were freaked out. Our son was interacting with the toy exactly as he would with a real human being. We realised he was not mature enough to understand that it was not a real person, and he could not tell the difference.”
Mr C and his wife had to sit their son down and tell him why they did not think he was ready for the toy. When his son asked if there was someone behind the screen talking to him as it felt like just any phone conversation, Mr C and his wife had to explain that it was just a machine answering his questions."
AI yah! Is AI Replacing Me as a Parent? (6 August 2026)
"I always knew I'd have to compete for my child's attention. I just didn't expect the competition to be a chatbot with more swag than me. But while AI can speak his language and match his energy, I have snacks and 12 years of receipts. Bring it on.
By Linda Lee
It was a Saturday afternoon. The kind that doesn’t come by that often – my tween and I – just the two the of us, spending his steadfastly saved stash at the arcade.
I was standing next to him when he spotted a famous YouTuber.
"Mummy! Did you see that?" he squeaked, thrilled to bits.
I had. We grabbed each other’s arms and let out little squeals of excitement. My child fumbled for his phone, to snap a photo, I presumed.
I was wrong. He unlocked the device and swiped straight to an AI chatbot.
"Guess who I met?" he typed, his thumbs gliding fast and furious, sending the phone’s auto-correct function into overdrive.
The chatbot matched his elation, in full Gen Alpha lingo, no less: "No kid, who is it? Someone with pro maxx aura? 🤯 Are you FR (for real)? Spill the pulls. I need to live vicariously through you RN (right now). Legoooo!🔥🔥🔥"
My kid fired back, recounting every detail like a journalist filing a breaking news report.
I stood next to him and watched my son bond with a large language model. I had been out-hyped.
In my defence, I was genuinely excited for him, but AI apparently had more to offer. The bot spoke his language and was ready to keep the party going long after my own enthusiasm had peaked.
In contrast, we humans can be such a mess. We get distracted. We may not think logically. I recalled the times my son has said, "Mummy, I..." and I've replied, "Wait" to finish my tasks. I wondered how many of those small episodes accumulated and inadvertently taught him to redirect his needs elsewhere.
That is what unsettles me. When AI perfectly calibrates every interaction just for him and provides frictionless emotional support on demand, what will he expect from real human relationships when he grows up?
Part of growing up is learning to tolerate the gap between feeling something and finding someone who’s ready to reciprocate. That waiting, the reading of the room, the timing, sometimes imperfect, is how emotional intelligence is built. And AI closes that gap efficiently, seamlessly and cheerfully. It echoes you, perfectly. Sounds great, until you wonder what happens to the cognitive muscle that never gets used. And what happens when that child has to interact and live with humans who are not always so amenable.
"Give me three random words," my son commanded his chatbot.
"Spider. Cheese. Escalator," AI replied.
"Spin a story and make me laugh," my son instructed.
The chatbot immediately conjured up a story about an arachnid spraying cheese-flavoured cobwebs at shoppers on a mall escalator. My kid cackled and countered, asking for a villain. AI returned with a plot twist at warp speed. To its credit, it even slipped in some new vocabulary (complete with definitions), just in case learning wanted to tag along. What ensued was pure mayhem. The duo dived deep into unhinged territory before finally heading back to Earth, I mean, home.
Amid the chaos, I caught myself watching him the way you watch someone you love doing something without you – laughing at a joke you didn't hear, lit up by something you weren't part of and felt a little...left out.
Wait, what? Am I jealous...of AI?
I quickly rationalised: we’d had a great day, and we were both tired. Neither of us was going to be sparkling company. If AI could help him unwind, stretch his imagination, and keep him laughing when I had nothing left in the tank, was that so terrible?
The answer is probably no.
Perhaps good-enough parenting means knowing when to step back. Maybe it means we should stop guilt-tripping ourselves. Not every moment needs to mean something. Not every no-screen house rule needs to be followed to a T. And hadn’t he learnt some new words and turbo-charged his imagination during the bus ride?"
When primary school students enter an industry giant’s Curiosity Labs (17 August 2026)
"Industry partnerships with primary schools are rare, as bridging real-world science applications with what younger students are learning can be challenging. But two primary schools and Merck came together and proved overcoming the difficulties was worth it.
By Felicia Tan
Dressed in lab coats, safety goggles, and gloves, students from Greenridge Primary School and St. Anthony’s Primary School gathered at Merck’s office in Singapore and became scientists for a day. They built their own electrical circuit, tested the electrical conductivities of graphite and graphene, and simulated how medicines are purified through the company’s Curiosity Labs lesson.
Through this, they discovered graphene's applications in electronics and material science and learnt about biologic therapy production – which are treatments made from living cells or organisms. And this helped them understand why developing better treatments matters for patients. More than just science lessons, the visit gave students a glimpse into the human impact behind scientific research.
This authentic learning experience would not have been possible without many months of planning and communication, deliberately designing a curriculum to bring out curiosity and a genuine love for science.
A partnership borne from a shared vision
Mdm Flora Ong and Mrs Esther Choo – Principals of Greenridge Primary and St. Anthony’s Primary, respectively – co-led the partnership with Merck. They share a vision to nurture future-ready learners by giving students opportunities to explore real-world science applications and interact with scientist in the industry. Finding the right partnership, however, is not straightforward. This is where MOE’s Partnerships Engagement Office (PEO) came into the picture.
“We work to understand schools' needs and bring the right schools and industry partners together. These partnerships are meaningful and sustainable, and offer relevant and authentic learning experiences for our students,” says Ms Foo Mong San, Senior Manager, Partnerships Engagement Office.
Merck’s commitment to STEM education was a good fit for a collaboration, as their programmes are modelled to be inclusive and accessible. Through the company’s SPARK global volunteer programme, they bring hands-on science and education to students around the world.
Greenridge Primary and St. Anthony’s Primary could access Merck’s catalogues of Curiosity Lab lessons, giving them the flexibility to choose what would work best for their students.
Designing a thoughtful and useful curriculum
Adapting advanced lessons to primary school levels is not easy. The schools and Merck sifted through topics, worksheets, and experimental activities. They eventually settled on two lessons for the students: Graphene and Biologic Therapies. These topics connected strongly to the schools’ Applied Learning Programmes through computational thinking, problem-solving, iterative design, and learning how science improves lives.
“We live in an age where AI can provide students the knowledge they need. But students still need the right environment, skills and values to practise and apply that knowledge in the real world,” says Mdm Ong.
To prepare students before the visit, a trial hands-on session was first held at Greenridge Primary School’s Makerspace. Students explored the unique properties of graphene. This then helped them link what they learnt to the experiments they would do during the Curiosity Labs lessons later on.
During the site visit, teachers from both schools also helped facilitate collaborative discussion. They encouraged students to think deeply rather than remembering it as a fun day out.
Neo Jia Yi, a P5 student from Greenridge Primary School, reflects, “One challenge we faced was working together as a team. We overcame it by listening to one another's ideas and cooperating throughout the experiment.”
“This was a great opportunity for our students to learn critical, adaptive and inventive thinking skills. We wanted students from both schools to collaborate, practise active listening, mesh their ideas together, and ultimately learn to negotiate with one another," said Ms Wong Lai Lin, Head of Department (Science) at St. Anthony's Primary School."
“I didn’t want my kid to get an ‘A’” (19 August 2026)
"Mum and educator Sharon Chee explains why an unexpected grade got her all riled up. And what we stand to lose when we measure too much too soon.
By Sharon Chee
You heard me right. I sent my four-year-old for an art enrichment lesson, and she came home with her artwork marked up with a grade and a series of scores.
It took a moment to decode: An ‘A’ grade awarded overall, full marks for Drawing, and 7 out of 10 for Colouring.
She walked in the door and declared: “I want to get an ‘A’. I like getting an ‘A’.”
My heart sank. This had never been my intention for her. This was entirely missing the point of the art lesson.
I wanted art to be a place where she could experiment without worrying about getting things right. A place to draw something weird and out of shape and make it beautiful in her own way. A place to mix colours until they all turn grey and then mix them again. A place to create in her own time, not produce on demand.
She is only four after all.
For comparison, she had attended a different art lesson around the same time. The focus was on warm and cool colours, and mixed media: cutting, pasting, glitter, crayons, paint...She had come home proud of what she’d made. More than that, I noticed her practising at home – circles as motifs, triangles as pyramids, bunny ears and hearts that looked like one another. These later made their way into her handmade Father’s Day gift. She drew a tree without leaves and explained, matter-of-factly, that the wind had blown all the leaves away. She was making meaning through her drawings. She was making connections.
After the graded lesson, I didn’t hear her talk about what she'd drawn. I didn’t see her pick up a pencil to try similar shapes at home.
The lesson, as far as I could tell, had involved the teacher demonstrating on the board and the children copying what they could. It’s called “modelling”, but I know from my teacher training days that art assessment at a young age isn’t about letter grades, but about evaluating a child’s work against developmental stages (like Lowenfeld’s).
The grade conversation
I have 10 years of primary school classroom experience. I know what grades are for. They have their purpose. When we grade something, we tell a child that there is a standard, and that we are measuring them against it. At the right points in life, that is appropriate and necessary. But not here, not at this age.
After this experience with my daughter, I had a further insight about grades at this age: It redirects attention. This incident shifted the conversation from the one I was hoping to have with my daughter. It was no longer about what she had explored, experimented with, or enjoyed. Instead, getting an ‘A’ had become the goal.
And once that shift happens, it can be quite hard to undo.
The art of mindset change
As a parent, I find that a significant part of my energy goes into exactly this kind of undoing. We are surrounded by well-meaning adults – family, friends, the broader culture – whose words and actions carry their own assumptions about what success looks like for a child. I don’t say this to be critical of anyone. These are people who love my children. But love and good intentions don’t always translate into the mindset I want my daughter to grow up with.
So I decided to do a ‘debrief’ with my four-year-old. I asked her how she might feel if I spoke to her teacher about not giving her a grade. What if, instead, the teacher just told her what she did well in? What if she got a sticker at the end of class? I watched her think about it. She nodded but still seemed unconvinced. It was a small conversation, but it mattered – because I was trying to give her a different frame for what the class was actually for.
That conversation also reminded me of how quickly and quietly we can kill curiosity. Not intentionally, but through reduction. A grade collapses everything – the joy, the process, the story behind the drawing – into a single number or letter. It ends the conversation before it begins. Instead of asking "What did you make today?” and hearing about a tree that lost its leaves to the wind, I got “I want to get an ‘A’.”
‘We’re Eco Ambassadors and we drive our schools’ green programmes’ (20 August 2026)
"From sorting waste to running school carnivals and planting rice, Eco Ambassadors are helping their schoolmates turn sustainability into everyday action. At Waterway Primary and Yuying Secondary, we see how caring for the environment also builds confidence and leadership.
At nine, Ethan Wee noticed something many adults might have walked past: plastic wrappers landing on the grass, next to a bin. It bothered him because he had learnt how microplastics harm the environment. So when the chance came to become an Eco Ambassador at Waterway Primary School, he put up his hand.
His classmate Sharon Seow came to be an Eco Ambassador by a different path. A lover of plants and the sea, she felt disturbed when she encountered images of ocean pollution. "I don't want sea creatures to become extinct," she says. "It made me want to save marine life and reduce pollution."
Both students are now Primary 6 students at Waterway Primary School. For the past three years, they have served as the school’s Eco Ambassadors.
Across Singapore, primary and secondary schools build rich sustainability programmes that go well beyond the curriculum. Eco-consciousness is woven into daily routines and student leadership opportunities, for students like Ethan and Sharon to grow in awareness and action for the environment.
For World Water Day this year, the two were part of the organising team for a school carnival they had helped to plan and run – to drive home the need for water conservation.
Making green living a WAVE of life
With a name like Waterway Primary School, it seems only natural that eco vibes flow through its veins. The school, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, is situated right next to Punggol Waterway.
The commitment shows up everywhere: Single-use plastics are avoided across the school. Waste is sorted in bins in every classroom. And student Eco Ambassadors collect the segregated waste for the school’s recycling bins weekly, turning good habits into ownership.
The school’s gardens, including an Eco-Garden tended by WAVE (Waterway Advocates for the Environment) Club, the school's environmental CCA, give students hands-on spaces to learn about biodiversity.
Waterway Primary’s Eco-stewardship (ESP) Committee, a staff team led by Science Teacher Ms Shermin Chia, oversees the school’s environmental efforts, including school-wide activities, WAVE Club, and student Eco Ambassadors. The committee organises school-wide activities every term, on themes such as sustainability, water conservation and biodiversity.
One key strand is the Eco Ambassador programme, which supports students like Ethan and Sharon through a sustained leadership journey from Primary 3 to Primary 6, allowing them to deepen their understanding of environmental issues while taking increasing ownership of sustainability efforts in the school."
Two schools, same team (24 August 2026)
"Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) has no field of their own. First Toa Payoh Primary School offered the use of theirs – and now Primary 2 students from the two schools are playing football together – scoring goals and friendships.
By Sabrina Lee
It was a pivotal moment on the football field.
Eight-year-old Man Xiu was within striking distance of the goal. The Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) student had worked hard for this moment. The goal post was within reach. He looked up and saw that his teammate, Quryan, was in a better position to take the shot. Man Xiu passed him the ball and Quryan took the shot.
What made this moment particularly special was that teammate Quryan was not an ACS(P) student. He was from First Toa Payoh Primary School (FTPPS).
Different schools, same team.
These eight-year-olds had come a long way since they started playing football together two terms earlier.
Isaac Lee from ACS(P) remembers how at the start of the programme he had been worried about whether the FTPPS boys would be bigger than him while Dhruvan Manivannan from FTPPS had decided that he would stick with his schoolmates on the field.
Those days are over - with some help from their teachers and coaches.
Now it’s not about which school scores, but celebrating together, says Mrs Jean Lui, Senior Teacher for Physical Education, who coordinates the programme for ACS(P).
The winning partnership
This joint football programme was launched after discussions between the Principals of the two schools, Mrs Leong of ACS(P) and Mrs Choy of FTPPS. The two schools had previously collaborated for basketball and floorball.
FTPPS has a football CCA for students from Primary 3. With this football collaboration with ACS(P), students can start playing from Primary 2. The programme is conducted at FTPPS by ActiveSG coaches.
But learning football was only part of the point.
“Having the opportunity to play with another school offered learning opportunities that staying within one school simply could not match,” says Mr Timothy Goh, the FTPPS teacher-in-charge. Students had to communicate with unfamiliar teammates, adapt to different styles of play and work with people outside their usual circle of friends.
Learning football was only part of the point. Students had to communicate with unfamiliar teammates, adapt to different styles of play and work with people outside their usual circle of friends.
Breaking the ice, breaking barriers
The early days brought some expected hiccups.
“The students were quite reserved,” says Mrs Lui. They stayed within their own school groups while figuring out how to interact with one another. Mr Goh observed the same thing.
So, the teachers and coaches introduced ice-breakers: groups included students from both schools, players were rotated between groups, and the children were encouraged to cheer one another on.
It didn’t take long before shouts of “Good job”, “You can do it”, “It’s ok, try again” rang out from the students regardless of which school had the ball.
“We change groups every week, so I get to play with different people,” says Isaac. He started noticing the good players regardless of whether they were from ACS(P) or FTPPS."
She skipped a brand–name school for her son for one down the road. How did that decision play out? (24 August 2026)
"Seven years ago, Liang May chose the neighbourhood school over her husband's alma mater for their son. Ewan is now 14 and in secondary school. Any regrets? We check in.
By Sabrina Lee
When Liang May and her husband Meyer Yang decided not to use his alumni connection to enrol their son in his former primary school, some friends said, "Siao ah."
The decision made practical sense – shorter travel time, and a co–ed school where their daughter Faye, two years younger, could follow.
But logistics weren't the real reason. May wanted her children to grow up meeting kids from different backgrounds – to gain a wider view of the world, just as she had.
Her own school friendships had crossed all kinds of divides – stay–at–home mums and working ones, English–speaking families and those who weren't. One of her fondest memories: helping out at a friend's family Hokkien mee stall, ladling chilli for customers. "My after–school routine and my friend's were quite different – something I noticed even as a child. I'm comfortable communicating with people from all walks of life. I wanted my kids to have that too."
Friends who grew up together
By Primary 5, Ewan had a tight group of seven or eight – boys and girls – who formed close friendships despite having different interests and CCAs, and are still in touch today despite being in different secondary schools.
Over six years, the high–energy kid became Vice–Captain of the Badminton team and represented the school at the National School Games. He was voted Best Camper in Primary 5. When he stumbled over his words emceeing the school's National Day celebration, he recovered with a joke that got the hall laughing – a moment May holds as a snapshot of the confident young man he has become.
Faye, now in Primary 6, joined two years after Ewan and found her own close circle. Her four best friends have been inseparable since Primary 1 – different classes since Primary 3, but still the same table at recess.
Through them, Faye quietly absorbed how differently families live: some friends were picked up daily, others walked or cycled home alone; some came back to a parent waiting, others let themselves in. Things she came to know simply by spending time together.
A school where the children felt known
These friendships mattered all the more because making friends hadn't always come easily to Faye. As a younger child, she was extremely quiet – Show and Tell could end in tears. Her Form teacher found a workaround: instead of presenting to the whole class, Faye could choose a small group of friends.
Those friends became her cheerleaders. "Good job, Faye. You can do it," they'd say, even if she managed just one line. Today, Faye is "so talkative," says May. When another teacher spotted her interest in writing, she entered Faye in a competition and sent her encouraging notes along the way.
Ewan had his own experience of being seen. In Primary 5 and 6, his Form teacher started a class journal – private, between teacher and student – where pupils could write freely about whatever was on their minds. For Ewan, it became another way to share how he was doing.
The school also turned its care outward. Through Faye's Brownies CCA, pupils picked litter around the neighbourhood – May joined as a parent volunteer on some outings. Older residents would stop to thank the children, which only spurred them on. Small moments, but ones where school and neighbourhood life quietly merged.
"Along those six years, people noticed Ewan and Faye's strengths, their struggles, and the kind of support they needed to take their next step," says May. "That made me feel very good."
He wants film students to ‘take a shot’ at good stories, not perfection (3 September 2026)
"An imperfect film with raw honesty may be better than a polished one with nothing to say, says Mr Tzang Merwyn. As a Specialist in Digital Content Creation at Republic Polytechnic, he teases good stories out of his students, and gets them to find courage, voice and purpose through film.
When Mr Tzang Merwyn made his first film at 19, he had no formal training.
He borrowed a school camera, gathered a few friends, figured out where the “on” button was, and started filming.
The acting was awkward. The sound quality was terrible. Yet the film, titled “[e’Tzaintes] giving self deceit a better name” (2003), travelled overseas, won awards and was recently featured by the Asian Film Archive as part of an SG60 programme on early alternative Singapore films. His feature film, Faeryville (2015), was part of the double bill.
More importantly, it taught him something that would later shape the way he teaches: Creativity does not begin with perfection.
Today, Mr Tzang, a Specialist in Digital Content Creation at Republic Polytechnic, has built much of his teaching around that same belief: Have the courage, curiosity and the willingness to make something before you know exactly how it will turn out.
It’s a lesson his students consider precious. As one Year 1 filmmaker puts it, after one year of classes with him, “We don’t need to wait for people to tell us that we are ready to make a film… We just take our shot.”
Some stories that are hard to tell, must be told
For many people, filmmaking is about cameras, editing software, and technical polish. For Mr Tzang, it begins somewhere deeper: "A story is never a real story unless you have something to say."
In his Visual Storytelling classes, 130 to 150 Year 1 students each year create short films about issues they genuinely care about. Popular topics that have emerged range from bullying and peer pressure, to parental expectations, caregiving, discrimination, learning difficulties, and mental health.
He asks them to dig deep into why the topics resonate with them.
"If it's bullying, what about bullying?" he says. "Don't just say bullying is bad. What is your story? What is your emotion?"
He then creates an environment of emotional safety to invite braver, more powerful messaging.
When a student's film is screened, judgement is suspended. The class is asked simply to watch, reflect, and consider what the story reveals.
Such films also become less predictable, and more human. A film that set out to touch on depression became a pensive journey of worry for the student’s mother. Another explored loneliness through quiet shots of a person eating noodles alone.
"When you go into what they care about, what they want to say, the film becomes a voice, not an assignment," he explains.
Since the Visual Storytelling module began, more than 800 student films have been produced. In 2025, five anti-bullying films by his students were selected by the Coalition Against Bullying for Children and Youth to support their advocacy work. According to the coalition, the films were "brave voices" that complement adult-driven narratives.
"Stories are not just a tool for creative output," Mr Tzang says. "Stories are a tool for social change."
Giving students their first shot
To give oxygen and exposure to his students’ works, Mr Tzang founded First Shot(s), a student-run film festival, in 2018.
Films are selected not for technical perfection, but for “spark” – raw creativity, honesty and originality. A shaky film with unstable shots but a powerful idea may still be screened alongside more polished productions.
“I wanted students to see the power of raw talent,” he says.
For Zelysha Elvira Ram, a 2021 graduate in Media Production & Design, that mattered. She first met Mr Tzang in Visual Storytelling and later became festival manager for First Shot(s). She says he was the first lecturer who made filmmaking feel like “an industry and a craft” she could see her future in.
He also encouraged her to take up an internship at the Prime Minister’s Office – an opportunity that she says helped her move beyond hands-on production into a more all-round producer in the corporate world today.
In 2023, he expanded the idea into First Shot(s) X-Change, an intercultural creative exchange involving students from Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China and the Philippines. Students across countries and disciplines – filmmaking, animation, graphic design and even AI – were grouped together to create short films within just 10 days.
The process was intentionally messy. Some students struggled with language barriers. Others navigated technological restrictions and conflicting creative styles. But through collaboration, they learnt to adapt, negotiate and see the world differently.
One group created an experimental animated film about frogs after a Singapore student who loved frogs clashed playfully with a Thai teammate who joked about cooking them. The final film, a humorous reflection on cultural arrogance and empathy, was selected for screening at the Singapore International Film Festival fringe showcase."
He turns food waste into nutrition – and sources of healing (3 September 2026)
"Believing that food is medicine, Dr Heng Kiang Soon has made it his lifelong mission to make nutrition accessible to all. At Republic Polytechnic, the Specialist in Food Innovation rallies his students to develop sustainable food solutions from okara – could Singapore’s future food be one of them?
Dr Heng Kiang Soon grew up in a humble farming family in rural Malaysia, where malnutrition was common. Like many children in similar communities, his diet lacked balance and he fell sick frequently with fevers and infections.
“At one point, I was sick almost every week,” recalls Dr Heng, now a Specialist in Food Innovation at Republic Polytechnic.
It was not the only deprivation that shaped him. At four years old, an accidental eye injury permanently blinded Dr Heng in his right eye.
Growing up, he struggled with depth perception, hand-eye coordination and constant self-consciousness. Even today, reading for extended periods strains his good eye.
Those early difficulties led him to turn his childhood ambition from medicine to nutrition, believing that prevention could sometimes be more powerful than cure.
That stand would come to serve him well all through his career. After studying nutrition at university and changing his own diet, his health improved dramatically. The experience convinced him that food could transform lives – if healthy, nutritious options were made affordable and accessible to all.
Turning food waste into future food
When Dr Heng joined Republic Polytechnic, he wanted to address a gap in Singapore’s food innovation scene. Large amounts of food waste generated during processing still contained valuable nutrients, yet most were discarded.
One ingredient has since become a near-obsession of his: okara, the soybean residue left behind after making soy milk and tofu. “People saw it as waste,” he says. “But actually, it is still very nutritious.”
In 2017, after networking actively with industry partners, he began collaborating with Mr Bean – a popular local F&B chain specialising in soy-based products – to explore ways of upcycling okara into useful products.
What began as a small Final Year Project eventually grew into a major research platform involving students, industry partners, and multiple intellectual properties.
Today, Dr Heng and his teams have developed 14 okara-derived prototypes, including plant-based soy cheese, high-protein soups, skincare peptides and the world’s first Okara Biostimulant – a sustainable agricultural product now used by farms across the Asia-Pacific region.
The years it took to commercialise some products taught Dr Heng how difficult it could be to bridge the gap between laboratory research and real-world industry application.
It kickstarted another preoccupation for him. “If it was already so challenging for me,” he says, “how would students succeed without exposure?”
Attachments that start from Year 1
That question led him to actively promote Republic Polytechnic’s Short-Term Work Attachment programme. Unlike formal internships that happen in Year 3, these voluntary attachments begin as early as Year 1. During semester breaks, students could sign up to spend several weeks working on real industry problems in partnership with companies such as SoiLabs and Vivere Global.
Students do not simply observe. They formulate prototypes in the lab, visit pilot production facilities, test manufacturing processes, and present ideas to industry professionals.
For Dr Heng, the experience changes students’ confidence completely. “They become very confident in their lab work,” he says. “They have more ideas because they’ve seen how real industry operates.”
Some opportunities extend far beyond the classroom. In 2025, two student teams he mentored won first and second place at the VegeTale Challenge, after transforming traditional Chinese herbal soups into instant powder formulations. The winning formulation is now set to be licensed for mass production.
In the same year, the okara soy cream soup developed by his students was showcased at the SG60 Heart & Soul Experience exhibition as one of Singapore’s future foods.
Other students have co-presented research with him at international conferences, participated in sustainability competitions and worked directly with commercial partners.
One of them was former biotechnology student Qistina Azman. After graduation, Qistina struggled with severe eczema and couldn’t find work for years because of her skin condition. When she eventually reached out to Dr Heng, he offered her a research assistant position for one of his funded projects.
He also suggested dietary and lifestyle changes that might help manage her eczema. Over time, her condition improved significantly. Today, she is continuing her research career and working on products related to skin health – including okara-derived bioactive peptides first developed under Dr Heng’s guidance.
“This is one of my greatest satisfactions in teaching,” he says. “Nutrition knowledge is not just theory. It can translate into actual benefits for students.”
For this IT lecturer, giving is his operating language (3 September 2026)
"Mr Tao Chong Meng believes that IT can be a powerful social leveller. As Lead Lecturer at ITE College East, he champions free, quality software to sharpen his students’ competitive edge – then creates compassionate spaces for them to learn and grow in.
One Saturday in the early 2000s, a virus crippled the IT infrastructure of Mr Tao Chong Meng’s workplace. When his software suppliers couldn’t help, Mr Tao rolled up his sleeves and searched for solutions online.
He found a free, open-source operating system that was maintained by a global community of volunteers. After rebuilding parts of his company’s IT infrastructure using the OS and community assistance, he started to view free and open-source IT tools differently. He saw their potential to empower IT practitioners in ways that could level the playing field for the less privileged.
“I realised this was something that’s going to last for people and companies without deep pockets. We don’t have to just rely on one type of paid operating system,” says Mr Tao.
Today, as Lead Lecturer at ITE College East’s School of Electronics and Info-comm Technology, Mr Tao advocates the use of open-source and other free tools such as Python and Pandas.
He has seen how the ready accessibility to free tools helps to give disadvantaged students a competitive edge. He is also heartened that most technology and data companies, his students’ potential employers, now operate using open-source solutions and databases.
"The demand for high computational power and increasing cost of commercial AI-related resources poses a barrier for financially disadvantaged students,” says Mr Tao.
"Open-source technology levels the playing field, providing access to powerful resources regardless of financial constraints. This aligns with my commitment to equity and social mobility."
Partnering his students towards confidence
Mr Tao has been teaching in areas such as programming, the Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics, and AI applications.
His takeaway? “Man masters technology to have it serve man.”
Mr Tao influences his students to research, test, and apply their tech knowledge to simplify everyday tasks and systems workflows. Some solutions come with telltale names like the Swimming Pool IoT Intrusion Alert system and the College East Smart Campus Dashboard.
Other solutions are more cutting-edge and sound the part, like “maintaining and updating Raspberry Pi operating systems using tools such as BalenaEtcher, dd, and PiShrink”.
While being tech-savvy and tech-focused (students affectionately call him “The Smart One”), Mr Tao is also highly approachable – students say they feel motivated to strive harder from talking to him about all kinds of concerns, even non-academic ones.
A diligent but shy student agreed to take on the role of Class Chairman, with Mr Tao’s moral support. The student went on to lead the College’s Guitar Club. And as a working adult now, he returns to ITE to teach guitar and also volunteers as a grassroots leader.
Another student with Special Educational Needs was supported by Mr Tao’s tailored interventions. Drawing on his own experience of supporting his son’s unique learning needs, as well as seeing how instrumental his son’s teachers were to his academic progress, Mr Tao adapted his lesson and communication styles to encourage the student to learn better and verbalise more spontaneously. They celebrated his graduation from ITE two years ago.
There are times Mr Tao would literally partner a student to success.
One of them just needed a teacher to believe in his programming potential. He teamed up with Mr Tao for the Siemens Industrial Edge Competition in 2023. They used leading data visualisation and database platforms to develop an indoor farming dashboard that monitored sensors and sent live alerts – a real boon for vertical farms. They emerged as winners in the ITE category, with his student “doing 75 per cent of the work”, says Mr Tao proudly.
That student went on to pursue a diploma in aerospace electronics at Temasek Polytechnic, and also clinch the second runner-up place at the NASA Space Apps Challenge Singapore in 2024.
Replicating the real world by 'breaking things'
To prepare his students for the future, Mr Tao tries to create a classroom culture that mirrors the fast-paced tech industry.
Instead of providing them with user-friendly, plug-and-play paid tools with limited customisation abilities, he deliberately sets up “productive struggles”, where students need to take apart a system, troubleshoot, read manuals, research community forums, and design technical solutions.
Mr Tao also “dual-boots” classroom computers with both Linux and Microsoft operating systems to encourage students familiar with either one or the other to take a stab at using something unknown to them.
“The students dig deeper to explore and they’re not afraid of ‘breaking things’. If something crashes, you can always use AI to troubleshoot for you,” he explains. This process of experimentation and iteration is how students can build competence to deal with real-world tech projects – often involving constant failure, debugging and pivoting."
This lecturer takes exams to open industry doors for his students (3 September 2026)
"ITE College East lecturer Mr Prakash S/O A Divakaran chases certificates so his students don't have to upskill alone. That’s when he’s not egging them on to take part in competitions – or in one case, even appear on TV. He also upskills fellow lecturers in AI-infused teaching.
It may appear that Mr Prakash S/O A Divakaran likes the paper chase – but there’s more to it.
The lecturer at ITE College East’s School of Electronics & Info-Comm Technology continues to stack on the certificates in his fields of teaching. The reason is simple: He can update his industry knowledge, keep the curriculum fresh, and motivate his students while he’s at it.
Whether it is programming, electronics, or applied AI, students can discuss topics with Mr Prakash like a peer, and be inspired by him as a teacher. That connection they share lays the groundwork for learning, he says.
“Students have little exposure to what happens outside of school, in the industry. Until they visit a trade convention or know how an industry certification can benefit a career, they won’t understand why they’re learning about resistors, capacitors and inductors,” Mr Prakash explains. “I help them make the connections.”
In his characteristic soft-spoken tones, he recounts how as a polytechnic student studying electronics, he couldn’t see where he was headed until after he graduated and joined the workforce. He wants to bring that a-ha moment forward for his students.
Today, he networks extensively to immerse his students in an ecosystem of contacts, competitions and opportunities, to give them more bridges to meaningful work and avenues to success.
Stacking value with certifications
ITE College East’s Value-Added Programme (VAP) is one such significant opportunity that Mr Prakash leads and pours his energies into.
Students under the VAP graduate with an ITE certificate as well as other industry certifications.
After VAP was launched by his school’s Director in 2023, Mr Prakash upped the ante. He identified three rigorous and globally recognised credentials – PCEP Certified Entry-Level Python Programmer, CompTIA IT Fundamentals+ and Huawei Certified ICT Associate (Cloud Service) – to stretch the potential of selected students.
The Python Programmer exam is known to be difficult, even for university graduates and working adults. Mr Prakash is happy to note that over half of his 40 students who sat for the exam so far have passed.
Meanwhile, over 50 students have been equipped with at least one of these credentials. All other students are also offered the opportunity to obtain other certifications of varying intensity.
It isn’t just about keeping students industry-relevant and employable. But having a credential on their resume “tells employers that this person can step up and learn something new if you need them to”, he adds.
Beyond the numbers, the impact of the VAP is seen through the students’ transformation. “Some who nearly made the mark were motivated enough to retake the Python exam on their own accord,” Mr Prakash shares with pride. It reinforces his belief that such certificate programmes as well as industry competitions go far in moulding his students’ skills, self-belief and tenacity.
To be sure that students were able to clear such high bars, Mr Prakash clears them first, and gets certified himself. This puts him in the best position to mentor the students in their preparation.
Tech competition brings student out of his shell
The quiet ways in which he mentors and role-models appear to be Mr Prakash’s secret weapon when helping students step into their power.
He recalls a student, Zamien, who barely spoke to him in his first year, till one day, the boy stayed behind after class and asked to speak with him.
He wanted to discuss an electronics sensor he was designing – to tackle his father’s frustration with personal mobility devices speeding through blind spots near their home
. Mr Prakash didn’t want to let the moment of inspiration go. He encouraged Zamien to develop his idea with his classmates, and submit his proposal at a school-wide contest for innovative solutions. Zamien’s team didn’t win, but a fire in his belly was lit.
When the opportunity came along to take part in Huawei’s Tech4City competition, Mr Prakash alerted Zamien to it, and he didn’t hesitate. The annual competition encourages youths to co-create tech-driven innovations for social good.
This time, Zamien’s team had the idea of attaching an AI camera to traffic lights to give elderly pedestrians more time at road crossings. Besides being programmed to spot the elderly, the team’s system was sensitive enough to be handicap-friendly too – it could even detect a black walking cane against dark tarmac. The team took home the first prize.
That night, Zamien found himself presenting the solution live on television alongside Huawei’s CEO. “It broke him out of his cocoon,” says Mr Prakash. Zamien went on to be named an ITE College East Outstanding Graduate."
Humanities meets tough love for this former discipline mistress (3 September 2026)
"There are strict rules in Mdm Serene Tang’s classrooms and a healthy dose of compassion – just one of several ways to help her students stay keen in class and be a positive force in society. The Head of Department (Humanities) was teaching formerly at Swiss Cottage Secondary School and now at Outram Secondary School.
Every student of Mdm Serene Tang gets three chances per term. Whether it is forgetting their textbook, skipping homework or simply zoning out in class, there are no consequences to slip-ups. These chances, if untouched, are rolled over to subsequent terms in the year.
It is a policy that neatly sums up Mdm Tang’s belief as an educator.
“What I’m teaching them is responsibility and self-directedness. At the same time, we are all human beings who need someone to give us grace on our bad days,” says the History and Social Studies teacher at Swiss Cottage Secondary School who moved to Outram Secondary School in 2026, serving as Humanities Head of Department at both schools.
Her take on what constitutes discipline stems from her own secondary school days when, she confesses, she was hardly the model student. “I wasn’t given many opportunities as a result, but in my final year, my form teacher saw my strength and nominated me to be a prefect.”
That one move changed the way she viewed herself. “The 16-year-old me felt that sense of gratitude and desire to grow,” she adds.
Today, as a teacher to teens, she holds on to the belief that everyone has redeeming qualities when given a chance.
She 'knew every trick in the book'
The irony wasn’t lost on Mdm Tang when she became the discipline head at Swiss Cottage Secondary. She was primed for the role because she was Little Miss Mischief and knew every student trick in the book! She was also quick to sense which students were particularly at risk, especially those facing challenging home environments and even abuse.
“When put in difficult situations like that, how can we expect the children to put education as their primary focus?” she explains.
When faced with severe family crises or safety concerns, Mdm Tang and her team prioritised student well-being above all else, even if it means making tough calls. Working closely with social service agencies and protection officers, Mdm Tang and her team supported a student’s placement in a girls’ home to keep her safe from her abusive stepfather. That decision, which set the student back academically by one year, turned out to be the right one.
“She came back to visit years later to thank me...she was happily married and doing well,” Mdm Tang’s eyes reddening at the memory.
Helping students STAY on Course
Back in the Humanities department, Mdm Tang was no-nonsense when tackling falling student interest in Humanities subjects, especially Social Studies, which was perceived to be harder to score well in.
The STAY on Course framework was her response. STAY stands for Setting realistic targets, Tracking progress, Adjusting strategies and Yielding results.
The commitment understood by her team to support every Humanities student and their goals across four years, starting at Secondary 1 where all Humanities students have a one-to-one chat with their teacher to set goals. Follow-ups are held periodically and yearly to clarify understanding, monitor progress and establish next steps. “No man is left behind,” says Mdm Tang.
She also saw the Humanities as vital to character development and critical thinking. “The values and dispositions nurtured through Humanities education are foundational to how students learn, relate to others and understand their place and contributions to the world.”
Seatbelts on, it’s Chemistry time! She turns lessons into virtual adventures (3 September 2026)
"Her students never know what to expect – one day, it’s AI-powered games, next day, rockets launch when students identify the right chemical reactions. Mdm Teng Wei Syan, Senior Teacher in Chemistry at Evergreen Secondary School, makes learning immersive and, most importantly, memorable.
Pop into Mdm Teng Wei Syan’s Chemistry lessons and you may find students racing to unlock digital escape rooms using science. Or recording their experiments animatedly on video like content creators do.
For Mdm Teng, better known to her students as Ms Priscilia Teng, technology is an enabler – a way to make difficult concepts easier to understand, and even fun to learn.
“Chemistry can be very abstract,” says the Senior Teacher in Chemistry at Evergreen Secondary School. “A lot of things happen at the microscopic level. Technology allows students to visualise concepts and interact with them in ways that make Chemistry more tangible and engaging for learners.”
Her avid game-on mindset has shaped her teaching at Evergreen Secondary, whose culture is also a great fit for her, she says.
“The school allows me to grow,” she explains. “It gives me space to experiment, to try different ways of engaging students, and to learn alongside my colleagues.” That willingness to experiment would eventually become one of her defining strengths.
Spirit of experimentation
Like how a chemist might work, Ms Teng enjoys experimenting with ways to make learning more exciting, then makes adjustments to the methods to improve the results.
After exploring pedagogical approaches such as flipped learning (where lesson materials are made available online so students could learn concepts independently before coming to class), she expanded over time into gamification, AI-enhanced learning and interactive simulations.
She designed an interactive Chemistry website from scratch using AI-assisted coding tools. Organised by topic, the platform allows students to explore virtual labs, interactive simulations and multiplayer games that reinforce difficult concepts such as electrolysis and qualitative analysis.
In a game she designed, students compete in a virtual tug-of-war, engaging the students while applying their knowledge and skills. In another, rockets launch when students identify the right chemical reactions.
“It may look childish,” she laughs, “but the students love it.”
Yet behind the games lies deep pedagogy. Every activity is intentionally designed around scientific understanding.
“I don’t use EdTech for the sake of using it,” she says. “There must be a clear purpose in how it supports learning.”
Where joy is a key element in learning
One example is her Chemistry “escape room” practical lessons, where students move through experiments in stages, unlocking digital clues only when they demonstrate understanding. Built-in checkpoints help surface misconceptions immediately, while students record videos and photographs of their experiments to revisit later.
“They become the content creators,” Ms Teng explains. “They take ownership of their learning.”
Her lessons are also deeply rooted in real-world experiences. To teach exothermic reactions, she brings self-heating hotpots into class. Students observe the chemical reaction while preparing food together.
“Certain things students see every day, but they never connect them to what they learn in class,” she says. “Our role is to make those links visible."
As coordinator of Evergreen Secondary’s STEM Interdisciplinary Project Work (IPW) programme, Ms Teng also oversees projects that challenge Secondary 2 students to apply scientific concepts to real-world problems. To date, students have designed solar-powered solutions for energy shortages, built aluminium foil boats to explore buoyancy, and created prototypes from recycled materials."
This Geography teacher brings out the mighty in the mundane (3 September 2026)
"Through hands-on experiments, inquiry-based learning, and her signature “Huddle” discussions, Lead Teacher Mdm Emmeline Tay helps students at Clementi Town Secondary School find stories and connections in the world they live in.
Mdm Emmeline Tay places a container of honey and a container of water in front of her class during a Geography lesson on plate tectonics.
To explain why some volcanoes erupt explosively while others do not, she gets students to blow bubbles into both. In water, the bubbles escape easily. In honey, they remain trapped.
"They can immediately see that trapped gases in viscous lava give rise to explosive eruptions," she explains. "So they don't memorise. They understand."
For the Lead Teacher in Geography at Clementi Town Secondary School, learning Geography has never been about memorising facts. It is about creating tangible experiences and leaving less to the imagination – while helping students discover that the world around them is alive with stories, systems and connections.
From the Earth's core to a container of styrofoam
Geography is full of processes that cannot be seen easily and in real time – tectonic plates grinding beneath the ocean floor, convection currents circulating inside the mantle, liquefaction turning solid ground to slurry during an earthquake.
In Mdm Tay's classroom, complex topics are transformed into tactile, visual experiences that students can touch and feel.
To teach the layered structure of the Earth, she gives students styrofoam balls and plasticine, drops them in water, and asks them to observe which sinks and which floats — and to explain why, using the concept of density.
Rather than presenting Geography as a set of facts to be received, she creates moments where students can observe, question, and connect what they see to what they are learning. For liquefaction, she recreates the tremors of an earthquake by shaking a container of water-saturated sand. Students observe the sand lose its strength and behave like a fluid, visualising the process in a way that a textbook diagram alone cannot explain.
"It's all very visual, instead of just telling them," she says. "And it's a lot more fun."
These are not gimmicks. They are entry points into concept-based inquiry – a teaching philosophy built on the conviction that students construct deeper, more lasting understanding when they discover it rather than receive it.
"Watching students construct their own understanding, sharpen their critical thinking, and gain the confidence to tackle complex problems reminds me why I chose this calling," she says.
Let’s do the Huddle
At some point in almost every lesson, Mdm Tay says the word: “Huddle!”
The class knows what to do. They stand, form a circle, and take turns to speak. No one is exempt. No one can repeat what the person before them said – they must build on it, extend it. "In the usual class, if you ask a question, only one or two people will answer," she says. "We will not be able to get to the whole class."
With the Huddle, all students are encouraged to gradually become more confident thinkers and speakers. "At first, they kept asking for model answers," she says. "Now they know that in my class, they are required to think."
Technology extends those opportunities further. Through platforms such as the Student Learning Space, AI chatbots and interactive digital tools, students test ideas and debate solutions in real time. In one lesson, students proposed tourism sustainability strategies to an AI chatbot, which challenged them to consider unintended consequences. This prompted them to explore different perspectives, compare possible solutions, and weigh trade-offs before refining their ideas – developing cognitive flexibility.
Joy in the teaching and the learning
Some of Mdm Tay's most insightful lessons happen outside the classroom. She built a water-testing programme for Secondary 1 students around the school's own garden, which has a micro-drainage basin and a working well. Students who have only read about underground water in textbooks are brought outside to see it, to understand how water is channelled and stored.
For upper secondary students, geographical investigations in the neighbourhood put sampling methods and data collection into their hands. They design their own hypotheses, choose their own questions, and discover through experience what works – and what does not. The dead ends are part of the plan.
"A question that fails to yield useful data is not a problem to be avoided," she says. "It gives students an opportunity to reflect, revise and try again. That is productive failure. We want them to go through it."
She develops character and changemakers of tomorrow (3 September 2026)
"Mdm Lim Li Shi Jasmine reimagines Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) at St Hilda’s Primary School, connecting character building to school life. The impact? Students initiating kindness boards, leading book donation drives, and more importantly, recognising that community impact lies in their hands.
One afternoon, Mdm Jasmine Lim received a surprising text from a colleague. Four students were spotted assisting an elderly person in a wheelchair. The boys had seen him struggling to cross the road just outside the school, and rushed forward to lend a hand.
Could they be the same handful of boys she used to keep a close eye on? “When I asked them later why they did that, they just said the uncle needed help,” Mdm Lim, better known to her students as Mrs Jasmine David, says with a smile.
For the Head of Department (Character & Citizenship Education and Partnerships) at St Hilda’s Primary School, this was a clear sign that her efforts to shift the school’s CCE have truly landed.
Giving back to her alma mater
Contributing to St Hilda’s legacy is exceptionally meaningful for Mrs David, who was a student there from primary through to secondary school. Those growing-up years were also when she first learned about giving back to the community.
Teachers would use assembly time to share news stories about what Singaporeans were doing to help those around them. “I always felt inspired, thinking, I can do it too,” Mrs David recalls with fondness.
The golden moment for this came when she was posted to St Hilda’s.
Today, besides teaching Physical Education and Social Studies, she oversees the schoolwide CCE experience for the students.
She sought to amplify what St Hilda’s was already good at – giving back to the community – by proposing a strategic shift to its CCE experiences and integrating the two.
For instance, a Primary 4 Social Studies chapter on Singapore’s early immigrants preceded a Values in Action (VIA) project titled “Uncles at Work”.
Teachers guided students to reflect on the nation’s migrant roots, towards a greater empathy for our modern-day migrant workforce. Students then took part in a donation drive held in collaboration with the Migrant Workers’ Centre. They wrote thank-you cards and packed goodie bags which the peer support leaders personally delivered to migrant workers. The VIA project is one of St Hilda’s key CCE experiences and is now in its third year running.
In another initiative, Mrs David introduced VIA projects as part of the CCA experience, where students contributed their talents and interests to community activities. For instance, performing groups would entertain the elderly residents at nursing homes and the art club would make crafts for beneficiaries.
Overseas trips were also redesigned to enhance their ideas of what community contributions can look like; in Hong Kong, students saw how food wastage was being alleviated via a food rescue and donation organisation.
Summing up, Mrs David says she wants students to have “not just purpose but impactful purpose”.
Contributing to a cultural shift
By making CCE a more coherent and experiential part of the school curriculum, Mrs David didn’t just deliver more effective learning opportunities. Students have also been inspired to run their own projects.
A simple book donation drive led by a pair of siblings three years ago has grown into a larger collaboration with Pathlight School, with St Hilda’s Peer Support Leaders contributing to a reading programme there.
Another group created a “kindness board” for their classmates to post motivational notes. The idea has since gone viral across the school with such boards in every room.
Seeing board after board of notes as she walks past the classrooms, it was clear, “the children appreciate the idea”, Mrs David says.
These little gestures will amount to something more formative when these students grow up – just like how Mrs David felt the impact of her school years on the person she is today.
“If students can remember the values that were taught, and the feeling of gratitude when they wrote that thank-you card to our cleaners, our society will be better off,” she says, adding,
“CCE is not just a subject for the books, it gets them through life.”
In his Science class, oops is part of the experiment (3 September 2026)
"Mr Soo Gham Seng builds room for mistakes in his Science lessons. By letting students test, stumble and try again, he helps them grow more confident in Science and as learners. The Head of Department (Science) at Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School, believes in “productive struggle”.
In one Science lesson, students are given this scenario: A woman is in the middle of making tea when her phone rings. To enjoy a warmer cup of tea after her call, should she add cold milk to the hot tea now or later?
They break into groups and offer their hypotheses. As they propose what apparatus they need to conduct an experiment to prove their point, they are told what is and what is not available, leading to quick adjustments to their plans. Energetic discussions between groups are encouraged.
This is what Science with Mr Soo Gham Seng can look like.
The Head of Department (Science) at Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School is rolling out a pilot programme for Primary 4 and 5 students this year.
He adapted inquiry-based Excellence 2000 (E2K) lessons to students of different levels of ability, and exposed those who are more ready for more challenging levels of lessons alongside classmates in mainstream classes.
In this mixed-ability environment, everyone may work on the same experiment but are given varying degrees of support: some students may receive more instructions while others are given fewer clues or more apparatus.
The point is not to make learning difficult for its own sake, but to pitch the struggle according to student ability, where everyone can reach for the finish line together.
Mr Soo calls this “productive struggle”, stemming in large part from observing patterns in his students.
Deepening learning through open inquiry
With open inquiry and experiential learning, says Mr Soo, students develop “the deepest kind of understanding” because they have worked through the concept for themselves, instead of only learning it from textbooks or instruction.
In one lesson on electricity, for instance, students used an online simulator to build circuits before Mr Soo formally taught the chapter – a way of letting them test, observe and make sense of the concept before receiving the explanation.
For Primary 5 student Sushil Shyam, such curiosity-led exploration is fun. Learning this way helps him remember concepts better – and has made him enjoy Science more – as Mr Soo encourages them to “try things out ourselves in class instead of waiting for answers”, he says.
For Mr Soo, it is also how he helps students move past the fear of a wrong answer, a missed mark or an unrealistic target.
“It’s okay to make mistakes,” is a refrain that his students have grown used to hearing.
He recalls an academically driven student who buckled under the pressure of his own expectations. Even a small mistake in a test or assignment could upset him deeply.
Recognising that fear of failure, Mr Soo shared with him his own detour as an undergraduate. He had started out in Chemical Engineering, only to withdraw from the course after a few months when he realised it was not for him. He later applied to be a relief teacher at his alma mater before applying for undergraduate studies at NIE. As he began preparing lessons and watching students’ minds open, he found his calling in teaching.
What had felt like failure at the time eventually led him to the classroom – and became a way for Mr Soo to show the student that a setback need not be the end of the road.
It was only later that the student’s mother told Mr Soo that his story had uplifted the boy and helped him restart his learning.
Creating a culture conducive for trying
Mr Soo’s difficult emotions from withdrawing from his university course left him wishing he had had more emotional support as a young person.
It is why he fosters an environment that embraces trial and error as a foundation for learning. It comes with rules of engagement: Unkindness and discourtesy are dealt with immediately. “It takes only a few careless remarks to destroy the culture,” he says.
And when experimental results do not align with theoretical concepts, Mr Soo models the next step: honesty. He asks what might have gone wrong, what could be adjusted, and if the wrong data could still reveal anything useful."
Her speciality? Building confidence beyond the classroom (3 September 2026)
"At Bendemeer Primary School, Mdm Jessintha Sasayiah, Head of Department (English), believes confident communicators don't just emerge — they're shaped. Through interest groups, inter-school language activities, and more, she builds thoughtful designs of experiences that encourage students to love school and make friends. Along the way, they are inspired to show up for themselves and find their voice.
At Bendemeer Primary School, Mdm Jessintha Sasayiah was thinking of new ways to inspire engagement in her primary school students.
As Head of Department (English) at Bendemeer Primary, she wants to enable educators to build stronger connections with each child, to better guide them to find purpose and meaning in their learning. And since every child is different, she thinks constantly about how she can “reshape the curriculum to meet them where they are”.
She saw a golden opportunity to achieve this when given the chance to lead a programme to run non-academic workshops at the school. Who would have thought that developing curiosity and communication through English Language lessons could go hand in hand with football and baking classes?
More than workshops: Creating meaningful learning experiences
The IGNITE programme, which stands for Interest Groups for Nurturing and Transforming Through Experiences, was started in 2023 to give students opportunities to explore interests and develop skills beyond the academic curriculum.
Mdm Sasayiah extended the programme to her colleagues to host workshops for topics and skills that weren’t in the curriculum. They gamely volunteered their skills and time by teaching baking, playing board games, or introducing STEM activities. Though the programme was run after school and purely optional, the sign-up rate was healthy.
“You could see the excitement. Students came on time and they attended every class,” Mdm Sasayiah recalls. In time, “they wanted more sessions, and longer sessions”.
Mdm Sasayiah thinks it helps that students could select the workshop that appealed most to them from the rich calendar of options. This ability to choose their preferred workshop gave students a sense of control, autonomy, and drive to succeed
. In time, with that growing belief in themselves came the transformative effects on them as learners. Students who were disruptive became far more cooperative and helpful to their classmates; those who used to lack attention were more able to focus.
The effects on their English lessons were also clear. Their joy of learning spilled into their regular lessons. “The IGNITE activities gave the students the opportunities to go through these new experiences, overcome challenges, and come back to write about them,” she says.
One boy was talent-spotted through his IGNITE water-polo sessions, even qualifying for Direct School Admission. “His mother told me, if IGNITE didn’t happen, her son wouldn’t have thought he had a shot at entering that school,” Mdm Sasayiah says.
By 2026, IGNITE was expanded and offered to the Primary 4 and 5 cohort. It was also moved into curriculum time so that every student could experience these workshops. The 18 different workshops run the gamut from comic drawing to fashion design and videography, taught by teachers, parent volunteers, and partnering schools.
Plus, the initial one-hour workshops have expanded in scope, to run as two 1.5-hour sessions.
IGNITE’s success would cement Mdm Sasayiah’s belief that learning has to be holistic, motivating and unhurried, and cannot happen in classrooms alone.
“I am guided by the principle of the aggregation of marginal gains: that small, thoughtful improvements, consistently applied over time, can lead to meaningful and lasting impact,” she explains.
“This philosophy shapes how I teach in the classroom, how I lead my department, and how I build relationships. Educators add value at every stage of a learner’s growth. When education is framed this way, learning becomes purposeful rather than pressurised.”
From pen pals to buddies to role models
The same beliefs run through every programme Mdm Sasayiah develops and leads.
With the Pen Pal programme, which started in 2019, Primary 5 students exchange three rounds of letters with Year 1 students at St. Joseph’s Institution (SJI). The letters are checked for appropriateness but not corrected for language.
This is followed up by Buddy Up Reading Programme, for students who are ready for greater engagement. How it works: Students in groups of six – three from Bendemeer Primary and three from SJI – would discuss a text they had agreed to read beforehand. Each person takes on a distinct role, as storyteller, creator or word whizz, to cover the text from different perspectives. These discussions take place at SJI.
At one such visit, a shy student recognised that the SJI student facilitating the session had graduated from Bendemeer Primary. One year later, Mdm Sasayiah realised that the boy had not only followed in his senior’s footsteps and joined SJI, but also volunteered to emcee the next Buddy Up Reading Programme session when he was a student in SJI. His meekness of the past was nowhere to be found. The programme set the stage for her students to get a glimpse, through the older students, of who they could become. “It was a full circle moment,” she says, visibly pleased.
These are not all. A public speaking programme called SuperSpeaker lets nominated students speak at the assembly on any values-based topic. And Otter Times, a magazine-style publication by the English department showcases the writing of students across the upper primary levels, affirming their hard work.
Many of these programmes initiated by her department go beyond classroom work, as Mdm Sasayiah and her team aim to extend learning of English."
Nothing simulated about how this lecturer structures support (3 September 2026)
"Mr Shamim Akhtar teaches programming, game development, and computer graphics as Course Chair at Temasek Polytechnic. His deeper impact lies in how he designs learning: a guided framework that helps students become confident, independent and ready to build meaningful worlds of their own.
It was 11pm, the night before a simulation system was due to be demonstrated to an important client, when the system went down unexpectedly.
Mr Shamim Akhtar, a developer back then in 2006, worked through the night, eventually locating the exact problem in the dense codebase. The software was fixed and ready for the client demonstration by morning.
“I knew the answer was in there somewhere,” he recalls.
That same instinct to think critically, iterate constantly, and never give up, is something Mr Shamim wants to instil in his students. As Course Chair for the Diploma in Immersive Media & Game Development at Temasek Polytechnic, he developed his personal Enterprise of One Framework (EOF) for capability building to get them there.
The name of the framework that supports his students across all three years of their polytechnic education was chosen with intention. “You as a student are in control of your own lifelong learning, resilience and ethical use of AI,” he explains. “You are your own enterprise.”
Tackling that Year 1 problem
The EOF was a direct response to one of Mr Shamim’s greatest challenges as a polytechnic educator.
When students arrive in Year 1, they are fired up to build games and simulations. These could look like a cockpit simulator to train pilots, or an immersive game that introduces the sensory world of neurodivergent people. But first, students need to get through compulsory foundation modules, which they can find dry and challenging to relate to initially.
Some struggle and a few come close to withdrawing from the course altogether. “The core technical subjects, while critical, can feel irrelevant to their creative ambitions of diving into developing their own game,” he explains.
Others feel lost in the polytechnic system that requires more self-discipline than what they were used to in secondary school. On the side, Mr Shamim also started to see students rely increasingly on AI to do their thinking for them. All this formed a problem statement that he designed the EOF to address.
His Enterprise of One builds more than skills
Since 2025, Mr Shamim has embedded the EOF in his course modules to ensure these five principles are met during the students’ polytechnic years: self-directed learning, AI-augmented capability, real-world integration, continuous feedback, and identity and resilience.
The principles are applied whether for teaching and assessing a skill or a learning disposition like adaptability.
In Year 1, Mr Shamim’s framework starts students off on the right foot towards self-directed learning and resilience. He takes the students out on learning journeys into real studios.
At an arcade game developer, for example, students saw how a game gets published from a rough idea to a working machine in Timezone.
Back on campus, short workshops and tutorials fill the gaps. These include game development tutorials and 3D modelling sessions run by students from the course’s special interest group. Lecturers guide them closely, usually with questions and feedback, and do not spoon-feed with answers. Neither do they leave the students to figure problems out on their own.
The same structured approach applies to how students are guided to use AI. Starting in Year 2, rather than assessing the output, Mr Shamim and his lecturers assess how students interact with the tool. Students are required to fill out a template that documents their objectives, prompts and critical analysis of AI-generated answers – that is, they are using AI to find fault with its own output.
“They see that AI can also make mistakes. This keeps them thinking,” he explains."
The nurse who teaches presence, not just procedure (3 September 2026)
"Lecturer Mis'Rohaiza Binte Amin found that assessment in healthcare education often measures clinical skill and knowledge, but not compassion. At Ngee Ann Polytechnic, she is redesigning palliative care education to make room for it.
During a classroom simulation, a student nurse broke down in tears. She had been role-playing the final hours of a dying patient – and the exercise surfaced something she had been carrying quietly: grief over her grandmother's death, which she had not been present for.
For Ms Mis'Rohaiza Binte Amin, it became a teaching moment of a different kind. The nursing lecturer paused the lesson, gently took the student aside, gave her space for her emotions, and listened. In the weeks that followed, she continued checking in on her, helping her make sense of what she was feeling.
Months later, when the same student returned to the simulation room, she was not the one needing support, but the one comforting a distressed classmate. For Ms Mis'Rohaiza, moments like these represent the heart of nursing education.
"To me, it is not about how fast or how well you can perform a procedure or serve medication," she says. "It is about being there with the patient, and showing that you care."
A lesson born from personal loss
Ms Mis'Rohaiza's commitment to compassion began long before she became a lecturer.
When she was seven, she became one of the caregivers to her mother who had collapsed from a stroke. She was inspired to become a nurse from there, but her mother passed away shortly after Ms Mis'Rohaiza graduated from nursing school, leaving her with regrets for not having done more.
Those experiences eventually drew her towards palliative care, where conversations about loss, dignity, and human connection are part of daily practice. It evoked “deep feelings” in her, feelings she was convinced needed to be dealt with not informally but as part of the profession.
When she moved into lecturing, "I told myself that I should teach my students what it truly means to be a nurse." Healthcare education has traditionally focused on two things: knowledge and technical competence. But Ms Mis'Rohaiza believes there is a third dimension that matters just as much – compassion.
Training beyond knowledge and skills
Today, the Senior Manager and Programme Lead at the School of Health Sciences, Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP), is one of Singapore's leading nurse educators in palliative care.
She serves as Chairperson of the Palliative Care Nurses Chapter of the Singapore Nurses Association, and represents the polytechnic in national initiatives such as Compassionate Communities Singapore.
Compassion is the focus of her doctoral research and much of her teaching innovation. Over time, she has created experiences that require students to grapple with emotions, ethical dilemmas, and human vulnerability.
One example is First Act of Last Office (FALO), a three-hour applied drama intervention co-developed with collaborators from NTU and NIE. The workshop was born from a gap Ms Mis'Rohaiza had observed throughout her clinical career: that when a patient dies, the standard response is to clean up, complete the paperwork, and move on. "Nobody provides that closure to the nurses," she says.
FALO is designed to change that. Students navigate end-of-life scenarios alongside trained actors playing grieving family members or busy colleagues – the heart of the workshop is what happens after. "As nurses and future colleagues, it's important for us to bring everyone together to debrief and think about what just happened," she says. "If we don't take care of their feelings, then this may cause burn-out in the future."
She is also developing a scenario-based board game and assessment rubrics that evaluate empathy through communication, body language, tone of voice and reflective responses."
Her students don’t just think about Literature, they think about thinking (3 September 2026)
"Mdm Khoo Lilin has been known to throw a Victorian tea party to make the classics come alive for her students. The Lead Teacher in English Literature at St Andrew's Junior College also teaches them that little bit more: the ability to watch their own minds at work.
Mdm Khoo Lilin loves Literature so much, she wants her students to be able to touch, feel, hear and even taste what they experience from the world of books.
When they studied Charlotte Bronte’s book Jane Eyre, she threw a Victorian-style tea party complete with swatches of vintage fabric and cups of tea, set to a 19th Century music playlist, to bring out the flavour of the era.
Today’s lesson is on Shakespeare? During break time, a craft session is in order – students build a Lego set to better help them visualise and understand a scene in the text.
These surprises “keep them curious” and looking forward to class, says the Lead Teacher in English Literature at St Andrew’s Junior College.
Her strategies must be working, because students show up voluntarily even for optional activities such as the ad hoc poetry cafes she holds outside of class.
Where learning is no hit-and-run
What students don’t see is all the thinking that goes on behind her lesson preparations.
Mdm Khoo has taken this a step further, honing the thought behind the thinking (known as metacognition) into an area of speciality.
“Thinking about thinking, that’s my main work,” she states without hesitation.
It sounds abstract until one witnesses her lessons. Students don’t just annotate texts while studying them. They also map their thought processes and trace their reasoning in tandem.
This develops self-awareness (“how do I think and why do I think this way?”), which allows them to observe their own thought patterns and reframe them if needed, with and eventually without a teacher’s guidance.
The decision to hone metacognition as a pedagogical focus area was a direct response to her students’ fear of Unseen Poetry, an A-Level component requiring them to analyse a surprise poem.
She had the same struggle when she was a Junior College student. Her Literature class had spent five weeks picking apart the poem Auto Wreck by Karl Shapiro, a dramatic account of what follows a road accident. They went through its language, tone, style and rhythm. When given another poem, however, they weren’t sure how to transfer those skills of analysis.
“That poem was the perfect analogy for how my students were approaching Unseen Poetry. It was hit-and-run,” she quips.
When searching for a way to help students sharpen and regulate their thought processes independently, her answer came during the pandemic years of Home-Based Learning. Metacognition became a focus area of professional development for teachers, as part of efforts to help students learn more independently.
Mdm Khoo was hooked. By 2022, she started to formally weave metacognitive methods into her lessons
‘I can see what you’re thinking’
When students are given a new poem to critique, they do scripting in the first 10 minutes, identifying thoughts such as where they make an assumption, where they hesitate, how their interpretations evolve, or what strategies they used when stuck.
They then share their scripts with the class. By understanding, sharing, and improving on how they analyse, they can more effectively analyse any poem or book they are given.
The students may find the process humbling, or even embarrassing.
This is why Mdm Khoo refrains from introducing metacognitive work to her JC1 students until Term 2 each school year — when they have had enough time to warm up, form groups, and make friends. “That’s when students begin to feel safe enough to share their raw analyses and expose the ‘messy part of their thinking’,” she explains for the need to be thoughtful with this process.
Mdm Khoo also gets vulnerable alongside them, modelling her own thinking out loud. “It requires teachers to step away from the image of an expert,” she explains. “By going through the same process, we reveal our hesitations, blind spots, false starts, and revisions.”
“I let them evaluate my metacognitive awareness too,” she adds.
Together, they draw vocabulary from the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory, a psychometric tool that is complemented with progress tracking across the students’ e-portfolios, guided reflections, and goal-setting routines too.
Over time, the students find themselves take greater ownership of their learning, moving from avoidance to curiosity and confidence, and Literature texts become less and less challenging."
She moves her students to love Tamil language and culture (3 September 2026)
"Mdm Kamalavani D/O Palaiyan uses cultural performance and dialogic teaching to help students see Tamil as more than an exam subject. In this way, the Senior Teacher at Anderson Serangoon Junior College is also keeping traditional artforms alive.
The art of storytelling takes different forms in different cultures. For Mdm Kamalavani D/O Palaiyan, the Tamil tradition of Villupattu, where verse and music revolve around a bow of bells, should be preserved. And what better way than to grow a love for it in her students.
Of course, there were hurdles. Mdm Vani, as she’s fondly known, didn’t have the actual instrument, called the villu. So she fashioned one herself, using a hula hoop borrowed from the PE department, string, bells and shoeboxes, all held together with masking tape.
Then there was her students’ unfamiliarity with the language. "Many students come from English-speaking backgrounds," she says. "They approach Tamil with apprehension, as just an academic requirement. I want them to see it as a vibrant, living part of their cultural identity."
Finally, there might be a lack of enthusiasm.
“‘Teacher, these are old songs’, they would tell me,” says Mdm Vani, only half-amusedly. That is when her love for the language and culture shines forth. With a glint in her eye and a tilt of the head, she narrates and dramatises her way into their hearts.
With regular practice and coaching in and outside of their Mother Tongue lessons, they pick up enough to perform at AGNI, Anderson Serangoon Junior College (ASRJC)’s Tamil cultural showcase.
At the showcase, the students’ performance of the Villupattu was so spectacular, audience members mistook them for professionals.
Forging identity through performance
AGNI, which means “fire” in Tamil, is a biennial event that Mdm Vani has directed from the start.
Held in conjunction with Singapore’s Tamil Language Festival, the two- to three-hour showcase attracts an audience of 500 students and is put together by some 30 students from the Tamil Language Elective Programme and Tamil Language Debate and Dance Society.
The first AGNI session was held at the former Anderson Junior College (AJC). Following the merger of AJC and Serangoon Junior College, into what is now known as ASRJC, AGNI became an official event within Singapore’s National Tamil Language Festival.
From there, Mdm Vani steered the programme towards art forms that most young people have never encountered, and that are rarely seen even at professional events. Other than Villupattu, she has even brought in percussion instruments like the Parai and Thudumbu, paired with vibrant dance choreographies.
Each year, students train for three months before putting up performances. “Possibly 90 per cent of these students have no experience in acting, singing or dancing,” Mdm Vani says with pride. But she is confident that all of them will catch the culture bug.
Verbalising back and forth
The same conviction — that all students can grow in their proficiency and appreciation of Tamil — is carried into the classroom. In class, Mdm Vani expects students to not just give answers, but to explain their reasoning aloud. When students can articulate their thoughts in speech, their writing ability follows.
Spoken and written reasoning in Mdm Vani’s class follow the framework called PEEEL (Point, Evidence, Elaboration, Explanation, Link). “By the time the A-Levels are here, every student can talk through the reasoning of their answers like why this word is wrong or where the clue in a passage is,” she says.
She also employs dialogic teaching, a back-and-forth, conversation-based approach. For example, a single question about a character’s flaw in a story can extend to a broader conversation where students add on observations and find evidence to support one other’s opinions.
Building on this conversational approach, Mdm Vani and her colleague rolled out a ChatGPT-based chatbot last year to extend these discussions beyond the classroom, giving every student a space to practise articulating their thoughts. "Now, everyone gets a chance to verbalise," she says."
He walks with his students to turn risks into rewards (3 September 2026)
"For Mr Go Jun Hong of Woodgrove Secondary School, the big impact of teaching can happen in seemingly little shifts, such as when a troubled student asks for help for the first time. The Head of Department for ICT and Applied Sciences finds different ways to support growth in his students, because every step forward deserves a champion
When a Secondary 4 student began attending school more regularly this year, most people might not have noticed.
For Mr Go Jun Hong, it was a breakthrough.
The student had struggled with absenteeism for years. Some mornings, teachers would visit his home to persuade him to come to school. His family faced financial difficulties, and his mother worked long hours.
One of the ways Mr Go and his colleagues stepped in was to suggest improvements to the family’s morning routine.
When the student could prepare for school before his mother left for work, he stopped drifting back to sleep.
It was a small intervention. But it worked.
“His attendance has never looked so good,” says Mr Go. “There are days he’s late, but he still comes.”
Success in schools isn't always measured by grades – sometimes, the greatest breakthrough begins with a student’s fresh outlook or a move away from an unhealthy habit.
This belief shapes how Mr Go, the Head of Department for ICT and Applied Sciences, approaches teaching and student development. Whether he is supporting students with additional needs, building the confidence of his learners in Chemistry, or guiding them to better manage conflicts and emotions, his instinct is always the same: to help them find their way to a first win that is small enough to reach, but meaningful enough for change to begin.
Confidence before complexity
When Mr Go first entered teaching, he focused heavily on academic results. He spent much of his energy refining lessons and helping students score well.
But a conversation with a former principal, about a high-performing student who later suffered a breakdown, made him question whether schools were preparing students for life beyond examinations.
Experience gained from teaching diverse student profiles deepened that reflection. Mr Go realised that some students did not disengage because they lacked ability, but because they could not see themselves succeeding.
“I realised that when they experienced the first failure, they would maybe try one more time, and then they would just give up,” he says.
So he began redesigning his lessons around a “success-first” approach.
In Chemistry, where abstract concepts can feel intimidating from the start, that means designing lessons so students experience competence before complexity. He breaks learning into small, direct steps, and makes the first task closely mirror what has just been taught during the lesson.
For example, when students learn how atoms combine to form molecules, they first use a simple computer simulation to see how bonding works. Only after they have matched atoms successfully does the next layer of difficulty appear: choosing different atoms, testing whether the arrangement is stable, and trying again when it is not.
The shift may seem subtle, but Mr Go says it changes how students see themselves.
“They just want to get the assignment right,” he says. “When they finally experience that success, they feel more confident that they can do it.”
That is the point of “success-first”: not to lower expectations, but to help students stay in the learning long enough to meet those expectations.
‘A friend and a champion’
A learning journey to another school opened up new ways for Mr Go who is passionate about teaching across diverse learners.
It is important to understand each student’s needs, and ensure the right support reaches them. To him, the question is not simply: What are the learning needs of this student? It was: What does this student need in order to take the next step towards independence?
For one student who appeared dishevelled and struggled with social interaction, Mr Go found himself teaching him how to maintain personal hygiene.
For nearly a year, their conversations barely moved beyond one-word replies. Mr Go kept trying anyway – not always about schoolwork, but through conversations about family and daily life. Slowly, the student began to respond.
As trust grew, Mr Go looked for small ways to prepare him for post-secondary life, where there would be fewer adults managing his day. The goal was not just to get him through secondary school, but to help him function more independently beyond it.
“Students at risk often do not need a disciplinarian,” he observes. “They need a friend and a champion.”
‘Observe carefully, and you’ll see there’s a warrior in every child’ (3 September 2026)
"Mdm Hafizah Binte Mahmud’s forte lies in seeing the child behind the behaviour. At Si Ling Primary School, the Senior Teacher introduces simple routines and habits for students to “collectively notice” one another. This builds a community of care and self-belief.
Walk into Mdm Hafizah Binte Mahmud's classroom at Si Ling Primary School, and you will notice certain standard items under a clear plastic sheet on every desk. There will be the class timetable and a photo of a family member, a school buddy, or a drawing of their "happy place".
Mdm Hafizah started this practice after noticing that her young students kept asking what lesson was coming next. The timetable gives them predictability; the personal touches give them comfort. Together, they offer children something she believes every child needs before learning can begin: a sense of safety.
Through a process of discovery across the year, she also gets to understand if a student needs more, be it moral or material support. Some come to school without breakfast. Some come from difficult homes. Some had never been taught to hold a pencil.
"If they are not even prepared to come to school, how are they going to learn new things?" Mdm Hafizah asks rhetorically.
It is this question — not what to teach, but what this child needs first — that defines her craft.
As a Senior Teacher specialising in lower-primary learners, she has spent nearly two decades developing an instinct for reading beneath the surface of behaviour. When a student cries, shuts down, or avoids putting pen to paper, she does not see a problem to be corrected. She sees a sign that the child is struggling.
That is when she slows down, asks questions, and teaches even the basics — from how to hold a ruler to how to pack a school bag — without judgement.
Looking beyond the behaviour
Mdm Hafizah used to take learning at face value — read, revise, and apply during exams — until she was an undergraduate specialising in Marketing.
A lecturer helped her to see how the lessons could be applied so directly to life beyond the classroom. That was the first time she thought of harnessing the power of education to shape lives.
When she first started teaching at Si Ling Primary, she quickly realised that some of her youngest students came with unseen burdens.
"As teachers, we may quickly reprimand and ask why they didn’t bring their colour pencils to class, but you eventually learn not to assume why."
How does Mdm Hafizah go about uncovering her students’ needs? Through simple routines that she weaves into each school day.
Each morning begins with a group check-in. "My first step is to always ask the class ‘how are you all feeling today?’ I want everybody to be aware of their own feelings and be in tune with each other."
When a student cried at the school gate from missing her family, Mdm Hafizah tended to her, identifying the difficult feelings she was facing, then rallied the class to show their concern.
They chimed in with offers to sit with her at recess and play her favourite games at the playground. Through this effort, "I not only taught the girl to regulate her feelings, I also equipped the rest of the students on how to articulate feelings and how to comfort someone."
She then applies different strategies across the day depending on the students’ readiness, such as Circle Time for collaborative learning and Calm Corner for students who need more emotional regulation. Peer support moments are woven in so classmates get used to looking out for one another.
This “collective noticing” is at the heart of how she teaches care. Says Mdm Hafizah, "It takes a village to raise a child, and classmates are part of that village."
Framework for noticing and growth
Underpinning these routines is the Teacher Noticing Framework which Mdm Hafizah adapted for students. The framework guides students through three steps in relating to others — first by identifying what happened, then understanding why it happened and choosing what to do next.
With her guidance, students apply these steps for observing themselves, others, and the world around them, and to solve problems with kindness.
Mdm Hafizah also applies the framework when she teaches English and Programme for Active Learning (PAL), which offers non-academic enrichment for P1 and P2 students.
In one PAL lesson, she asked her students to draw a dragon from their imagination. Many drew fierce, fiery creatures. She then revealed a picture of a dragon from a book — it was lonely, crying, and hardly scary, but it was feared by villagers who assumed the worst of it.
The moment became a live lesson in applying the Noticing Framework, and a golden opportunity to think about thinking (known as metacognition) at the lower primary level: The students identified their biased thinking, understood how they had a limited view about dragons, and decided to read more widely to broaden their perspectives."
Her inspiration for making Mandarin fun? Confucius and gaming (3 September 2026)
"Mdm Linda Goh Min Min draws from a range of sources when designing lessons at Greenwood Primary School — weaving in cultural perspectives and values to deepen her students' appreciation of the language, while harnessing AI tools to support how they learn it. As Head of Department for Mother Tongue Languages, she constantly revitalises Chinese Language teaching to get her young students excited about the language.
A few years ago, a parent came to Mdm Linda Goh Min Min with a familiar worry: Learning Mandarin is tough, so why are we putting children through it?
Mdm Goh did not disagree with the difficulty but offered parents a different view: Learning Chinese can be fun, even joyful, and there are easy ways to make friends with the language.
"Every Chinese character has a beauty and a story behind it," she says. Take the character 吞 (tūn, meaning "to swallow"). Rather than treating it as an abstract shape to memorise, Mdm Goh helps students trace it back to the ideas it is built from: 一 (yī, "one"), 大 (dà, "large"), and 口 (kǒu, "mouth") – each contributing its own layer of meaning to the whole. Put together, the character captures a single vivid image: “One large mouthful!” she enacts, something that delights her students to no end.
They soon look forward to uncovering the hidden meanings behind every brushstroke and along with it, little fragments of culture, philosophy and visual storytelling.
It is just not the same if they learned only hanyu pinyin, Mdm Goh stresses. “A lot of history, tradition and heritage is lost along the way.”
This conviction — that Chinese is not an obstacle to be cleared but a living language worth loving — runs through everything she does at Greenwood Primary School and leads the Mother Tongue Language department as Head of Department.
With even the smallest success comes joy
For many students, the early stages of learning Chinese can feel daunting.
Mdm Goh’s response is to begin with the basics — connecting Chinese characters to pictures, building foundational vocabulary — before nudging them towards more demanding work when they are ready.
She draws a comparison to why students will sit with a game for hours, failing and trying again, but not do the same for homework. The difference lies in how success is structured. "Level 1 is easy to go through. So is Level 2. That's how they hook them," she says. "Once they reach higher levels, the player is totally immersed."
Mdm Goh’s lessons are built on the same principle of achievement and excitement. "You must let them feel some success before they become self-motivated to learn," she says. "Students learn better if they feel that they are good in something."
Gamification, where it appears, is not a crutch but simply a way in, a hook that draws students into deeper thinking, richer interactions, and more intentional learning. The goal was never the game itself, but the curiosity and habits of mind it helps to build.
Teaching with intention, not just innovation
In recent years, Mdm Goh found new ways to draw out the quieter voices in her Primary 5 and 6 classes. To give them a safer space to ask questions and work through their doubts as the lesson progressed, she built an AI teaching assistant for use during digital learning, complete with an avatar that looks like her.
It draws from a closed set of content that Mdm Goh feeds on specific topics and is also programmed to deflect irrelevant questions.
Students can ask questions and clarify doubts with the tool as the class goes on, helping them to participate and stay engaged.
She also customised chatbots embedded in the Student Learning Space for speaking and writing practice.
For speaking practice, students get low-stakes opportunities to rehearse before they are asked to converse in Mandarin in more demanding settings. After practising with the bot, students become more confident conversing in Mandarin.
For writing, students first generate and refine their own ideas, then put their drafts up for peer comment, discussing what works and what doesn't in each other's storylines. Comparing their work with classmates exposes them to different ideas, and pushes them to think harder about what makes a story compelling. The real test comes the next day, when students write their composition independently, drawing on everything they have worked through.
Mdm Goh actively guides them on how to use the tools and helps them make sense of the feedback they receive. "You cannot let AI do all the work," says Mdm Goh. "Teaching must be intentional."
Making meaning, not just marks
Mdm Goh is also a champion of bilingualism. She leads Greenwood Primary’s Applied Learning Programme BLISS, which stands for Bilingual Literature apprecIation Student Series.
The whole-school programme uses second-language literary texts as springboards for values-based discussion. Teachers facilitate discussions with students on issues that have no easy answers. For instance, Mandarin learners may be offered the Chinese version of the children’s classic The Giving Tree (爱心树 ) about a boy and a tree, which explores themes of selflessness and the balance between giving and taking.
Students are asked: Is the boy selfish? Is the tree foolish to sacrifice itself? What is friendship, really? "There is no right or wrong answer," Mdm Goh explains. "They learn to see things from different perspectives."
Through these exercises, students learn language as well as values. "One’s mother tongue language is the key vehicle for values like respect, honesty and perseverance,” through which cultural narratives, idioms and moral reasoning are most powerfully understood, she explains."
How this Science educator got all her ducks in a row with sustainability (3 September 2026)
"‘Animal keepers’ at school? Mdm Ong Xuan Wan believes in going all the way with sustainability education. As the Head of Department for Science at Dazhong Primary School, Mdm Ong designs eco experiences where students make natural fertilisers, code green solutions, and yes, even greet ’keepers’ and their ducks in the morning
One morning assembly at Dazhong Primary School, the air buzzed with excitement as students waited for their special guests to arrive.
Teachers played along, dressed as animal keepers, to usher in none other than seven little ducks nicknamed the Dazhong Ducks, which were hatched in the school and call its eco garden home.
It is one of many ways the school brings science and sustainability to life through authentic experiences, says Mdm Ong Xuan Wan, who is the school’s Head of Department for Science; she also leads the Greenovator Applied Learning Programme (ALP). As for the morning “meet and greet” with the ducks that her department dreamed up of, "that moment has become a core memory for the children".
The ducks are an essential part of the school’s ALP, which all students go through. For that morning’s assembly programme, students watched a video about the life cycle of ducks: how the ducklings hatch in the incubator, grow, feed on "ugly" vegetables from the school's hydroponic system, lay eggs, and begin the cycle again.
This is the instinct at the heart of her practice: that sustainability becomes real only when students can touch it, name it, feed it, and feel responsible for it.
Pushing on from awareness to action
Mdm Ong came to sustainability education through a concern she has carried for years. Having observed many well-intentioned programmes, she noticed a pattern.
"A lot of people stop at awareness," she says. When it comes to green matters, "they know these environmental issues exist, but how many are actually taking action?"
To go further when conceptualising Dazhong Primary's current iteration of the ALP, she knew she had to nudge students over the hump from awareness into action and advocacy.
All students start with exposure to one of the school's most distinctive initiatives: its Interactive Virtual Gamified Eco-trail, featuring Pokemon-inspired sustainability mascots, called DZmons (DZ stands for Dazhong, of course!). Students complete quests related to issues such as recycling and food waste.
These are Mdm Ong’s ways to pique their curiosity about environmental issues and inculcate habits of observation and care that extend beyond the game.
At the middle primary levels, students are encouraged to act on that budding awareness, by taking on stewardship and hands-on roles and managing the school’s zero food-waste and hydroponics systems.
At the upper primary levels, students advance to problem-solving and advocacy roles, using coding and 3D printing to produce signs that remind students to turn off the switches before leaving the classroom, for example.
Schoolwide, Mdm Ong also runs the school's annual Green Challenge recycling competition, where classes with the heaviest collection each term wins a “Green Challenge Champions” banner that they hang loud and proud outside their classroom.
"The classes that didn't get [the banner] were motivated to bring more recyclables the next term so that they could win the banner," says Mdm Ong with glee.
For her, the banner simply gets students started until recycling shifts from an extrinsic goal into an instinctive, shared habit, showing students that small, consistent daily actions add up to meaningful environmental care."
Singapore Youth Festival Celebrates 60 Years with Enriched ArtsXPerience for Students (26 March 2026)
"New Drama Category for Primary School Students to Build Communication Skills
The Singapore Youth Festival (SYF), Singapore's longest-running youth arts festival, will celebrate 60 years of inspiring young artists, connecting them with audiences and mentors, and empowering them to develop their creative voices this year.
Themed 'SYF60: The ArtsXPerience — Inspire, Connect, Empower', SYF60 will build on the festival's signature showcases and introduce new elements to deepen creative collaborations and inspire students to grow through the arts. These include a new Arts Presentation Drama category for primary school students, an 'XP' card journey for participants and audiences, and cultural exchange opportunities with young artists across ASEAN."
MOE to Expand UPLIFT Scholarship to EAGLES Recipients (27 March 2026)
"The Ministry of Education (MOE) will expand the UPLIFT Scholarship to include students who receive the Edusave Award for Achievement, Good Leadership and Service (EAGLES) from the 2026 Edusave award cycle>
This expansion is part of wider efforts to recognise students' non-academic achievements, and builds on MOE's ongoing commitment to develop our students holistically.
With the expansion of the UPLIFT Scholarship, a total of about 700 students from lower-income families are expected to benefit from the scholarship every year.
About the UPLIFT Scholarship
Introduced in 2019, the UPLIFT Scholarship recognises the achievements of students in Independent Schools (IS) and Specialised Independent Schools (SIS) who have performed well academically or in specific talent areas, and are from lower-income families. Students who are awarded the UPLIFT Scholarship receive $1,200 in cash per year.
To be eligible for the scholarship, students must be Singapore Citizens from families with gross monthly household income of $5,500 or below, or gross monthly per capita income of $1,375 or below. Students must also be recipients of the Edusave Scholarship for Independent Schools (ESIS), or enter the IS/SIS through the Direct School Admission (DSA) process. Students awarded the UPLIFT Scholarship via the ESIS (Tenured) at Secondary 1, Secondary 3, or Pre-University 1, as well as DSA, will have their scholarships renewed as long as they meet the renewal criteria, for the duration of their course of study. Students may also receive the UPLIFT Scholarship for a tenure of one year, if they are awarded the ESIS (Yearly Award)."
Celebrating 20 Years of Tamil Language Learning and Promotion (29 March 2026)
"The Tamil Language Learning and Promotion Committee (TLLPC) marks its 20th anniversary this year. Over the past two decades, TLLPC has been dedicated to promoting the Tamil language, fostering cultural literacy, and engaging schools and the community. To commemorate this milestone and reflect its enhanced role of promoting Tamil language learning through greater digital engagement and youth and family involvement, TLLPC will be rebranded as the "Tamil Promotion Committee" (TPC), accompanied by a new logo.
Chairman of TLLPC and Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and the Ministry of Manpower, Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash, unveiled the refreshed name and logo at the launch of this year's Tamil Language Festival on 29 March 2026, at MediaCorp Campus.
Two Decades of Tamil Language Learning and Promotion
Since its establishment by the Ministry of Education in 2006, TLLPC has actively promoted the Tamil language by partnering schools, community organisations and cultural partners. Over the years, its programmes have inspired a love for the Tamil language among students through literature, performing arts, and community-based activities, fostering the active use of the language in everyday interactions, and an appreciation of Tamil heritage and culture."
Temporary Support for Transport Service Providers (9 April 2026)
"To ensure that access to transport services is not disrupted for school students, seniors, patients, and persons with disabilities, the Ministry of Education (MOE), Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and Ministry of Health (MOH) will provide temporary support measures to Government contracted or subsidised transport service providers for services rendered in the months of April to June 2026. This move is to help these transport service providers to continue operating without disruption in the near term, given the cost pressures caused by the increase in fuel prices arising from the Middle East conflict.
MOE, MSF and MOH will provide support equivalent to 13% of transport fare revenues. In general, the support would help defray the increase in operational costs arising from higher fuel prices incurred by operators providing regular transport services to primary schools, special education (SPED) schools, disability services, and patients receiving long-term care and Community Dialysis services. With the support, operators should keep fares stable during this period.
Subsequently, transport fares may have to rise if fuel prices remain elevated. There are existing subsidies to support students, seniors, patients and persons with disabilities if they are not able to afford their transport."
Honouring Special Education Teachers and Schools (14 April 2026)
"In celebration of their contributions to the education of students with moderate-to-severe special educational needs (SEN), Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education, Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi, presented the MOE-SG Enable Awards to recognise four Special Education (SPED) teachers and four projects from SPED schools at the SPED A.C.E (Affirmation·Celebration·Engagement) Day today. Two SPED teachers were also awarded the MOE Master's Scholarship in Special Education (MSSPED) at the event.
The MOE-SG Enable Awards are a joint initiative between the Ministry of Education and SG Enable and comprise the Outstanding SPED Teacher Award (OSTA), the Promising SPED Teacher Award (PSTA), and the Innovation Award (IA).
The OSTA and PSTA celebrate SPED teachers' excellence in supporting their students' development and learning. The OSTA is awarded to experienced teachers with at least six years of teaching experience, while the PSTA recognises teachers with three to five years of experience. This year, the OSTA and PSTA recipients were selected from a total of 179 nominations from colleagues, parents, students and members of the public."
Recommendations from MOE's Comprehensive Action Review Against Bullying (15 April 2026)
"Strengthening our collective response to tackle bullying through a stronger partnership between schools, families, and the community.
The Ministry of Education (MOE), with the support of the COMmunity and PArents in Support of Schools (COMPASS) Council, has completed the Comprehensive Action Review against Bullying, aimed at strengthening existing efforts to better address hurtful behaviours and bullying in schools.
Bullying is a complex and serious issue that calls for a sustained, collective response. Building on existing efforts, MOE conducted internal reviews, and also engaged over 2,000 educators, parents, students, professionals and members of the public since August 2025. The majority agreed that addressing bullying holistically requires multiple parties working together – involving collective action from schools, families, and the wider community through strengthened systems and processes in schools, positive culture-building, and coordinated society-wide efforts.
Review Recommendations
Following the review and feedback received, MOE, with the support of COMPASS, has developed nine comprehensive recommendations across four key areas.
First, we will continue to inculcate the right values in our students. We will enhance values education in the curriculum and co-curriculum to develop students' character and social-emotional skills such as empathy, resilience, and conflict management. For example, more role-play and authentic scenarios will be incorporated to allow students to practise perspective-taking, conflict management and resolution, and learn how they can be upstanders. Schools will further empower students to lead and foster a pro-social peer culture where they look out for one another, stand together against hurtful behaviours, and support students who are affected by such hurtful behaviours.
We recognise that schools play a central role in creating a safe, caring and enabling environment for our students. Many schools have established processes to prevent and respond to bullying while fostering a culture of care, trust and mutual respect. We will continue to deepen a culture of kindness and respect in all our schools. We will also strengthen schools' management of hurtful behaviours and bullying, including cyber-related incidents. Schools will be provided with clearer guidelines on case management processes, including communication timelines, safety planning, disciplinary measures, counselling and restorative actions, to address hurtful behaviours and bullying in a timely and consistent manner. We will increase the availability and accessibility of reporting channels and support for affected students. Schools will also address hurtful behaviours and bullying more proactively in schools through early identification, intervention, and support, with stricter disciplinary measures for all serious offences, including bullying.
Third, MOE will provide additional needs-based funding for schools to hire additional manpower, which will support schools in student management whilst managing teacher workload. Schools may engage youth workers, pastoral care officers, and/or parent liaison officers to support school staff in student management work. We will tap on technology to improve case management processes and facilitate timely communication and intervention. To deepen educator capacity in student management and parent engagement, MOE and schools will also enhance professional development for educators, including skills for investigation, conflict resolution, and parent engagement."
World Book Day 2026 Promotes Culture of Reading with Inaugural Singapore Chinese Book Fair (18 April 2026)
"共同推广阅读文化：2026年世界书香日首次同时举办新加坡华文书展
More than 800 secondary and pre-university students participated in this year's World Book Day Opening Ceremony at Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) on Saturday, 18 April 2026. Jointly organised by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL), National Library Board (NLB) and HCI, the annual event aims to promote a culture of reading in Singapore.
Guest-of-Honour Mr Xie Yao Quan, who is Group Leader of CPCLL, Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Member of Parliament for Jurong Central SMC, launched the student publication《清醒地梦着》— a compilation of outstanding essays written by students in the Author-in-Residence Programme . Mr Xie also presented the Chinese Language Elective Programme (CLEP) Best Improvement Award to 28 secondary and pre-university students."
2026 Primary One Registration Exercise (29 April 2026)
"The registration period for children's admission to Primary One (P1) in 2027 will be from Tuesday, 30 June 2026 to Friday, 30 October 2026.
Information on the P1 Registration process, registration phases, eligibility criteria, and user guides can be found at www.moe.gov.sg/primary/p1-registration.
As announced during the Ministry of Education's (MOE) Committee of Supply speech in March 2026, MOE is currently reviewing the P1 Registration Framework. However, this year's P1 Registration Exercise will not be affected. We will announce details of the review when ready."
Close to 190 Students Showcase Language and Reasoning Skills at the 5th National Chinese Riddle Competition (2 May 2026)
"189 students from 25 secondary schools participated in the fifth National Chinese Riddle Competition (全国中学生灯谜比赛) on Saturday, 2 May 2026, at Hwa Chong Institution (HCI). Jointly organised by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL), Tung Ann District Guild, Riddle Association (Singapore) and HCI, the competition aims to foster students' appreciation and love for Chinese language and culture through the traditional art of riddle-solving.
Minister of State for Education and Chairperson of the CPCLL, Ms Jasmin Lau, delivered a speech and presented awards to the winners. At the competition, participants took part in a preliminary pen-and-paper quiz, with the top 10 teams in both the Chinese and Higher Chinese categories advancing to the Finals to compete in a live fast-paced buzzer round."
Start of 2026 Direct School Admission Exercises & ITE and Polytechnic Early Admissions Exercise (5 May 2026)
"The Direct School Admission (DSA) Exercise for admission to secondary schools and junior colleges (JCs) in 2027 will open for application from Wednesday, 6 May 2026. Separately, applications for early admission to the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and polytechnics based on course-specific aptitude and interests will start from Wednesday, 20 May and Monday, 1 June 2026 respectively.
DSA Exercise
DSA provides a pathway for students to gain admission to secondary schools or JCs based on their interests, aptitude, and potential, beyond their performance at the national examinations. Upon admission, students can further develop their talent in their secondary schools or JCs. Secondary schools and JCs can take up to 20% of their non-Integrated Programme Secondary 1 (S1) / Junior College 1 intake via the DSA Exercise."
Student Dancers Bring "Positivity" to Life at Chinese Street Dance Competition 2026 (23 May 2026)
"46 students from six secondary schools and pre-university institutions competed in the Finals of the seventh Chinese Street Dance Competition, where they introduced the story behind their choreography in Mandarin and expressed their interpretation of this year's competition theme "Positivity 正能量" through energetic dance routines.
Jointly organised by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL) and local media content company MCC, this annual competition aims to promote the learning of Chinese language and culture through music and dance.
Minister of State for Education and Chairperson of the CPCLL, Ms Jasmin Lau, delivered a speech and presented awards to the winning teams at the Finals and Awards Ceremony held at Our Tampines Hub's Festive Plaza today."
Singapore's Young Research Talents Clinch 7 Awards at International Science and Engineering Fair 2026 (25 May 2026)
"Eight Singapore students competed against more than 1,700 students from about 60 countries, regions, and territories at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2026, where they clinched a total of seven awards. Singapore has participated in ISEF annually since 2001.
In total, four individual projects and two team projects were submitted to the ISEF, which was held in Phoenix, Arizona, USA from 9 to 15 May 2026. Through the competition, our students exchanged insights with young scientists from around the world and gained valuable learning experiences."
Education Conversations (28 May 2026)
"The Ministry of Education (MOE) has launched the Education Conversations, a series of outreach efforts that invites Singaporeans to share their views and help shape education policies that strengthen students' holistic development and prepare them for the future.
The Conversations began in April 2026 with focused group discussions involving education professionals, parents and youths. MOE will continue them through 2026 and into 2027, both in person and through the Education Conversations microsite, on topics including:
a. Moderating examination stakes, such as the use of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) for Secondary 1 posting
b. Reviewing the Direct School Admission (DSA) scheme to strengthen student development, improve selection, and enhance accessibility
c. Strengthening the education experience, including Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) and Co-Curricular Activities (CCA), to nurture values and life skills"
Students Showcase Creativity and Language Skills at the 5th Young Reporter News Challenge (29 May 2026)
"This year, 491 students from 52 secondary schools participated in the fifth edition of the Young Reporter News Challenge (《我来报新闻》挑战赛). Jointly organised by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL), MediaCorp 8world and Speak Mandarin Campaign, with support from the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language, the competition aims to develop students' interest and ability to communicate and present in Mandarin, as well as their media literacy skills.
Ms Jasmin Lau, Minister of State for Education and Chairperson of the CPCLL, delivered a speech and presented awards to 28 winning teams at the Awards Ceremony."
Pre-University Seminar 2026 – WE: With Everyone (5 June 2026)
"Around 550 students from 30 pre-university institutions participated in the Pre-University Seminar 2026 Closing Ceremony held at the National University of Singapore. Into its 57th edition, the annual seminar was co-organised by the Ministry of Education with Temasek Junior College this year. Themed 'WE: With Everyone', the seminar explores what it means to build an inclusive nation where every voice matters, every contribution counts, and every citizen shares in our collective success. Students explored the future of Singapore across three sub-themes and gained insights into a range of issues, policies, and perspectives to build a more united Singapore, through rich discussions and interactions at the event. The three sub-themes were "Our People, One Heartbeat", "Our Places, One Home", and "Our Purpose, Infinite Possibilities".
Minister for Education Mr Desmond Lee attended the Closing Ceremony on 5 June, where he delivered the keynote address and interacted with students in an engaging dialogue. Minister Lee also addressed questions about Singapore's current challenges and future directions surrounding the theme."
Quiz Competition Challenges Secondary School Students' Knowledge of Malay Language and Culture (24 June 2026)
"220 students from 44 secondary schools participated in the inaugural Kuiz Cepat Tepat 2.0, testing their knowledge and understanding of the Malay language and culture through a series of quizzes. Adapted from the original Cepat Tepat for primary school students, the competition saw 40 students from eight secondary schools advancing to the semi-finals.
Organised by the Malay Language Learning and Promotion Committee (MLLPC) in collaboration with Mediacorp, Kuiz Cepat Tepat 2.0 aims to encourage students to think creatively and critically, while igniting their interest in the Malay language and culture beyond the classroom.
The semi-finals will be livestreamed on Mediacorp's YouTube account and MeWATCH on 27 June 2026, from 11am to 3pm. The top four schools will then compete in the finals, which will air on Suria and MeWATCH on 30 August at 8.30pm. Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Chairman of the MLLPC, Dr Syed Harun, will attend the finals as the Guest-of-Honour and present awards to the finalists."
2026 School Placement Exercise for Returning Singaporeans (1 July 2026)
"The Ministry of Education (MOE) welcomes Singaporean students who are overseas to join our primary and secondary schools, junior colleges (JC) and Millennia Institute (MI) upon their return.
Assured School Placement (ASP) Service
Returning Singaporeans (RS) who are seeking a place in a primary or secondary school near their Singapore residence are encouraged to apply for the ASP service. It is a convenient admission route which guarantees RS a place in a school with vacancies as near to their residence as possible, even before their return to Singapore. Through the ASP service, RS need not sit for any centralised tests. Instead, the school conducts school-based tests and/or interview to determine the appropriate level and class for the child. For more information about the ASP service, please visit https://www.moe.gov.sg/returning-singaporeans/assured-school-placement.
School Placement Exercise for Returning Singaporeans (SPERS)
Apart from the ASP option, RS may choose to participate in the 2026 SPERS for those who wish to join our secondary schools, JCs or MI at the start of academic year 2027. SPERS is a centralised merit-based placement exercise held towards the end of each year for RS who have lived and studied overseas and now want to seek admission to a local school. Under SPERS, RS will sit for one set of centralised tests and receive a list of schools they are eligible to apply for, based on their performance. RS may visit the following websites to apply for the SPERS tests:
SPERS-Sec: https://www.moe.gov.sg/returning-singaporeans/secondary/spers
SPERS-JC/MI: https://www.moe.gov.sg/returning-singaporeans/post-secondary/spers
The application for admission to Secondary 1 to 3 will open from 8 July (Wednesday) till 17 July (Friday) 2026, and the SPERS-Sec tests will be held between 1 September (Tuesday) and 3 September (Thursday) 2026. The application for Pre-University 1 will open from 9 July (Thursday) till 16 October (Friday) 2026, and the SPERS-JC/MI tests will be held on 6 November (Friday) 2026. As Secondary 4 and Pre-University 2 are national examination years, RS generally do not enter the school system at these levels. SPERS applicants will receive their school posting results in December 2026, and will join our secondary schools and JC/MI at the start of the school term in 2027."
Six Young Educators Recognised for Passion and Dedication in Nurturing Students (1 July 2026)
"In recognition of their unwavering dedication and impactful contributions to nurturing students, six teachers received the Outstanding Youth in Education Award (OYEA) from Minister for Education, Mr Desmond Lee, at the National Institute of Education (NIE) Teachers' Investiture Ceremony on Wednesday, 1 July 2026. The recipients are (in alphabetical order):
• Mdm Faridah Binte Mohamed Ali, 33, Fuhua Primary School
• Ms Lena Teo Ying Hui, 35, Zhonghua Secondary School
• Mr Ng Jun Kian, Eugene, 35, Springfield Secondary School
• Mr Rishvinder Singh, 33, Changkat Changi Secondary School
• Mr Yeo Rong Yao Jeremy, 35, Yishun Innova Junior College
• Miss Yip Joo Yee, 32, New Town Primary School
Introduced in 1999, OYEA is a national award that recognises young teachers aged 35 and below for their passion for teaching, enthusiasm, creativity, and active involvement in their students' holistic development. Beyond honouring the achievements of young educators, OYEA also aims to inspire youths to pursue teaching as a purposeful and fulfilling profession.
The six recipients have demonstrated a strong belief that education is not just about academic achievement, but about developing students holistically and instilling in them a joy for lifelong learning. The recipients are also committed to nurturing future-ready students who are resilient, empathetic, adaptable and equipped with strong problem-solving, critical, and creative thinking skills."
"Script It Right" Chinese Radio Drama Script Writing Competition Draws Record Student Participants and Entries (3 July 2026)
"The annual "Script it Right" Chinese Radio Drama Script Writing Competition ("与声剧来"中文广播剧创作比赛) drew a record 1,058 participants who submitted 401 entries, the highest figures in the competition's history. Minister of State for Education and Chairperson of the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL), Ms Jasmin Lau, was the Guest-of-Honour at the Awards Ceremony, which recognised students for their outstanding narrative skills and proficiency in the Chinese Language. Jointly organised by the CPCLL, local radio station UFM100.3 and Holy Innocents' High School, the competition aims to promote Chinese Language learning through storytelling.
Now in its 12th edition, the competition this year drew inspiration from the unit "With Your Companionship" (有你做伴), in the secondary school Chinese textbook "Hua Wen Ban Wo Xing" (华文伴我行). As in past editions, students were challenged to push their creative boundaries to craft narratives that were both original and contemporary. For example, students had to weave one of three given elements into their scripts — the theme (特定主题：有你做伴), the dialogue "A longer route is fine; maybe you'll encounter different landscapes" (预设对白：绕点远路没关系，也许能看到不一样的风景), and the sound effect of coughing (特选音效：咳嗽声).
Five teams from the Primary School category (Category A) earned the Merit Awards for their outstanding scripts, while seven teams from the Secondary School, Junior College/Millennia Institute, and Polytechnic category (Category B) clinched the Top 3 and Merit Awards. As an additional highlight, UFM100.3 will bring the winning Category B scripts to life as radio dramas, to be broadcast between July and August on the radio station."
National Chinese Reading Competition Cultivates Students' Joy of Reading (4 July 2026)
"A total of 1,909 students from 254 primary and secondary schools came together to celebrate Chinese reading culture at the second edition of the National Chinese Reading Competition. Among them, 150 students across the primary and secondary school categories advanced to the competition finals today.
Jointly organised by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL), Xin Zhi Reading Club and the Association for Research on AI in Learning and Leadership, with support from local publishers and companies, the competition aims to foster a love for reading, promote a vibrant Chinese reading culture, and cultivate good reading habits among students. Guest-of-Honour Ms Jasmin Lau, Minister of State for Education and Chairperson of the CPCLL, delivered a speech and presented awards to the winners at the award ceremony."
Mother Tongue Languages Symposium to Cultivate Children's Joyful Discovery in Mother Tongue Language Learning (13 July 2026)
"The Ministry of Education (MOE) and the three Mother Tongue Language Learning and Promotion Committees (MTLLPCs) will hold the flagship Mother Tongue Languages Symposium on Saturday, 1 August 2026. This year, the symposium makes its debut at the Singapore EXPO, bringing together more participants and a richer programme than before.
Now in its 14th year, the theme of this year's symposium, "A Garden for Joyful Discovery", symbolises a vibrant and joyful learning environment for children to learn and appreciate their Mother Tongue Languages (MTLs). Through storytelling, role-play and creative expression, young participants can explore fun and creative ways to learn and use their MTL in their daily lives alongside four mascots: Xiao Tao, the collaborative flower; Sani, the confident adventurer; Kavin, the creative garden whiz; and Peppy, the caring bee.
This year's symposium will feature 42 sharing sessions and interactive workshops, as well as 41 exhibitors from schools and community partners on ways to promote MTL learning and appreciation. The sharing sessions and interactive workshops will draw insights from academics, educators, curriculum specialists, early childhood advocates, and media personalities. For example, parents can learn how Mediacorp Chinese news presenter Zhao Quanyin draws on her experience as both an anchor and a mother to explore ways to incorporate play in joyful Chinese learning at home. They can also hear from celebrity entrepreneur and early childhood advocate Syah Ibrahim, who will share how everyday play moments can be transformed into rich Malay Language experiences. Mediacorp Oli 968 presenter Nithiyia Rao will also share how her journey in Tamil radio broadcasting has shaped her approach to keeping Tamil alive and meaningful at home through stories, music, and cultural experiences.
In addition, curriculum specialists from MOE will share about the MTL curricula, how digital resources can support home-based learning, and practical strategies for parents to raise confident bilingual children."
School Terms and Holidays for 2027 (14 July 2026)
"The school year for 2027 for all MOE primary schools (including MOE Kindergartens) and secondary schools will start on Monday, 4 January 2027 and end on Friday, 19 November 2027."
Steps Taken by the Ministry of Education on Observations Made by the Auditor-General's Office in Its Report for FY2025/2026 (15 July 2026)
"During the Auditor-General's Office (AGO) audit, the Ministry of Education (MOE) identified possible falsified approval emails relating to the appointment of new officers. MOE takes this matter very seriously. We have made a Police report, and the officer responsible has been dismissed from service.
Robust and transparent hiring processes are essential to maintaining integrity and fairness in public service recruitment. In MOE, candidates are assessed through formal recruitment processes, including recruitment panels. Before an appointment can be offered, it must be approved by the appropriate authority. These steps help to ensure that hiring decisions are properly reviewed and authorised.
Following the issues identified during the audit, MOE has strengthened its processes. We have introduced independent checks to verify that all appointments have received the required approvals. We are also working towards automating staff appointment processes to reduce reliance on manual workflows and further strengthen governance."
New Community Programme Empowers Parents to Interact with Their Infants in Mandarin from Birth (18 July 2026)
"Parents of infants now have access to practical tools and strategies to nurture their children's foundation in the Chinese language from birth, with the launch of a new community programme, Parents' Workshop: Interacting in Mandarin with Infants Aged 0–12 Months (家长工作坊：如何与0-12个月的婴儿用华语进行互动).
Jointly organised by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL) and Tengah Grassroots Organisations, this pilot programme shows parents how to weave the Chinese language into their daily caregiving routines via the Chinese Language Multi-Sensory Interaction Guide Cards for Infants (与0-12个月婴儿多感官互动指引卡), which enable them to engage their infants in Mandarin through sight, sound and touch.
The pilot programme comprises five workshop sessions facilitated by past recipients of the Outstanding Preschool Mother Tongue Language Award , who will demonstrate interaction techniques and guide parents in using the activity cards with their infants. Parents can then bring the cards home to incorporate them into daily routines. The sessions will be held at Tengah Community Club on three Saturdays across July to September 2026."
Racial Harmony Day 2026 Our People, Our Tapestry (21 July 2026)
"Racial Harmony Day (RHD), which falls on 21 July, is commemorated annually by schools to deepen students' appreciation of racial harmony, multiculturalism, and social cohesion. Continuing with the theme of "Our People, Our Tapestry", the emphasis is on how various cultural threads, each representing the unique identities, traditions, beliefs, and practices of our diverse communities, are interwoven with one another. It reflects how Singapore's multicultural tapestry can remain strong and unified through fostering mutual understanding and respect across ethnic and religious communities.
Minister for Education, Mr Desmond Lee, joined students and staff at St. Anthony's Canossian Primary School to commemorate RHD on 21 July. Minister was welcomed by the school choir with the song "Little Red Dot" written by Singaporean composer Liong Kit Yeng, before joining a Primary 6 Character and Citizenship Education lesson, where students discussed the topic of racial stereotypes and how they could respond to promote greater understanding of one another's culture. Minister then visited 'Weaving Our Tapestry', a collaborative installation of paper links bearing messages reflecting our community's strength, diversity, and unity, before interacting with students at booths showcasing traditional games, food, music, and cultural practices from Singapore's different communities.
Minister also viewed a tiles exhibit created by Primary 1 students, who drew inspiration from Singapore's heritage to explore colour planning. The visit concluded with Minister sharing his personal experiences with racial harmony with students."
ASEAN Education Leaders Convene in Singapore to Drive Regional Education Agenda (22 July 2026)
"Singapore is hosting the 14th ASEAN, 8th ASEAN Plus Three, and 8th East Asia Summit Education Ministers' Meetings from 22 to 23 July 2026 at the Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore. The meetings are held as part of Singapore's chairmanship of the ASEAN Education Sector from 2026 to 2027.
As the ASEAN Education Chair, Singapore welcomes education ministers and senior officials from across the region to exchange perspectives and strengthen regional education cooperation. The 14th ASEAN Education Ministers' Meeting (ASED) and Related Meetings are attended by delegations from all 11 ASEAN Member States, as well as representatives participating in the ASEAN Plus Three and East Asia Summit meetings, and officials from the ASEAN Secretariat.
Themed "Strengthening ASEAN through Education", the 14th ASED opened on 22 July with remarks by Singapore's Minister for Education Mr Desmond Lee. Minister Lee also launched the ASEAN Work Plan on Education 2026 – 2030 together with fellow ASEAN education ministers. This work plan sets out the region's collective priorities to build inclusive, comprehensive, and transformative education systems. It focuses on developing well-rounded, resilient individuals alongside a highly skilled and competitive workforce, while fostering an ASEAN identity that embodies shared ASEAN values.
Under Singapore's chairmanship, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will organise signature programmes on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIEd), STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Education, and the holistic development of students. The Singapore Centre for Character and Citizenship Education will also lead a regional research network to advance shared approaches to values education across ASEAN Member States, providing a platform for countries to share how values education is designed and enacted within their national curricula. Through these initiatives, educators and students from Singapore and ASEAN members states will have the opportunity to learn from each other and strengthen their friendships."
Students' Singing and Songwriting Creativity on Display at Annual Xinyao Competition (25 July 2026)
"48 students were recognised for their vocal and compositional talent at the "Xin Kong Xia" (新空下) Xinyao Singing and Songwriting Competition 2026. This year, 356 participants from 68 schools submitted 124 original creations, a strong testament to students' continued interest in Xinyao, a genre of Mandarin songs unique to Singapore. Guest-of-Honour Ms Jasmin Lau, Minister of State for Education and Chairperson of the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL), delivered a speech and presented awards to winners at the award ceremony.
Now in its 12th year, the competition returned to a community space with the grand finals held at Our Tampines Hub's Festive Arts Theatre – reflecting the grassroots origins of Xinyao, which began as a youth-led cultural movement in Singapore 44 years ago. The winning entry for the Lyrics Writing Category, 《飞向云霄》 ("Soaring to the Skies"), penned by Sun Yucheng and Zhan Li from Catholic High School, was performed live during the event.
Jointly organised by the CPCLL, Lianhe Zaobao, TCR Music Station, and Jurong Pioneer Junior College, this annual competition aims to nurture students' interest in the Chinese language while encouraging creativity, original songwriting and appreciation of Singapore's Xinyao heritage."
Record Turnout of Over 2,600 Student Participants at 9th National Text Recital Competition (25 July 2026)
"Over 2,600 students from 281 primary and secondary schools, junior colleges, and Millennia Institute submitted more than 1,500 video entries for the 9th National Text Recital Competition – the largest turnout in the competition's history.
At the award ceremony today, 105 students emerged winners and were recognised for their vocal articulation, fluency and stage presence. Guest-of-Honour Ms Jasmin Lau, Minister of State for Education and Chairperson of the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL), delivered a speech and presented awards to the winners.
Jointly organised by the CPCLL, Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School, Chung Cheng High School (Main), and the Singapore Chinese Teachers Literary Recital Society, the competition aims to raise Chinese language reading proficiency among students, ignite their love for learning the language, and deepen their understanding and appreciation of Chinese texts."
Measures to Tackle Youth Self-Radicalisation in Schools and Institutions (27 July 2026)
"The Ministry of Education (MOE) takes a very serious view of youth self-radicalisation. Our schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) will continue to step up efforts to stay vigilant and respond to the threat of youth self-radicalisation.
Preventive and Educative Efforts on Counter-Radicalisation
In Social Studies and Secondary History, and Character and Citizenship Education (CCE), students learn about the negative impact of extreme ideas, prejudice and stereotypes, and explore how these can be addressed. Through teacher-facilitated inquiry and discussions, students consider the roles that individuals and groups can play in strengthening understanding and interactions across racial and religious groups, and how they can contribute to promoting harmony.
Cyber Wellness lessons in CCE teach students to be safe, respectful and responsible users of cyberspace, and to be a positive influence online. Students develop skills to recognise risks online, and identify and discern negative influences and inappropriate websites. Students are also taught to look out for one another and encouraged to seek help from trusted adults like parents, teachers or school counsellors.
Schools and teachers are also trained to identify students who may be at-risk of online self-radicalisation. For instance, school counsellors work closely with teachers and other school personnel to look out for students who may be at risk, so that timely intervention can be provided when concerns are identified. School leaders and teachers are also guided on prompt handling of such cases, including providing timely guidance and counselling so that issues can be addressed before they escalate to more serious levels.
Since 2007, MOE has partnered the Internal Security Department (ISD) to conduct counter-terrorism and counter-radicalisation workshops and activities for student leaders, educators and other school staff across primary schools, secondary schools, junior colleges and IHLs. These efforts sensitise participants to the terrorism threat, tell-tale signs of radicalisation, and the importance of early reporting."
Record 210 Students Awarded the Singapore-Industry Scholarship (SgIS) in Its 15th Year (28 July 2026)
"This year marks the 15th year of the Singapore-Industry Scholarship (SgIS), with a record number of 210 students receiving the SgIS. Minister for Education, Mr Desmond Lee, graced the 2026 SgIS Award Ceremony, held at the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
The SgIS aims to nurture a core of Singaporean industry leaders to steer the development of the country's key strategic industries. To date, it is the only multi-industry scholarship offered in partnership between the Government and local industries. Since its inception, SgIS has established itself as one of the choice scholarships in Singapore, and awarded more than 2,000 scholarships to Singaporean students.
The SgIS highlights the importance the Government and local industries place on developing a pipeline of local talent that are essential for Singapore's economy and businesses in the long run.
From 28 Sponsoring Organisations (SOs) in 2012, the number of SOs for SgIS has increased steadily over the years to a total of 146 in 2026. These 146 SOs come from 16 key sectors, including biomedical and pharmaceuticals, electronics, engineering, lifestyle and food, and social services. Their strong support for SgIS provides good career opportunities that will develop a strong Singaporean talent pipeline to support strategic sectors."
206 Individuals Awarded Teaching Scholarships and Grants at MOE Scholarship Ceremony (31 July 2026)
"206 individuals received scholarships and grants from Minister for Education Mr Desmond Lee at the Ministry of Education (MOE) Scholarship Ceremony held at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre today. The scholarship ceremony brought together recipients of the MOE Teaching Scholarships, MOE Teaching Award, and the Singapore Teaching and Academic Research Talent Scheme (START) Awards.
MOE Teaching Scholarships and MOE Teaching Award
This year, 185 students received the MOE Teaching Scholarships and the MOE Teaching Award at the scholarship ceremony.
The MOE Teaching Scholarships and Teaching Award are awarded to individuals who possess a strong passion for education and teaching. Recipients will be sponsored for their undergraduate tuition fees and receive an allowance. They will also be given developmental opportunities to prepare themselves for an enriching career as an educator, and to hone their leadership skills.
START Awards
A total of 21 Singaporeans were awarded scholarships and grants under START this year. This year's awardees are pursuing research interests in areas such as Plant Nanobiosensors, Data-centric AI, and Immersive Extended Reality (XR) philosophy.
START provides a suite of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships and awards to Singaporeans interested in an academic career at the six Autonomous Universities (AUs), strengthening the pool of Singaporean talent in both research and teaching. Awardees study at local or overseas institutions, before embarking on their careers in Singapore. The awards include the Ministry of Education – Autonomous University (MOE-AU) Scholarship, Overseas PhD Scholarship, Overseas Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Early Career Awards, and the Inauguration Grant."
Nurturing Students' Love for Mother Tongue Languages Through Expanded Opportunities and Joyful Discovery (1 August 2026)
"At the 14th Mother Tongue Languages Symposium (MTLS) on 1 August 2026, Minister for Education Desmond Lee announced the following initiatives to strengthen Mother Tongue Language (MTL) learning and deepen students' appreciation of language and culture:
a. Expansion of the Mother Tongue Language Elective Programme at both the secondary and pre-university levels to give more students the opportunity to pursue their MTL at an advanced level.
b. Expansion of the Malay (Special Programme) to allow more students the opportunity to learn Malay as a third language.
c. Launch of a new AI Essay Marking System (AIMS) to support Chinese Language teachers and students in secondary schools.
Expansion of Mother Tongue Language Elective Programme
The Mother Tongue Language Elective Programme (LEP), offered in selected junior colleges (LEP-JC) and secondary schools (LEP-Sec), nurtures linguistically talented students to achieve high proficiency in Chinese, Malay or Tamil and strengthen their engagement with culture and literature. The LEP-Sec focuses on building a strong foundation in language and cultural appreciation through the study of MTL Literature, while the LEP-JC seeks to cultivate a deeper interest in MTL and literature through a variety of cultural activities.
From 2027, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will expand both the LEP-JC and LEP-Sec programmes:
a. The LEP-JC and LEP-Sec programmes in Tamil Language (TLEP-JC and TLEP-Sec) will be expanded through a centre-based approach at the Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre (UPTLC), in addition to the two junior colleges and three secondary schools currently offering the programmes. These programmes are now more accessible to students from schools that do not currently offer the TLEP, and provide a clearer progression pathway for students moving from TLEP-Sec to TLEP-JC.
b. The LEP-JC programme in Chinese Language (CLEP-JC) will be expanded to a sixth school, Anderson Serangoon Junior College, allowing more students to benefit from the programme."
Students Demonstrate Creativity and Vocal Talent at Malay Choral Recitation Competition (11 August 2026)
"More than 200 students from six primary and six secondary schools advanced to the finals of Katapella 2026, Singapore's annual national Malay choral recitation competition. Competing before a live audience, students showcased their linguistic talents and creative expressions in the Malay language.
Jointly organised by the Malay Language Learning and Promotion Committee (MLLPC) and Mediacorp, Katapella aims to foster in students a deeper appreciation for the Malay language and culture beyond the classroom.
The competition finals will be broadcast on Mediacorp's Suria and MeWatch over two hour-long episodes. The primary school category will air on 14 August 2026 at 8.30pm, followed by the secondary school category on 21 August 2026 at 8.30pm."
Three New Publications and Grant Call for Proposals to Support and Enrich Local Malay Literary Scene (14 August 2026)
"The Malay Language Learning and Promotion Committee (MLLPC) launched a novel titled 'JLN404', and two short story anthologies titled 'Jangan Ikut Hantu' and 'Tanah Air' on Friday, 14 August 2026, at The POD @ National Library Board. Guest-of-Honour Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education, delivered a speech at the launch event.
The publications, commissioned by the MLLPC and penned by local writers Farihan Bahron, Djohan Abdul Rahman and Noridah Kamari, are part of efforts to promote an appreciation of the Malay language and cultivate a love of reading among young readers. They also aim to further encourage students to read and appreciate local literary works.
At the event, Dr Syed Harun announced a third round of grant call for proposals to encourage writers to produce more Malay language content for children and young adults. The grant will provide funding to selected writers, enabling them to develop and publish new works that will enrich the local Malay literary scene."
Annual Seminar Gathers Over 760 Preschool Chinese Language Teachers to Explore Meaningful Teacher-Child Interactions (15 August 2026)
"More than 760 preschool Chinese Language (CL) teachers came together for this year's Seminar for Preschool Chinese Language Teachers at Dunman High School on 15 August 2026. Themed "From 'Responding' to 'Co-constructing': Practice and Enhancement of High-Quality Teacher-Child Interactions" ("从'回应'到'共建'——高质量师幼互动的实践与提升"), the seminar equipped participants with practical tools and techniques to foster more meaningful connections with children in their care.
Organised by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL) and supported by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), the National Institute of Early Childhood Development (NIEC) and Dunman High School, this annual seminar serves as a platform for preschool CL teachers to enhance their teaching skills and grow their professional networks. Guest-of-Honour Mr Xie Yao Quan, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Member of Parliament for Jurong Central Single Member Constituency and Leader of the CPCLL Preschool Group, delivered opening remarks at the event."
Over 180 Students Demonstrate Public Speaking and Critical Thinking at Inaugural National Secondary Schools Chinese Debate Competition (15 August 2026)
"186 students from 28 secondary schools participated in the inaugural National Secondary Schools Chinese Debate Competition, and the top four teams were recognised at the awards ceremony today. Guest-of-Honour Mr Xie Yao Quan, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Member of Parliament for Jurong Central Single Member Constituency and Leader of the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL) Preschool Group, delivered a speech and presented awards to the winners at the event.
Jointly organised by the CPCLL and the Tan Kah Kee Foundation (TKKF), the competition aims to boost students' public speaking and debating skills, cultivate their critical thinking skills, and strengthen their confidence in using the Chinese language.
A total of 31 teams competed across three preliminary rounds and the semi-finals, with Hwa Chong Institution (High School) and Evergreen Secondary School emerging as the finalists.
In the lead-up to the competition, around 200 students – comprising student participants and student helpers from the two organising schools, CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School and Catholic High School – attended three virtual workshops which covered the fundamentals of debate, from critical thinking and argument construction to questioning techniques and debate strategies."
Five Teachers Lauded for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and Learning of Malay Language (21 August 2026)
"Five Malay Language teachers were recognised for their outstanding contributions to the teaching and learning of the Malay Language at this year's Arif Budiman Malay Language Teacher Award Ceremony on Friday, 21 August 2026. Guest-of-Honour Mr Chee Hong Tat, Minister for National Development, presented the awards to the finalists and winners.
Since 2007, the Awards have recognised 83 primary, secondary, and pre-university Malay Language educators. The Awards are presented in two categories: the (i) Role Model Category for teachers with 10 years of teaching service or more, and the (ii) Motivation Category for teachers with less than 10 years of teaching service.
All Malay Language teachers in local mainstream schools were eligible for nomination, based on their contributions from 2024 to 2025. This year, 422 nominations were received between February and March. The awardees were selected by a panel of judges comprising community leaders, academics from Institutions of Higher Learning, school leaders and media representatives."
St. Joseph's Institution Junior and Yusof Ishak Secondary School Named Katapella 2026 Champions (21 August 2026)
"St. Joseph's Institution Junior and Yusof Ishak Secondary School have emerged as the champions of Katapella 2026, Singapore's national Malay choral recitation competition, in the primary school and secondary school categories respectively. Each winning team received trophies and book vouchers.
Jointly organised by the Malay Language Learning and Promotion Committee (MLLPC) and Mediacorp, Katapella aims to foster in students a deeper appreciation for the Malay language and culture beyond the classroom."
Four Teachers Recognised at Most Inspiring Tamil Teachers' Award Ceremony 2026 (29 August 2026)
"Four teachers received the Most Inspiring Tamil Teachers' (MITT) Award in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the teaching and learning of the Tamil Language. In addition to the MITT Award, one teacher was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award while another received the Best National Institute of Education (NIE) Tamil Trainee Teacher Award.
Guest-of-Honour Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash, Chairman of the Tamil Promotion Committee (TPC), Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and the Ministry of Manpower, and Mayor of South East District, presented the awards to the recipients at the MITT Award Ceremony today.
Jointly organised by Tamil Murasu (TM), the Singapore Tamil Teachers' Union (STTU) and the TPC, the MITT Award recognises the stellar performance of our Tamil Language teachers in educating and promoting Tamil language among their students. Award winners also serve as role models for other Tamil Language educators in nurturing our students' love for the language and using technology creatively to enhance learning. Each award recipient will receive a plaque, a certificate of achievement and a cash grant."
Ang Mo Kio Secondary School Emerges as Champion of Kuiz Cepat Tepat 2.0 (30 August 2026)
"Ang Mo Kio Secondary School has emerged as the champion of the inaugural Kuiz Cepat Tepat 2.0, a game show that tested secondary school students on their knowledge and understanding of Malay language and culture through a series of challenging quizzes. The winning team received a trophy and book vouchers in recognition of their achievement.
Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Chairperson of the Malay Language Learning and Promotion Committee (MLLPC), was the Guest-of-Honour in the final episode of Kuiz Cepat Tepat 2.0 on Suria, where he presented prizes to the finalists.
Organised by the MLLPC in collaboration with Mediacorp, Kuiz Cepat Tepat 2.0 aims to foster in students a deeper appreciation of Malay language and culture beyond the classroom, while encouraging them to think creatively and critically."
211 Special Awards to Recognise Students' Diverse Achievements (31 August 2026)
"This year, 202 students from 90 educational institutions received a total of 211 Special Awards, to recognise their diverse achievements in both academic and non-academic domains. Senior Minister of State for Education Dr Janil Puthucheary presented the awards at the Special Awards Presentation Ceremony, an annual ceremony, on 31 August 2026 at the National University of Singapore's University Cultural Centre."
Singapore Students Win 13 Gold Medals, 13 Silver Medals, 8 Bronze Medals and 1 Team Championship in this Year's International Olympiads and International Young Physicists' Tournament (2 September 2026)
"The Ministry of Education (MOE) congratulates all students for their remarkable performances at the International Olympiads for Biology, Chemistry, Geography, Mathematics, Physics, Artificial Intelligence, and Informatics, as well as the International Young Physicists' Tournament, held from July to August 2026. Beyond the competitions, our students gained valuable experience through interactions with like-minded peers from around the world.
37th International Biology Olympiad (IBO)
The Singapore team clinched three Gold medals and one Silver medal at the 37th IBO held in Vilnius, Lithuania from 12 to 19 July 2026, finishing joint 5th out of 78 countries/territories and 302 participants. The IBO tested students in both practical and theory components. The practical component comprised four tasks spanning molecular biology and biochemistry, animal physiology, animal morphology and systematics, and plant computational biology. The theory component covered a broad range of topics, including biosystematics, cell and molecular biology, ecology, ethology, genetics and evolution, and plant and animal anatomy and physiology.
58th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO)
The Singapore team clinched three Gold medals and one Bronze medal at the 58th IChO held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from 10 to 19 July 2026, emerging 7th out of 92 countries/territories and 363 participants. Students performed a diverse range of Chemistry tasks across experimental and theoretical components. In the experimental component, students had to synthesise compounds, perform quantitative analysis, and determine the identity of an unknown substance. In the theoretical component, students were required to solve problems related to biochemistry, physical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and organic chemistry."
Eight Teachers Receive Top Honours for Dedication and Excellence in Education (3 September 2026)
"Eight outstanding educators received this year’s President’s Award for Teachers from President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the annual Teachers’ Day Reception on 3 September 2026."
PISA 2025: Singapore Students Demonstrate Strong Real-World Problem-Solving Skills in Computational Thinking Domain (8 September 2026)
"Students Continue to Perform Strongly in Reading, Mathematics, and Science
In the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2025, Singapore's 15-year-old students demonstrated strong competencies in computational thinking and using digital tools to solve complex real-world problems in the newly-assessed domain of Computational Problem Solving (CMPS). Our students also continue to perform strongly across all three core domains of Reading, Mathematics, and Science. The results affirm Singapore students strengths in applying knowledge and skills to solve complex problems and being engaged with learning, putting them in good stead for lifelong learning.
Singapore Students Do Very Well in Applying Foundational Literacies, and Using Digital Tools and Computational Thinking to Solve Real-World Problems
More than half of our students are top performers in CMPS, compared to a quarter of students in OECD countries on average. They are highly effective in applying computational practices such as conducting experiments, analysing data, and building and debugging computational artefacts to solve complex real-world problems.
Beyond proficiency, our students are also highly engaged in learning. Under OECD's framework, Singapore is one of only two systems in PISA 2025 with over two-thirds of students who are proficient learners, and more than a quarter who are engaged learners. 28% of our students are competent learners (i.e. both proficient and engaged), compared to OECD average of 14%.
Singapore students continue to perform strongly in Reading, Mathematics, and Science, outperforming their peers in nearly all other systems. Notably, Singapore's proportion (15%) of academic all-rounders (viz., top performers in all three Reading, Mathematics, and Science domains) is the highest among all participating systems (OECD average: 3%)."
Enhancing the Primary One Registration Framework for Greater Access and Inclusivity (10 September 2026)
"The Ministry of Education (MOE) is making changes to the Primary One (P1) Registration Framework, to improve access for children without prior connections to a school, and encourage greater mixing among students from different backgrounds. The revised framework will be implemented with effect from the 2027 P1 Registration Exercise (for children starting P1 in 2028)."
This single mum returned to school at 40 – sharing polytechnic life with her teenage son (27 July 2026)
"At a polytechnic graduation ceremony, most people are likely there to cheer on their children. For 18-year-old Muhammad Abbas, it was the other way around.
In May, the teenager sat in the audience as his mother, 40-year-old Sharifah Radhia, walked across the stage to receive her specialist diploma.
Watching the woman who already juggles multiple roles – as a single mother of three and a full-time operations manager – step onto the stage in her graduation gown filled Abbas with pride.
“I always knew she could do it,” he told CNA Women. “But seeing my mum actually up there, in the gown and receiving her specialist diploma, it felt very different. I was there for a very important moment in her life.”
The graduation ceremony had special meaning for the pair because the mother and son spent the past year studying on the same campus at Temasek Polytechnic (TP).
While Abbas was studying for his diploma in cybersecurity, Sharifah attended evening classes for her one-year specialist diploma in business analytics. Although they rarely met each other in school, they shared a similar experience of navigating assignment deadlines and exam stress.
“Our study schedules are different but we definitely had our shared struggles of school assignments,” Abbas said with a laugh.
RETURNING TO SCHOOL AT 40
Sharifah, who holds a degree in business management, could have simply settled for the familiar routine of a stable job. However, she felt that she was “capable of more”.
Seeing some peers struggle with new systems at work and hearing some older workers say that learning anything new after 40 was “too hard” strengthened her resolve to return to school.
“I remember thinking: I don’t want to be so comfortable that I stop learning anything new,” she said.
She believed the skills from her specialist diploma would remain relevant in most workplaces.
The evening classes were held from 7pm to 10pm twice a week and allowed her to continue working.
Another reason she chose the course was its focus on statistics, an important part of data analytics.
Sharifah used to enjoy Mathematics but struggled with statistics in her earlier studies. “I wanted to see how much further I could go in this area,” said the mother of three.
“Pursuing a course in data analytics has given me a stronger understanding of statistics and has significantly improved my ability to interpret and apply statistical concepts in practical scenarios.”
The timing, she added, also felt like a “sweet spot”. Her youngest child had just entered Primary 1 while her middle child was still one year away from taking the primary school leaving examination.
At the same time, Abbas had just enrolled at TP through the polytechnic foundation programme, a one-year preparatory pathway that allows eligible Secondary 4 Normal (Academic) students to progress to their diploma studies upon passing certain core modules.
“My mum inspired me a lot to continue my journey at TP,” Abbas said, adding that he sought her help in math-related topics for his course assignments.
STEPPING UP TO HELP HIS MUM
Sharifah said her eldest child became one of her biggest supporters. Whenever she had assignment deadlines, he would find ways to lighten her load at home.
For instance, he would check his younger sister’s homework and occasionally step in to send her to and from tuition classes when their domestic helper was unavailable.
“Even just washing the dishes and keeping my room clean helped my mum feel less stressed,” he said, to which Sharifah smiled.
“I appreciate that Abbas was attentive and picked up some of the responsibilities that he mentioned without a lot of complaints, because I also understand that teenagers have their own lives and activities,” Sharifah said.
There were also moments where Abbas saw his mother struggling with difficult assignments. “Sometimes, she would complain about how it was very difficult and questioned why she was doing the specialist diploma,” he said.
Sharifah recalled those moments of doubt. “I would ask myself, why did I sign up for this? Was there really a need for me to study at my age?”
Even so, she persevered, balancing a tight schedule of work, studies and parenting."
TV presenter Diana Ser lists out life advice for her children entering university: 'Don’t just make friends' (27 July 2026)
"For parents, no matter how old your children get, there is always one more piece of advice you would like to squeeze in before they head out the door.
For former actress and Talking Point host Diana Ser, that door just happens to lead to university.
The 54-year-old recently revealed that two of her three children – presumably her eldest son Jake, 19, and daughter Christy, 17 – will be starting university next year.
To mark the milestone, she shared a series of adorable throwback photos of them growing up, along with five life lessons she hopes they'll carry with them into adulthood.
1. Iron your clothes
It's more than just about appearance, though – it reflects self-respect and discipline, she wrote.
2. Seek solace in the outdoors
“Nature calms, refreshes, and rejuvenates.”
3. Don’t just make friends
“Cultivate friendships that last. These provide emotional and psychological support and relationships, and relationships that anchor you.”
4. Get enough sleep
“You’ll look and think better. Period."
5. Get perspectives on everything
“But ground your decisions to what matters most to you. Your values, passion, and loved ones.
Ser and former actor James Lye have been married for 22 years and are also parents to Jaymee, 14."
Former preschool teacher jailed for slapping 3-year-old boy, causing his head to hit cupboard (27 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A former preschool teacher was sentenced to five months' jail on Monday (Jul 27) for slapping a three-year-old boy so hard that his head hit a nearby cupboard.
The 31-year-old Singaporean woman pleaded guilty to one charge of ill-treating a child in her care under the Children and Young Persons Act.
The court imposed gag orders on the victim covering the incident location and school. CNA is not naming the accused as a search of her name reveals the school.
The court heard that the victim was a pre-nursery student in the preschool under the woman's care.
At about 10.30am on Sep 12, 2025, the boy was sitting on the floor crying outside his classroom.
When told about this by another teacher, the accused walked out of the classroom, lifted the boy by his wrists and carried him into the classroom.
She threw him to the floor, and the crying boy smacked her thigh in response.
In retaliation, the woman slapped the boy's arm. The commotion drew the attention of other teachers.
The accused closed the classroom door and scolded the victim before slapping his face twice. The impact caused the boy's head to hit a cupboard next to him.
The school principal had approached the classroom because of the commotion and saw the slaps.
She immediately intervened, carried the boy out and informed his mother of what happened.
When questioned by his mother, the boy initially denied that anything untoward had happened, but later said the accused had told him not to tell his parents about it.
The boy's mother lodged a police report."
3 self-radicalised teens detained by ISD; 2 planned attacks on schools in Singapore (27 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A 14-year-old boy who was self-radicalised online was prepared to carry out a mass-casualty stabbing attack at his secondary school after creating a 21-page manifesto detailing the attack.
He was arrested by the Internal Security Department (ISD) in May, a month before his planned attack, and issued with a detention order, the agency said on Monday (Jul 27).
The Secondary 2 student was among three teenagers who were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), said the ISD in a press release.
Another of them was a 15-year-old Secondary 4 student who was self-radicalised online by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) ideologies, and planned to conduct an attack in Singapore to further the group’s cause and establish an Islamic caliphate in Southeast Asia through violent means.
The two secondary school students were not named as they are under 18.
The other case involved 19-year-old tertiary institution student Tan Jun Jie, who also supported ISIS and planned to carry out knife attacks against Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) troops at Sembawang Air Base and LGBTQ students in his school. He also attempted to conduct cyberattacks against the websites of Muslim organisations that he deemed deviant.
“Though their cases are not related, all three were self-radicalised online by violent extremist ideologies, and had made preparations to conduct local attacks,” ISD said.
The schools that were targets in the attack plots were not identified by ISD.
“CLOSE SHAVE”
The 14-year-old is the youngest person to be detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA). It is also the first detention involving Composite Violent Extremism (CoVE), previously known as “salad bar” extremism.
This refers to a form of violent extremism where individuals subscribe to multiple, and sometimes conflicting, extremist ideologies.
The boy’s radicalisation journey began with first-person shooter (FPS) games on online gaming platform Roblox, which recreated real-life school shootings, such as the 1999 Columbine High School incident.
“Out of curiosity, the youth searched for more information online, and learnt that several mass shooters had been victims of bullying, and their acts of violence were a form of retaliation against those who had wronged them,” the agency said.
“The youth identified with these mass shooters, as he claimed to have also been a victim of bullying.”
His social media algorithm also fed him violent gore and mass shooting content, while he joined online channels in the True Crime Community.
While playing the games and watching the violent footage online, the student imagined his bullies as the in-game characters and the victims in the videos, and himself as the perpetrator of the violent acts.
In 2024, he came across on social media ISIS supporter Omar Mateen’s 2016 mass shooting on a Florida gay nightclub.
“He idolised Mateen as he related with the latter’s experience of being bullied, and admired Mateen’s high kill count during the attack,” said ISD.
He believed it was justifiable to kill gay people, as he considered them to be haram – or forbidden – in Islam.
After consuming more ISIS content, he began supporting the group’s killing of kuffar, whom he defined as non-Muslims, and was willing to attack them if instructed by ISIS.
He also considered travelling to Syria to join the group, but lacked the resources. The youth shared ISIS-related videos with his friends, including several schoolmates, to flaunt his support for ISIS and promote the group.
None of his schoolmates was radicalised by his attempts, noted the ISD.
He was also exposed to far-right extremist materials, including anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi narratives, eventually developing such views over time, such as support for Adolf Hitler’s killing of Jews as he believed they were responsible for mistreating Palestinians in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The ISD added that the youth supported the notion of white supremacy and considered himself more “white”, as he perceived himself to be fair-skinned.
“By late-2025, fuelled by personal grievances at being bullied by his schoolmates and put under academic stress by his teachers, the youth planned to conduct a mass-casualty attack against non-Muslim teachers and schoolmates at his school during the then-upcoming school holidays in June 2026,” said the ISD.
“He timed his planned attack with the school holidays as he thought there would be fewer teachers present to stop his attack, and had identified specific days when he and his targets would be present in school for co-curricular activities.”
'Can’t turn every school into a garrison': SM Shanmugam on balancing security, free movement after school attack plots (27 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Schools cannot be turned into “garrisons” as there is a need to balance security and free movement on campuses, said Senior Minister K Shanmugam on Monday (Jul 27) after three teenagers were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
Of the three students, two had planned attacks at schools. One of them, a 14-year-old, had drafted a 21-page manifesto detailing the attack.
When asked if security measures at schools will be stepped up, Mr Shanmugam said: “Schools are open spaces.
“You can't turn every school into a garrison or a cantonment, then it won't feel like a school. I've made the point about public buildings too in the past.
“In Singapore, if you want the majority of people to feel comfortable, confident, you have to have a balance between security and also free movement. People want to live without having to go through a whole series of restrictions.”
Mr Shanmugam, who is also coordinating minister for national security and home affairs minister, said that along with the efforts from the authorities, there has to be a vigilant society that looks out for each other and for things that are not quite right.
“At the same time, we have to accept that there is only so much you can do in terms of physical security. On top of that, of course, within schools and within other places, you train people to be alert and understand security,” he added.
The 14-year-old boy was arrested just weeks before he had planned to carry out the attack on his school. The Ministry of Home Affairs described it as a “close shave” after someone from his school noticed the signs of radicalisation and alerted the authorities.
Education Minister Desmond Lee said on Monday that it is an instinct for people to tighten up when such events happen.
“Let’s put perimeter fences, let's do 100 per cent checks, let's go around and check every bag, have metal detectors and so on – that cannot be the main kind of approach that we take when it comes to this,” he said.
Mr Lee said there are already multiple layers of vigilance, training and contingency planning in place in schools, along with security measures such as closed-circuit cameras, security staff in schools and institutes of higher learning (IHLs) and selective bag checks when necessary.
“But schools are places where people learn. They spark the joy of learning. They are places where people must feel comfortable learning,” said the education minister.
He added that not every IHL is a gated and closed community, with campuses that are open and free for people to come and go.
“So we want to make sure that we strike the right balance and put in place the right measures through getting people more aware of what they need to look out for, and strengthening this overall community of vigilance,” said Mr Lee.
SOCIAL MEDIA BAN?
Several radicalised youths in recent cases had viewed harmful content on social media.
In the latest case involving the 14-year-old boy, he had “avidly consumed” violent gore and mass shooting content that he encountered on social media, based on algorithmic recommendations as well as on online channels that were linked to the True Crime Community.
In response to a CNA question on whether a social media ban will solve the issue of youths encountering extremist content online through their algorithms, Mr Shanmugam noted the experience of other countries.
“A number of approaches have been tried in other countries. Social media bans have been imposed in Australia, the UK has discussed it, France’s parliament has looked at it, with varying degrees of effectiveness,” he said.
He added that the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) has been speaking publicly about what can be done to protect young people, not just from extremist online content, but also the harmful effects of social media on their development.
How to best deal with the issue, including whether a ban is the best approach, is a matter that MDDI is looking at, he said.
“But harmful extremist content, when we come across it, we block it. But as I said, in today's world, it's not possible to block everything,” said Mr Shanmugam, adding that one of the youths had been radicalised through online gaming platform Roblox."
Singapore police issue directions to block access to terrorism-related content online (27 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The police said on Monday (Jul 27) that it issued directions to internet service providers and one online service provider over terrorism-related content under the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA).
The Singapore Police Force issued a disabling direction to one service provider, requiring it to take all reasonable steps to disable access by Singapore users to the relevant online videos. It also issued access blocking directions to internet service providers, requiring them to block access to websites carrying the offending material.
The content includes material that advocates for ISIS and mass shooters, glorifies extremists and encourages supporters to join extremist causes, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a news release.
Investigations found a direct link between the content and previous self-radicalisation cases in Singapore, where youths were radicalised after consuming material from these sites or used information from them to plot attacks, MHA said.
“The rise in self-radicalisation cases in Singapore, particularly among youth, is a matter of deep concern," it said.
“Online platforms must not be allowed to serve as vectors for the spread of terrorist ideology to persons in Singapore, and the government will not hesitate to act against entities that seek to do so.”
On Monday, the Internal Security Department said three self-radicalised youths – aged 14,15 and 19 – were detained in recent months under the Internal Security Act.
While their cases are not related, all three were influenced by violent extremist ideologies and had made preparations to conduct attacks locally.
In its press release, MHA said it is working with the Ministry of Digital Development and Information and the Ministry of Education (MOE) to safeguard Singaporeans, especially children, from harmful online content.
It urged parents, educators and the wider community to remain vigilant over young people's online activities and to discuss the dangers of online radicalisation with them.
Members of the public who come across content that glorifies or incites violence can report it through the platform's in-app reporting function or to the Internal Security Department (ISD). The public should also alert ISD if they suspect a threat against Singapore or believe someone may have become radicalised.
STRENGTHENING SAFEGUARDS IN SCHOOLS
In a separate release on Monday, MOE said schools and institutes of higher learning will continue strengthening efforts to stay vigilant against youth self-radicalisation.
Students learn about the negative impact of extremist ideologies through social studies, secondary history, and character and citizenship education, while cyber wellness lessons teach them to identify negative influences and inappropriate websites, MOE said.
Schools are also trained to identify students at risk of online self-radicalisation, with counsellors, teachers and school leaders working together to provide early support and intervention.
All secondary school personal learning devices are installed with an application that filters objectionable material, including extremist websites, MOE said. Schools also use website filtering systems on their wireless networks, and these safeguards are reviewed regularly.
On the police's directions to block access, MOE said the move would help protect Singaporeans, especially children, from harmful online content. It added that parents play an important role in supervising their children's online activities beyond school."
'Predator' who paid 13-year-old girls for sex gets jail and caning for statutory rape (27 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A man kept a detailed diary of how much he spent on sexual acts with 17 girls, three of whom were 13 at the time.
One of the 13-year-old girls lodged a police report against him after he asked her for more sex.
Edmund Tan Shi Hui, a 28-year-old Singaporean man, was on Monday (Jul 27) sentenced to 25-and-a-half years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane for statutory rape.
Tan pleaded guilty to six counts of statutory rape against the three 13-year-old girls, with another 10 charges taken into consideration.
His lawyer argued for a lower sentence, saying the payment of the victims should not be an aggravating factor since it was essentially commercial sex, but the judge rejected this argument and found that the payment was instead an aggravating factor in the rape cases.
THE CASE
Tan was between 24 and 25 years old at the time of the offences in 2022 and 2023.
He got to know the first victim sometime before early March 2022 in a Telegram group chat.
The victim posted an advertisement saying she was 16 to 18 years old and was offering her sexual services for S$200 (US$155) to S$300.
Tan saw the ad and sent a private message to the victim, saying he was above 20 years old and willing to pay for sexual services.
They agreed to meet on Mar 4, 2022, with Tan paying S$100 for one round of sex in a public toilet.
The first victim met Tan at a toilet at Kovan MRT station in her school attire.
She performed a sex act on Tan, and he later told her that he knew she was younger than her professed age.
He said he would not report her, as he would "get into worse trouble than her" and paid her S$100 before they left.
After this first meeting, Tan texted the first victim saying he regretted giving her so much money.
He asked to have a video call with her, promising not to record it and offering S$500.
The first victim took the video call while in her school toilet and performed sex acts. Tan said he would pay her when they met in person, but later blocked her on Telegram.
The first victim chanced upon Tan via online video-conferencing platform Omegle in December that year.
Tan asked to chat with her and they later agreed to meet for paid sex.
The pair engaged in sex acts on Dec 26, 2022, and the girl later asked Tan to buy her a pregnancy test kit, as her period was late.
Tan did not want to as he said she had engaged in sex with other men. However, he met her again for paid sex in April 2023.
This time, the first victim asked Tan to stop having sex with other girls as she was worried about contracting sexually transmitted diseases from him, but he refused."
Live births in Singapore fall by 11.4% to 29,864 in 2025; deaths rise slightly (27 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The number of babies born in Singapore fell in 2025, while deaths remained largely flat, according to the Report on the Registration of Births and Deaths, which was released by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Monday (Jul 27).
In 2025, there were 29,864 live births in Singapore - an 11.4 per cent decrease from 33,703 in 2024.
Meanwhile, there were 26,499 deaths in 2025, an increase of 0.2 per cent, compared to the 26,442 deaths in 2024.
Singapore’s natural increase - the excess of births over deaths - narrowed sharply in 2025, mainly because there were 3,839 fewer live births while the number of deaths increased by just 57.
By ethnic group, Chinese residents recorded a natural decrease in 2025, with 3,071 more deaths than live births. Malay, Indian and other residents continued to record natural increases, at 3,006, 1,199 and 2,231 respectively.
BIRTH RATES AND TOTAL FERTILITY RATE
The crude birth rate, which refers to the number of live births per 1,000 residents, fell to 6.5 in 2025 from 7.4 the previous year.
The crude death rate held steady at 6.0 deaths per 1,000 residents, even as the number of deaths rose slightly.
This brought Singapore’s crude rate of natural increase - the excess of births over deaths per 1,000 residents - to 0.5 in 2025, down from 1.3 in 2024. It was 5.9 in 2006.
The median age of resident first-time mothers rose to 32.1 years in 2025, continuing a steady increase from 31.3 years in 2021, 31.4 years in 2022, 31.6 years in 2023 and 31.9 years in 2024.
ICA said this reflected a "clear trend of first-time mothers progressively delaying childbirth to later stages of their lives".
About 47.5 per cent of all babies born in 2025 were to first-time mothers.
The ICA report comes after Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said in Parliament in February that Singapore’s resident total fertility rate (TFR) had fallen to a historic low of 0.87 in 2025.
The TFR refers to the average number of children a woman would have in her lifetime during her childbearing years.
Assuming the total fertility rate stays at 0.87, it would become “practically impossible” over time to reverse the trend, Mr Gan said, as Singapore would have fewer women who can bear children.
The country’s fertility rate fell below 1.0 for the first time in 2023 to 0.97, and remained the same in 2024."
Over-securing campuses in response to school attack plots may lead to normalisation of fear, say experts (27 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Ramping up security at campuses following the revelation of school attack plots may bring a sense of safety and assurance in the immediate short term, but may inadvertently normalise a culture of fear among students, experts said.
While physical security has a role, preventing students from slipping into radicalisation is just as important, said experts. This includes developing open communication channels with trusted adults with whom they can clarify doubts when they come across dangerous content or face difficulties.
On Monday (Jul 27), the Internal Security Department (ISD) said that it had detained three teenagers who were self-radicalised online, with two of them plotting to carry out attacks in schools.
One boy, 14, drafted a 21-page manifesto detailing the attack plan and admitted to authorities he would have carried out the stabbings. He was arrested weeks before he was due to carry out the attack, in what ISD called a “close shave”.
Associate Professor Razwana Begum, head of global security and strategy at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said: “Schools must remain places where students feel safe, but also where they continue to feel trusted.
“We should be careful not to unintentionally create environments that resemble high-security facilities unless the threat assessment clearly warrants it.”
She said that equally important to physical security measures are trusted relationships between students and adults, accessible counselling support, threat assessment capabilities, and a school culture where concerns can be raised early.
Ms Shahrany Hassan, founder of local non-profit The Whitehatters that facilitates community dialogue, said that while schools need robust security plans, she would be “very cautious about turning schools into heavily fortified spaces”.
“If students have to walk through metal detectors every morning, that inevitably changes how they experience school. It subtly sends the message that school is a place where danger is expected rather than the exception,” she explained.
“We have to be careful not to create an environment where fear becomes normalised.”
Pornsak to pursue master's degree in nutrition and lifestyle medicine at NUS at age 44 (28 July 2026)
"Lately, our social media feeds have been filled with proud parents celebrating their children's milestones, from Chew Chor Meng's daughter's NUS graduation to Diana Ser's two kids who will be starting university next year.
Former Mediacorp host Pornsak, however, has decided it's his turn to hit the books again at 44 years old.
The local host announced on Instagram that he's been accepted into the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, where he will be pursuing a master's degree in nutrition and lifestyle medicine from August.
Classes begin on Aug 3, and if all goes according to plan, he will complete the programme in about two years.
Sharing the good news on Instagram, he wrote: "I'm going back to school again."
8days.sg has reached out to Pornsak for more on his decision to further his studies, but has not received a response at press time.
These days, many people know Pornsak for co-hosting livestreams for Ichigo.sg alongside former Mediacorp actors Zhang Zhenxuan and Kang Chengxi.
But away from the cameras, he's also been practising as a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner at Everspring Medical Group.
Pornsak earned his TCM practitioner's licence in 2021 after spending 10 years studying while juggling his showbusiness career.
He also shares that his master's programme is part-time, allowing him to continue seeing patients at his clinic while running his business and attending lectures.
Pornsak isn't the only local celebrity proving that learning doesn't stop after your 20s.
Earlier this year, former Mediacorp actress Florence Tan graduated at 49 with a degree in health science."
16-year-old gymnast Amanda Yap clinches Singapore's first Glasgow Commonwealth Games medal (28 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Teenager Amanda Yap clinched Singapore's first medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games after a sensational performance in the women's balance beam final on Tuesday (Jul 28).
At The Arena in Glasgow, the 16-year-old, who is making her Games debut, registered a score of 13.233 to take silver behind Australia's Breanna Scott (13.933). Canada's Lia-Monica Fontaine finished in third place.
In doing so, Amanda equalled Singapore's best finish in the sport at the Games, with Lim Heem Wei also taking balance beam silver at the 2010 edition.
This is also Singapore’s first gymnastics medal at the Games since Hoe Wah Toon claimed bronze in the individual men’s artistic vault in 2014.
The teenager booked her spot in Tuesday's final as the second-best qualifier.
Last October, she made history as the first Singaporean gymnast to qualify for a world championships final, eventually placing sixth in the balance beam.
She followed that up with a silver in the same event at the Bangkok SEA Games, ending Singapore’s two-decade-long wait for an individual SEA Games balance beam medal."
NLB to launch new multi-year campaign to get Singaporeans to read more (29 July 2026)
"The National Library Board (NLB) will launch ReadSG – a five-year national campaign to encourage Singaporeans to make reading a daily habit – in September to coincide with the inaugural National Reading Month.
With changing reading habits in an increasingly digital world, where people are consuming more short-form content, ReadSG seeks to encourage sustained long-form reading, which NLB says helps build attention and critical thinking skills, support overall mental well-being, and build empathy and social understanding.
Among the initiatives is the ReadSG Challenge, which gamifies reading by allowing participants to log their daily book reading sessions through CrowdTaskSG, a government digital platform that rewards users for completing various activities from walking in parks to buying budget meals.
CrowdTaskSG users earn experience points for completing tasks, allowing them to level up, as well as coins that can be redeemed for cash.
Another initiative is Read For Good, formerly known as Read for Books, where every 15 minutes spent reading contributes towards charitable causes supporting communities such as kidsREAD or MINDS.
Further details on both initiatives, including how the challenges work, will be announced at the campaign launch.
The campaign will officially launch on Sep 6 at the National Library Building with programmes running from 11am to 6pm. Activities include themed reading spaces, activity booths, a marketplace and a mass reading session, where participants gather to read together. President Tharman Shanmugaratnam will attend as guest of honour and serve as the campaign's patron.
NLB will also bring back its Big Book Giveaway on Sep 19 and 20. Last year's edition saw about 60,000 pre-loved books given away to the public.
More information on ReadSG and its programmes is available on the campaign's official website."
Man who drove Porsche with 2 young sons on boot fined S$5,000, banned from driving (29 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A man who posted a video of himself driving a Porsche with his two sons sitting on the boot was fined and banned from driving on Wednesday (Jul 29).
Prem Anan Sugunakumar, a 40-year-old Singaporean, said he did so because he thought it would be an "enjoyable experience" for his sons, then aged eight and seven.
He was fined S$5,000 (US$3,870) and banned from driving for six months after pleading guilty to a charge of a rash act endangering personal safety.
The court heard that Prem knew his act would endanger his children.
On the morning of Oct 20, 2025, he decided to spend time with his sons.
He drove his car to Dairy Farm Lane, a two-lane road in Bukit Panjang, and led the boys to the vehicle from their home nearby.
He lifted the boys and placed them on the boot of the vehicle, facing the road behind.
He then drove at a moderate speed down the lane towards Dairy Farm Heights with the boys on top of the boot.
His wife filmed the incident and he posted it later on TikTok.
At the time, another driver going in the opposite direction saw what happened and made a police report that same day.
MULTIPLE TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS
The prosecution read out a list of more than 15 traffic violations that Prem had committed between 2004 and 2020, including speeding, inconsiderate driving and unauthorised parking.
It sought the maximum fine of S$5,000 for Prem, along with six months' disqualification from driving.
The prosecutor said it was purely fortuitous that the children did not sustain any injuries, adding that they were vulnerable due to their age.
As their father, he should be expected to prioritise or at least look out for their safety. Instead, he deliberately put them in a position of danger."
Law Ministry to undertake broader review of legal education: Edwin Tong (29 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Law (Minlaw) will undertake a broader review of legal education and consider a launching a guide that sets out professional norms and workplace behaviours, said Minister for Law Edwin Tong on Wednesday (Jul 29).
Speaking at the Legal Profession Symposium, the former litigator noted that while the attrition in the industry is real, attrition figures alone do not tell the whole story.
"Lawyers have always left practice at some point in their career, usually at the earlier frame of their career," said Mr Tong, noting that attrition figures have remained broadly stable.
Between 2015 to 2024, about 60 per cent of lawyers stayed in practice after five years, and 40 per cent after 10 years.
The real question is not whether people are leaving, but why they are leaving, the minister said.
"Are they pursuing different aspirations and opportunities, or are they pushed away because legal practice has become intolerable and unsustainable when otherwise they would like to be in practice? And I think that distinction matters a lot."
Around the world, law schools are rethinking how to prepare the next generation of lawyers, and Singapore should study how these developments apply to it, said Mr Tong.
This is why the law ministry will undertake a broader review of legal education, he added.
"But no matter how well we prepare our students, the most important learning still begins after they enter practice, just as it did for my generation."
Workplace culture, good supervision, mentorship and respect matter at the workplace, said Mr Tong.
"At the same time, I do not believe the experiences described in the report is the majority of our profession. They don't define our profession," said the minister, referencing the Law Society's findings that were released in June.
The four-year study found that lawyers are leaving private practice amid toxic workplace cultures, bullying, unreasonable workloads and a profession that intrudes into their personal lives.
Those experiences probably reflect the actions of a small minority, he added. "Unfortunately, it only takes a few individuals to cast a shadow over a profession that is overwhelmingly made up of decent, committed people who want to see their juniors succeed and will mentor them well."
Mr Tong stressed that nothing excuses poor supervision, inadequate training, harassment, bullying or unreasonable treatment.
For example, being screamed at, ridiculed, or expected to work unreasonably is not acceptable, he added.
While there is no single formula for a healthy and sustainable workplace, Mr Tong noted that a workplace can be demanding without being demeaning, and feedback can be candid without being disrespectful.
The law ministry is considering introducing a sustainability code or guide for the legal profession, he said.
Rather than prescribing how law firms should be run, the code would set out the professional norms and workplace behaviours that lawyers should aspire to, said Mr Tong."
Commentary: Rules on social media will only go so far for teens. This is what I did instead (30 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: About five years ago, my eldest son Truett, then 13, approached me with what seemed like a perfectly reasonable request.
A number of his friends were on Instagram - could he set up an account, too?
He probably assumed I’d say yes, given how I had spent the better part of two decades making a living creating campaigns on social media. Instead, I spent the next two evenings putting together a ten-slide PowerPoint presentation explaining why I thought he should wait.
The presentation covered Meta's own research on the effects of social media on young people, how notifications exploit our reward systems, why adolescent brains are particularly susceptible to social validation and a handful of studies on attention and mental health. Despite my best efforts to inject levity and memes, it was probably in the running for top ten most boring presentations a 13-year-old has ever sat through.
I sat back at the end of my spiel, and braced for his protest.
There was none. Instead, he listened quietly, thought about it for a moment, and asked if Discord, an instant messaging platform, was off-limits too. After ironing out some ground rules, we agreed that he could be on that platform.
For Instagram, my preference was that he wait until he was 18. We eventually settled on revisiting the conversation at 16.
And just like that, the Kao family social media guidelines were set.
JUST FOLLOW LAW?
The recent debate surrounding social media bans for children has reminded me of that conversation.
Australia in December 2025 became the world's first country to ban social media for children under 16. Since then, some countries such as Malaysia have followed suit. France is the latest country to act, approving legislation on Jul 21 to ban children under 15 from social media.
Critics have questioned whether such laws are enforceable, with a recent study in Australia suggesting limited impact.
We were all young once, and we know how remarkably resourceful teenagers are. Give them a rule, and they will discover a way to break it.
That does not mean the legislation has failed or is unnecessary. We don't judge every law by whether it catches every offender. Rather, It’s about establishing a social norm and making harmful behaviour harder.
I see social media restrictions in much the same way. If they raise the barrier to entry, even slightly, they have already done part of the job.
It's a little like speed cameras on expressways. Every driver knows where some of them are. People slow down before reaching them, then speed up afterwards. We know this, and laugh about it, yet few among us would argue that speed cameras therefore serve no purpose.
Their value isn't simply in catching offenders. Sometimes it's enough that they cause people to slow down for a stretch."
What is ‘salad bar’ extremism, and is a new rehab playbook needed to tackle this form of radicalisation? (30 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: As extremist threats shift beyond traditional ideological lines with the rise of “salad bar” extremism, detecting and rehabilitating radicalised individuals has become more difficult than before, said experts.
Also known as Composite Violent Extremism (CoVE), it has seen individuals assemble their own patchwork of ideologies, including conflicting ones such as pro-ISIS and far-right narratives, upon which they pursue violence..
This development has implications for rehabilitation, which has to address a more complex mix of ideological, psychological and behavioural influences in radicalised individuals. This means rehabilitation cannot rely on past playbooks, experts told CNA.
The term "salad bar" was made popular by former Federal Bureau of Investigation director Christopher Wray to describe individuals who pick and choose different beliefs and narratives, rather than subscribing to one ideology.
Researchers recently started referring to it as CoVE to better capture the complexity of these evolving pathways. Authorities in the United Kingdom have also used the term Mixed, Unstable and Unclear (MUU) extremism to describe it.
In Singapore, the Internal Security Department (ISD) faced the first case of salad bar extremism last September, when a 14-year-old boy was dealt with under the Internal Security Act (ISA). Since then, there have been similar cases.
In June this year, a 19-year-old youth was revealed to have been arrested for the same reason, while earlier this week, the ISD announced that it has detained a 14-year-old boy who was plotting a school attack.
WHY IS IT MORE DANGEROUS?
“For the individuals driven by CoVE, it is violence first, and ideology second. They will make their ideology fit their actions,” said S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) professor of security studies Rohan Gunaratna.
The rise of salad bar extremism reflects an important shift in the threat landscape, noted Associate Professor Razwana Begum, head of global security and strategy at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
“Traditionally, we tended to associate radicalisation with a single ideological movement,” she said.
However, individuals today are drawing from multiple sources, including conspiracy theories, anti-government sentiments, racial or religious hatred, geopolitical events, online communities and a fascination with previous attackers, she added.
This becomes dangerous as it is much harder to identify radicalised individuals, as they may not fit the traditional profile that security agencies, educators or even family members are familiar with, said Assoc Prof Razwana.
The 14-year-old in the recent case was radicalised by pro-ISIS thought, far-right extremism, including anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi narratives, white supremacy beliefs, and also violent gore and mass shooting content through the online True Crime Community.
RSIS associate research fellow Kenneth Yeo added that the “pick-and-choose nature” of such ideologies adds to the danger.
“Traditionally, there is an authoritative source of extremist ideology and counternarrative efforts could be directed towards it,” he said, noting that this does not really apply to salad bar ideologies where there is no need for coherence.
CoVE cannot be dealt with from a counter-ideological approach only, as it does not have a specific and relatively clear structure that can be deconstructed, analysed and countered, said RSIS dean Kumar Ramakrishna."
Teen who licked iJooz straw and returned it to vending machine gets S$600 fine (30 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A teenager who posted a video of himself licking a straw and returning it to an iJooz vending machine was fined S$600 (US$465) for public nuisance on Thursday (Jul 30).
The clip had gone viral after someone in his Instagram circle recorded it and forwarded the footage to a media outlet, the defence said.
Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, a 19-year-old French national, pleaded guilty to one count of public nuisance, with a second charge of mischief taken into consideration.
On Mar 12 this year, Maximilien attended a boxing session at Goldhill Centre.
After this, he went to an iJooz vending machine there and bought a drink.
He took a straw from the machine, licked about half of it and placed the contaminated straw back on the straw dispenser, filming the process.
He then collected the drink, took the contaminated straw and left.
Maximilien later edited the footage and uploaded it to Instagram.
The act caused iJooz to replace all 500 straws in the dispenser, worth S$5 in total, the charge states.
BOTH SIDES CALL FOR FINE
The prosecution was in agreement with the defence that a fine was suitable.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Maximilian Chew, who took over the case from a state prosecuting officer, said a fine would suffice because of Maximilien's youth and the circumstances of the case.
He left the quantum to the court's discretion.
The previous hearing had been adjourned for the prosecution to check the status of Maximilien's student pass on conviction.
"I understand that ICA will make that decision having regard to all relevant considerations including circumstances of the case and the outcome of today's proceedings," said Mr Chew.
He added that the prosecution's sentencing position is therefore independent of the outcome of Maximilien's student pass."
Singapore expert panel recommends targeting harmful social media features instead of imposing age bans (30 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Social media platforms should be made safer for young people by addressing potentially harmful design features rather than imposing blanket age-based restrictions, an expert panel has recommended.
The Ministry of Health (MOH), which convened the panel in September 2025 to examine the impact of social media use on young people's mental health, announced on Thursday (Jul 30) that it had submitted its report to the government.
In its report, the panel "considered the evidence on the potential negative impact of problematic social media use on young people’s mental health, weighed against the possible benefits that social media may bring", said MOH.
"On balance, the panel is of the view that the cost of inaction is too high."
It recommended "a precautionary and proactive approach" to regulating social media use among young users, MOH said.
The panel noted: "Definitive causal links between problematic social media use and adverse mental health outcomes have not yet been established, and conclusive causal evidence may take years to emerge.
"However, the evidence of association is clear and sufficient to act on - many jurisdictions have already done so in some form, recognising that waiting for certainty is not a responsible option."
The Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health was commissioned to review the international evidence base. This informed the expert panel's deliberations and underpinned the recommendations it set out, MOH said.
The panel is co-chaired by Institute of Mental Health chief Dr Lim Choon Guan and Associate Professor Lee Jungup at the National University of Singapore's department of social work.
ADDRESS RISKS, RATHER THAN A BLANKET BAN
The panel acknowledged that countries including Australia, France, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Indonesia have moved to raise the minimum age for access to social media.
Most of these moves seek to ban users under the age of 16 from accessing platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. France's proposed legislation targets users under the age of 15.
"The panel acknowledges the intent behind such measures, but is concerned that blanket age-based restrictions do not distinguish between harmful and beneficial uses of social media, and risk being counterproductive should young people easily circumvent age restrictions," said MOH.
"A more durable and proportionate response" is preferred to make social media safer by design for young people, rather than simply deferring the onset of its use, it added.
The recommendation is broadly in line with the government's recent approach.
Earlier this month, Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo said at a forum on child online safety that restricting social media access was "not the starting point" and "not the preferred outcome".
In May, Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Rahayu Mahzam said in parliament that Singapore's approach was “more demanding, more rigorous” than a blanket ban."
New Curiosity Credits could help self-help groups offer more enrichment programmes for niche interests (30 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Singapore self-help groups (SHGs) said the new Curiosity Credits could unlock a wider range of enrichment programmes for youths by pooling demand for niche interests.
These could include courses such as culinary arts and speech and drama, which may otherwise be difficult to offer because of low enrolment.
The scheme aims to help youths pursue non-academic interests, pick up new hobbies and make friends outside of school.
For a start, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth will work with the self-help groups to provide S$500 (US$380) in credits to youths aged 13 to 17 who receive support from them.
The four ethnic-based SHGs are the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), Mendaki, the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) and the Eurasian Association. These groups were set up to uplift the underprivileged in their communities.
The list of eligible programmes is still being finalised. The National Youth Council said more details will be announced at a later date.
SPARKING NEW INTERESTS
Organisations that run enrichment programmes said the credits could help expose more youths to activities they might otherwise not have the opportunity to try, such as robotics and sailing.
Coding school The Lab hopes to offer its classes under the new initiative after previously partnering with the CDAC.
Its co-founder Adelene Fong said the goal is to spark youths' curiosity and encourage them to continue learning independently, with many of the coding platforms used in class being open source and freely accessible.
“What we really want to do is to make sure we trigger their interest,” she added.
“Most of our classes, the platform that we choose, especially for the older kids, are open source. It's technically free. So they can go beyond just attending this class...they can go home and just try it out.”
Ms Fong said some life skills, such as logical thinking, cannot be developed in traditional classroom settings or learned from textbooks.
The School of Robotics is also keen to come on board.
Its past programmes with SINDA showed that even youths with little initial interest in coding later discovered a passion for robotics.
“They were very fascinated about what robotics is capable of,” said School of Robotics CEO Stephen Zhuo.
“So especially when they build a project through their imagination and make it alive, (that) would actually interest them.”
Beyond technology, the credits could also lower barriers to trying sports such as sailing, where introductory courses can be costly.
The Singapore Sailing Federation said there is strong interest in its introductory courses and is exploring using the scheme to allow more youths to experience the sport.
“This is a chance for a lot of our children to experience the open waters. Some of them, after they spend an hour or two with us, want to continue learning how to sail,” said its CEO Leslie Tan.
“I would be happy to work with any organisation that wants to give children who may not otherwise get a chance to try and see what it's like to go out and enjoy the open waters.”
Commentary: The value of men’s book clubs amid the male loneliness epidemic (31 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: “I would like a strong and independent woman as a partner. But if she is already strong and independent, why would she want to date someone like me?”
A participant said this at a book club I hosted to about a dozen other men in attendance. We were discussing Inheritance by local author Balli Kaur Jaswal, a decades-spanning story following a Punjabi family as they navigate changing identities and a modernising Singapore.
I was glad that he was honest about his feelings. Many of us would have trouble expressing such private thoughts, especially to people we’re meeting for the first time.
Yet the conversation flowed freely as we used the characters’ experiences as a launchpad into our views on shifting expectations around familial and romantic relationships in Singapore society.
This was a typical session of my men’s book club, which explores depictions of masculinity and male issues such as fatherhood, social isolation and incel culture. I believe such discussions can function as valuable spaces for men, particularly at a time when male mental health is in the spotlight.
THE MALE LONELINESS EPIDEMIC
Much has been made of a “male loneliness epidemic”. A 2020 NUS study showed that elderly men (aged 61 to 96) were twice as likely as women to be “socially disconnected”. A 2023 IPS poll found that youths aged 21 to 34 were more likely to report higher levels of loneliness than other age groups, suggesting that many young men may also be experiencing loneliness.
From 2019 to 2024, male suicide rates in Singapore have consistently been higher than women’s, in line with international trends. Singapore men are also less likely to seek mental health services than women, despite being more likely to experience a mental disorder in their lifetime.
These are occurring against amid debates about toxic masculinity and the “manosphere”, an internet subculture featuring hypermasculine male content creators pushing ideas of traditional gender roles as a route to self-improvement.
Amid a rise in social isolation and harmful online content, there is a need for men to talk about their issues in a healthy way.
THE NEED FOR MEN’S BOOK CLUBS
In late 2025, I co-founded the Modern Man’s Book Club. My co-founder Zubin Jain and I had noticed that book clubs in Singapore were predominantly attended by women. It was not clear to us why this was so - book clubs are open to all, and there isn’t an intuitive reason why men would read less than women.
While there are no conclusive studies on why this happens, one explanation could be that women may view book clubs as a social activity and invite their friends, resulting in book club attendances skewing majority female. These book clubs may then fly under the radar for many men, or those who attend, find that they may not relate to the issues being discussed.
We saw a potentially underserved audience and decided to start a book club for men who may already be reading or want to read more, but lack an outlet to share their thoughts about the books they read.
The response has been heartening. From just a handful in our first two sessions, we now regularly have around 15 to 20 participants at each session, with both returning and first-time attendees. While our book club is open to all genders as we believe everyone is affected by the issues we talk about, men now outnumber women at our sessions.
What has surprised me most is the free-flowing nature of these conversations. While Zubin and I prepare handouts with discussion prompts for participants, on almost every occasion, the discussion takes on a life of its own after our introductory question to the group. So much for the stereotype that men do not talk about themselves.
The conversation tangents that participants embark on are also varied. In our discussion of the 2025 Booker Prize winner Flesh by David Szalay, some shared their frustrations with the protagonist’s portrayal as an emotionally detached character with monosyllable dialogue."
‘Literally born into it’: Given up for adoption at birth, Anita Fam found her life's purpose in helping others (31 July 2026)
"Anita Fam still remembers the day her brother awkwardly handed her a brown envelope. “Anita’s documents”, it said in her mother’s handwriting.
That was 2014. Fam’s father had recently passed away. While clearing the family house, Fam’s brother found the envelope in the safe.
It contained Fam’s original birth certificate and an adoption petition.
“I've known I was adopted since probably the age of five,” said the 63-year-old. “I vaguely remember my mum coming to my bedside and telling me.”
But this was the first time Fam was seeing her original birth certificate. There was a section in it that listed an unmarried 19-year-old woman from a small town in Johor, Malaysia, as her birth mother. Where her birth father’s name should be, there was nothing but a dash.
The address? Not a hospital. Not a home. It simply noted: “Care of Salvation Army Singapore”.
Decades later, Fam, the president of the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), helped shape Singapore’s hundreds of social service agencies, including The Salvation Army.
“When I shared my birth story with The Salvation Army folks, they said that my roots are in social service – I was literally born into it,” Fam said.
As Fam steps down from her presidency on Jul 31, 2026, she reflects on her journey.
THE FULL-TIME VOLUNTEER
Surprisingly, Fam does not know her birth name. “I didn’t even look at it (on my birth certificate). It didn’t matter to me,” she told CNA Women.
Her father’s family had a strong culture of adoption – many of her cousins were adopted – so she accepted her being adopted as a “natural thing”.
She grew up in a privileged household and loving family, she said, and became a lawyer.
In 1994, she had just made junior partner in a law firm when a family friend invited her to sit on the board of the Asian Women’s Welfare Association (AWWA) and do pro bono legal work. She did for three years.
Then in 1999, she gave birth to her eldest daughter. Fam, who described herself as “not the world’s most maternal”, simply loved being a mum.
She was then an in-house finance lawyer at an American multinational. She took two months’ maternity leave – standard at that time – then extended it to four months. Then, she converted to a part-time role, taking conference calls in the dead of the night while breastfeeding her baby.
But when she realised she was not giving her best to either work or family, on Dec 31, 1999, Fam resigned to become a full-time mum.
But it would not be just changing diapers and supervising play time for Fam.
Less than a month later, the same family friend roped her in as a volunteer to help children with physical disabilities integrate into mainstream schools. She became vice-chairperson of AWWA’s Teach Me programme, which provided therapy and education assistance, and introduced the students to sports.
A few months later, in September, heavily pregnant with her second child, Fam became chairperson of the programme. Later, she also chaired TM Services, AWWA’s umbrella for programmes supporting children and youth with physical disabilities and additional needs, and launched a job-readiness programme that offered vocational training and internships for youths.
“Today, the pressure is to get five or six internships in the pocket. But in those days, internships (for students in institutes of higher learning) weren’t a thing,” she recalled. Fam knew this would give these youths an edge in the job market.
Many of today’s most recognisable disability advocates passed through her programmes, including Paralympians Yip Pin Xiu, Theresa Goh and Jovin Tan.
“I watched them grow up. And they left their mark (on me) because of their drive, resilience and clarity (of purpose),” she said.
FROM VOLUNTEER TO SECTOR LEADER
In part, this experience inspired Fam to devote herself to volunteering. By 2010, she was serving on more than 10 boards and committees, working across diverse social issues including healthcare, palliative care, disability and autism support – all unpaid.
“I used to tell everyone I haven’t worked since the end of last century,” mused Fam. “My husband corrects me. I just haven’t been paid since the last century, he says.”
It was also in 2010 that Fam was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat). Her doctor believed it was because her workload was too heavy, and she had to leave more than half the boards, Fam said.
But she continued volunteering. And in 2016, she was appointed to co-chair a task force with the then-NCSS president to steer Singapore’s social service sector for the next five years.
The roadmap the task force developed identified four priorities – to empower individuals and families, build stronger communities, strengthen organisational capabilities and develop the ecosystem. The vision was for every person to be empowered to live with dignity in a caring and inclusive society.
Two years later, she was offered the role of president at NCSS."
Caterer Gourmetz charged over River Valley gastroenteritis incident that left 60 students ill (31 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Catering company Gourmetz was charged in court on Wednesday (Jul 29) over food safety offences linked to the River Valley Primary School gastroenteritis incident in January, which left 60 students ill.
Authorities said in a statement on Jan 16 that most of the affected students had returned to school, except for four who recovered at home. No one was hospitalised.
River Valley Primary School is one of 13 schools under the new central kitchen meal model, with Gourmetz operating its school canteen.
The company faces six charges over alleged offences committed on Jan 16 and Jan 28 in relation to food storage, false labelling, bacterial contamination and maintenance of a licensed food establishment.
According to court documents, the company had allegedly stored sauce in a dirty blue thermal tub in its processed vegetable chiller room on Jan 16.
The company is also accused of storing marinated chicken on a dirty trolley that had accumulated food stains in the meat chiller room.
The company is further accused of failing to ensure its licensed food establishment was properly maintained and kept clean. The rubber gasket of the meat chiller room door was purportedly damaged and the ceiling of the processed vegetable chiller room was allegedly dirty with black spots.
Ready-to-eat steamed chicken rice and garlic fried rice sets produced by Gourmetz were allegedly found to contain Bacillus cereus, a type of bacteria that causes food poisoning at levels exceeding permissible limits.
The company is also accused of using false labels on bento sets on Jan 28. The meals were labelled "ready by 8.30am" even though they had allegedly been packed and ready at about 6.48am.
It also allegedly stored raw marinated chicken on dirty plastic pallets and kept frozen pastries uncovered in a raw material freezer."
Missing Singaporean woman who unexpectedly left for Cambodia found safe (31 July 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A 20-year-old Singaporean woman who became uncontactable after unexpectedly travelling to Cambodia has been found, police said on Friday (Jul 31).
Ms Aishah Siregar, who was last heard from by her family on Tuesday, “has been found safe by the Cambodian National Police”, said the Singapore Police Force (SPF).
“We have reached out to our Cambodian National Police counterpart to obtain more information and to render further assistance as appropriate,” SPF said.
The police said that the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Singapore Embassy in Phnom Penh are providing consular support to her family.
“The police express appreciation to the Cambodian authorities for their prompt assistance,” SPF added.
Ms Aishah’s last message to her mother said she was going to school on Tuesday morning. According to their family’s helper, Ms Aishah was last seen leaving the house in a light grey hoodie and grey pants.
However, when her family prepared to pick her up as usual, they discovered that her WhatsApp and Telegram accounts had been deleted, her older brother Syafiq Siregar told CNA on Friday afternoon.
Ms Aishah’s phone line was also dead when they attempted to call her.
The family returned home to find her passport missing and lodged a police report. They later discovered a flight itinerary in her emails for a trip to Cambodia on Tuesday afternoon.
Other emails showed she had transferred hundreds of dollars to an unknown figure over the past few days. While the family has never seen or spoken to the person, Mr Syafiq said their name matches that of an online friend his sister had been gaming with for over a year.
“We heard her call out the name (before),” he said. “She played every day, so all of us heard that she has been playing games with this person.”
“We know of this person. But we have never seen, we have never heard him speak at all. But we know that she’s playing games with this person.”
The transactions have raised the family’s fears that Ms Aishah was lured to Cambodia by a scammer. The country has emerged as a hub for scam compounds, which are known for luring and trapping individuals to carry out scams on their behalf.
“MY SISTER IS NOT LIKE THIS”
Mr Syafiq said Ms Aishah’s sudden departure for Cambodia was uncharacteristic of her, describing his sister as obedient and someone who never caused issues.
“My sister is not like this. She has never run away from home. She's not rebellious,” he said. “We have a very close bond as a family.”
He said his mother was “distraught” and found it difficult to work as usual. “All of us here are just trying to do as much as we can to get as much information.”
News of Ms Aishah’s disappearance began circulating on social media after a user posted on Instagram asking for any leads on her whereabouts.
“Our family is very worried, and every minute that passes feels so long,” said the user, identifying himself as Ms Aishah’s father.
“As a father, I am begging for your help. I just want my daughter to come home safe,” he wrote.
Mr Syafiq said late on Friday that he, on behalf of his family, thanked Cambodian Ambassador to Singapore Sok Khoeun, the Cambodian Embassy in Singapore and the Cambodian police for the “fast response and actions in helping us find our sister”."
Distrust, anger, disruptions: Incarcerated parents on the struggle to rebuild family ties after release (31 July 2026)
"When Ms Samsiah Samsudin was first arrested, the youngest of her four children was just eight months old.
Now 49 and working as a driver transporting passengers for a logistics company, she recalled her foremost concern then: "I was very worried. I knew my husband could not look after the children."
She said her now ex-husband had been abusive throughout their marriage, and although she had asked her parents for help, her relationship with her siblings and family "wasn't strong".
In the end, her children remained largely in her ex-husband's care, with some support from her family. At first, he took them to visit her, but stopped about three years into her five-year sentence for a drug-related offence.
Even though a social service agency helped to coordinate visits with her family, her once-close relationship with her children fractured.
Reconnecting with her third son upon her release in 2019 was particularly hard. He was just 11 when she entered prison and nearly 17 when she was released.
"He was already a teenager, so he tended to rebel. When I tried to talk to him, he kept saying I lied to him, I left him – so it's quite painful," Ms Samsiah said, her voice choking with emotion.
"If I made a little mistake, he would say things like, 'This is what you get for leaving me'."
Since her release, Ms Samsiah has received support from several social service agencies, most recently being connected with the Women In Recovery Association (WIRA), a charity assisting female drug ex-offenders in their rehabilitation journey.
Through its Procare befriending programme and support group, she learnt to better manage conflicts with her son and regain her confidence as a mother.
For parents such as Ms Samsiah, working on staying in touch with family and restoring relationships – especially with their children – can be difficult during imprisonment.
And the pain and reconciliation do not end there.
Even after their release, rebuilding trust with their families can be a long and trying process, complicated by the years of separation that have altered their roles and relationships.
Experts who have worked with ex-offenders said that a family member's imprisonment can destabilise a household in many ways.
These include the financial strain of losing a breadwinner, coping with complex feelings of anger, shame and disappointment towards a loved one, and the social stigma that leads some families to withdraw from their communities.
Some families also expect ex-offenders to fall back into their old roles immediately after release.
Others are not ready to reconnect, however genuine the efforts are by the ex-offenders to make amends.
THE EFFORTS TO KEEP FAMILIES TOGETHER
For inmates hoping to remain close to their children, their willingness to stay connected can run up against practical limits.
Inmates are allowed to write not more than four e-letters each month – with just one face-to-face visit a month for those serving prison sentences and those in drug rehabilitation centres.
Mr Roy Leng, the head of Allkin Restorative Service, said that even a shorter jail term may coincide with a significant period of a child's development.
For example, there may be changes in how they communicate, which can then be difficult for parents to catch up.
Allkin Restorative Service is a support programme for individuals and families affected by incarceration, under the social service agency Allkin Singapore.
For 45-year-old Daniel (not his real name), who spoke on condition of anonymity, what hurts is missing out on his four-year-old daughter's milestones.
He was sentenced when she was a newborn and is expected to be released in August after being in jail since 2023 for drug-related offences.
"I was not there when she took her first steps," he said. "Doesn't matter if it's playing with her at home, accompanying her at the playground or sending her to school – I want to be present. I've so much lost time to make up for."
My dad always opens the door for others. It took me decades to fully understand why (31 July 2026)
"Growing up, I thought every dad was like mine.
I don't remember my mum ever opening a door herself. Whether it was entering a restaurant or coming home, before her hand could even reach the handle, Dad would already be there. Getting out of the car, he'd walk around and open her door.
And he doesn't do this just for my mum.
If there's someone walking behind him – an old uncle, a young kid or someone he's never met before – he'll naturally hold the door open, too.
To him, it's simply the right thing to do. To me, it's just something I assumed to be normal.
It wasn't until I started hearing my friends talk about their own parents and venturing into the dating pool myself, that I realised not every husband treats his wife like this.
I had simply been lucky enough to grow up believing this was what every marriage looked like.
And looking back, I see my dad had been teaching me these lessons about love even before I understood what they meant.
WHAT MY FATHER TAUGHT ME ABOUT LOVE
One of my earliest memories with Dad was when I was around four years old.
He was holding my hand while we were walking along a pavement. Out of nowhere he said: "Son, one day it won't be my hand you're holding. It'll be someone very special to you."
Then he moved me to the outside of the pavement, which was closest to the roadside. "When that day comes, always let her walk on the inside."
I asked him why. "So if a car comes, it'll hit you instead of her," he said.
I burst out laughing. It sounded so dramatic to me then, even though it turns out that this act of etiquette dates back centuries in Europe.
Only years later did I realise that when he taught me that, it wasn't a lesson on walking. It was about how your instinct should be to protect the one you love from anything and everything, big or small.
When I started dating, I found myself doing the same thing without even thinking about it, nudging my date to the inside of the pavement while I placed myself on the outside.
Some of my friends laughed at me. "You think what? How many cars actually crash into people every day?"
They may be right. But to me, that was never the point. It was just my small way of telling the person I'm walking with: "I've got you."
Some lessons from my dad took me even longer to understand.
My parents weren't perfect. They had their fair share of disagreements. But one thing remained constant: Dad always apologised first.
It baffled me, especially as I grew out of childhood. It wasn't as if he was wrong all the time.
When I asked him why, he simply said: "Cut your losses."
I laughed. "What does that even mean?"
"Son, if I win this argument, your mum still won't be happy. And when she isn't happy, the whole family isn't."
Honestly, I thought it was nonsense. If you're right, you're right. Why apologise?
It took me years to understand that Dad wasn't saying one person should always give in. He was saying that sometimes protecting the relationship is more important than protecting your pride.
To be fair, Mum apologised plenty of times too. It wasn't a one-sided relationship where Dad was always the one giving in.
But Dad always made the first move, not because he had done something wrong, but because he didn't want the misunderstanding or fight to hurt the relationship.
In his mind, saying sorry didn't necessarily mean "I was wrong". It just meant "I love you more than I love being right".
Looking at Mum and Dad now after all these years, I think that's what has kept their marriage so strong. Neither of them ever saw apologising as losing. They saw it as choosing each other."
TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi urges NTU doctoral graduates to 'actively seek the unknown' at conferment ceremony (1 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: TikTok chief executive officer Chew Shou Zi on Saturday (Aug 1) urged doctoral graduates to "actively seek the unknown" and apply their "superpower" to address real world problems.
In a 10-minute speech at a graduation ceremony for PhD students at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the 43-year-old Singaporean spoke about his upbringing in Yio Chu Kang and his early encounters with technology, his academic journey from Hwa Chong Institution to Harvard Business School, and climbing the corporate ladder to eventually lead the social media platform.
The ceremony is part of NTU's 2026 convocation. This year, more than 14,000 students from the class of 2026 - the largest batch in the university's history - will graduate across 29 ceremonies.
A total of 575 graduates received their doctorate degrees across two ceremonies on Saturday, with Mr Chew addressing those who attended the first ceremony in the morning.
Noting that the graduates are entering the workforce in a time of "massive structural change", Mr Chew said it is time for them to take the lead as they enter a new and uncharted era of artificial intelligence.
"We see it every single day, and an unprecedented big picture innovation era. This is a pivotal and exciting point in history - where change is not constant, but exponential and compounding."
He advised the doctoral graduates to "actively seek out the unknown".
"You've just spent years earning a PhD, proving that you already know how to push the boundaries of human knowledge. Now, take that superpower and apply it to the messy, ambiguous problems of the real world.
"Seek out rooms where you are the least experienced person in them. Embrace uncertainty because that is where meaningful innovation happens. As you go out there, rely on the network of brilliant peers sitting around you today, because they are your community," he said.
The community will remind them of their purpose and reflect what they are truly capable of, added Mr Chew.
"So as you leave this university, keep that curiosity that first opened the map for you. Wherever this extraordinary educational passport takes you next, above all, remember to protect your creativity and to protect your joy, because you are the generation that will build the next era of positive innovation."
More students can pursue mother tongue languages under expanded programme from 2027 (1 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: More students will be able to pursue the study of mother tongue languages and literature at an advanced level from 2027, as the Ministry of Education (MOE) expands its Mother Tongue Language Elective Programme.
Education Minister Desmond Lee announced this at the 14th Mother Tongue Languages Symposium on Saturday (Aug 1), with the expansion aimed at giving more students opportunities to deepen their language proficiency and appreciation of culture and literature.
From 2027, MOE will broaden access to the Tamil language elective programme at both the secondary and junior college levels through a centre-based approach at the Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre.
This is in addition to the two junior colleges - Anderson Serangoon and National - and three secondary schools - Commonwealth, Riverside and Yishun Town - currently offering it. The move will allow students from schools that do not currently offer the programme to participate and provide a clearer pathway for such students going from secondary school to junior college.
The Chinese language elective programme at the junior college level will be expanded to a sixth school, Anderson Serangoon Junior College.
MOE will also expand the Malay (Special Programme), which allows students whose mother tongue language is not Malay to learn it as a third language, and gain an understanding of the Malay community in Singapore and regionally.
From 2027, National Junior College will become the programme's fifth centre, enabling more students to take up Malay as a third language.
"We want to create pathways for students who want to learn mother tongues more deeply," said Mr Lee."
Missing Singaporean woman found in Cambodia says she was not forced into scam activities (1 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A 20-year-old Singaporean woman who was found safe in Cambodia after she was reported missing said on Saturday (Aug 1) that she travelled there of her own accord to work as an English teacher, denying that she had been forced or was involved in criminal activities.
In a video released after Cambodian police located her in the country, Ms Aishah Siregar said she left Singapore because she found life stressful and wanted to "find my own path".
"It is entirely my choice," she said, adding that she had not been forced or scammed into travelling to Cambodia.
"To clarify once again, I have not been involved or been forced to partake in any scamming activities or any criminal activities," she added in a video statement obtained by CNA from Cambodian authorities.
The one-minute video, taken at the Phnom Penh Municipal Police Headquarters, was released after Singapore police on Friday said Cambodian authorities had found Ms Aishah safe in the country.
Cambodia's Ministry of Interior also reportedly said she told investigators that she had travelled to the country because of personal family issues and had deliberately cut off communication with her family after leaving Singapore.
Citing findings by the Secretariat of the Commission for Combating Online Scams, the Khmer Times reported that she left Singapore on Jul 28 aboard Emirates flight EK-348 and arrived at Techo International Airport later that day.
Before she went missing, Ms Aishah’s last message to her mother said she was going to school.
However, when her family prepared to pick her up as usual, they discovered that her WhatsApp and Telegram accounts had been deleted. Her phone line was also dead when they attempted to call her.
The family returned home to find her passport missing and lodged a police report. They later discovered a flight itinerary in her emails for a trip to Cambodia.
It raised the family’s fears that Ms Aishah was lured to Cambodia by a scammer, and the family appealed publicly for help."
Woman, 20, charged with trafficking minor for sex; 8 men charged with paying girl for sex (3 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A 20-year-old woman was charged on Monday (Aug 3) with trafficking a 16-year-old girl for sexual exploitation and receiving S$1,435 (US$1,120) from the process.
The Singaporean woman is also accused of using Telegram to facilitate the provision of sexual services by a 16-year-old girl and living on the earnings of her sex work.
The names of the accused woman and the alleged victim cannot be published due to gag orders issued by the court. Court records indicate that the accused and the alleged victim were occupants in the same shelter.
Eight men were also charged with obtaining or attempting to obtain the sexual services of a 16-year-old girl by paying her money ranging from S$30 to S$150.
This allegedly occurred in February 2024 at places like a toilet for the handicapped, staircase landings and in parked vehicles.
They are all Singaporean men: Muhammad Ngasri Sengngari, 35; Wilfred Ang Shui Lai, 34; Irham Hussaini Mohamad Hussain, 24; Muhamad Haziq Bakatiar, 23; Muhammad Ameerulah Noor Mohamed, 27; Syahirul Daud Abdul Razak, 26; Muhammad 'Aizat Khalis Daud, 38; and Fazal Hanafi Abdul Hameed Chaudhry, 41.
The accused woman also allegedly worked with another unidentified person to deceive three people on Telegram into paying for sexual services that were not provided.
The police said in a statement that they had arrested all nine people after investigating the sexual exploitation of two minors who were below the age of 18 at the time.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the 20-year-old woman had allegedly exploited both victims by facilitating their provision of paid sex and profiting from the arrangements.
The identities of the eight men were established via follow-up investigations."
Singapore must prepare workers for more job changes and continuous retraining: Jeffrey Siow (3 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Singaporeans are likely to change jobs more frequently in future, and the government's focus will have to shift towards continuous retraining to help workers adapt, said Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow on Monday (Aug 3).
Speaking at a dialogue organised by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs – his first public engagement since being promoted to full minister last month – Mr Siow said younger Singaporeans are unlikely to follow the same career paths as previous generations.
"For many of us...where you work for one organisation and one job for a long time, that's not going to happen for my kid, not going to happen for the next generation of Singaporeans,” said Mr Siow, who is also second minister for finance and co-chairs the Economic Strategy Review committee on global competitiveness.
“It's more likely the case that you will take different jobs, try different things. You may have to change companies very often.”
This means the focus must shift from preparing people before they enter the workforce to helping them acquire new skills throughout their working lives, he added.
"The centre of gravity will shift from the pre-employment stage, away from schools, away from universities, to in-employment – when you are going for retraining more often, or when you are in between jobs, doing more training and reskilling and building up the capabilities to be able to adapt, to take up new jobs and to do new things," Mr Siow said.
He was responding to a question on the trade-offs Singapore would face in implementing the Economic Strategy Review (ESR), released in May with 32 recommendations to drive growth, jobs and resilience.
SMALLER WORKFORCE AS AN ASSET
Singapore's demographic constraints mean the country must place greater emphasis on developing its workforce, said Mr Siow.
"Our population is ageing very quickly. Our (total fertility rate) is abysmal," he said, adding that this would mean "a more highly skilled workforce, but a much smaller one".
Rather than treating this purely as a constraint, Singapore could invest more intensively in each worker, he said.
“With a smaller Singaporean base, actually I can invest more per person, train them more, train them more intensively, build the structure to enable them to get access to reskilling resources more quickly, help companies, incentivise them to retrain Singaporeans and prioritise those efforts.
"That is something not many cities or countries can do."
Singapore already has a headstart with SkillsFuture, Mr Siow said, and doing more in this area would help the country overcome its manpower constraints."
Man in secret sexual 'relationship' with 13-year-old niece for almost 2 years, gets jail for rape (3 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: In getting into a sexual relationship with his 13-year-old niece, a man sexually exploited her, raped her during staycations and "punished" her with sex acts when he grew jealous about a schoolmate she was dating.
The 38-year-old Singaporean man, who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, was sentenced to 21 years' jail and 16 strokes of the cane on Monday (Aug 3).
He pleaded guilty to six charges that included statutory rape and sexual assault. Another 17 charges were considered in sentencing.
The court heard that the man was close to his brother, the victim's father.
At the time of the offences, the offender was in a relationship with a woman whom he later married in May 2024. However, they did not live together.
He lived with his grandmother until she died before getting his own home.
PAIR GREW CLOSER AFTER HER 13TH BIRTHDAY
When the victim was below the age of 13, her interactions with her uncle were limited to family gatherings and outings on special occasions.
In September 2022, the man took the victim out to celebrate her 13th birthday and she rode on his motorcycle.
She said she enjoyed it and wanted to do it again, so he took her out several days later for supper.
While out, the girl saw her ex-boyfriend and told her uncle that he had touched her sexually and that she did not take issue with it.
From that day onwards, the pair grew closer and the girl would visit her uncle after school.
On one occasion, he molested her and asked if that was what her ex-boyfriend did. Although the girl was shocked, she did not object or react.
From October 2022, the pair considered themselves a couple, exchanging romantic messages daily, kissing and engaging in sex acts.
On a family trip to Malaysia around November 2022, the man molested the girl while they were alone in his room.
During the girl's school holidays in the same month, the girl got permission from her parents to sleep over at her uncle's place.
His grandmother had died by that time and they were alone at home.
After drinking alcohol, they engaged in sex acts and the man tried to rape her but could not, but he did it the next morning on her agreement.
After this, the pair had sex about four times a week at the man's home.
He also went out to eat and shop with the victim, but avoided behaving intimately when their family members were around.
In 2023, the victim got permission from her parents to have a staycation with her uncle. He took along alcohol and toys and they had sex at a hotel.
They continued seeing each other in 2024, with the teenager visiting her uncle after school. The man joked about committing incest with her."
Understanding the road to online radicalisation: Why platforms like Roblox are only one part of the puzzle (4 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Gaming platform Roblox has come under the spotlight after it featured in recent cases involving self-radicalised youths in Singapore.
In May, a 14-year-old boy who was preparing to carry out a mass-casualty stabbing attack was arrested by the Internal Security Department (ISD).
In a separate case, another 14-year-old who recreated Islamic State attacks online was issued a restriction order in November.
In both cases, Roblox was one of several online spaces where the teenagers had been exposed to violent or extremist-related content.
Experts say this reflects a broader pattern, with the pathway to radicalisation often spanning multiple online platforms.
SEARCH FOR BELONGING
For some vulnerable teenagers, the process often begins with isolation.
“If you're isolated, you realise that you don't want to go out because you don't want to eat alone. You don't want to do things alone,” said Ms Pauline Phoon, founder of social enterprise COMEBACK and a member of Singapore's Media Literacy Council.
“When you're in Roblox...that loneliness is mitigated by the sense of being with others. And then you feel that you are accepted,” she said.
Experts say vulnerable teens may seek connection across multiple online platforms – from mainstream social media and gaming communities to private messaging channels – where they may become increasingly exposed to extremist content.
"From my experience engaging with radicalised youth, one factor that these youths have in common is a quest for significance,” said Mr Ahmad Helmi Mohamad Hasbi, senior research analyst at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) and a religious counsellor with the Religious Rehabilitation Group.
At the same time, these young people are lacking in confidence and self-esteem, he said.
WHY ROBLOX APPEALS
Ms Phoon said that sandbox games such as Roblox, which give players plenty of freedom without any predetermined goal, can be a creative space for people to explore.
“Look at all their characters – it’s all squarish, so that is actually kind of reflective of what Lego does to encourage creativity. You can create your own space, your own games, how you want to engage your friends and even the general public.”
These games can appeal to vulnerable youth who feel isolated and are searching for purpose, say experts.
Most Roblox experiences are unrelated to extremism, and the platform explicitly prohibits extremist content.
In response to CNA’s questions about how it handles extremist content, Roblox said it has artificial intelligence detection systems and monitoring teams in place. The company said it also works with law enforcement and safety organisations.
A search on the platform did not find terrorist training camps or school shooting simulators that were reportedly used by the self-radicalised youths, but CNA did find military simulation games, which recreate modern battlefields featuring trenches and drones.
Such games allow players to simulate tactics inspired by contemporary conflicts.
They can also provide players with clearly defined roles, objectives and a like-minded community to achieve them, which could appeal to isolated children looking for a sense of belonging."
SG Science Fest offers free entry to Science Centre with science shows and activities over National Day weekend (4 August 2026)
"Science fans have something to look forward to this National Day weekend. Science Centre Singapore is marking the long weekend with the SG Science Fest, a three-day event featuring science shows, hands-on activities and water-themed experiences.
Running from Aug 8 to 10, from 10am to 6pm daily, the festival is free for all Singaporeans and Permanent Residents. It features live science demonstrations, including a face-off between a human and a robot, alongside interactive experiments and water play zones.
Joining the festivities is Quby, the popular WhatsApp sticker character, who will appear throughout the festival as a guide through the various activities, photo spots and storytelling experiences.
This year's festival also adopts an ocean-themed setting, with programmes inspired by marine science. Visitors can take part in mystery-solving activities, water play experiences, and children's games with a marine-inspired twist.
Other hands-on stations explore marine science through activities such as testing ship buoyancy and examining coral fragments.
Families with young children can also visit SG Science Fest Juniors at KidsSTOP, which features storytelling sessions inspired by Singapore's maritime heritage, alongside opportunities to view specimens of local marine plants and animals. Tickets for the SG Science Fest Juniors bundle at KidsSTOP are priced at S$5 per adult and S$10 per child.
At the Omni-Theatre, visitors can catch films including Little Eve – Stories Of Planet Earth and Ocean Paradise, with tickets from S$9. During selected screenings of Earth: Our Only Home, 10-year-old musician Shayne, one of Singapore's youngest licensed buskers, will perform live alongside the planetarium presentation.
The Science Centre will also host food and play zones celebrating Singapore's heritage. The Bazaar at the Marquee will have booths on Singapore's local delicacies, alongside a community art installation. At the amphitheatre, visitors can try traditional childhood games such as chapteh and five stones.
For more information, those interested may visit the official Science Centre Singapore website."
Woman seeking S$1 million in child support from alleged father fails to get court-ordered DNA test (4 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A woman failed in her bid to get the court to order a DNA paternity test from a man she claims to be the father of her child, setting back her attempt to seek up to S$1 million (around US$780,000) in lump-sum maintenance from him.
In a judgment on Jul 30, District Judge Phang Hsiao Chung said that although the family court has the power to order a DNA test, this should be exercised sparingly in light of legitimate privacy concerns.
He added that in this case, the woman did not present enough evidence to obtain such an order.
Judge Phang also said that it was not enough for parties to know each other and have sexual relations.
"Otherwise, a promiscuous woman who conceives a child can, on the pretext of seeking maintenance for the child, apply to the court to order any man whom she has ever had sexual relations with to submit to DNA paternity testing, simply by making a bare allegation that she had sexual intercourse with that man around the time the child was conceived."
He added that the court must be satisfied that the woman and the man did in fact engage in sexual intercourse around the time the child was conceived before ordering the man to go for a DNA paternity test.
The woman, who was not named in the judgment as is usual for a family court ruling, gave birth to the child in May 2014.
She had married another man known only as "M" the year before, and he was listed as the father on the child's birth certificate.
In 2020, the woman and M obtained an interim judgment for divorce. They were granted joint custody of the child and a second child.
M was solely responsible for maintaining both children.
The woman then turned to the court to get what she claims is the real father of her child to pay child maintenance of S$8,926 a month, or a lump sum of S$1.07 million.
THE WOMAN'S ARGUMENTS
The woman, represented by Ms Diana Foo from law firm Legal Eagles, submitted to the court two slightly different accounts of what happened.
First, she said that she met the child's birth father around 2013 through a marriage-and-friendship introduction agency.
They developed a relationship and had sex at his home. The woman claimed that she had agreed to have premarital sex with the man because he said he was unmarried.
She also claimed that he was her only boyfriend at the time.
When she told the man about her pregnancy, expecting him to support her and the child, he denied responsibility, saying it was not possible that the child was his.
He later cut off all contact with her, she said. However, during her first trimester, the woman said that M supported her and she married him in August 2013.
She then put M as the father on the child's birth certificate because she could not put the real father's name, since he refused to acknowledge he was the biological father.
She added that she was in a state of emotional distress at the time, struggling with pregnancy and forming a rapport with M to get him to agree to being named as the father.
In the woman's second account of the events, she claimed that she met the father of her child in late 2012 instead, after she had broken up with M, whom she had known earlier.
She said they had sex about four times in 2013 at the man's home, with the last time being in August 2013.
She agreed to have sex with the man because he gave her the impression that he was serious about marrying and settling down with her.
After she got pregnant and the man cut off contact with her, she got back together with M.
In her second account, the woman said that even though M was responsible for solely maintaining the child after their divorce, she had been the child's primary caregiver and bore the costs of the child's upbringing.
She claimed that M was not the biological father of the child, providing a DNA paternity report that stated so.
However, she admitted that the samples were not collected under a strict chain of custody. This means there was no documented record showing who handled the samples from collection to testing.
The report itself stated that it could not verify patient names and sample origins."
Commentary: Has Singapore reached a 'when, not if' moment for school attacks? (5 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: It’s been drilled into us: A terror attack on Singapore is a matter of “when, not if”.
The disclosure on Jul 27 that three youths had been detained under the Internal Security Act for planning attacks in Singapore brought to light one particularly chilling case: A 14-year-old Secondary Two student was arrested in May, weeks before he intended to carry out a mass-casualty stabbing at his school during the June school holidays.
He had reportedly been influenced by Composite Violent Extremism (CoVE): a mixture of Islamic State propaganda, far-right extremism and fascination with mass shootings. The teen had prepared a 21-page manifesto detailing his attack plan and identified teachers and students as targets.
School attacks are not new, but a recent cluster of incidents suggests that they are no longer a predominantly American phenomenon.
In November 2025, a 17-year-old student allegedly detonated explosives in his Jakarta school, injuring 96 people. In February, an 18-year-old gunman stormed a school in southern Thailand, killing its principal and wounding a student. In June, two students aged 14 and 15 opened fire at a high school in the Philippines, killing three students and injuring at least 20 others.
The case of the 14-year-old boy inevitably raises a difficult question: If school attacks are not unthinkable, what does a “when, not if” mindset mean when it comes to keeping our children safe?
THE SECURITY PARADOX
School security is not only about preventing an attack. A school must be safe but also feel safe for it to function as a school.
The perception of a threat creates pressure for visible action. Once the learning environment is organised around fear, security begins to defeat its own purpose.
Mandatory bag checks and school drills against assailants may reassure students and parents that the danger is being taken seriously. Yet these same measures can make the threat feel more immediate.
Active-shooter drills, like those practised by millions of American students each year, illustrate this paradox: They may prepare students to respond during an attack, but they also require children to repeatedly imagine that a gunman could enter their classroom, which could institutionalise anxiety.
This underpins Senior Minister K Shanmugam’s response that we cannot “turn every school into a garrison”. Children should not be in an environment designed to remind them that they could be attacked.
WHAT DOES MEANINGFUL PREPAREDNESS LOOK LIKE?
The challenge, then, is how to strengthen security without allowing the machinery of security to dominate the experience of school.
This does not mean physical security is irrelevant. The key is to implement quiet layers of protection that make schools difficult to attack without making them difficult places for learning.
Schools need friendly but trained security personnel, sufficient CCTV coverage, sensible access controls and rehearsed evacuation procedures. These are invisible layers of security that could be masked as background routines to normalise habits without raising alarm.
Schools in Singapore already conduct emergency drills, such as fire, evacuation and lockdown drills – at least twice annually the Ministry of Education said in 2021 – for staff and students to rehearse the “run-hide-tell” principle. While these drills rehearse response against an active attacker, it should be approached in a calibrated manner to avoid making fear part of everyday school life.
Schools already have security measures in place, and each close call is a reminder that preparedness cannot become an exercise in simply going through the motions."
Meet the AI tutor helping polytechnic students learn better (5 August 2026)
"Developed by NCS and Ngee Ann Polytechnic, the curriculum-grounded tool tailors support to help students grasp module concepts faster and in greater depth.
For adult learners, the most difficult questions do not always arise during class or consultation hours. They may surface late at night, between work commitments or while revising independently.
At Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP), that challenge helped inspire AI Tutor, an artificial intelligence (AI) learning tool developed in partnership with NCS.
Designed as a 24/7 learning companion, AI Tutor helps students work through difficult concepts, reinforce understanding and progress at their own pace. For continuing education and training learners, many of whom hold full-time jobs and have limited opportunities to consult lecturers, this added support can make a difference.
“We saw an 8 to 10 per cent improvement in examination pass rates among students who used the tool, compared with a previous batch that did not,” said Ms Lynn Fong, senior director and registrar at NP and director of its Centre for Learning & Teaching Excellence.
“WHAT DIFFERENTIATES AI TUTOR IS THAT IT IS NOT JUST REACTIVE BUT PEDAGOGICALLY INTENTIONAL.” – MS LYNN FONG, SENIOR DIRECTOR AND REGISTRAR AT NGEE ANN POLYTECHNIC AND DIRECTOR OF ITS CENTRE FOR LEARNING & TEACHING EXCELLENCE
NOT JUST ANOTHER CHATBOT
At first glance, AI Tutor works much like a chatbot. Students type a question into a search bar and receive an instant response. The difference lies in how those responses are generated.
Rather than drawing broadly from across the internet, AI Tutor is grounded in NP’s course materials. This keeps responses aligned with what students are expected to learn, while reducing the risk of inaccurate, conflicting or irrelevant information that can surface with general-purpose AI tools.
“By anchoring AI Tutor in relevant materials, we guide learners in a structured and pedagogically sound way to arrive at an accurate conceptual understanding of the subject matter,” said Ms Fong. “Learners engage with ideas consistently, in line with what they are expected to analyse, apply and evaluate in the curriculum.”
The close partnership also helped the platform evolve in response to learners’ needs. NP and NCS found, for instance, that text alone was not sufficient when diagram- and circuit-based problems formed a key part of learning.
“We initially assumed text-based inputs would be sufficient, but feedback quickly showed otherwise,” said Mr Wong Boon Kiat, partner and practice lead of AI mission engineering at NCS. “That led us to build image upload capabilities so learners could submit diagrams, charts or problems and get meaningful explanations.”
Added Ms Fong: “The AI was engineered to break these visuals down into step-by-step explanations, helping learners to see how concepts connect.”.
“THE TOOL FREES EDUCATORS TO FOCUS ON THE MORE COMPLEX CONVERSATIONS THAT REQUIRE HUMAN JUDGMENT AND EXPERIENCE.” – MR WONG BOON KIAT, PARTNER AND PRACTICE LEAD OF AI MISSION ENGINEERING AT NCS
WHEN ANSWERS LEAD TO BETTER QUESTIONS
General-purpose AI tools can provide a wide range of information, but they may not always help students think through a problem. AI Tutor is designed to support the learning process rather than simply retrieve information.
Ms Fong said the tool guides learners from basic understanding towards analysis, synthesis and evaluation, skills that are important for those upskilling or moving into new careers.
At a foundational level, AI Tutor helps students quickly find relevant information from their course materials, clarify areas of difficulty and build understanding through follow-up questions.
The tool is also designed to encourage deeper thinking. When a student asks how a circuit works, for instance, AI Tutor can do more than provide an explanation. It may surface higher-order questions that prompt analysis and reflection, such as: “How can the superposition principle be applied to analyse the circuit?” This can help learners connect multiple concepts and think more critically about the topic.
The platform also supports more targeted revision. Students can generate personalised quizzes to test their understanding, followed by a performance summary that highlights strengths and areas for improvement. This lets them focus on what they have yet to master, rather than revisit entire sets of lecture notes."
Are words like 'supermum' and 'girl boss' doing women more harm than good? (5 August 2026)
"We use superlative language all the time. A bowl of noodles is extremely delicious. A massage, mind-blowing. A holiday, a once-in-a-lifetime experience – even if it’s just a regular holiday.
We use hyperbole when describing women too. Superwoman, supermum, girl boss, powerhouse, goddess, queen – it seems women are constantly "killing it" and exhibiting "main character energy".
It’s not uncommon to say “slay, queen” to a friend who got promoted at work or “you’re in your hot girl era” when she prioritises living for herself.
Dr Natalie Games, senior clinical psychologist at Alliance Counselling, said many of these terms began as expressions of encouragement and empowerment.
The problem is that they’ve become overused and that could be bad for women. Dr Games said it’s not the words themselves but what happens when they become identities women feel they must live up to.
“Labels like these can unintentionally reinforce perfectionism and conditional self-worth, where our value becomes tied to constantly performing, achieving or appearing resilient,” she explained.
“Research suggests that when people believe they must always be exceptional, they become more vulnerable to burnout, anxiety, shame and self-criticism,” she added.
Grace Loh, psychotherapist and executive coach at Grace PsyCap, said superlative labels create a moving benchmark of the woman who is always composed, productive and endlessly capable – and women then start comparing themselves to that imagined standard.
“At the same time, mental distress grows when there is a big gap between who I am right now and who I feel I should be,” Loh told CNA Women.
“Superlative language inflates those ‘shoulds’ and ideals, which are associated with higher levels of shame, guilt and depressive symptoms, particularly among women who already carry elevated self-standards.
“Over time, being human starts to feel like falling short,” Loh added.
WHEN EMPOWERING LANGUAGE TURNS HARMFUL
Loh pointed out that superlative labels can be used as mutual encouragement among friends or even to playfully tease each other. This creates a shared identity, which research has shown to be beneficial.
When women feel similar – rather than inferior – to the person they are comparing themselves with, it can boost their mood, said Loh.
“From a media perspective, superlative language has also been part of a broader post-feminist culture that encourages women to see themselves as powerful agents in control of their lives,” she added.
“In small doses and in safe communities, calling a friend superwoman or queen can be experienced as simple appreciation and solidarity.”
However, empowering language becomes harmful “when it shifts from a description of how a woman feels today to a prescription for how she must live every day”, said Loh.
Dr Annabelle Chow, clinical psychologist at Annabelle Psychology, said a useful litmus test for whether empowering language is harmful is: Does this label leave room for being human?
She explained: “If ‘girl boss’ means doing your best, it can feel affirming. If it means effortlessly balancing work, parenting, relationships, fitness, self-care and emotional well-being at all times and without struggle, it becomes an impossible standard.
“Many women are not distressed because they are failing. They are distressed because they are measuring themselves against unrealistic expectations.”
Four arrested after man allegedly abducted, threatened with parang (5 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Two men and two women, aged between 30 and 38, have been arrested for their suspected involvement in a case of abduction and possession of a scheduled weapon, police said on Wednesday (Aug 5).
The Singapore Police Force said in a news release it was alerted to a man being threatened by a group of people with a parang at a carpark along Canberra Street at about 1.55am on Tuesday.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim was confronted by the four persons due to a dispute over a car rental agreement, and the 38-year-old man from the group brandished a parang and threatened the victim,” police said.
The victim was then asked to sit in the front passenger seat of his vehicle and the 38-year-old man drove him to another location, while the other man, 36, sat in the rear.
Acting on information received, officers located the victim’s vehicle. When the 38-year-old man saw the police, he allegedly fled in the vehicle with the victim and the 36-year-old man as passengers.
Police gave chase, with the pursuit ending after the vehicle crashed into a lamppost at the junction of Woodlands Avenue 7 and Woodlands Avenue 10.
Following the collision, the 36-year-old man fled on foot while the 38-year-old man was arrested at the scene, with a parang recovered in his possession.
The 36-year-old man and two women, aged 30 and 38, were later separately arrested through follow-up investigations."
Reported discrepancies in O-Level English oral not technical in nature or result of malicious act: MOE (5 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The discrepancies reported in the recent GCE O-Level English oral examinations were not technical in nature nor the result of a deliberate or malicious act, Senior Minister of State for Education Janil Puthucheary said on Wednesday (Aug 5).
The issue arose after some candidates who sat for the exam on Jul 15 said the text prompt they saw on screen differed from what the oral examiner later read out to them.
This sparked complaints on social media, prompting the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) to investigate. SEAB said at the time that there was no discrepancy, as the same question had been shown to both candidates and examiners.
Responding to parliamentary questions on the discrepancies reported after the exam on Jul 15, Dr Puthucheary said some candidates may have experienced significant distress from the circumstances, which may have affected their ability to provide a suitable response.
Schools are working with these candidates to apply for special consideration, a process that reviews final subject grades for candidates whose performance was adversely affected by circumstances beyond their control.
“This is to ensure fair assessment. Each application will be evaluated on its merit,” said Dr Puthucheary.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) found no discernible pattern in the incidents: the 432 candidates who reported discrepancies came from 200 different oral examiner teams, with no particular order among the affected candidates, he said.
WHAT HAPPENED
For the oral exam, candidates first sit at a silent preparation station, viewing exam instructions, a text prompt and a video on a computer screen. After 10 minutes, they are then called to see the oral examiner, who reads out the same text prompt to start the presentation, with a second examiner also present.
Candidates have two minutes to deliver a planned response, followed by a discussion with the examiners on a topic based on the video clip.
“To be clear, the discrepancies reported were not about what the oral examiners asked. Only that the recollection of the text prompt at the preparation station was different from what the oral examiner read out,” Dr Puthucheary said.
All stations at the examination centres access the same approved, secure, encrypted material from the system, he added.
For this exam, the video showed street barbers at work, with the prompt: "Who do you think would go to a place like this for a haircut? Why do you say so?"
The reported discrepancies varied significantly, with different phrases recalled by different students, including some who took the exam at the same centre with the same examination team, Dr Puthucheary said.
Some candidates reported reading “Would you go...”, “Would you be interested...”, “Would you want...” or other variations, he added.
In its investigations, SEAB verified the exam material through system-level checks, logging into candidates' accounts to confirm the prompt and video they accessed.
It also reviewed digital logs of the material's authoring and delivery, as well as logs of what appeared on candidates' screens during preparation.
Investigations found that oral examiners and candidates accessed the same material at every centre, with no evidence of a system malfunction and no discrepancy between what was shown to candidates and examiners, Dr Puthucheary said.
All candidates’ and examiners’ accounts accessed only one source, and no cybersecurity incidents were detected."
NSF raped deaf and mute 13-year-old girl while pregnant wife was away, gets jail and caning (5 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A full-time national serviceman (NSF) who was absent without leave (AWOL) raped a deaf and mute 13-year-old girl when his pregnant wife left the flat to run errands.
The girl sent a phone text message to the wife for help and tried to struggle, but was overpowered by the man.
The 24-year-old Singaporean man, who cannot be named to protect the victim, was sentenced to 12 years and nine months' jail and 12 strokes of the cane on Wednesday (Aug 5).
He pleaded guilty to a charge each of aggravated statutory rape and being absent without leave. Another two charges were taken into consideration.
THE CASE
The accused knew the victim because he had attended secondary school with her older brother.
The victim was close to the accused's wife, who was the goddaughter of the victim's mother.
Before the offences, the victim met the accused only a few times and always with other people around.
They communicated through very basic sign language and gestures, or by typing on their phones.
On Nov 2, 2024, the victim's mother had to attend an event and arranged for the victim to stay over at the accused's two-room flat.
This was the victim's first time there.
The next morning, the offender's wife, who was four to five months' pregnant, left the flat to run errands and left the teenage girl alone with her husband.
He beckoned to the girl to go to the bedroom with him, where he asked her to have sex with him, despite knowing her age.
The victim communicated that she did not want to.
The man, who was 22 at the time, persisted by typing messages on her phone.
When she continued rejecting him, he offered to pay her.
He molested her and pulled her towards the bed.
The victim secretly texted his wife for help, saying her husband wanted to have sex with her.
The man then raped the teenager. She struggled to escape but was restrained by him.
When his wife returned and began unlocking the flat's door, he stopped his assault and told the girl to go to the toilet quickly to wash herself.
His wife confronted him and he lied that the girl had grown angry and taken a knife from the kitchen.
He claimed that he had showered and gone to the bedroom.
The victim did not tell the man's wife what had happened because she did not want to be the cause of their breakup, and the woman was pregnant.
That evening, the victim's mother picked her up and drove to another house where relatives noticed that the girl had injured her forearm and there was a love bite on her neck.
When questioned, the victim showed a photo of the offender to them and indicated that he had given her the love bite.
The victim's mother called the police on Nov 3, 2024, and they arrested the man that same day.
He also pleaded guilty to going AWOL. He was supposed to report for duty at the Civil Defence Academy on Oct 23, 2023, but failed to do so, remaining absent without leave until his arrest."
Primary 1 registration: Nearly half of all primary schools oversubscribed in Phase 2C (5 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Nearly half of all primary schools in Singapore are oversubscribed in Phase 2C of this year’s Primary 1 registration exercise, according to data on the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) website on Wednesday (Aug 5).
Of the 179 schools accepting students in this phase, 79 are oversubscribed. Of those that have more applicants than vacancies, 73 will go to the ballot.
Phase 2C is considered the most competitive phase and is open to all children. Forty places in each primary school are reserved for this phase.
The most oversubscribed school in this phase was Princess Elizabeth Primary School in Bukit Batok, with 159 students vying for 40 slots.
This was followed by Northland Primary School in Yishun, which drew 141 applicants for 42 places.
Nan Hua Primary School, Chongfu School and Rosyth School completed the top five.
Princess Elizabeth, Northland, Nan Hua and Chongfu were also among the top five last year.
Registration for this phase opened at 9am Jul 28 and closed at 4.30pm on Jul 30.
BALLOTING
In most cases, balloting is conducted when the number of applicants exceeds the number of vacancies. It takes place in any phase from Phase 2A to Phase 2C supplementary.
Priority admission into the school is given in this order: Singaporeans living within 1km of the school, Singaporeans living between 1km and 2km of the school, followed by Singaporeans living further than 2km from the school. Next come permanent residents in the same distance groups.
The next phase, 2C supplementary, is for children who have yet to be registered in a primary school.
The vacancies for the next phase will be updated by 1pm on Aug 11."
WP asks for 'updated growth model' that benefits workers; govt says approach 'always built around Singaporeans' (5 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The Workers' Party (WP) on Wednesday (Aug 5) called for an updated growth model that will benefit Singapore workers, whereas the People's Action Party (PAP) government said the current approach has delivered good results to generations of people in Singapore.
Members of Parliament from both sides of the aisle spoke during a debate on a motion tabled by WP Members of Parliament Kenneth Tiong (WP-Aljunied) and Jamus Lim (WP-Sengkang) on an "economy of the future" that works for all Singaporeans.
Mr Tiong called for an updated growth model in his speech - one that "cares not only about the headline gross domestic product (GDP) growth figure, but the structure of growth".
He asked for an “honest” measurement and prioritisation of what matters from growth, which includes accounting for how much Singapore workers, owners and entrepreneurs have contributed to the national income.
WP chief Pritam Singh reiterated the party’s call for retrenchment support, saying it was time to legislate minimum retrenchment benefits.
"This legislative omission in our employment laws sits in stark contrast to the reality our workers face, as set out by the ESR report," he said, referring to the Economic Strategy Review which released its final report on Jun 24.
Responding to the WP’s motion, Minister for Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Tan See Leng said in his speech that financial support during unemployment or retraining gives workers and families “breathing space” but this must be connected to a pathway forward for the worker.
The objective must be to help each individual return confidently to sustainable work and not merely make unemployment more bearable, he said.
He added: “We will not be able to promise that every job will remain unchanged. I don't think we can, or should we even try to … hold back technology merely to freeze rules in place.”
But the government will help workers prepare earlier, acquire relevant capabilities, find credible next steps, and navigate change without being left alone.
“That is how a worker obtains a lasting share of economic success, not only through compensation after disruption, but through the enduring ability to contribute, to earn, to adapt, and to progress,” said Dr Tan.
Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance Jeffrey Siow said the government’s economic strategy has “always been built around Singaporeans” whether as workers, professionals, investors, entrepreneurs or business owners.
“Economic growth has never been an end in itself. It is a means to an end – to create better jobs, higher incomes and better lives for Singaporeans. And by that measure, Singapore's economic model has delivered to generation after generation of Singaporeans,” said Mr Siow, who co-chairs the ESR committee on global competitiveness.
AN "UPDATED" GROWTH MODEL
Mr Siow was responding to Mr Tiong’s opening speech in the motion, who had urged the government for "significant" reforms to Singapore’s present economic structure to pursue a fairer distribution of growth.
Mr Tiong said while it is "acceptable" as an exigency to grow first and then redistribute this growth through vouchers and rebates, over the medium and long-term, there should be a fair distribution produced by economic growth itself.
Hence, Singapore needs an economic engine that is driven by dynamic local companies, healthy domestic demand, and with Singaporeans and Singaporean capital venturing abroad, he said.
"Only when Singaporeans thrive, and believe the ladders of opportunity are fair to all, can this country be open," said Mr Tiong.
To this end, he called for the government to "measure what makes that growth worth having", adding that this includes a fair share of national income, real income growth in line with productivity, and a widening range of what an ordinary wage can afford."
WP presses for stronger support for youths and entrepreneurs; govt says jobs, skills are key to lasting success (5 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The Workers’ Party (WP) on Wednesday (Aug 5) called for better opportunities for young Singaporeans and local entrepreneurs, saying that Singapore's next phase of economic growth should create broader opportunities for citizens.
In response, the People’s Action Party (PAP) government said that Singaporeans gain a lasting stake in the country’s success by participating meaningfully in the economy through good jobs, skills development and support to adapt to change.
The debate centred on a WP motion tabled by Members of Parliament (MPs) Kenneth Tiong (WP-Aljunied) and Jamus Lim (WP-Sengkang), which set out the opposition party's vision for "an economy of the future" and its proposed economic playbook.
An amended motion was eventually passed in parliament after a nine-hour debate.
Minister for Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Tan See Leng said the question posed by Mr Tiong – "How does an ordinary Singaporean get a lasting share of our country's success?" – was a fair and important one.
“A Singaporean gets a lasting share of that success by meaningfully participating in our economy: Through good jobs, sustained real wages growth, and finding fulfilment through work; by acquiring and building skills and skillsets that remain relevant as technology changes; and, after any setbacks, by taking up the opportunity to learn, and the support to recover and build again,” he said.
YOUTHS AND THE CAREER LADDER
For almost all Singaporeans, the “jobs ladder is the main route up”, Mr Tiong said, and not many become entrepreneurs because of factors including the lack of social safety nets for risk-taking, the small domestic market and the high cost of doing business.
Policymakers should “remake the system” with young Singaporeans as the “first consideration rather than the last adjustment”, he said.
Among his proposals was a special innovation zone around Nanyang Technological University (NTU) where state land is charged at cost recovery instead of market value, and takes its returns from the companies that grow there rather than from rental income.
Calling it a district that would be both "pro-worker and pro-business", Mr Tiong said Singapore should spend the next three decades becoming a place where homegrown companies can thrive.
“We have spent 30 years making this country a good place for other people's companies to succeed,” he said. “I am asking that we spend the next 30 making it a place where ours can.”
WP Non-Constituency MP Andre Low focused on what he described as a "broken bottom rung" of the career ladder, arguing that too many young Singaporeans struggle to make their first meaningful step into stable employment.
He proposed a “fair start promise” to the youth – a national commitment that Singaporeans under 30 transitioning from education or National Service should have access to either stable employment or a properly paid career-building pathway.
He suggested various ways for young people to get their fair start, including building a “national market” for paid apprenticeships.
While Singapore already has workplace programmes for young entrants, there needs to be a different route where an occupation requires “sustained, supervised practice”. This means a proper apprenticeship framework providing paid employment, full employee status, Central Provident Fund contributions, structured training and portable skills."
Primary 5 and Secondary 3 students got 15 more minutes of sleep in 2025 than in 2023 (6 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Primary 5 and Secondary 3 students got 15 more minutes of sleep on school days in 2025 compared with 2023, said the Ministry of Education on Wednesday (Aug 5).
Based on the ministry's latest survey, the students got an average of about seven hours of sleep on school days, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education Syed Harun Alhabsyi in parliament.
In 2023, Primary 5 and Secondary 3 students also got an average of seven hours of sleep on school days. MOE declined to share the exact figures for 2023 and 2025.
This falls short of the nine to 11 hours recommended for those aged 11 to 13, and eight to 10 hours for those aged 14 to 17, according to the Ministry of Health's HealthHub website.
Dr Syed Harun was responding to a parliamentary question from Dr Choo Pei Ling (PAP-Chua Chu Kang) on whether the government tracks sleep trends among school-going children, and what measures are being considered to improve their sleep health.
He cited several steps already in place. Personal learning devices for secondary school students have been set to enter sleep mode at 10.30pm by default since January.
Schools also teach students healthy sleep habits, including regular sleep hours and avoiding caffeine and digital devices before bedtime, as part of self-management and time management lessons.
Separately, MOE has partnered KK Women's and Children's Hospital to engage parents on supporting their children's sleep health through sessions with medical experts."
Commentary: It takes more than a reward system to nurture a reader (7 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: When was the last time you read a book? If it’s been a while, you are not alone. A 2024 study done by the National Library Board (NLB) found that while 89 per cent of adults read more than once a week, only 28 per cent read books.
To tackle the change in reading habits, the NLB recently announced a five-year national movement called ReadSG. It includes a gamification initiative where participants can log their daily reading on a government digital platform and earn virtual coins that can eventually be exchanged for cash.
The new campaign aims to promote regular long-form reading, which NLB says helps build critical thinking skills in a world increasingly dominated by short-form content. More details will be announced in September.
The truth is, as bite-sized posts and AI-generated summaries flood our screens, and the internet promises instant information at the tap of a fingertip, patience is something many of us are losing. How often have we tutted at a website that takes a few seconds longer to load, or opted for the point-form summary of a news article instead of finishing the full piece?
Recently, I’ve heard people complain that close to three-hour long films like The Odyssey are “too long” when back in 2003, during the theatrical release of the three-hour-and-21-minute Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, audiences were just thrilled to get their ticket’s worth with such an epic experience.
The problem that NLB is trying to solve is real and reading does more than entertain. Many people who love reading do so for the joy they derive from storytelling but the ability to focus on long-form narratives also cultivates patience and concentration – skills that translate into stronger attention spans across other areas of life.
DO REWARDS ENCOURAGE READING?
That said, is a reward system the best way to help people pick up a book?
Such systems aren’t new in Singapore. We’ve seen them used to nudge people towards certain causes: Healthpoints for healthier lifestyles and to encourage blood donation, and the beverage container return scheme to encourage recycling with a refundable 10-cent deposit.
The question is if these systems actually change behaviour. I’ve seen friends shaking their fitness devices while sitting in front of the TV just to earn Healthpoints. My mother-in-law uses hers during her morning exercises, but with or without the tracker, she has always been committed to staying active.
Neuropsychologists have pointed out that reward systems often don’t work as intended. They’re similar to giving kids prizes for good grades.
It may motivate them in the short term, but doing so shifts the focus to the external reward rather than the intrinsic satisfaction of accomplishing something worthwhile. Once the reward disappears, so does the desired behaviour. It risks fostering a mentality of “What do I get?” instead of “This is the right thing to do.”
It is also why I’ve never used reward systems with my own children. When they do well in exams, I praise their effort. The reward they get is the satisfaction and sense of achievement they feel. If I want to encourage a behaviour, I use positive reinforcement, such as telling them they’ve been a great help when they assist me in the kitchen. This builds self-motivation.
Reading should be the same: The reward is the adventure and joy you derive from a good story, and in non-fiction, the knowledge gained. Campaigns may be able to remind you to pick up a book, but it cannot conjure the curiosity that makes you want to turn the pages.
Just like how my mother-in-law is driven to stay active because she wants to, and not by the reward of points. The key lies in building genuine interest."
ISD scholarship does not guarantee future recruits, but may drive peer-led counter-radicalisation: Experts (7 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: For 17-year-old student M M Chua, the Internal Security Department (ISD) has always seemed like a “secretive organisation”.
“Most of the time, ISD seems to come up in the news for radicalisation, and that subject matter. I thought that was possibly the only thing that ISD handled," the Integrated Programme student told CNA.
He was among the first batch of students who received the ISD Junior College and Polytechnic Scholarship, a bond-free scholarship that was launched in August last year.
The 10 successful applicants were notified in end-May this year, and underwent a two-day immersion programme in June.
IB student Chan Y, who was also one of those who received the S$2,500 (US$1,950) award, gained clarity about the agency’s work and the threats facing Singapore.
“I had a misconception that ISD only went after extremists and terrorism and did not know about the anti-subversion, anti-espionage divisions,” said the 18-year-old.
Both students’ full identities are not revealed for data and privacy reasons, said ISD.
Their experiences reflect one of the scholarship's key objectives: giving students a rare opportunity to understand the work of an agency whose operations largely remain out of public view.
With youth radicalisation in the spotlight following ISD’s detention of three self-radicalised youths announced last week, experts told CNA that such an outreach initiative by the ISD could help raise awareness among the segment through peer-to-peer conversations among students.
Observers added that such an initiative can also help the ISD compete with the private sector for talent in the long term, by connecting with a generation which prioritises purpose and meaning in their choice of work.
TALENT
The scholarship caters to those in their first year of junior college, fifth year of the International Baccalaureate programme, and first two years of polytechnic, said ISD.
“The scholarship aims to raise awareness of the threats facing Singapore and to inspire students to consider a future career with ISD in safeguarding Singapore’s safety and security,” the agency told CNA.
To qualify, students are assessed on their knowledge and interest in security issues and current affairs through a written essay and an in-person panel interview.
Observers said the scholarship draws youths to the agency’s work, finding out more about an organisation whose work typically stays hidden, without constraining their future career options.
“I think in the current economic environment, a lot of people, including youths, might be thinking about careers in terms of not just interest, but also about stability and progression,” said Dr Teo Kay Key, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies who does youth-related research.
“At that age, they are likely still exploring options, and could be applying just to gain exposure to a field that typically is more secretive.”
It would also help ISD compete for talent with other sectors, by appealing to what matters to a younger workforce, said observers.
"There is indeed competition from various sectors for talented and capable graduates,” said Mr Edmund Lin, principal consultant of Singapore Education Consulting Group.
The bond-free nature of the scholarship is “likely a carefully examined decision” to help the agency “attract the right talents who would gladly and willingly serve in ISD”, he added.
COUNTER-RADICALISATION
Two of the recent three cases had planned attacks on schools, with a 14-year-old boy creating a 21-page manifesto detailing the stabbings. ISD said the boy had admitted that he would have executed his attack, had he not been arrested.
In the past decade or so, more than half of the 23 youths dealt with under the Internal Security Act (ISA) had intended to mount attacks in the country.
With youth radicalisation in the spotlight in Singapore, especially with the rising threat of “salad bar” extremism, observers said the scholarship would also help boost awareness among youths, with recipients possibly sharing what they learnt with peers.
“It is possible since those participating in the scheme would likely gain more knowledge about the topic of youth radicalisation and its warning signs,” said Dr Teo.
However, given that the immersion programme is two days, the youths may not be fully equipped or trained to spot all warning signs nor to deal with anyone who might actually be radicalised, she said.
“What it probably can do is to create more awareness amongst participants, and hopefully they spread these knowledge points to others around them,” she added.
Ms Shahrany Hassan, founder of non-profit The Whitehatters that facilitates community dialogue, agreed that while this peer-to-peer effect may not be a primary purpose of the scholarship, it would be an indirect benefit.
“If scholarship recipients develop a better understanding of how radicalisation happens, the warning signs to look out for, and where to seek help, they may become more confident having conversations with friends or encouraging someone to reach out for support,” she said."
Singapore authorities unable to conclude if any offence committed amid Indonesia baby trafficking case (7 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Authorities in Singapore have been unable to conclude whether any offences were committed in the country, after members of an Indonesian baby trafficking syndicate were jailed last month.
The ringleader of the syndicate in Indonesia admitted to trafficking at least 12 babies to Singapore, receiving between S$17,000 (US$13,250) and S$21,600 per child.
In response to CNA’s queries about investigations and arrests in Singapore, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Friday (Aug 7): “Based on information available to us thus far, we are presently unable to conclude that any offence has been committed in Singapore, or by Singaporeans or Singapore-based entities.
“We will not hesitate to take firm enforcement action against those who have broken our laws.”
The ministries said they will continue to work closely with the Indonesian authorities for information on each child and their biological parents.
“This information will help to inform the assessment of what is in the best interest of the child – a key consideration for the Singapore courts to eventually decide on each pending adoption application,” MSF and MHA added.
In January, the Singapore ministries said there had been “some delays” in the processing of citizenship applications for some children.
Authorities have been engaging the affected adoptive parents to explain the situation to them.
“We are keenly aware of the anxiety that this situation has caused to the adoptive parents, and are working closely across the relevant authorities to ensure that the cases are dealt with as expeditiously as we can, and to safeguard the welfare and interests of the children,” MSF and MHA said then.
An Indonesian court on Jul 21 meted out jail sentences of up to seven years for members of the baby trafficking syndicate.
Eighteen women and one man were found guilty by the Bandung City District Court.
The harshest sentence of seven years was handed down to 70-year-old Lie Siu Luan - also known as Lily - whom the court ruled to be the brains and ringleader behind the operation and recruited the other defendants in the case."
Jail for training officer who pushed woman with intellectual disability, causing knee injuries (7 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A woman who worked as a training officer at a social service agency was sentenced to 14 weeks' jail on Friday (Aug 7) for pushing a person with intellectual disability, causing her to suffer a dislocated knee and multiple fractures.
Nur Amira Shahirah Azmi, a 21-year-old Singaporean, pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt that resulted in grievous hurt to a woman she knew was a vulnerable person.
The victim and the location of the offence cannot be identified due to a gag order.
The court heard that the victim had been diagnosed with an intellectual disability more than 10 years ago, making her a vulnerable person under Section 74 of the Penal Code.
The victim had been attending training programmes at the premises where the incident occurred. Before noon on Aug 30, 2024, the victim and a male trainee were seated in a classroom while waiting for lunch. Trainers had previously instructed the victim not to assist the man at lunchtime as part of efforts to train him to be independent.
When it was their turn to get lunch, the victim extended her hand to guide the man towards the classroom door. A trainer reminded her not to help him, and she proceeded to the door on her own while the man remained seated.
Amira, who was near the classroom, overheard her colleague reminding the victim not to help the man. Angered that the victim had not followed instructions, she approached her while scolding her, causing the victim to retreat further into the classroom.
Amira then pushed the victim once. The victim fell to the ground and hit a foam structure behind her. Although she began crying, Amira continued to stand over her and scold her for about 10 seconds.
She then walked towards the classroom door but returned shortly after to scold the victim for another 20 seconds as she remained on the ground.
The victim continued crying and pointed to her left knee. Amira rolled up the victim's pants to check for injuries but did not see any obvious signs. She tried to help the victim up and gestured for her to return to her seat, but the victim remained on the floor.
Amira briefly left the classroom. When she returned, she saw that the victim had managed to stand up on her own but was holding onto a table for support. Amira then helped her back to her seat.
Later, other trainers noticed that the victim was unable to stand or walk on her own. Amira informed her supervisors of the victim's condition but said she did not know why the victim was in pain.
The victim's mother was notified. As the victim was still unable to walk, Amira and another trainer arranged for transport and accompanied her home.
INJURIES
The victim was taken to Sengkang General Hospital that evening, where doctors found that she had sustained a left knee injury. She was admitted for further investigations, which revealed a dislocation and several fractures that caused pain and prevented her from bearing weight.
Surgery was not required. Instead, she was fitted with a hinged knee brace for six weeks.
On Sep 3, 2024, Amira admitted to her supervisors that she had pushed the victim. A colleague subsequently lodged a police report, while the victim's mother also filed a report after being informed of the incident."
I was 14 when I first visited my father's offshore workplace. That's when I found my calling (8 August 2026)
"I was about 14 the first time my father took me to his place of work: a gigantic floating facility that extracts and processes oil while at sea.
At that age, I never thought much of ships, much less working on them. Like many children my age, I wanted to become a flight attendant or a pilot.
But that visit changed everything.
I still remember staring at my father's "office", an enormous structure rising out of the ocean.
It wasn't just a ship. It was a self-contained city.
There were living quarters, offices, control rooms, workshops, cranes and an endless maze of pipes and equipment, all working together to keep the facility running.
I was fascinated that something so massive could remain at sea for years, carrying out such a complex operation so far from land.
It struck me that the world of engineering could mean building something much bigger, something that literally keeps the world running. And I had this inexplicable desire to be a part of it.
I left that vessel with a clear goal: I wanted to become an engineer.
Suddenly, Mathematics and Science – already my two best subjects in secondary school – no longer felt like subjects I had to study. They were stepping stones towards making my dream a reality.
My friends found it amusing, since many of them were already leaning towards business or other more popular courses. Despite that, some of them were impressed that I already knew exactly what I wanted to do after graduating.
THE "TOUGHEST FITNESS PROGRAMME" I SIGNED UP FOR
Just last year, I landed an internship with an offshore marine services contractor in Singapore. I spent three months behind the scenes learning operations, followed by five months in the shipyard, where I got my first real taste of the industry's realities.
As I counted down the days to my first internship, I felt a mix of excitement and apprehension. It started to really sink in that I was about to step into a male-dominated industry.
Having studied in mixed-gender environments, I assumed the biggest challenge was working in a male-dominated industry.
I was wrong.
Although I was based in Singapore, my internship took me to shipyards in Malaysia and Indonesia for vessel inspections and testing, where I experienced firsthand just how physically demanding the work could be.
No two days were the same. One day could be spent working through technical documents in the office, while another could involve being onboard a vessel, assisting with inspections, checking equipment against drawings and technical requirements, and recording anything that needed to be rectified.
The work was hands-on. Understanding a problem meant physically going down to the machinery, seeing how everything fitted together and speaking to the people operating it.
Some mornings, getting to work felt like going through an obstacle course when the day had not even begun. Before stepping into the vessel, I'd have to climb over mooring chains larger than myself and move around heavy equipment.
Boarding could mean scrambling up a rope ladder or climbing a pilot ladder alongside the ship. By 8.30am, I'd be drenched in sweat.
Once onboard, I'd be moving between different decks, climbing steep stairways and squeezing through tight spaces, sometimes while carrying equipment in the heat.
The shipyard pushed me in ways I hadn't expected. It often felt like the toughest fitness programme I could have signed up for, and there were days when I wondered if I could keep up.
Rather than let it get the better of me, I started going to the gym three or four times a week to build the strength and endurance needed to handle the intense conditions.
Although the maritime industry is demanding, it's also far more dynamic than I had imagined.
Every day brought a new problem to solve, a different part of the vessel to explore or another opportunity to learn, and I found myself wanting to understand it even better."
She quit school twice. Her horror art studio nearly closed. Now, its neon art jams book out most weekends (8 August 2026)
"As a teen, Merida Lim had done well enough academically to enter a six-year Integrated Programme (IP) at an elite school. But what she recalls of that period were her panic attacks, which led her to be frequently sent to the general office.
They got so bad that she even had to go for counselling and therapy.
Her coping mechanism: Whenever she felt down or sad, she would draw scary stuff – a canvas drenched in black and red, a woman covered in blood.
“It was my way of release – like a rage room, but with art that came from the deepest parts of my soul,” said the 21-year-old. “That’s how I fell in love with art.”
At 16, Lim dropped out of school. Because she was in an IP programme, she did not take her O-Levels and left with only a PSLE certificate.
She then pursued a graphic communication diploma at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) but dropped out as well after her second year. Lim told her parents she wanted to start a horror-themed art jamming studio.
By then, she was a two-time dropout with no O-Levels, starting a business at 19.
A HORROR-THEMED ART STUDIO
So many parents and children dream of getting into the IP programme. Why did Lim quit?
“I simply could not see myself following the conventional path and getting a nine-to-five office job,” she reflected.
“I have been very entrepreneurial since I was young,” Lim said. As a teen, she picked up face painting from YouTube, and began offering it at children’s parties, gradually raising her rate from S$15 per hour to S$100.
At NAFA, she realised she was not exceptional at graphic design – just a “solid average”. At the same time, her young mind was brimming with business ideas. She tested some of them briefly, including a kidswear brand.
When Lim decided to quit NAFA, her mum was worried – she wanted Lim to complete her diploma first. But her dad, an entrepreneur with his own mobile app studio, was all for the idea.
In October 2024, with S$10,000 of Lim’s own money saved from part-time waitressing and face painting jobs, and a S$24,000 loan from her dad, Lim started Scuro, a horror-themed art studio, at 79 Kampong Bahru. She named the studio after the Italian art term chiaroscuro, referring to the contrast between light and dark.
The Scuro studio featured horror posters, an oversized gothic chair, as well as props, candles, and head-banging music to create the vibe. Customers could paint with screwdrivers, sponges and strings, and end each session with fruit punch in ‘blood bags’.
The timing was perfect. The opening coincided with Halloween and there were many bookings in the first month. Lim earned enough to cover rent. But in the second month, bookings dropped by more than 50 per cent. It “flopped”, she said.
In Singapore, entrepreneurship comes with significant capital outlay and risks, Lim said. Most of her start-up capital went into the first month’s rent and a two-month deposit. She also had to sign a two-year rental contract.
“Imagine the stress I was under because I did not have any runway,” Lim said.
Thinking that her studio would shut down, she broke the news to her boyfriend and friends, and promised them she’d get a job, work hard and get her life together. She even told her landlord to start searching for new tenants.
“I was calculating the debt I would be in and regretted going so hastily into a business,” Lim said. “But I was not going down without a fight.”
Lim made a TikTok video to share her dire situation and appeal for support. “In my video, I said that if I didn’t earn S$6,000 within the next 50 days, my studio would close down,” she said.
She also began to experiment with new art jamming concepts – neon horror-themed art jams using fluorescent paint, candlelight art jams and neon art jams.
Of the three, neon art jams saw increased bookings. Kids, in particular, loved the idea.
Moreover, in her first month of business, Lim had hand-painted a forest and mushrooms on the wall, even staying back past 11pm to paint checks on the curtains. In the second month, after adding neon elements, the decor worked perfectly for children’s neon art jams with just a change of music and lighting.
Over the next few months, Scuro evolved into a family-friendly art jamming studio.
And that saved her business."
Major review underway to support families across life's journey: PM Wong in National Day Message 2026 (8 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A “major review” of how the government supports Singaporean families not just at the point of marriage and parenthood, but throughout their life’s journey, is underway, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Saturday (Aug 8).
“We are taking a fresh look at issues like the costs of raising children, access to affordable infant care and childcare, and other ways to lighten the load on families,” Mr Wong said in his National Day Message at the National Stadium.
He added that he will share more about those plans at the National Day Rally, which will be held on Aug 23 at the Institute of Technical Education College Central in Ang Mo Kio.
The annual message was broadcast in four languages, with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) Gan Kim Yong speaking in Mandarin, and Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs and Senior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamad delivering it in Malay.
Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth and Manpower Dinesh Vasu Dash delivered the message in Tamil.
In his English message, Mr Wong acknowledged that family life has come under greater strain across the world.
Expectations have risen, and parents feel pressured to give their children the best possible start in life. Meanwhile, many are caring for ageing parents while balancing the demands of work, he said.
“We hear these concerns in Singapore too. Many families are stretched as they juggle these competing demands,” he said.
Mr Wong said that economic growth and technological progress must ultimately translate into better lives for all Singaporeans.
“We want Singapore to be a place where everyone can pursue their aspirations with confidence, raise families with peace of mind, and look to the future with hope,” he said."
As a mum of 3, I think doing schoolwork on devices should count under screen time guidelines (8 August 2026)
"It is 9.30am on a home-based learning (HBL) day, and there is one iPad between my two boys.
My nine-year-old is on it, working through his lessons on the Student Learning Space (SLS), an online portal used in Singapore schools. My eight-year-old is waiting his turn – which in practice means hovering at his brother's elbow, offering unsolicited answers.
The two-year-old has climbed onto a chair for a better view. One child is supposed to be learning, but three are watching a screen. It takes at least another 10 to 15 minutes before I successfully peel the other two children away from the screen and learning can finally start in peace.
Singapore's guidance on screen use, issued under the Grow Well SG strategy, recommends less than two hours of screen time a day for children aged seven to 12, "unless related to schoolwork".
Recreational screen time is counted, rationed, used as a bribe and fretted over. School-related screen time is treated as a foregone conclusion.
I am not against e-learning. But as I watch their shoulders hunch and their faces inch closer to the screen, I find myself asking whether primary school children really need quite so much of it.
After all, even "good" screen time is still screen time.
WHAT THE GUIDELINES LEAVE OUT
Most of my boys' online homework is Chinese, and SLS is great for that in some ways. There's native-speaker audio on demand – with better fa yin (Chinese for pronunciation) than mine – and comprehension quizzes that are marked instantly.
But at the same time, these come with additional features that can distract from the main task.
My son discovered the playback speed button: Chinese at 2x speed is a chipmunk, at 0.5x a dying robot, and both remain the funniest thing ever, even on the 40th replay.
On paper, the only thing to fiddle with is the pencil. Yes, there may be more yawns, more rubbing of eyes, more complaints, but ultimately, less distraction.
Earlier this year, the government introduced guidelines on screen use, encouraging parents to focus not just on quantity but also quality – the content, context and whether screens are used together.
This has led to our own "policies" at home. We ban YouTube Shorts. If our children watch YouTube, it's only on the television together. They share one iPad instead of having one each.
However, on an HBL day, my sons can spend hours looking at a screen without it counting towards their two-hour daily limit.
A screen is a magnet, whatever is on it. Interactive e-learning draws in every child in the room, not just the one assigned to learn.
In a household with more than one child, HBL forces a choice: either the sibling or siblings crowd the learner, or every child gets a device.
The first undermines the learning while increasing screen time for everyone. The second assumes that every family can afford enough devices to go around. The default position that digital learning is "good" screen time also deserves scrutiny.
Sure, heavy at-home screen use was a necessity during the pandemic. But extending it as the default for primary school learning is a policy choice."
'We're a Malay troupe, you okay or not?' How lion dance became this man’s lifelong pursuit (8 August 2026)
"What comes to mind first when you think of lion dance?
For many Singaporeans, it's probably a sound – the loud clash of cymbals and the heavy pounding of drums, even before any images of brightly coloured costumes and heart-stopping stunts.
So it was definitely unusual when I watched, for the first time, a lion dance performed in near silence on a tranquil Monday afternoon.
At an open space at the foot of a Toa Payoh housing block, two dancers in red and white pants shuffled through a sequence mimicking a lion lowering a bridge, while another imitated the iconic drumbeats with his mouth.
Watching from the sidelines was 44-year-old Jamsairi Kamaruddin, better known as "Bobby" – a nickname his grandmother gave him when he was a baby.
He founded Kuo Chuan Arts & Cultural, a predominantly Malay lion and dragon dance troupe with around 20 active adults and children – an uncommon sight in an art form associated with the Chinese community and performed at special occasions such as Chinese New Year and business openings.
On the day of my visit, a small group of them was rehearsing quietly for an upcoming competition, careful not to disturb the neighbours.
Mr Jamsairi's ground-floor flat opens directly into the open space. At his back door were two hot-pink drums stacked atop an ornately designed black-and-gold drum, alongside a box teeming with colourful paraphernalia. It was as though the troupe had spilled out of his home.
He still remembers the first lion dances he ever saw.
More than 30 years ago, when he was eight, he would walk past the Kuo Chuan Police Boys Club near his home each day, captivated by the sight of lion dancers practising and performing their stunts there.
Before long, he had joined them, but the welcome was far from warm.
"I'm the smallest, I'm the only Malay guy down there. So (I got) bullied and so on," he recalled.
But the lion dance bug had already bitten him.
Undeterred that he stood out, he found himself falling deeper in love with the acrobatic feats set to cymbals, gongs and drums.
Most of all, he was fascinated by the storytelling, and how a lion head could come alive in a dancer's hands.
"I love to see the eyes clicking. It's so cute.
"I was curious. When the lion suddenly jumps up and has oranges...how can this lion do these things?"
AN UNLIKELY PATH
As a child, Mr Jamsairi had little interest in school. He attained his highest academic qualification of a National Institute of Technical Education certificate "for the sake of (his) mum".
After school, he would rush home to train just below his flat around Toa Payoh Lorong 2.
"I would...play lion dance until 8pm – until my mother (or) father would shout out the window, 'Bobby, come home'."
His mother had hoped he would pursue something more familiar.
"She asked me to learn silat, kompang (traditional Malay hand drum)...I told her, 'My interest is lion dance, don't waste your money to put me in all these classes'."
When the Kuo Chuan Police Boys Club shut down during his teenage years, Mr Jamsairi joined several other troupes. As soon as he turned 18, he started his own troupe and incorporated it as a company.
He named it Kuo Chuan Arts & Cultural, after the club that had first sparked his love for lion dance. The troupe first started with around 10 members, all of whom were Mr Jamsairi's childhood friends.
It was not a roaring start for Mr Jamsairi's troupe, however. After paying for the rental costs of the lorry, costumes and instruments, they often had no wages to take home.
To make ends meet, Mr Jamsairi worked as a chef in a catering kitchen and picked up other odd jobs. At the same time, he was battling controversy about the group's makeup.
"A Malay guy wanting to go into a Chinese thing – some people wouldn't give us their full support. I needed to slowly, slowly build (others') trust in my team."
Criticism also came from within the Malay community, with some thinking that performing a lion dance was akin to praying to Chinese gods.
"I educated them, (telling them) that the drum is not made of pig skin and I've never been involved in any prayers," Mr Jamsairi said.
"For me, lion dance is a sport. It's entertainment."
Finding somewhere to train was another challenge.
Even after they had obtained permission from the authorities, some people still called the police over concerns about noise and damage, complaining that the troupe was "spoiling" the grass between the public housing blocks, despite the team's use of a canvas sheet to protect the grass in the open area.
With limited options for rehearsal spaces, the troupe typically does "silent" training sessions around Toa Payoh. To practise with full percussion, the members travel to remote car parks in industrial areas after office hours."
Singapore tech students face higher expectations as AI reshapes jobs (10 August 2026)
"Fresh tech graduates in Singapore are facing higher expectations as AI transforms software development and entry-level roles. A YouthTechSG survey found that 83.3% of tertiary students want help with technical skills development and problem-solving.
Meanwhile, experts say employers increasingly value real-world application, independence and soft skills alongside coding fundamentals. Industry and universities are being urged to provide more opportunities for practical experience.
Germaine Wong reports."
Commentary: Banning Roblox may not be the solution to teen radicalisation (11 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: When serious harm is linked to a technology, calls to ban it usually follow. After being featured in recent cases involving self-radicalised youths in Singapore, some have asked if Roblox should be banned.
In the latest case of a 14-year-old who was arrested by the Internal Security Department (ISD) in May for plotting a school attack, the student’s radicalisation journey began at 12 when he encountered first-person shooter games recreating real-life school shootings on Roblox.
While playing and watching gore and mass-shooting footage, the boy imagined his school bullies as the victims and himself as the perpetrator. He later prepared a 21-page manifesto detailing his attack plan.
Yet, Roblox was only one part of a longer journey.
The boy had searched for more information on mass shootings online, consumed material recommended through social media and joined channels linked to the True Crime Community before absorbing Islamic State, neo-Nazi and far-right material.
In this case, banning Roblox would not have thwarted all these pathways of radicalisation, meaning that a blunt ban of a platform should not be Singapore’s first or only response. Still, stronger safeguards should be required from such platforms.
MORE THAN JUST A GAMING PLATFORM
Roblox is usually described as a gaming platform, though it is more than that. Users can create experiences, find them through recommendations, communicate with others, form groups and spend money, all inside one product.
ISD has noted other cases where self-radicalised youths simulated attacks and role-played as terrorists on such platforms.
Last November, a 14-year-old was given a restriction order for making pro-Islamic State videos using footage from Roblox and Gorebox. In 2023, a then-16-year-old was issued a restriction order after he joined ISIS-themed Roblox servers and used gameplay footage to make propaganda videos.
In all these cases, the concern is not violent imagery alone. It is what users can practise, repeat, share and begin to regard as normal.
Over the past year, Roblox has introduced safeguards of its own: an age check for chat features intended to limit contact between younger users and adults, and separate Kids and Select accounts with different content and parental-control settings.
However, in the case of the 14-year-old boy, his radicalisation pathway did not appear to begin with an adult stranger. Instead, it began with user-created experiences recreating actual massacres, then moved through search, recommendations and other channels.
This means that age-segregated chat may reduce one risk but it does not answer whether a child is able to enter a violent simulation, assume the attacker’s role and find similar material afterwards.
Roblox’s community standards also prohibit content that recreates or imitates real-world sensitive events, including acts of mass violence, and material glorifying terrorist or extremist individuals and organisations. Yet, such experiences have evidently been available on the platform.
The platform should explain how they passed moderation, how they could be found, whether they were recommended and what happened when users reported them. If copies reappear, the company should show how quickly it detects them."
NUS students to get ChatGPT access; AI module compulsory for incoming freshmen (11 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: All National University of Singapore (NUS) students will get access to ChatGPT tools from this academic year, while incoming freshmen will have to complete an artificial intelligence course within their first two weeks of school.
Announcing a partnership with OpenAI on Monday (Aug 11), NUS said all students, faculty and staff will from Aug 31 get access to ChatGPT Edu, a version of ChatGPT that is built specifically for universities and colleges.
More advanced tools on the platform will initially be piloted in selected courses, before being progressively made available in undergraduate courses where AI can add educational value and support learning objectives, the university said.
NUS provost and deputy president for academic affairs Professor Aaron Thean declined to provide exact figures, but shared that the initiative is a "significant but necessary" investment.
The partnership with OpenAI is the first of many NUS has in the pipeline, he added.
According to Prof Thean, AI companies are keen to work with the university because of its captive market of about 50,000 undergraduate, master's and PhD students.
But NUS does not intend to rely on a single provider. It wants to work with multiple companies to expose students to a variety of AI tools, he said.
Given the cost of premium large language model platforms, the university also wants to ensure students have equitable access to such tools.
Under its approach, all students will receive baseline access, while those who need more advanced tools to develop expertise in particular domains will be able to use them through specific courses.
Students in fields where AI forms part of their core expertise, such as computing, will have access to the most advanced tools through relevant courses and activities, Prof Thean said.
Currently, NUS students already have access to Microsoft Copilot through the university's Microsoft 365 subscription.
COMPULSORY AI COURSE
From this academic year, all incoming freshmen must also take a compulsory course called Applied Generative AI: From Prompting to Evaluation.
The module comprises three hours of online lecture videos with embedded quizzes and a two-hour in-person workshop.
More than 7,700 students entering NUS this year began the module in July. They must complete the videos and quizzes before attending the workshop, with all requirements to be completed within the first two weeks of the semester.
The course is intended to give all NUS undergraduates a foundation in using AI tools effectively for learning, assignments, internships and their future careers, said the university.
It forms part of a broader NUS strategy to ensure students graduate with AI fluency."
More than 2,400 people caught vaping in second quarter of 2026 (11 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A total of 2,428 people were caught and penalised for possessing and using vaporisers from Apr 1 to Jun 30, including 457 etomidate vaporiser offenders.
Nine people were also charged for the alleged import or supply of etomidate, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said in a press release on Tuesday (Aug 11).
An average of 809 cases were caught per month in the three-month period - about 30 per cent lower than the 1,219 cases caught per month between June and August 2025, before stricter measures on vaping kicked in on Sep 1.
Among those caught in the second quarter, 264 individuals were placed on rehabilitation programmes, bringing the total number of people onboarded onto rehabilitation to 787 since Sep 1.
Under the enhanced framework, first-time etomidate vaporiser offenders and second-time vape offenders are required to undergo mandatory rehabilitation, with those who fail to attend or complete the programme to be charged in court.
The authorities said that among those onboarded, 245 offenders have successfully completed their rehabilitation, including a 15-year-old boy who was caught vaping for the second time in February.
The boy completed a three-month rehabilitation programme conducted by the Health Promotion Board in May, said MOH and HSA, adding that his father has observed positive improvements in the boy's behaviour.
MOH and HSA said that 288 people defaulted on rehabilitation from Sep 1, 2025 to Jun 30, 2026. Of the defaulters, 41 have been charged and are serving their sentence. Another 152 are undergoing court proceedings, while investigations are ongoing for the remaining 95.
In addition, 18 people were admitted into the Drug Rehabilitation Centre for repeat etomidate offences in the second quarter of 2026, bringing the total number admitted since Sep 1 to 26. Among those admitted, 15 have since been released and are currently under supervision."
Former teacher charged over sexual communication with male student (11 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A former teacher was charged on Tuesday (Aug 11) with sending sexual communication to a 16-year-old male student and possessing obscene videos.
The 41-year-old Singaporean man cannot be named due to a court-imposed gag order on his identity and that of the alleged victim.
Court documents showed that the man allegedly sent four images to the student in December 2024 that were set to be viewed only once.
The images comprised a male person in his underwear and a male person's genitals.
Between February 2025 and August 2025, the man allegedly downloaded 21 obscene videos from the Telegram application onto his phone.
In response to CNA, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said that the man has been suspended since August 2025 and is no longer teaching in any school.
"MOE takes a serious view of staff misconduct and will not hesitate to take disciplinary action against those who fail to adhere to our standards of conduct and discipline, including dismissal from service," it added.
For sexual communication with a person above the age of 16 but below the age of 18, an offender can be jailed for up to two years or fined, or both.
If convicted of possessing an obscene film, an offender can be jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$20,000, or both.
If he did so knowing the film was obscene, he can be jailed for up to 12 months or fined up to S$40,000, or both."
IN FOCUS: What happens when those who hurt their families seek help (12 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A week before Chinese New Year in February, Andrew’s wife walked away from their 26-year relationship.
She moved out of the family home, leaving him with their four children. Having been shouted at, with objects thrown around, she reached a breaking point and no longer felt safe living with him.
Andrew, the sole breadwinner, claimed the housework was “not up to standard”, and he would get unhappy when the house was a “little untidy”.
When their children’s grades fell, he blamed his wife and became angry over how she handled the family’s finances and rental property.
Arguments in the car were worse.
At times, Andrew drove recklessly to frighten his wife, nearly crashing into another vehicle on one occasion.
She initially pleaded with him to stop, but eventually stopped protesting, fearful his anger might escalate.
“She felt like I was trying to kill her in those moments, and she thought she was going to die,” Andrew said.
When his wife left, Andrew was furious and tried to get her to return, but she told him he needed to change.
At a loss, the man sought help from social workers at non-profit organisation Fellowship of Men, where he learnt to recognise his harmful behaviour and better manage his emotions.
He realised how difficult it was to manage the household and that he was not showing his wife the gratitude she deserved.
But no recovery is instant. Six months on, his wife has yet to move back home.
ADMITTING GUILT
With greater awareness of domestic abuse, some family service centres have seen more cases like Andrew’s, where parents and spouses step forward to seek help for their harmful behaviour.
According to the latest domestic violence trends report by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), there were 5,787 new low- to moderate-risk abuse cases in 2024, a 14 per cent increase from 2023.
The rise was primarily driven by an increase in child and spousal abuse cases.
New spousal abuse cases rose from 2,008 in 2023 to 2,136 in 2024, continuing the upward trend from 2021 to 2023.
The MSF report noted that self-referrals made up a significant portion of cases managed by family service centres, where clients sought help on their own.
While some were seeking support primarily related to domestic violence, others initially came with issues such as financial difficulties or parenting challenges, with abuse concerns emerging after the family service centres' engagement.
In January, a father was sentenced to 15 months’ jail after reporting himself to the police for using excessive force in child discipline.
According to the man's ex-wife, he would slap and pinch the boys, making them kneel and denying them meals as punishment.
MSF said it does not track the number of reported child abuse or spousal abuse cases involving people who voluntarily sought help for their abusive behaviour.
But frontline professionals in specialist agencies have observed that some individuals recognise the need for help when they experience parenting difficulties, family conflict, trouble managing their emotions, or concerns about the impact of their behaviour on their relationships.
“These individuals may seek support to better understand and address harmful behaviours before they escalate,” added the ministry.
“Through counselling and intervention, they can better understand the impact of their behaviour on family members, recognise unhealthy patterns, and learn safer and healthier ways of responding to stress and conflict.”
New orchid park, family-friendly facilities proposed as part of expanded Istana Park (12 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A park and plaza dedicated to native orchids as well as a nature playgarden are among the features proposed for the expanded Istana Park, the National Parks Board (NParks) said on Wednesday (Aug 12).
To retain the redeveloped Istana Park's ceremonial significance as the entryway to the Istana, a new ceremonial driveway is also being explored, along with indoor attractions such as galleries.
Speaking during an event where plans for the refreshed Istana Park were unveiled, Minister of State for National Development Alvin Tan said a key part of the government's plans involves rejuvenating the Dhoby Ghaut sub-precinct, with a rejuvenated Istana Park as its core.
"This area will be the green heart of our rejuvenated Orchard Road – greener, more vibrant and more welcoming for families," he added.
NParks said it is also studying the feasibility of an elevated link bridge connecting Dhoby Ghaut Green to Fort Canning Park to provide better access to other attractions in the area.
It was previously announced that Istana Park would be transformed into a new park more than three times its current size after merging with the existing Dhoby Ghaut Green and Penang Road Open Space, along with the 500m stretch of Orchard Road between Buyong Road and Handy Road.
"The significantly larger space will allow for a refresh of the area with new attractions and offerings, which could include more family-friendly features, greenery and flexible spaces for activities and programmes," NParks said in a media release on Wednesday.
The rejuvenated Istana Park will also strengthen the connection to the Istana entrance while improving integration with the surrounding commercial developments within the sub-precinct, it added.
More details on the timeline for the Istana Park and Dhoby Ghaut developments will be shared when ready, NParks said.
Mr Tan added: "Over the coming year, we will refine many of these detailed designs, going beyond some of these ideas that I've outlined today, and then share the full vision next year."
Police to train teachers, social workers to spot signs of youth gang involvement (12 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Teachers and social workers will be trained by the police to recognise early signs of gang associations, as part of broader efforts to prevent youth offending.
A new initiative will also help young people who want to leave gangs.
Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs, announced the measures on Wednesday (Aug 12) at the Community Action for the Rehabilitation of Ex-Offenders (CARE) Network Summit 2026.
He said that the police training would enable "closer and earlier upstream intervention".
Under the new Gang Renunciation Programme at the Singapore Boys' Home, young people who wish to leave their gangs will be supported in making a clean break and rebuilding their lives.
Those with former gang associations will also receive mentoring support from desistors, or people who have left gangs. This recognises that "some of the most compelling guidance can come from someone who has walked the same path and chosen a brighter future", Mr Tong said.
"While the youth gang situation remains under control, early intervention remains a very important step, as gang affiliation is linked to increased criminal activity," he added.
Mr Tong also said international studies have shown that young people may be more susceptible to gang influence as they are at a critical stage of identity formation and emotional development, making them more vulnerable to social pressure.
POSITIVE PEER INFLUENCE
Besides addressing negative social environments that may put young people at risk, existing programmes will also seek to harness young people as a positive influence on their peers.
The Youth Community Outreach Patrol (Youth COP), which now operates in eight schools, will be expanded to more schools in the coming years.
Under Youth COP, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), the Ministry of Education and the National Council of Social Service work with youth organisation SHINE to nurture more young people as Crime Prevention Ambassadors, who can encourage their peers to avoid crime and make positive choices.
"Sometimes, having peer support, having someone closer in age and experience (to you), helps tremendously," Mr Tong said.
MSF will also enhance the Youth GO! Programme for young people who may benefit from more support.
The programme caters to at-risk youth aged 12 to 21 through community-based outreach and intervention, helping them remain crime-free and develop problem-solving skills.
The enhancements, which will be rolled out later this year, will equip participants with life skills to overcome challenges, help them stay focused on their studies and build resilience.
Data-driven tools will be used to better assess individual risks and needs, enabling tailored support. At the same time, families will be more actively engaged to foster stable and supportive home environments."
Cancer survivor forced to resign from school after tussles over work-from-home arrangements wins S$20,000 (12 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A woman who had been working for 17 years as an administrative assistant in an international school was forced to resign after she faced issues with her work-from-home arrangements following a battle with Stage 3 cancer.
In a judgment issued on Wednesday (Aug 12), an Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT) awarded the woman the maximum S$20,000 (US$15,616) it could give her.
If not for the limits, the woman would have been awarded S$30,480, made up of three months' pay along with S$15,240 for the harm caused to her.
The magistrate found that while she appeared to have voluntarily resigned, it was, in effect, a dismissal without just cause or excuse as she was forced to do so.
THE CASE
The parties were not named as is usual for ECT cases, which are heard in private.
The woman had been employed as an administrative assistant in the music department of an international school in Singapore from 2008.
In July 2024, she was diagnosed with stage 3 nasopharyngeal cancer, or cancer of the upper part of the throat situated directly behind the nose.
She went through months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and was declared fit to return to work in late June 2025. Her monthly salary was S$5,080.
However, she was slower and weaker in her hands and needed rest and rehabilitation. She asked for accommodation by the school to assist her recovery and her transition back to work.
The woman felt that the school was "unwilling" to meet her where she was and this response took a toll on her health. She resigned within six months of her return.
She alleged that the school's unwillingness to reasonably accommodate her medical needs amounted to breaches of two terms in her employment contract: The duty to take reasonable care of the health and safety of employees, and the duty of mutual trust and confidence."
Two swimmers to receive S$10,000 scholarship each under new Joseph Schooling award (12 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Two swimmers will each receive a S$10,000 (US$7,800) scholarship over two years as part of a new award named after Singapore's only Olympic gold medallist Joseph Schooling.
They will be the first scholarship recipients under the new initiative, which aims to support and inspire the next generation of Singapore's aquatics community.
An initial S$200,000 fund has been established, reflecting the 20 per cent contribution that Schooling made to Singapore Aquatics from his monetary reward after winning Olympic gold in 2016.
"Through continued fundraising, the programme aims to extend its reach and empower even more aquatics athletes to pursue their ambitions," said Singapore Aquatics on Wednesday (Aug 12).
"Schooling’s journey was defined by resilience, purpose and bravery, traits which were established from the age of eight when his dream of becoming an Olympic champion first took root.
"These same qualities, which were central to his achievement on Aug 12, 2016, will form the selection criteria for recipients of the Joseph Schooling Award."
The first recipients will be selected and receive their awards by the end of the year.
Coaches will submit a progress report after the first year to confirm each recipient remains eligible for second-year funding.
RECOGNISING POTENTIAL
Nominations open on Sep 1 and athletes can submit their applications on Singapore Aquatics' website.
Once the nominations are in, Singapore Aquatics' high performance team will prepare an initial shortlist for interviews with the selection committee.
Shortlisted candidates will meet Schooling as part of the selection process.
“Designed to go beyond a conventional interview, these interactions will allow applicants to share their aspirations, learn from Joseph's experiences, and explore how the values of resilience, discipline, and excellence can shape their own journeys,” said Singapore Aquatics.
“The award seeks not only to recognise potential, but also to create meaningful connections and mentorship opportunities that support young athletes' development.”
A committee comprising two Singapore Aquatics executive committee representatives, as well as Schooling and Teo Zhen Ren – former national swimmer and World Fencing League CEO – will then make the final decision.
Schooling said: "My journey began as a dream and became reality through countless untold stories and moments of joy and heartache, shared not only by me but also by those closest to me.
"My gold medal was possible because of the unwavering support from my mum and dad.
"Now, I want to do my part, to recognise and reward those who share that same dream and dare to pursue it beyond imagination."
Haze risk in Singapore: Preschools ready to move activities indoors if air quality worsens (12 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Preschools in Singapore are prepared to move activities indoors and step up monitoring of children’s well-being if haze causes air quality to worsen.
Singapore is among several Southeast Asian countries facing a high risk of severe transboundary haze for the rest of 2026, according to think-tank Singapore Institute of International Affairs.
The risk is expected to peak between August and September amid hotter and drier conditions.
Some preschool centres are keeping a close watch on the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) latest air quality readings.
EtonHouse Pre-School Upper Bukit Timah, for example, checks the readings every two hours.
At the preschool, activities such as playing in the sandpit and sketching outdoors remain part of a typical school day.
But should the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) enter the unhealthy range – where it exceeds 100 – the preschool will stop all outdoor play and move the children indoors.
The preschool has several enclosed spaces available for children and is equipped with air purifiers in its classrooms and shared learning areas, said Ms Natalie Loh, its senior principal.
“We currently have masks on standby for both children and staff, but it really depends on the situation,” said Ms Loh, adding that the preschool is ready to purchase more masks if needed.
KEEPING CHILDREN ENGAGED INDOORS
At Little Seeds Preschool, a range of indoor activities is being lined up so children can stay engaged even if outdoor playtime has to be suspended.
“Staying indoors is not just to wait indoors. We’ve got activities prepared for children,” said Ms Dianne Swee-Seet, the preschool’s senior executive principal.
These include music and storytelling activities, as well as learning centres and dedicated spaces for art and construction.
Each classroom and activity room also has an air purifier.
Children can also move beyond their home rooms to these specialised spaces, allowing them to have “a variety of experiences although children are indoors”, Ms Swee-Seet added.
MONITORING CHILDREN’S HEALTH
Preschools are also working closely with parents to monitor children’s well-being, especially those with respiratory conditions.
Ms Mabel Lim, managing director of My First Skool, said teachers pay extra attention to such children and ensure that they have medication such as inhalers with them.
Teachers also monitor children’s health on a day-to-day basis and will contact parents if a child experiences discomfort, she said.
“If there's a need for parents to be informed of any discomfort by the children, then teachers do proactively contact parents during the day to let them know and ensure that the children do seek timely medical attention, if necessary,” said Ms Lim."
Bomb hoax forces evacuation at Xinmin Secondary School (13 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Students and staff members at Xinmin Secondary School in Hougang were briefly evacuated following a bomb hoax on Thursday (Aug 13).
In a notification to parents seen by CNA, the school said it evacuated its students and staff at about 8.30am after being alerted to a "potential bomb threat".
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it was alerted to the incident at around 8.20am.
"The police and the school personnel conducted a thorough check at the premises and no suspicious item was found," it added.
All students and staff members were accounted for and safe, and regular lessons had resumed, the school said.
When CNA arrived at about 11.45am, there were four police vehicles parked inside the school.
Xinmin's vice-principal, Mr Tan Kok Kwang, told journalists waiting outside that the school had no further comments for now and to wait for official updates, as security officers closed the main gate.
A Secondary 4 student told reporters she heard the school’s principal make an announcement over the PA system at about 8.30am.
She added that all the students were evacuated to the field, where the principal told them it was because of a bomb threat.
"It was a bit sudden...It caught us really off guard. Some of them were still having exams," the student said.
Mr Cheng, whose child studies at Xinmin Secondary School, said he was "shocked" to receive the notification about the bomb threat.
"I never imagined such an incident happening in Singapore schools," he said.
He added that he was "deeply concerned" about his child’s safety and worried that a similar incident could happen again.
Another parent, Mr Cho, said he was "a bit shocked" and surprised to hear about the bomb threat.
Mr Cho, whose son is in Secondary 2, said he found out about the incident after 10am through Parents Gateway, an app used by schools to communicate with parents.
He also received an update in the school's WhatsApp group for parents in the early afternoon.
"I think the school did a good job to calm us down and all that, because they messaged us and told us everything’s ok," he added.
Mr Albert Hooi, another parent who lived nearby, said he heard police sirens after 8am. He also received the Parents Gateway notification at about 10am.
"I was feeling very confident that I think the school has followed the safety protocol. Of course, this is all very new to us, very scared as well, but I think the school has done the right thing," he added.
The school handled the incident very professionally and made the right call to make sure everything was in order before informing parents, said Mr Hooi, whose child is 15.
"Imagine if all the parents were rushing in, then we’d get a lot more problems. I’m just happy that everything went well," he said.
The police said it is investigating this incident as a case of communicating false information of a harmful thing, which carries an imprisonment term of up to seven years, a fine of up to S$50,000 (US$39,000) or both.
"The police take all security threats seriously and will not hesitate to take action against those who intentionally communicate false information on bomb threats," it said.
CNA has contacted the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for more information."
Couple arrested after drugs found at home with infant and 3-year-old son (13 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A couple was arrested on Tuesday (Aug 11) after drugs and drug paraphernalia were found in a flat in Marsiling where their two young sons were present.
The 25-year-old man and 24-year-old woman, both Singaporeans, were arrested after the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) raided a residential unit in the vicinity of Marsiling Lane in the early hours of Tuesday.
A small amount of drugs, including cannabis, Ice, ecstasy, as well as drug paraphernalia, were seized from various parts of the unit, including the master bedroom where the children were present, CNB said in a media release on Thursday.
The boys were aged three years and seven months.
“Appropriate arrangements were made to ensure that the welfare of the children was taken care of, and the children have been placed in the care of their next-of-kin,” said CNB.
"Drug abuse is not victimless. Its harms are far-reaching, affecting not just drug abusers themselves, but also their families and loved ones, including young children," said Superintendent Xanthus Tong, deputy commanding officer of Enforcement "J".
"CNB will take firm enforcement action against those who expose children to drugs, and urge parents to keep their children away from drugs and its associated harms."
Anyone aged 21 years old and above who exposes a child to controlled drugs or drug paraphernalia, or permits or fails to take reasonable steps to prevent a young person from consuming controlled drugs, can be prosecuted.
Investigations into the couple's drug activities are ongoing."
Unofficial NUS, NTU campus tours sold on booking platform, breaching universities' rules (14 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Campus tours at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) are being sold online without the schools' authorisation, CNA has found.
The tours were listed on third-party booking platform GetYourGuide, with prices ranging from S$63 to S$300 (US$50 to US$235) per head.
Both universities said they had no involvement with the listings when contacted by CNA.
"These operators are not part of NTU's official campus tour programme and are not authorised to conduct tours on behalf of the university," said an NTU spokesperson.
“NTU does not position or market its campus as a tourist destination, nor does it work with any operator to conduct such tours.
"Only authorised campus tours conducted under the University's official programme are recognised by NTU," the spokesperson said, adding that the school is "reviewing our options to address these unauthorised listings".
An NUS spokesperson said the university "does not engage, authorise or endorse any third-party tour operators", and advised visitors to refer to the NUS Visitor Centre website when planning a visit or engaging guides.
While NUS did not say if it would take action against the listings in response to CNA’s query sent on Jul 23, it posted a warning on its WeChat page on Aug 1.
The advisory was posted in line with the beginning of the summer travel season, said the NUS spokesperson.
The Mandarin-language post said unauthorised guided tours are strictly prohibited on campus and that it will take action against those who lead them, including referring them to law enforcement agencies.
"If you see campus tour advertisements on third-party online platforms and plan to book or pay for a tour, please ensure that the tour is authorised by the university," it wrote. "Unauthorised campus tours will be stopped on the spot and reported to the relevant authorities."
She once struggled with school but is now a recipient of Singapore's highest youth development award (14 August 2026)
"It is easy to assume that someone who has received the National Youth Achievement Award Gold, one of Singapore’s highest youth development awards, would have always been confident and driven.
Solana Maria Mendoza was not. The 23-year-old struggled in her all-girls primary and secondary school and did not naturally bond with her classmates.
“I was quiet, and sometimes, it felt like there was something wrong with that. I wouldn’t speak up, I wouldn’t volunteer to do things. I was just kind of there, floating around,” she recalled.
“I studied as much as I could, but academics isn’t really my strong suit. And because I was soft-spoken, I wouldn’t really ask for help,” she added.
Mendoza initially wanted to study journalism because both her parents were editors, but after her O-Level results ruled out junior college and polytechnic, she applied for the Community Care and Social Services course at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).
She pinned all her hopes on getting in. But as the admissions window neared its end and she still had not heard back from the school, her stress intensified.
Describing it as one of her darkest moments, Mendoza said: “It was heartbreaking because I really felt like I had nowhere else to go.”
She managed to get a last-minute interview with the school and was accepted into the course. She entered ITE in 2020.
Mendoza admitted that at that time, she had no inkling where it would lead her, but the lucky break changed her life.
“Everyone has a different pace and different steps they need to take to get to where they want to be,” said Mendoza. “If I could have gone back in time to comfort my younger self when I was feeling so down, I would tell her to just trust the process.”
THE CHILDREN WHO CHANGED HER
As part of her course, she learned more about community and social work, and started doing community service as part of practical assignments.
Unlike in primary and secondary, where her volunteering was part of her co-curricular requirement, this time, something clicked.
Mendoza also found a group of friends at ITE she bonded closely with and felt inspired to volunteer outside of school with a close friend in 2021.
The duo chose aLife Limited, a charity that supports vulnerable women, children and families through pregnancy, parenting and community programmes. They volunteered at the charity’s Caterpillar Club, a programme for children from vulnerable families.
She remembers being a bundle of nerves during her first session. The group of around 10 children she led were wary and reserved.
But despite her introverted nature, Mendoza was able to break the ice and earn the children’s trust.
“I remember one child who was way more reserved, and seemed very uncomfortable with the environment. I spent so much time with him over the next few sessions that he opened up to me,” Mendoza said.
“And over time, he became more outgoing, participated in more activities and the other kids also started bringing him into their groups.”
From an assistant to more experienced volunteers, Mendoza rose to the role of a children’s welfare volunteer leader, entrusted to help children with meltdowns regulate their emotions.
Journeying with the same group of children for four to five years, she bonded deeply with them, and it heartened her to see how much they grew in confidence and independence.
Mendoza grew alongside them. “They taught me how to use my voice and speak up more because we were their leaders and were required to guide them. This encouraged me to break out of my shell a bit more,” she reflected.
It quickly became clear to Mendoza that she wanted a career in community service working on children and youth. So, after completing her Nitec course in 2022, she enrolled in ITE’s Higher Nitec in Early Childhood Education.
She is now in her third year of her Psychology and Community Development diploma at Ngee Ann Polytechnic."
Fresh tech grads worry AI raising bar for entry-level jobs, as employers demand more skills (14 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: As artificial intelligence transforms software development, Singapore’s fresh tech graduates are worried that coding skills alone may no longer be enough to land a job.
This comes as employers are increasingly looking for entry-level hires who can solve business problems and deploy products to real-world scenarios, while working faster, more efficiently and independently.
A survey of 246 tertiary students by youth-led non-profit tech movement YouthTechSG found that 83.3 per cent wanted help with technical skills development and problem-solving.
This was followed by career planning and professional growth at 78.5 per cent, and networking and building professional connections at 71.5 per cent.
YouthTechSG vice-president Lam Yik Ting said AI has dramatically changed the software development process.
DIFFERENT SET OF SKILLS NEEDED
One example is “vibe coding”, which allows developers to use AI to generate code from natural-language prompts rather than writing it line by line.
“Instead of writing individual lines of code, you are just deploying agents to take different perspectives,” said Mr Lam, citing examples of cybersecurity agents that spot bugs working alongside agents that help design user interfaces.
As AI takes on more of the coding, developers need a different set of skills, including an understanding of software architecture and how different components work together, he added.
But while employers expect graduates to know how to use new tools, they also want to ensure employees can work without relying on them.
“Employers are coming back to the traditional way of interviewing candidates, (including) live coding assignments without the use of AI assistants,” said Ms Neo Miao Xia, associate manager of technology at global recruitment firm Michael Page.
While such tools may be permitted on the job, companies still want fresh graduates to demonstrate during the hiring process that they are “able to do the job themselves without relying on a third-party tool”, she added.
FUNDAMENTALS STILL MATTER
Tech students say they are worried that what they learn in school could become outdated by the time they graduate, given the rapid pace of AI development.
At meet-ups, some have shared that they are responding by taking on multiple internships and pursuing extra credentials, sometimes even skipping lectures to do so.
Experts, however, believe strong fundamentals remain important even as the skills required by the industry evolve.
Those with adaptability, critical thinking and practical experience will be better positioned to succeed in an AI-driven job market, they added."
NTU to stop using 'fundamentally unreliable' AI detector from 2027 (14 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will discontinue the use of its artificial intelligence detector from 2027, said the institution in an email to faculty members on Thursday (Aug 13).
The university recognises that the current automated AI detection tools are “fundamentally unreliable”, read the email signed by Dr Tan Seng Chee, the school’s associate vice-provost for education transformation.
These tools also cannot distinguish between unauthorised misconduct and the responsible partnership with AI needed in the curriculum, he wrote.
Since these tools “lack empirical validity”, NTU will deactivate its institutional AI detector at the end of this semester, or Dec 31, said Dr Tan in the email seen by CNA.
AI misuse was a source of controversy for NTU in 2025. In April that year, three NTU students were accused of misusing AI for false and inaccurate citations.
The students – who were told in class that the use of ChatGPT and AI tools was not allowed in the “development or generation” of their essay proposal and long essay – disputed the claims and raised concerns about due process.
All three of them were accused of and penalised for using generative AI in their work. NTU later held consultations with them and upheld the zero mark awarded to one student who appealed the outcome.
NTU will not rely on AI probability scores as evidence of academic misconduct, Dr Tan wrote in his email, noting that this is aligned with emerging best practices across local and international universities.
“Consequently, we are transitioning away from automated surveillance toward assessment designs that evaluate student learning through transparent process-oriented documentation,” he said.
The decision to phase out AI detection tools comes from NTU’s commitment to the well-being of students and faculty, and its intent to preserve a culture of mutual trust, the email read.
For students, relying on “adversarial detection scores” creates an environment of surveillance and distrust, which “undermines the psychological safety” needed for creative exploration and productive struggle, said Dr Tan.
For faculty, AI detection scores introduce administrative noise and cognitive friction, he added.
Reviewing ambiguous probability reports forces teachers into defensive policing roles, leading to burnout from investigating cases and strained relationships between faculty and students, said the associate vice-provost.
“Deactivating these tools frees faculty to focus their time and energy on meaningful pedagogical engagement,” he said in the email."
Two President's Scholars grateful for opportunity to give back meaningfully to society (14 August 2026)
"President Tharman Shanmugaratnam says Singapore's Public Service plays a critical role in ensuring there's trust in the country's social compact, even as global challenges become increasingly complex. He was speaking at the President's Scholarship award ceremony held at the Istana.
Charlene Tan and Samuel Poh are the recipients of the President's Scholarship this year.
Charlene is the first female Singapore Police Force scholar to receive the scholarship and she will pursue a Forensic Science degree at Pennsylvania State University. Samuel will be studying at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Nadine Yeam reports."
Down the rabbit hole: Social media is exploiting youthful angst for profit or politics (14 August 2026)
"When Renee (not her real name) was around 14, beauty and skincare videos began filling her social media feeds, from products promising better skin, to elaborate "everything showers" where users spend longer than usual on a full-body routine involving steps such as deep cleansing, exfoliation and haircare.
She asked not to be identified by her real name because of the sensitive nature of her experience and her young age.
Renee had initially sought out skincare and makeup content for clearer skin and to cover her acne, as well as videos on losing facial fat and weight and watched them because they seemed fun. But as the same kind of posts kept appearing even when she was no longer actively searching for them, she started comparing herself more closely with the faces and bodies on her screen.
"It was mostly insecurity," said Renee, now 15. "It made me feel, 'Oh, maybe I need to look better'. Then it became, 'How do I look better?'"
Before long, that question had a ready-made algorithmic answer: cosmetic products. At just 14, she became set on getting a S$100 (US$78) retinol cream – a product more commonly associated with reducing signs of ageing such as fine lines and wrinkles.
"I tried to convince my mum to buy it for me," she recalled, though her mother ultimately refused. "Looking back, it's stupid. Why do I need retinol (at this age)?"
For Aldrin Ardiansyah, 17, the influence of online content became apparent in lower secondary school, when some of his friends began echoing the views of Andrew Tate – a self-described misogynist and social media influencer known for promoting an aggressively masculine persona and views widely criticised as demeaning towards women.
Tate's clips were appearing on Aldrin's TikTok feed too. At first, he found himself watching them just as entertainment, but later stopped interacting with the videos because he did not want to help popularise them and hoped the algorithm would stop recommending them.
Because such content was already common on his own feed, he said he was not particularly surprised when schoolmates began repeating Tate’s ideas, sometimes in what he saw as a joking or satirical way.
The first-year polytechnic student believes his friends' ages made them more impressionable, while the lack of alternative viewpoints around them meant there was little to challenge what they were seeing online.
"I think the content targeted boys who felt small or powerless, and gave them the wrong kind of confidence by affirming certain ways of thinking," he said.
Tate and his brother, both in their late 30s, were arrested in Miami, United States, last month on an extradition request from Britain, which has charged them with rape. The two have denied wrongdoing.
While the experiences of the two Singaporean teenagers, Renee and Aldrin, differ, both show how ordinary adolescent insecurities and frustrations can be captured online and harnessed to promote products, communities or specific worldviews.
Experts told CNA TODAY that young people have become a prized demographic for commercial, political and ideological actors seeking to win their spending, loyalty or support.
At the extreme end, recent cases of self-radicalised teenagers in Singapore have shown how online influence can translate into extremist beliefs and plans for real-world violence.
These incidents have sparked much debate over whether stronger safeguards, including banning platforms such as Roblox, are needed to protect young users.
However, experts such as Dr Chew Han Ei, an online safety researcher and Associate Director (Impact) at Singapore Management University (SMU), cautioned that banning one platform may simply shift the risk elsewhere.
Instead, there is a need to understand what draws young people towards such content, and why they can be particularly susceptible to it.
Experts stressed that youthful insecurity and attempts to influence young people are hardly new. What has changed, they said, is the intensity and precision with which today’s personalised, always-on platforms can identify what captures a young person’s attention and keep reinforcing it.
Youths from time immemorial have always struggled with emotional pressures, but experts said the online environment can magnify them in ways previous generations did not experience, while also allowing those seeking young people's attention to target them far more deliberately."
Meet the people keeping dialects and heritage languages alive in Singapore (14 August 2026)
"A resident at a nursing home was sitting under an air-conditioner, visibly shivering, but she said nothing.
Although a nursing assistant was just an arm's length away, the woman, who was more comfortable speaking in dialect, could not easily communicate that she was cold.
Mr Eugene Lee, who witnessed the scene while volunteering at the nursing home years ago, still remembers it.
"There was a language barrier. She would rather suffer physical discomfort than say something," the 42-year-old said.
Over his years of volunteering, Mr Lee has come across many nursing home residents who struggle to communicate with people around them because they are more fluent in dialects or other heritage languages, leaving some of them socially isolated.
The co-founder of dialect learning platform LearnDialect.sg said that the difference can be striking. Seniors who had been staring vacantly at the television would suddenly light up when he spoke to them in Chinese dialects such as Hokkien or Teochew.
"Some of the seniors really come alive in conversation. The moment there is a language that they can engage in, they are, like, 'Ah, finally!' Most of them then start to share their life stories."
A large swathe of older Singaporeans still regularly speak dialects and heritage languages. Drop into any hawker centre and one is bound to hear strains of Hokkien, Malay and a variety of Indian languages.
At home, however, dialect use has been fading, with English becoming the dominant language.
Data from Singapore's Census of Population 2020 showed that only 8.7 per cent of residents aged five and above used dialects as the most common language at home in 2020, down 5.6 percentage points from 2010.
At the same time, the percentage of households that use English as the most common language rose from 32.3 per cent in 2010 to 48.3 per cent in 2020.
Yet, declining use does not necessarily mean declining interest.
There are signs that heritage languages still hold a powerful appeal in Singapore, and recent films have offered a glimpse of that appetite.
Singaporeans queued for hours last month to catch the Chinese box-office hit Dear You in its original Teochew, with some even travelling to Malaysia rather than settling for the Mandarin-dubbed version here. The film delves into the lives of the Teochew people who moved from China to Southeast Asia in the 1940s.
Similarly, Cantonese screenings of award-winning Hong Kong film The Last Dance sold out following its Singapore release in late 2024. The film, which focused on funeral rituals, explores the meaning of life and death.
Persistent demand by movie-goers led to extra screenings in 2025 at Golden Village cinemas and an extended screening by the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre.
Such moments may thrust heritage languages back into the spotlight, but away from the big screen, people and groups have been quietly working for years to keep Hokkien, Teochew, Malayalam, Baba Malay and other heritage languages alive.
SPEAKING THEIR LANGUAGE
Mr Lee and his wife Ski Yeo, also 42, hatched the idea of starting a dialect-learning platform for Hokkien, Cantonese and Teochew in 2018 after noticing that fellow volunteers and other healthcare workers had trouble communicating with older residents in nursing homes.
Their first lessons were geared towards healthcare professionals and nursing home workers, most of whom were migrant workers from Cambodia, India and the Philippines.
Besides healthcare workers, their students also include Singaporeans who want to communicate with their elders.
Mr Lee vividly recalled the first time a student approached him with the intention of learning Hokkien so that she could communicate with her terminally ill grandmother.
"Across the years that we have been teaching, there are more and more of these instances...At least for that student, she still had time."
They have also coached students who are getting married and wish to pick up their in-laws' dialects, Ms Yeo said. Some students even learn a dialect with the express purpose of impressing their new family during their wedding speech.
Mr Lee and Ms Yeo charge a fee for their lessons, but the number of students they teach is not quite enough to sustain both of them, and the couple see this as a passion project.
Mr Lee is a part-time sake sommelier, and his wife runs a wine-tasting educational platform."
A stroke robbed me of my speech and career. Writing helped me find my voice again (14 August 2026)
"Eee...ooo...eee...ooo..."
I stood before the mirror, repeatedly alternating between smiling at my reflection and blowing myself kisses while making these noises.
Anyone watching might have thought I had lost my mind. Really, I was following exercises prescribed by my speech therapist to help me regain control of the muscles in my face and mouth, and reconnect my brain with my speech abilities.
Communication had always been the foundation of my career. As someone who had spent his entire working life in communications, marketing and related fields, my professional skill set centred on my ability to present ideas, shape strategies and win support from others.
To do that, I needed words.
Words were not just tools. Words were my superpower; they gave me confidence and influence. They were a core part of my identity and how I measured my value.
Then, almost overnight, they were taken from me by a haemorrhagic stroke in August 2020.
My memories, thoughts and emotions were still there, but the words that once came so easily to express them no longer followed.
Sometimes, I could not retrieve a word; sometimes the wrong one emerged. I often got trapped halfway when forming a sentence. Reading and writing also became difficult.
The words flitted around restlessly in my mind, but my mouth could not release them.
THE INVISIBLE STRUGGLE OF APHASIA
Until my stroke, I had never heard the word "aphasia", a condition caused by damage to the brain that can affect a person's ability to speak, understand, read or write.
I had no idea what it could do to a person – or what it was about to do to me.
Aphasia robbed me of fluent speech and derailed my career, but it also dealt lasting blows to my dignity, confidence and self-worth.
My physical difficulties after the stroke were easier for others to recognise. People could see the significant weakness in the right side of my face and body, and the great effort required for me to walk and move around.
Aphasia was much less visible.
Every conversation became a test. Could I find the words? Would the other person wait? What if I said something completely different from what I intended?
Even now, years after my stroke, speaking requires a draining level of concentration.
The harder I try, the more tired I get. The more tired I am, the harder it becomes to retrieve the words.
All the while, a person interacting with me might not realise I'm struggling at all.
Sometimes, people would jump in to complete my sentences, though the word they supplied was not always the one I wanted.
Conversations often moved on or concluded before I could take part. Follow-up questions were more likely to be directed to the person beside me.
Over time, these began to make me feel invisible. Eventually, I felt forced to hold my tongue more often than not.
It wasn't because I had nothing to say. Rather, it was just too hard to say anything at all.
LOSING MORE THAN MY VOICE
Sometimes, I wondered if this was the end of the line – maybe I had used up my lifetime "quota" of speech and must now use my reserves carefully.
My communication difficulties started to feel more like struggles to maintain my dignity as a human being.
It felt like people were mistaking my pauses for a lack of opinion, or my difficulty with speaking for a difficulty with thinking.
Some days, I grappled with depression as I struggled to understand and accept the distance between the person I used to be and the person I had become.
For a long time, I believed recovery meant reverting to the life I'd had before my stroke, as well as the person I'd been.
Close to five months after the stroke, I returned to work briefly, hoping to restore whatever vestiges of my former self that I could.
But it was a short-lived attempt. I was simply no longer able to communicate as quickly, comprehensively or compellingly as my work demanded.
I had to leave my career – the thing that had, for decades, given me purpose, fulfilment and belief in my very worth and value.
FINDING OTHER WAYS TO SPEAK
Gradually, I realised I could not rebuild my life anew if I insisted on clinging to my old one. You can't move forward if you keep trying to go back.
The truth was, I was stuck with aphasia – and I wasn’t about to convince myself it was a "gift" of sorts.
But I allowed myself to acknowledge yet another truth: I still had something meaningful to contribute.
I began writing, looking to place my fear, anger, confusion and loneliness somewhere outside my mind.
Writing was still difficult, but it gave me what conversation no longer did: time.
I could pause, search for a word and return later. With notes, text-to-speech tools and trusted support, I wrote myself a new pathway to the outside world.
I finished one book, which was published by a Singapore publisher. One book became six, each one exploring topics such as stroke, rehabilitation, identity and poetry."
Marriage, parenthood workgroup advances early proposals to not 'lose time' on falling birth rates: Indranee (15 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Measures to better support families will be brought forward instead of waiting for the Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup to complete its full report, after several areas of “clear consensus” on the challenges faced by families emerged from its engagements with Singaporeans.
Speaking at a National Day dinner in her Pasir Ris-Changi ward on Saturday (Aug 15), Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah said the workgroup, which will release its full report in early 2027, has advanced a set of interim policy recommendations so that Singapore does not "lose time" addressing the important issue of falling birth rates.
These include taking a fresh look at the cost of raising children, access to affordable infant care and childcare, as well as other support for families.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will share more details at the upcoming National Day Rally on Aug 23, Ms Indranee said.
The Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup was formed earlier this year to develop a roadmap to make marriage and parenthood more achievable, supported and valued in Singapore.
Ms Indranee, who chairs the workgroup, said its members have spent the past few months speaking to Singaporeans about their hopes, aspirations and concerns surrounding marriage and parenthood.
Asked why there was a need to advance the recommendations when the report is due in about six months, Ms Indranee said some issues were clearly on people’s minds and could already be addressed.
“Rather than wait...because it’s an important issue, (we) might as well deal with this early and upfront,” she told reporters on the sidelines of the event.
"It's actually a huge review. We're leaving no stone unturned, and there are many other things that we have to look at.
"So we thought better to come up with these early, signal them early, and then after that we can focus on the other areas.
"FIRST WAVE OF MEASURES"
Ms Indranee said the upcoming National Day Rally would be the “first wave” of measures arising from the workgroup, with more to come.
She said the workgroup’s engagements had shown that the cost of raising children, childcare and other forms of support were “very much on people’s minds”.
“We felt that, given the nature of this issue, we can actually advance some of our recommendations, which we did, and that’s what (Prime Minister) will be speaking about at the National Day Rally,” she said.
“I think it’s fair to say he will be focusing on support, what greater support we can give to families.”
In his National Day Message, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said a “major review” was underway of how the government supports Singaporean families not just at the point of marriage and parenthood, but throughout their life’s journey.
WORKPLACE CULTURE AMONG AREAS BEING STUDIED
One major area that will not be dealt with at the National Day Rally is workplace culture and norms, Ms Indranee said.
The workgroup has received feedback not only on work-life balance, but also on matters such as applying for leave and how flexible work arrangements are implemented, she said.
Ms Indranee said there was “clear consensus” that workplace issues needed to be tackled, but this would require more time because the workgroup was seeking to balance the interests and concerns of employers and employees.
She pointed to the role played by employers, human resource professionals and line managers in shaping employees’ experiences.
For instance, a parent taking shared parental leave could have a very different experience depending on the response of their supervisor.
“If your line manager is empathetic, happy for you that you have a child, it makes it so much easier,” she said.
But even if the leave is approved, a manager who reacts as though it is an imposition sends “a very different signal”, she added.
“So, learning how to create better workplace norms and cultures, I think, is a very important part of this.”
“There’s a combination of the more tangible measures, but you also need the intangibles, the software, and how people approach things, and that is actually quite hard to do.”
Commentary: Do university rankings still matter to parents and students? (17 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Every year, the release of global university rankings triggers a familiar ripple of celebration, anxiety and comparison for students as well as their parents.
The latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) rankings continue to reflect Asian universities rising, particularly within the top 200. Institutions in China, Hong Kong and South Korea gained ground, while Singapore maintained its strong position with two universities in the top 12.
Yet the mindsets that shape university decisions often shift more slowly. For older generations, names like Oxford, Cambridge or the Ivy League still carry a symbolic weight that goes beyond rankings.
But today's students are entering a different higher education landscape from the one their parents grew up in. Top universities in Asia are gaining global recognition, offering students strong academic programmes, industry connections and access to fast-growing regional economies.
Beyond Singapore, the rise of Asian universities has expanded the range of institutions that students consider enrolling in.
The QS World University Rankings 2027 show that the international student ratio has risen in Hong Kong, Malaysia and South Korea. Meanwhile, the US and UK have seen year-on-year declines because of tighter restrictions on international student intakes and graduate work visas.
NARROWING DOWN OPTIONS
Rankings can signal global shifts in educational quality, but they do not automatically rewrite long-held beliefs about what a “good” university looks like.
Mother-of-two Evelyn Tan shared that when her daughter was selecting universities, rankings played a significant role in narrowing down options. Her daughter chose to focus exclusively on universities within the top 50 of the QS rankings, which are still largely Western institutions..
For Ms Tan, the appeal of highly ranked institutions remains relevant and understandable. "Places like MIT, Harvard and Oxford attract strong teachers and students," she said, pointing to her own experience taking Harvard's well-known CS50 Computer Science course.
Another friend drew a distinction between overseas and local universities. "When it comes to local universities, ranking was less relevant in influencing decisions as all the major names are of comfortable standing," she said.
I suspect many parents would agree. Few would question the quality of our local universities. When families compare overseas options, however, rankings often become a convenient way of sorting through an overwhelming number of choices.
Yet while institutions in China, Hong Kong and South Korea are increasingly visible due to rankings, deciding whether these universities are the right choice is not a question rankings alone can answer. The better question is whether a particular institution, course and environment align with a young person's interests and aspirations.
KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING YOUR CHILD
While rankings may serve as a useful shorthand for quality and reassurance, they can only tell us so much.
They do not reveal whether a student will enjoy the curriculum, thrive in the campus culture or feel a sense of belonging. They do not measure the quality of relationships with professors, the opportunities available within a specific course, or whether a particular environment will bring out the best in a young person.
The more pressing question here is whether a particular university course is the right fit. This is where a young person’s interests, values, learning preferences or sense of purpose come to the fore.
When deciding which universities to apply to, the balance between parental guidance and teen autonomy can be difficult to achieve. In many families, parents remain highly involved in university decisions, often because they bring valuable experience, financial resources and a long-term perspective.
At the same time, adolescence is a period when young people are developing their identity, voice and autonomy.
It is therefore unsurprising that university choice can become a flashpoint. Parents may prioritise prestige, stability and future security, while their children may be more concerned about their personal development and the kind of life they seek."
'Religious influencer' gets jail and caning for raping boy and molesting his brother (17 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A self-styled religious mentor, who is not an accredited religious teacher, took two young boys from a broken family into his fold, but raped the younger one at least 10 times and molested the older one.
It left the boys, then aged six to eight and 11 to 12, suicidal and made the close brothers drift apart.
The 37-year-old Singaporean man, who was married at the time of the offences, was sentenced on Monday (Aug 17) to 27 years and 10 months' jail and 24 strokes of the cane.
He was diagnosed with paedophilic disorder, but this had no contributing link to the offences, the court heard.
The man cannot be named due to gag orders protecting the victims' identities.
He pleaded guilty to three charges of rape and two counts of molestation, with 12 charges taken into consideration.
THE CASE
The court heard that the man was never recognised as an Islamic or Quranic teacher under the Administration of Muslim Law at all times. He was described as a "religious influencer" in court documents.
Before he hit on the two brothers, he had targeted another victim, who was 17 at the time. The pair met through mutual friends and became close after spending time together at a mosque and texting each other almost daily.
The offender acted as a big brother and religious mentor to the first victim.
However, during dinner at a restaurant in December 2021, the offender molested the victim during the meal, telling him "don't worry" and that it was "not painful".
The victim reported the case to the police that same month, and the offender was arrested and released on police bail.
Despite this, he went on to prey on the two young brothers. Their parents had divorced and they were under the care of their mother, but she was admitted to a drug rehabilitation centre.
The boys stayed with their grandmother between October 2021 and October 2023."
MUIS to strengthen patrols, CCTV monitoring after 'serious sexual offences' involving young victim at mosque (17 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) on Monday (Aug 17) said it would strengthen existing security measures, including patrols and closed-circuit television monitoring, in light of a rape case involving a young victim at a mosque.
In a statement following the conviction, a MUIS spokesperson said it "strongly condemns the serious sexual offences involving youth victims at mosque premises".
"Our mosques must always be safe and trusted spaces, especially for our children and young people," the spokesperson said.
The case involves a 37-year-old Singaporean man who had taken in two young boys from a broken family while conducting religious lessons at a mosque, and later raped the younger boy and molested the older victim.
The man, who cannot be named due to a gag order, was previously known to his victims on social media. He is not accredited as a religious teacher.
The offences left the boys, then aged six to eight and 11 to 12, suicidal and caused the once-close brothers to drift apart.
In light of this case, MUIS said the safety of mosque visitors was paramount and added that it would strengthen existing security measures to keep mosques safe for all.
"Safeguarding, however, extends beyond our mosque premises," said the spokesperson.
"As more religious engagement takes place online, parents, mosque leaders, asatizah and the wider community have an important role in helping our young recognise trusted sources, navigate online interactions safely, and speak up when something does not seem right."
Police identify 40-year-old diner after assault on elderly man who patted child's head (17 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The police have identified a 40-year-old man in connection with an incident at a food court, where a 73-year-old man was allegedly shoved to the ground after patting a young girl on the head.
The police confirmed on Sunday (Aug 16) that a report had been made and investigations are ongoing.
In response to CNA queries, they added that they had identified a man in relation to the alleged assault of the older man at 50 East Coast Road on Saturday at about 4.40pm.
"Members of the public are advised not to speculate on the incident or its circumstances, and to allow the police to conduct investigations and establish the facts of the case," the police said.
The incident came to public attention after Bei-Ing Wanton Noodle appealed on social media for information that could help identify the younger man involved in the confrontation.
The business operates two stalls, one at Roxy Square mall along East Coast Road and the other in a coffee shop near Telok Kurau Road.
On social media, it was stated that the incident happened on Saturday and involved the father of the person who wrote the posts.
Closed-circuit television footage posted by the business showed the incident taking place at its Roxy Square outlet.
The family said the older man, who has difficulty walking, was going past a table and using it for support when he briefly reached out and patted a young girl on the head.
The child's father then became upset and confronted him, the family alleged.
CCTV footage showed the older man being shoved and falling to the ground.
The family said that relatives who were present helped him up, adding that he did not want to pursue the matter further.
Later, the younger man sat down with him, apologised and offered him a drink, the posts stated.
In a subsequent Facebook post, the family said the older man was suffering from back pain following the incident and urged those with information to contact the relevant authorities.
Another post, which was later removed, contained footage showing the two men seated across from each other at a table. In the accompanying text, the girl's father apologised and said he had been "overprotective" of his daughter.
In a third post, Bei-Ing Wanton Noodle reiterated its appeal for information and said the matter remained unresolved.
On Monday, the business posted a photo of the older man in a wheelchair on Instagram Stories and said he had agreed to go to hospital to get checked.
It also said that its Roxy Square outlet will be closed until Aug 20."
Teenage girl arrested over bomb hoax that forced Xinmin Secondary School evacuation (18 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A 15-year-old girl has been arrested in connection with a bomb hoax at Xinmin Secondary School last week, CNA understands.
The police confirmed the arrest on Tuesday (Aug 18), but provided no further details about the suspect.
"Police investigations are ongoing," they said.
Students and staff members at the Hougang school were briefly evacuated last Thursday morning following a "potential bomb threat”. Xinmin Secondary said that it immediately contacted the police upon learning of the potential threat.
No suspicious items were found by authorities after the school’s premises were checked and regular lessons resumed later that day.
The police then said that they were investigating the incident as a case of communicating false information of a harmful thing.
Anyone convicted of communicating false information of a harmful thing may face up to seven years' jail, a fine of up to S$50,000 (US$39,000) or both. Cases involving offenders under 16 are typically dealt with in the Youth Court.
"CAUGHT US REALLY OFF GUARD"
A Secondary 4 student told reporters last Thursday that an announcement was made over the PA system at about 8.30am.
All students were evacuated to the field, where Xinmin Secondary's principal told them it was because of a bomb threat, she said.
"It was a bit sudden...It caught us really off guard. Some of them were still having exams," she added.
Parents who spoke to CNA then expressed shock at the incident. "I never imagined such an incident happening in Singapore schools," said Mr Cheng, whose child studies at Xinmin Secondary.
Mr Albert Hooi, another parent, said he heard police sirens after 8am. He was alerted about the incident at about 10am through Parents Gateway, an app used by schools to communicate with parents.
"I was feeling very confident that I think the school has followed the safety protocol. Of course, this is all very new to us, very scared as well, but I think the school has done the right thing," he said.
The school handled the incident very professionally and made the right call to make sure everything was in order before informing parents, said Mr Hooi, who is the father of a 15-year-old child.
"Imagine if all the parents were rushing in, then we’d get a lot more problems. I’m just happy that everything went well," he added.
The bomb hoax came four years after a similar incident at Evergreen Secondary School in Woodlands. Even though the threat was determined to be false, such security threats should still be taken seriously, the Ministry of Home Affairs then said."
Man gets 9 months' jail after hitting, throwing pillow at baby daughter whose crying angered him (18 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Angered by his infant daughter's crying as he worked at home, a man shone a torchlight into the baby's face, shouted at her, then threw a pillow at her.
When the nine-month-old baby continued crying, the man turned her onto her side and slapped her buttocks nine times.
About five months later, the father, who is now aged 35, abused his daughter again after again becoming angered by her crying.
The man was sentenced to nine months' jail on Tuesday (Aug 18), after he pleaded guilty to two counts of ill-treating a child.
Seven other similar charges were taken into consideration (TIC) for sentencing. These included charges involving another daughter, who is a year older than the victim in the two proceeded charges.
One of these TIC charges involve the man leaving the older girl outside and depriving her of milk.
The father cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the identity of the victim.
ABUSE CAPTURED ON CAMERA
Some of the abuse was captured by a motion-activated camera in the study, where the baby's cot was located.
On Jul 2, 2024, the man was working in the darkened study about 9pm when his daughter woke and began crying.
Angered by her crying, the man shone a torchlight from his mobile phone into the baby's face, put her on her back and shouted at her to be quiet.
He then struck a pillow in the cot, causing the baby to cry louder, before throwing it at her face.
When the baby continued to cry, he turned her onto her side and slapped her buttocks nine times.
He then shone the torchlight into her face again and, according to court documents, "questioned her".
On Nov 29, 2024, the offender was again working in the study when the baby, who was standing in the cot, began to cry.
At about 9.44pm, angered again by the crying, the man hit the victim's buttocks. He then picked up the victim and threw her onto the cot mattress.
The baby continued crying and used her hand to soothe the pain in her buttocks.
The man's then-wife made a police report against him on Dec 30, 2024. She had previously tried on several occasions to verbally dissuade him from hitting the children.
They have since divorced."
Zaqy Mohamad ‘deeply disturbed’ by sexual assault case involving young children at mosque (18 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Zaqy Mohamad on Tuesday (Aug 18) said he was "deeply disturbed" after learning about a case of sexual assault committed against young children at a mosque.
A 37-year-old Singaporean man had taken in two young boys from a broken family while conducting religious lessons at a mosque, and later raped the younger boy and molested the older victim. He was sentenced to 27 years and 10 months' jail and 24 strokes of the cane.
Mr Zaqy said in a video posted on Facebook that the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) is reviewing safeguards and strengthening security measures, particularly around informal activities and gatherings involving children and youths.
"MUIS has announced measures to strengthen security, including patrols and CCTV monitoring. But I've asked MUIS to go even further and review our safeguards carefully, especially informal activities and gatherings involving children and youths," Mr Zaqy said.
The religious council on Monday said the safety of mosque visitors was paramount and added that it would strengthen existing security measures to keep mosques safe for all.
"What happened should never have happened. Not to any child. Not anywhere and certainly not in a place where our children and families should feel safe," Mr Zaqy said on Tuesday.
"MUIS is working closely with relevant organisations to ensure the family receives the care and support they need," according to a Facebook post by MUIS and Mr Zaqy on Tuesday.
Mr Zaqy also acknowledged the questions the case raised about safety in mosques.
The acting minister reiterated that the offender was neither a mosque staff member or volunteer, nor an accredited religious teacher under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS) and was not conducting a formal religious class organised or approved by the mosque.
He added: "The fact remains that some of these interactions did take place within a mosque."
A MUIS spokesperson on Monday said that the offender was not a mosque staff member or volunteer, nor was he an asatizah (Islamic religious teacher) accredited under ARS.
"Our mosques must remain open and welcoming, but open and welcoming must also mean safe," Mr Zaqy said."
Polytechnics step up autonomous mobility training as industry needs evolve (19 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Some polytechnics are strengthening their curriculum to prepare students for roles in autonomous mobility, amid a growing demand for cross-disciplinary skills that integrate software, hardware and artificial intelligence.
A key area is autonomous vehicles, which are designed to navigate and respond to road conditions with little or no human input. They rely on technologies such as sensors, cameras and AI to decide how to steer, accelerate or brake.
The institutes are also looking to deepen industry collaborations, with Singapore's new S$800 million (US$626 million) transport research and innovation investment expected to open more opportunities for students to work on emerging technologies.
MORE REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE
At Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP), students are already getting hands-on experience with autonomous vehicles through internships.
Third-year electronic and computer engineering student Shawn Lee is on a 22-week internship with autonomous vehicle operator MooVita.
His work includes mapping routes before self-driving shuttles are deployed and testing how they respond to different situations on the road.
"This project gave me a lot of practical experience that I could use in my further studies, and even after I graduate. I think that this is a growing industry – it could be what I will be heading into next," he said.
NP is looking to extend internships to as long as a year for some courses.
It is also exploring a tie-up with the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) Centre for Autonomous Mobility to give students more exposure to the sector.
This could include learning journeys, sessions with industry experts and projects with potential partners, said Mr Tan Guangfan, covering director of NP's School of Engineering.
Mr Tan hopes the potential collaboration with LTA could open doors to more industry partners involved in autonomous mobility.
He said multidisciplinary skills have become more important as increasingly complex engineering systems require different technologies to work together.
"Very complex systems like autonomous transport, smart infrastructures will require integrations of software, hardware, data, sensors, and communications to make things work,” he said.
He added that employers are increasingly looking for graduates who can "link different technologies together"."
NTUC ramping up early career support for graduating youths amid AI shifts: Ng Chee Meng (19 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is stepping up job-matching and career support for graduating youths as artificial intelligence reshapes industries, jobs and the skills employers seek, secretary-general Ng Chee Meng said on Wednesday (Aug 19).
While AI will create new opportunities, it is also changing how young people enter and navigate the workforce, said the labour chief.
“For graduating youths, this can make the transition from school to work more uncertain.
“That is why NTUC is stepping up support early, even before they graduate, to help them build the skills, confidence, and networks to seize the right opportunities, and importantly, to connect with employers,” he said.
“We want our youths to be prepared not just for their first job, but for a future of continuous learning, adaptation and growth.”
As part of these efforts, NTUC Youth will increase the intake for the bond-free NTUC Starter Awards scholarships by 50 per cent, bringing the total number of scholars in the next iteration to 150.
The programme, launched in 2024, has benefited 135 students so far. It includes leadership development, industry mentorship and overseas learning, NTUC said in a media release.
Nanyang Technological University will also join the NTUC Starter Awards, bringing the total number of partner institutes of higher learning to nine.
The other partner schools are the three Institute of Technical Education colleges, Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic and Singapore Institute of Technology.
SUPPORT TO HELP YOUTHS FIND JOBS
Mr Ng, who recently returned to Cabinet as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, was speaking at a dinner to mark the 21st anniversary of NTUC Youth, the labour movement’s youth wing.
NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) is preparing graduating youths for the workforce through personalised career coaching and guidance, including an AI career coach.
E2i has also worked with employers and tertiary institutions to connect youths to jobs through career fairs and workshops, said NTUC.
Across three youth-focused events held in July, more than 50 employers offered about 300 entry-level roles, with more than 900 vacancies available across sectors including technology and cybersecurity, engineering, finance and other professional services.
More than 800 on-site interviews were conducted at the events, NTUC said.
Mr Ng referred to recent findings by the International Labour Organization that youth unemployment was rising most sharply in higher-income countries, where young people increasingly fear that their jobs will be replaced by technology.
While the challenges are real, AI will also bring new possibilities, business models and industries that Singapore is well-placed to pursue, he said."
Co-living an emerging housing option for young adults, but affordability and familiarity concerns remain (20 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Co-living is emerging as a new housing option for young adults seeking independence before marriage or owning their first home, but it is unlikely to shift Singapore’s longstanding policy and emphasis on home ownership for now, said observers.
It reflects how young Singaporeans’ housing goals are changing as they marry later and seek greater flexibility in the transition to adulthood while affordability remains a major consideration, they added.
This follows the announcement of a co-living pilot under the SG Youth Plan last month, with two operators setting aside over 100 units for Singaporean youths aged 21 to 35 at discounted rates.
As of Aug 12, more than 600 people have expressed interest in the initiative, said a Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth spokesperson.
The majority are single youths, with the most commonly cited reason being the desire for more personal space and the opportunity to experience living independently.
While it may be an additional rung on the housing ladder – between living with parents and buying a home – observers cautioned against seeing the pilot as a fundamental shift in Singapore’s national housing policy.
At the launch of Mber co-living and serviced apartments earlier this month, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat said that household structures and housing aspirations have evolved as society becomes more diverse.
“While homeownership remains a key tenet of Singapore’s social compact, we recognise that there is also demand for flexible accommodation options, such as by younger Singaporeans who are looking to rent initially before buying their own homes,” he said.
“Now, let me be clear, we still want to encourage home ownership. That is still a very key part of our social compact.”
FILLING THE MISSING MIDDLE
While home ownership remains the final end goal, co-living could fill a gap on the traditional housing journey of Singaporean youths, said observers.
“For a long time, the typical housing journey in Singapore has been quite straightforward: you live with your parents, get married, buy an HDB flat and eventually perhaps upgrade,” said National University of Singapore economics and real estate professor Sumit Agarwal.
While that model has worked well, Prof Agarwal noted that young people’s lives are becoming more varied.
“They are marrying later, changing jobs more often, spending time overseas, and some simply want to experience living independently before getting married,” he said.
Including co-living in the SG Youth Plan is an acknowledgement that there can be another stage in the housing journey, he added.
“I would probably call it an additional rung on the housing ladder rather than an alternative to home ownership,” he said."
Trial opens for man accused of sexually assaulting 16-year-old girl in Admiralty Park female toilet (20 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The trial for a man accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in a female toilet at Admiralty Park with two friends opened on Thursday (Aug 20), as the prosecution called on her as their first witness.
Raden Zulhusni Zulkifri, now 28, is accused of sexual assault involving penetration as well as criminal trespass.
Under the penal code, sexual assault by penetration is a different offence from rape.
The other two men involved in the case, Muhammad Isnalli David and Muhammad Al'Amin Selamat were caned and jailed for more than 12 years and 10 years respectively, after they both admitted in 2025 to raping the girl.
The girl, now 21, cannot be named to protect her identity. Deputy Public Prosecutors Tay Jia En and Melissa Heng called on her on Thursday as the first of their 28 witnesses, opting to have her testimony heard in private.
In his opening statement, Mr Tay noted that the victim was only 16 years old when she was sexually assaulted while she was intoxicated.
Two of the three men involved in the case have admitted to their roles and are serving time, while Raden has “refused to take any responsibility for his actions”, the prosecution claimed on Thursday.
Over the trial, the court will hear the victim’s "consistent" account of Raden’s alleged role and accounts from the two men who pleaded guilty that “clearly implicate” him, said Mr Tay.
“It bears noting that the accused did not file any case for the defence, and he will therefore have much to answer for at trial,” he said.
The prosecution plans to show that Raden entered the female toilet and the cubicle where the girl and the other two men were, said Mr Tay, citing CCTV footage that showed the man entering and leaving the female toilet.
The prosecution will also present reports from doctors from KK Women's and Children's Hospital and the Institute of Mental Health who examined and heard her account of what happened on the day of the incident, he added.
AGREED FACTS
Raden reached Admiralty Park at about 5pm on Mar 27, 2022. He and Al'Amin, who was already there with a female friend, contacted Isnalli and they confirmed they would meet up that evening.
At about 8pm, they all met at a bench at the park. Isnalli, a 21-year-old female friend who was acquainted with him, and his victim arrived with gin and Redbull.
She drank “a number of cups” of gin mixed with Redbull, which Isnalli, Al'Amin and Raden also consumed, the court heard.
The girl became intoxicated and felt the urge to vomit. Isnalli helped her to the toilet while the others stayed at the bench.
Mr Tay then laid out a blow-by-blow account of what the CCTV footage captured as part of the facts agreed upon by both the prosecution and defence.
Isnalli supported the victim while she leaned over a sink outside the female toilet. He dragged her by her left arm and they entered the female toilet, the court heard.
The footage also captured Raden entering and exiting the female toilet multiple times after that, said Mr Tay, citing each occurrence alongside its timestamp.
Midway through the prosecution’s recount of what the CCTV footage captured, Justice Hoo Sheau Peng stopped to ask Raden if he was aware that he had agreed that all these things had happened.
His lawyer, Patrick Fernandez of Fernandez LLC, confirmed that his client was aware of what he was agreeing to.
Aside from the three men, two female friends were also captured on CCTV entering and exiting the toilet multiple times, the court heard."
Graduate industry traineeships: Nearly half find jobs after completing programme (21 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: When Mr Kenneth Chow, 25, graduated with a business degree in 2025 from Nanyang Technological University, he was considering a move into a different field: technology sales.
He started a traineeship under the Graduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) programme in January, which gave him a chance to find out if that was the right path for him.
“I was questioning...whether I should venture into tech sales. GRIT gave me the confidence because it allowed me to work on real stuff that I would do if I were in a full-time role,” he told CNA.
Three months into his stint with professional social networking platform LinkedIn, he received an offer to convert to a full-time position as a sales development representative.
GRIT, an initiative by the Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA), was launched in October 2025 to aid fresh graduates who have difficulty finding their first job.
It offers traineeships lasting three to six months, with the aim of helping fresh graduates transition into full-time roles. The government funds 70 per cent of each trainee's monthly allowance, with host organisations covering the remaining 30 per cent.
More than 590 of the programme's 800 traineeship places had been filled as of July, according to figures provided to CNA by SWDA.
Over 140 trainees have completed their stints. Almost half of them have since found employment, with about four in 10 of those employed hired by their host companies. The rest found jobs elsewhere.
According to SWDA, the traineeships span more than 40 private-sector organisations in areas including financial and professional services, information-communications and media, wholesale trade and electronics, as well as more than 50 public-sector agencies.
The programme has also been extended to the 2026 graduating cohort.
A MORE CAUTIOUS JOB MARKET
The effort comes as fresh graduates face a more cautious hiring market and broader economic uncertainty.
The proportion of fresh graduates from Singapore’s autonomous universities who found jobs within six months of their final exams has fallen in recent years, from 94.4 per cent in 2021 to 83.4 per cent in 2025, according to the latest graduate employment survey released in March.
But longer-term employment outcomes have remained more resilient.
About nine in 10 graduates from the 2025 cohort had found employment 12 months after graduation, similar to previous cohorts, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in early August.
For this year’s cohort, among about 18,000 fresh graduates, around 9,100 had found work as of June and about 3,600 were still looking. Another 5,400 were outside the labour force, mainly because they were pursuing further studies or taking a break."
Graduate industry traineeships: Nearly half find jobs after completing programme (21 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: More than 3,000 lower-income residents across three areas will get free warm meals delivered to food lockers near their homes from September under a new programme launched on Friday (Aug 21).
Called Warm Meals @ North East, it is expected to help 1,000 households in Tampines, Punggol and Pasir Ris-Changi towns, said OCBC and the North East Community Development Council (CDC).
Under the year-long programme, each participating household will get S$500 (US$393) in meal credits – equivalent to about 165 meals.
The credits will be disbursed progressively from September and added to the families' accounts through a mobile app.
They can be used at about 30 food lockers located at or near the void decks of Housing and Development Board (HDB) rental blocks across the towns. Users have to scan a QR code via the app to open the locker doors.
The warm meals are provided during lunch and dinner times. Lunch will usually be available from noon to 3pm, and dinner from 5pm to 8pm, barring any unforeseen operational requirements.
"As meals are prepared fresh daily and shortly before each service period, the three-hour redemption window is intentionally kept short to ensure quality and freshness," said OCBC and North East CDC.
The meals, supplied by Chang Cheng Group, span different cuisines and are halal-certified. They are designed to provide a balanced mix of protein, vegetables and carbohydrates.
Menu options include creamy spaghetti with roasted chicken, stir-fried chicken udon, rendang chicken, vegetarian tofu with mushroom sauce rice and teriyaki fish rice.
“The menu is rotated regularly to provide variety and cater to diverse tastes and dietary needs, with meal offerings reviewed and refreshed based on beneficiaries' preferences and feedback,” said OCBC and North East CDC.
There will be over 50 meals on a rotational basis, with at least eight options or more every day.
North East District mayor Baey Yam Keng said access to nutritious food is a "fundamental need" for every family, and that the initiative "responds directly" to concerns raised by residents about getting food that is good for them.
"We hope to ease daily pressures and strengthen the support ecosystem available to lower-income households in our community," he added.
In response to CNA's queries, he said the lockers have a "mechanism" to keep the food warm during the hours they are in the locker.
People can also preorder meals and members of the public can buy a meal at S$3 each.
The vendor will abide by food regulations and extra food will have to be disposed of because it cannot be given to others, Mr Baey said.
North East CDC, along with its partners, will monitor the take-up of the meals and make adjustments along the way so as to minimise food waste, he added.
The programme is funded by a combined S$500,000 from OCBC and North East CDC, with support from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF)."
Man gets jail, caning for abusing 6-year-old boy for 18 hours (21 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A man was sentenced to nine years and 10 months' jail, and eight strokes of the cane on Friday (Aug 21) for abusing multiple young boys who were under his care.
The man beat his youngest victim – a six-year-old boy – with a hanger more than 600 times, forced him to hold a push-up position for hours, and made him sleep in the toilet and drink his own urine.
The boy suffered severe injuries as a result, including to his ribs, lungs and kidneys, and was hospitalised for 46 days.
The 31-year-old Singaporean man took care of young foreign students who lived in accommodation provided by the company where he worked, which his aunt owned. The man, who cannot be named to protect the identities of his victims, also abused two other boys, aged 10 and 11.
He had also pleaded guilty in July to making a false declaration related to hiring a foreign domestic worker to perform housekeeping duties for the accommodation.
District Judge John Ng said the sentence sent out the community’s collective message – that the ill treatment and abuse of young vulnerable victims cannot be tolerated and that any cruelty against them is "wholly to be condemned".
He noted that the most serious of the man's offences were committed against his youngest victim.
The facts "speak for themselves" on the brutality the man inflicted, said the judge, reiterating in detail what happened to the boy.
The judge noted that the man's mitigation plea referenced the physical abuse he allegedly suffered at the hands of his alcoholic father and gangster older brother.
Judge Ng said he trusted that the man's personal background was cited not to excuse his cruel acts on his victims, especially the six-year-old boy.
"But I have to say, on the other hand, being a young boy who had suffered at the hand of abusers, the offender should have been in a better position not to repeat such terrible treatment of vulnerable victims who had trusted him to care for them and even to protect them," he added, as the man bowed his head in the dock.
"It was noted specifically by the psychiatrist that even if these allegations were true...it did not exculpate his physical abuse of the children under his care," said the judge, citing a report by a doctor with the Institute of Mental Health.
When the man pleaded guilty in July, Deputy Public Prosecutors Timotheus Koh and Cheronne Lim asked for between nine years and six weeks' to 10 years and eight weeks' jail for the man, on top of six strokes of the cane.
Most of the man’s actions were captured on CCTV, and the videos “really show the extent of the depravity” of his actions and the cruelty he inflicted on his young victims, said Mr Koh at the time, adding that the videos are very difficult to watch.
Defence lawyer Sarbrinder Singh of Sanders Law, had argued for seven years and two weeks’ prison and caning for his client instead.
In mitigation, the defence claimed that the man suffers from sleepless nights and that he was very remorseful for his actions.
The man requested to delay his sentence by one week to carry out prayers next week. The judge denied his request."
Customers bring gifts, children to meet elderly stallholder after he was shoved over head-pat (21 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Customers of Bei-Ing Wanton Noodle are still streaming in with gifts and well wishes for its 73-year-old owner, almost a week after he was shoved to the ground for patting a girl's head.
Police said on Friday (Aug 21) the case is still under investigation, and the family told CNA the medical reports have been submitted to the authorities.
When CNA visited, owner Yeo Song Khoon was busy taking orders, with a queue forming as early as 11.30am.
Among the customers was Mr Jo Ng, 40, who brought his one-year-old daughter to meet Mr Yeo. The sleep technologist told him he could pat her head, and he obliged.
“I said ‘you can pat her head’, and she was quite comfortable,” said Mr Ng. “And hopefully that’s therapy to him also, because he kind of could be traumatised touching a child’s head.”
He added that Mr Yeo appeared to "heave a sigh of relief" afterwards.
"So really, I'm very thankful to see that he was not traumatised from touching another baby's head," he said.
Mr Ng, who has patronised the store since he was a teenager, said he also offered free physiotherapy sessions to Mr Yeo, which the latter declined.
Ms Joanne Fu joined the queue with her four-year-old daughter with the same intention – to wish Mr Yeo well.
The 41-year-old, who works in sales, asked her daughter to pass Mr Yeo a “get well soon” balloon as they placed their order. Mr Yeo accepted the balloon with a smile, waving goodbye to the girl.
“I hope that he can get back on his feet again,” said Ms Fu in Mandarin. “I hope his love for kids can continue.”
Ms Janice Tan, a frequent customer, brought her three children aged seven to 12 to the stall.
The 41-year-old homemaker said her children had been upset seeing news of Mr Yeo and wanted to check on him.
“For them to see someone that they know being treated that way, I think it hurt them quite a bit,” she said. “So today I went and told uncle: ‘Uncle, these three kids you can pat their heads anytime.’”
Mr Yeo told CNA that he is now more careful around children since the incident. “If they tell me I can approach their children, then I will,” he said in Mandarin.
He also said the medicine he has been taking for back pain has left him too disoriented, and declined to answer further questions.
A table beside the stall held a "get well soon" hamper, fruit and other gifts from customers. Business was healthy throughout the lunch period, with waiting times of up to an hour."
I stood where my great-great-grandmother watched her son, aged 11, leave China forever (21 August 2026)
"Growing up with two working parents, I spent most days in the care of my paternal grandmother.
Her Teochew-ness became part of the texture of my childhood. It lived in the rituals of her home and in the food on her dinner table: stir-fried bittergourd with eggs, a vat of pork belly and tau kwa stewed in dark soy, a whole steamed fish washed down with a bowl of fishball soup.
It was the language my grandmother used when she called me to eat, nagged me to do my chores, or told me a story. Not once did I think to ask where it had come from.
As I got older, I began to see my grandmother differently. She was no longer just the strict, formidable woman whose thumb I had grown up under – she was a woman who had overcome immense odds to raise five children and, later, her grandchildren.
I began asking questions I never did before: What was my late grandfather like? How did my grandparents meet? What did their youth look like? Where did our family come from?
Gradually, the story of how my family came to be in Singapore unfolded in fragments, names, anecdotes, food, language and half-remembered stories shared over casual conversations.
And somewhere in those fragments was a village in China that none of us had ever seen.
IN SEARCH OF THE PLACE EVERYONE ELSE LEFT
My grandfather, Tan Kwan Lok (陈光禄), was born in what is now Indonesia to a first-generation immigrant from China, and his wife, a local Indonesian-Chinese woman. But beyond this, we didn't know much about how his father – my great-grandfather – had come to be in Indonesia in the first place.
My dad called upon a relative in Indonesia, asking if they could take a photograph of my great-grandfather's grave in Tanjung Balai Karimun, in Riau Islands province, not far to the south-west of Singapore.
The inscription had been worn down with time, but it still bore the name of the village in China where he was born.
Unable to decipher the fading characters on our own, we put the photograph through an AI tool. That pointed us towards Chao'an, in Guangdong province. From there, we were able to narrow it down to the town of Caitang and, eventually, Sha Long village.
It was our first real lead.
I started calling Teochew associations in Singapore, hoping that their records might connect us to Tan families still living in the village.
Nothing came up. Our branch of the family had never been recorded with them.
A friend of my dad's, who visits Chao'an often, put us in touch with a local driver. The driver agreed to take us into the village – but that was as much as he could promise. We didn't know whether the village was actually ours, or if anyone would recognise the names we carried with us.
It was enough for my parents and me. We booked the flights, packed our bags and hoped for the best."
Commentary: Don’t settle for easy explanations after a pat on a child’s head turns into shoving incident (22 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Whatever you think about patting someone else’s child on the head, I think we can all agree that a violent reaction is not acceptable. Police investigations are ongoing into an Aug 15 incident in which a father allegedly shoved a 73-year-old man to the ground after the latter patted his young daughter on the head.
But the Roxy Square incident has since evolved beyond whether that initial gesture crossed a line. How people judged the incident quickly revealed their diagnoses of what ails society today.
It’s generational: Older generations have always done this to show affection. Young parents are too sensitive about it.
It’s cultural: Young parents have filled their heads with Western ideas of parenting and personal space. Singapore’s Asian values are more communitarian.
It’s social: We’ve retreated from each other, while being constantly exposed to stories of danger in other parts of the world. Not every stranger is a potential pervert or kidnapper.
None of these explanations feels complete to me.
THE ENVIRONMENT HAS CHANGED, NOT JUST PARENTS
Personal boundaries are not a new concept, but they have become more explicit. The way we teach them to children has become more deliberate.
In school, Primary 1 students learn about a “good touch” versus a “bad touch” and to seek out a trusted adult if they feel unsafe. Age-appropriate knowledge and skills, such as recognising sexual abuse and harassment, are taught as they grow.
Even pre-schoolers are taught about respecting body boundaries – both theirs and others. Children today are taught to have awareness and a vocabulary to express it.
And every time cases of abuse involving young children make the news, especially in education or community settings that are expected to be safe, it understandably makes parents more vigilant about protecting their kids.
It does not make every unsolicited touch dangerous. But neither should parents be expected to accept it simply because the person “meant no harm” or it was “just their way of showing affection”.
Setting boundaries and wanting them to be respected are now part of the environment in which we raise children.
NOT EVERYONE DRAWS THE SAME LINES
But our children will encounter people of all ages who do not draw the same boundaries.
A pat on the head can be an innocent gesture to one and an unwelcome intrusion to another. A person who has patted the heads of children many times without protest has little reason to think the next parent will consider it inappropriate.
Social norms change and it’s legitimate to expect that people adapt to the times. But we cannot assume everyone knows when those expectations have changed.
This forces parents and children to communicate those boundaries, even within families. Parents today may ask grandparents not to demand a kiss or not to pressure children to hug other relatives and friends.
And for me, this is where reducing our different views to a generational divide feels particularly unsatisfying: Doing so assumes older people cannot change when asked and that younger parents only want to impose their own rules."
NDR 2026 highlights: More childcare leave, BTO income ceiling raised as PM Wong unveils major family support measures (23 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lawrence Wong unveiled a major expansion of support for families at his National Day Rally on Sunday (Aug 23), including more childcare leave and plans to significantly lower preschool fees.
Housing support will also be expanded. The income ceiling for Build-to-Order (BTO) flats will rise for the first time in seven years - from S$14,000 to S$16,000. First-timer families will get an additional ballot chance for every child they have or are expecting.
The measures form part of a broader shift towards supporting families throughout the journey of raising their children, rather than concentrating help around childbirth.
Beyond families, Mr Wong laid out how Singapore intends to navigate a world that he described as more contested, unstable and dangerous.
He said the country would embrace technologies such as artificial intelligence while managing their risks and supporting affected workers. Stronger protections for young social media users are on the horizon, including more robust age checks and safeguards for teenagers.
Drawing his speech to a close with the stories of three Singaporeans who persevered through setbacks, Mr Wong called on Singaporeans to stay united and “go forward together” to build a stronger Singapore.
“If we stay united, keep faith with one another, and hold fast to the values that have brought us this far, I am confident we will rise to every challenge – and we will prevail,” he said.
Catch up on the key announcements."
NDR 2026: New committee set up to help Malay/Muslim community seize economic opportunities, develop skills (23 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A new Committee of Economic Resilience will engage the Malay/Muslim community to develop skills and seize economic opportunities, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Sunday (Aug 23).
Chaired by Members of Parliament Wan Rizal (PAP-Jalan Besar) and Saktiandi Supaat (PAP-Bishan-Toa Payoh), the committee has received many thoughtful suggestions from the community, Mr Wong said in his Malay speech at the National Day Rally.
“One key thrust is to support Malay/Muslim youths to develop their skills, broaden their exposure and seize opportunities in new and growing sectors,” he said, according to an English translation of his speech provided by the Ministry of Digital Development and Information.
The two MPs are engaging the Malay/Muslim community across various sectors to translate recommendations from the Economic Strategy Review – a 10-year economic blueprint released by the government in May – into actions that will benefit the community.
Key areas under consideration by the committee include mental health support for workers navigating career transitions, and employability initiatives to connect young people with relevant industries and the broader community.
New Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Zaqy Mohamad and his team will announce other initiatives in due course, said Mr Wong."
NDR 2026: Singapore can make more room for dialects while promoting Mandarin, says PM Wong (23 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Even as Singapore promotes the use of Mandarin, it can make more room for dialects, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his Mandarin National Day Rally speech on Sunday (Aug 23).
While free-to-air broadcasts will continue to mostly use Mandarin, the government can ease restrictions on dialects for paid television and movies, he said, based on an English translation of the speech provided by the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI).
A cap currently applies to the number of dialect film screenings, he noted. The government will relax this rule: dialect screenings will no longer be capped, as long as a Mandarin-dubbed version is available.
MDDI said separately on Sunday that it will remove existing restrictions on dialect content for subscription TV services, including a rule allowing only one dialect arthouse film a week and a cap on the proportion of dialect songs on music channels.
The updated guidelines take effect in September.
Mr Wong's comments come months after the release of the film Dear You, which opened in Singapore on Jun 18 with Mandarin-dubbed general screenings. Its original Teochew version was shown only at subsequent festivals and niche screenings.
At the time, the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) said the arrangement supported the bilingual policy of promoting Mandarin as the main language among Chinese Singaporeans. It later approved more than 1,000 screenings of the Teochew version and said it was reviewing the guidelines on dialect use in films.
PROTECTING GAINS FROM MANDARIN CAMPAIGN
“Many see dialects as a cultural heritage worth preserving. I agree,” Mr Wong said in his speech. But Singapore must protect the “hard-won gains” of the Speak Mandarin Campaign, he added.
The campaign was launched in 1979 by then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew to encourage Chinese Singaporeans to speak standard Mandarin, at a time when dialects were still widely spoken at home.
Decades ago, Chinese Singaporeans spoke many dialects, with different accents even within the same dialect group, Mr Wong said.
Mandarin has since become their common language, laying the foundation for Singapore's bilingual policy and connecting the country to Chinese communities worldwide. This is why the government's push to promote Mandarin must continue, he added.
“Back then, the Speak Mandarin Campaign urged Chinese Singaporeans to ‘Speak more Mandarin and less dialects.’ The situation today is very different,” said Mr Wong.
“Few families speak dialect at home. Most Chinese Singaporeans know Mandarin but use English more often. The challenge now is to encourage those comfortable in English to speak more Mandarin. The more we use Mandarin, the better we will get at it.”
HERITAGE GALLERY
A Singapore Chinese Heritage Gallery will also be established to honour the country's Chinese pioneers, Mr Wong announced.
The gallery will trace how these pioneers put down roots and built lives here, and pay tribute to the Chinese community organisations that built Singapore’s multiracial society, he said.
It will be housed in the Singapore Conference Hall in Shenton Way and managed by the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, he added. The gallery is scheduled to open in 2031.
“The true value of Singapore Chinese culture lies not only in what we can see and taste. It carries well over a century of our pioneers' wisdom,” said Mr Wong.
“They forged a life with people of different races. The wisdom they gained underpins our peace and prosperity today.”
NDR 2026: PM Wong flags 'unsettling' AI risks, says Singapore ready to put in safeguards (23 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Amid unsettling developments such as AI systems going rogue, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong spoke on Sunday (Aug 23) about managing the disruption from new technologies and putting safeguards in place.
Speaking at the National Day Rally, Mr Wong said that as technology becomes more powerful, Singapore will have to guard against risks that are harder to predict.
He cited the example of an artificial intelligence model tested by OpenAI that broke out of its test environment, moved into the wider internet and infiltrated the systems of another company.
“No one told the AI agent to attack the company,” said Mr Wong. “But in trying to complete its tasks, the agent did things which its developers did not want it to do.”
Such developments are "unsettling", he said, adding that AI agents are becoming more capable and will be able to do more with less human supervision.
“That brings enormous possibilities,” he said. “But when things go wrong, the consequences can be very serious.”
Countries should ideally work together to set common rules and safeguards, he said, but this is getting harder as major powers seek to move faster and gain an advantage over their competitors.
“But we must keep trying to find common ground,” he said, adding that Singapore will do its part to bring countries and companies together, and build coalitions around practical safeguards.
Actions will also be taken domestically, he said.
“We will not embrace new technologies blindly. We will anticipate the risks, and put appropriate safeguards in place, and we will always ensure that people remain in control.”
During his Budget speech in February, Mr Wong announced the formation of the National AI Council to coordinate and drive Singapore’s AI strategy.
Mr Wong said then that he would chair the council, and that how AI is developed and used in Singapore will be defined, with clear rules to ensure it is applied responsibly and safely.
SAFEGUARDS FOR YOUNG SOCIAL MEDIA USERS
Mr Wong also announced that social media platforms will be required to put in place stronger safeguards for children and teenagers.
Social media created new opportunities and connected families and friends when it first emerged, he said, but some of its downsides only became clear over time: one in six young people aged 10 to 24 in Singapore today show signs of problematic social media use.
“For some the problem can be severe – they spend six or seven hours a day on social media, sometimes till the wee hours of the morning,” he said.
Children and teenagers are particularly vulnerable as their brains are still developing, making them “more susceptible to social pressures and more easily hooked by features designed to keep them constantly engaged”, he said.
While most platforms already set a minimum age of 13, enforcement is largely left to the platforms themselves, Mr Wong said.
“Today they mostly rely on users to declare their own ages, and we know this is not working well,” said Mr Wong, adding that he is struck by how many children are already active on social media when he visits primary schools.
“Self-declaration is just not good enough,” he said. “They will have to put in place robust and reliable checks, so that the minimum age is properly set and enforced, and our children are genuinely protected."
Even for children aged 13 and above, social media can have negative effects. The immediate priority is to make social media safer by design, Mr Wong said.
Many platforms are designed to keep users endlessly scrolling, he said. These features are hard enough for adults to resist, and the risks are greater for teenagers.
Stronger safeguards will thus be required for young users, and any platform that wants to serve young users in Singapore must meet these requirements, he said.
If safeguards remain inadequate, additional restrictions will be considered, including raising the minimum age for access to that platform beyond 13, Mr Wong added.
“Through every major technological shift, we have embraced change on our own terms, built new capabilities and emerged stronger,” he said. “We have done it before, and we will do it again.”
Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said in a Facebook post on Sunday that she will share more in the coming days on the new requirements, including "how they can partner the Singapore government to make their platforms safer for children and youth in Singapore"."
NDR 2026: Parents to get up to 12 days of childcare leave each (23 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Parents will enjoy more childcare leave, with more days off for larger families, as part of efforts to give them more time with their children, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced on Sunday (Aug 23) at the National Day Rally.
Each parent will get eight, 10 or 12 days of leave a year if he or she has one, two or three or more children respectively. The children must be Singaporean and up to 12 years old.
This is up from the current six days of leave a year for each parent with children aged six and below, or two days a year if the children are between seven and 12 years old.
With these changes, Mr Wong said a working couple with three primary school children would go from having a combined four days of childcare leave under current provisions, to 24 days under the new scheme.
“This will give parents more time and much greater flexibility to care for their children,” he said.
Going forward, the government will also pick up the full tab for employers’ costs during statutory child-related leave schemes, up to its reimbursement limit.
Currently, maternity leave, paternity leave and shared parental leave provisions add up to a total of about seven-and-a-half months of paid leave.
“Can we go further? I won’t rule it out,” Mr Wong, who is also finance minister, told the audience at ITE College Central.
“But these leave arrangements have just been introduced, and employers do need time to adapt. So we will let these changes settle in first.”
The enhancements to childcare leave and government reimbursement are among the first set of recommendations from the Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup to be accepted by the government.
The workgroup, chaired by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, will release a fuller set of recommendations in early 2027.
MORE CHILDCARE LEAVE
Many parents say that current childcare leave provisions are not enough because having more children means greater caregiving responsibilities, said Mr Wong.
“Older children still need their parents – the needs are different, but they do not go away. So parents often end up using their own annual leave,” he added.
The higher baseline of eight days’ leave ensures both parents have enough combined childcare leave to cover mandated preschool and primary school closures, with a buffer for unplanned sick days, said the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD).
Legislative amendments are needed for these changes. The start date of the new leave entitlements will be announced later, NPTD and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said in a factsheet.
They encouraged parents to discuss leave plans with employers early where possible, so that caregiving needs and business operations can be managed well."
NDR 2026: Significantly lower childcare, infant care fees at government-supported preschools by 2030 (23 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Childcare and infant care fees at government-supported preschools will be cut to less than half of current levels to make caregiving more affordable, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced at the National Day Rally on Sunday (Aug 23).
The monthly fees for full-day childcare and infant care will be reduced to S$150 (US$120) and S$300 respectively by 2030.
These lower fees will apply to every Singaporean child regardless of household income. The amounts are before means-testing, and lower-income families will pay even less.
Currently, after basic subsidies, full-day childcare at government-supported preschools costs S$365 to S$559 a month, while full-day infant care costs S$746 to S$1,256 a month.
With the changes, the government will absorb a much larger share of childcare and preschool costs, Mr Wong told the audience at ITE College Central.
“But I believe this is one of the best investments we can make,” he said.
“Because every child in Singapore, regardless of their family’s circumstances, deserves a good start in life.”
The fee reductions will be implemented progressively from 2028, with more details on the timeline to come out in early 2027.
MORE GOVERNMENT-SUPPORTED PRESCHOOLS
Government-supported centres today have enough places for about 80 per cent of preschoolers, said Mr Wong, who is also finance minister.
He said the government wants the lower fees to be more widely available, and first needs to significantly expand the network of government-supported preschools.
More help will be given to eligible preschool operators that wish to join the network and meet its requirements.
“As the network expands, we will progressively bring fees down,” said Mr Wong.
“Our goal is clear – quality, affordable preschool should be within every family’s budget, and easily accessible in every neighbourhood.”
A phased approach gives the sector time to adjust sustainably while maintaining high standards, added the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and National Population and Talent Division (NPTD).
These enhancements are among the first set of recommendations from the Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup to be accepted by the government.
The workgroup, chaired by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, will release a fuller set of recommendations in early 2027."
NDR 2026: Income ceilings for BTO flats, executive condos raised; first-time buyers to get extra ballot per child (23 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The income ceilings for buying new Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats will be raised to ensure that the vast majority of Singaporeans can continue to access subsidised public housing, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Sunday (Aug 23).
Starting February next year, there will also be an additional ballot chance per Singaporean child for first-timer families with or expecting children, Mr Wong said in the National Day Rally.
For Build-to-Order (BTO) flats, the ceiling will rise from S$14,000 (US$11,000) to S$16,000. For executive condominiums (ECs), the income ceiling will go up from S$16,000 to S$18,000.
“Over the years, we have steadily increased housing supply. Today we see encouraging results. Success rates for booking BTO flats are higher, waiting times are shorter. And the resale market has stabilised. These improvements give us confidence to do more,” said Mr Wong.
Mr Wong noted that Singaporeans are marrying later these days, with many further along in their careers and earning more by the time they settle down, leading to many young couples crossing the current income ceilings.
The changes are among the measures to keep public housing and ECs affordable and accessible for Singaporeans and to provide greater support for families with children, as part of broader efforts to encourage marriage and parenthood, the Ministry of National Development (MND) and HDB said in a joint press release on Sunday.
The revised ceiling will kick in for eligible families who apply for an HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter from Monday. This lets them buy a new subsidised HDB flat, a resale HDB flat on the open market with the CPF Housing Grant, or get an HDB housing loan.
Correspondingly, the income ceiling for eligible single HDB home buyers aged 35 and above, will also be raised from S$7,000 to S$8,000.
The revised ceiling for ECs will apply to new units in projects with land sale tender closing dates on or after Aug 24, and will not apply to balance units in existing ECs or new units in ECs with land sale tenders awarded before that, said MND and HDB.
The changes will also benefit families applying for the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme, with the monthly household income ceiling raised from S$7,000 to S$8,000.
Eligible second-timer families will also see their ceiling for the Fresh Start Housing Scheme and the Step-Up CPF Housing Grant increase by the same amount."
NDR 2026: Each Singaporean child to get almost S$70,000 in growing years as part of moves to support parents (23 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Every Singaporean child will receive almost S$70,000 (US$55,140) in direct financial support by the time they turn 17, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Sunday (Aug 23).
A new scheme will provide more support, not just at a child’s birth, but throughout the years as they grow up, he said at the National Day Rally. It will include components such as a cash gift, MediSave grant, Child Credits and others.
“Taken together, every Singaporean child will receive almost S$70,000 in direct financial support as they grow up,” said Mr Wong.
Called the SG Child Support Package, the new scheme consolidates and replaces the financial support currently provided through the Baby Bonus Scheme and Large Families Scheme, said the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Each child will get more financial support under this package. For example, the firstborn child stands to get S$42,000 more than present schemes by the time he or she turns 17, while the third child stands to get S$19,000 more.
As at June 2026, there are more than 610,000 children aged 17 and below across 380,000 households that stand to benefit from the package.
Children from single-parent families will also receive cash under the new package. Currently, the cash gift that is given out as part of the Baby Bonus Scheme, as well as the Large Family LifeSG Credits, are only applicable for children whose parents are lawfully married.
“The traditional family unit remains the prevailing social norm in Singapore. The government’s longstanding position has been to support parenthood within marriage. This continues to be the case and there is no shift in thinking on this,” said the NPTD.
However, there is a recognition of the importance of supporting every Singaporean child in their growth and development, said the NPTD.
“As the benefits are intended to support the growth and development of children, they will be extended to all SC (Singapore citizen) children, regardless of birth order, family circumstances, or their parents’ marital status,” it said.
CASH SUPPORT
The new scheme will also have a longer support duration of up to 17 years old, up from age 12 currently, with more support also coming in cash rather than through the Child Development Accounts (CDAs).
As cash is more flexible, this change makes the support more universal and less dependent on parents’ ability to save into the CDA, said the NPTD.
The new SG Child Support Package will also provide every Singaporean child with the same level of support, regardless of the child’s birth order.
Under the current Baby Bonus Scheme, children of higher birth orders receive higher cash gifts and co-matching caps for their CDAs.
“Ultimately, the decision to have children is a deeply personal one. Policies alone cannot make this happen. But what we can do is make it easier for Singaporeans who want children to start and raise a family,” said Mr Wong.
“And we want every family to know: if you choose to have children, the government will stand with you. We will provide more support, and over more years. And we will walk alongside parents throughout the journey of raising their children.”
In the 2021 Marriage and Parenthood Survey by the NPTD, financial costs had featured among the top barriers to parenthood, with couples concerned about the growing cost of raising children, including childcare and infant care, tuition and enrichment, housing and transport.
MORE SUSTAINED HELP
The new scheme aims to simplify the child-raising support available – like the Baby Bonus Cash Gift, CDA and Large Families Scheme – and make it less complex and easier to understand for parents here, said Mr Wong.
Starting Apr 1 next year, each eligible newborn will receive a S$10,000 cash gift under the SG Child Support Package, which will be disbursed in two tranches within 12 months of birth.
“This provides more substantial upfront help with the higher expenses incurred at birth and in the child's first year,” the NPTD said."
NDR 2026: 7 key takeaways - from family support and housing to Singapore’s future land plans (23 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: From more support for families to a possible undersea tunnel to Pulau Tekong, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong made several announcements in this year’s National Day Rally.
He unveiled a slew of measures to help those looking to start families as well as couples with children.
“No other institution can replace the family. That is why nothing matters more than helping families thrive,” he said.
Here are seven key takeaways from his speeches.
1. Almost S$70,000 in support for each child
Every Singaporean child will receive almost S$70,000 (US$55,140) in support from birth to the age of 17.
A new SG Child Support Package kicks in on Apr 1, 2027, replacing the financial support currently provided through the Baby Bonus Scheme and Large Families Scheme.
Children will get the same level of support regardless of their birth order, and kids in single-parent families will also enjoy the full benefits of the scheme.
In the baby’s first year, there will be a S$10,000 cash gift and S$5,000 MediSave Grant for Newborns.
Newborns also get a S$5,000 First Step Grant in the Child Development Account (CDA).
From the age of one to 16, the government will co-match up to S$5,000 in CDA top-ups. The child will also get S$2,000 in Child Credits annually.
Students receive Edusave contributions throughout primary and secondary school.
When the child turns 17, a S$10,000 top-up will be made to the Post-Secondary Education Account.
Large families with three or more children will get additional help in areas where they are likely to face higher costs, such as healthcare, transport and housing.
2. More childcare leave
A new childcare leave scheme will give more time off to working parents with children aged 12 and below.
Each parent will get eight days off if they have one child, 10 days if they have two children, and 12 days if they have three or more children.
This is up from the current six days off a year if the parent has a child aged six and below, or two days a year if the child is between seven and 12 years old.
The government will also reimburse employers for the costs of the full duration of statutory child-related leave, up to a limit of S$2,500 a week.
Mr Wong urged employers to give parents more support and make sure that having children never becomes a disadvantage in someone’s career.
The start date for these changes will be announced later.
3. Significantly lower childcare, infant care fees
Monthly fees will drop to S$150 for full-day childcare and S$300 for full-day infant care at government-supported preschools.
Currently, after basic subsidies, full-day childcare costs S$365 to S$559 a month, while full-day infant care costs S$746 to S$1,256 a month.
The lower fees will kick in progressively from 2028 and reach the target levels by 2030.
More preschools will join the network of government-supported centres so that more families can benefit from these lower fees.
Student care centres in primary schools and the community will also get more support for larger capacities, higher quality of care and lower fees.
“Every child in Singapore, regardless of their family’s circumstances, deserves a good start in life,” said Mr Wong."
NDR 2026: Businesses welcome government move to cover childcare leave costs, but manpower concerns remain (24 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Businesses have welcomed the government's move to fully cover childcare leave costs, though some point to lingering questions over how to plug staffing gaps during absences.
"While it will undoubtedly impact the company, I truly believe the merits will offset any gaps that the company might face. With advance planning of workflows and empathy between departments, gaps can be covered," said Mr Leon Lai, CEO of SG International Marathon and a father of two who also runs communication firm Betterment Group.
Others are less convinced the financial relief solves the underlying problem.
"On the surface, it looks like the cost burden is taken away. However, the actual person has also been taken away," said Mr Ronald Soh, managing director and founder of tech company Win-Pro Consultancy.
"So that creates an impact on us as well, because SMEs are very lean and they work very tight."
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced in his National Day Rally speech on Sunday (Aug 23) that parents will get more childcare leave, with the government fully reimbursing employers' costs for statutory child-related leave schemes, up to a limit. Currently, these costs are shared between the government and employers.
Under the enhanced scheme, each parent will get eight to 12 days of leave a year, depending on the number of Singaporean children under 12 years old they have. This is up from six days a year for parents with children aged six and below, or two days a year for those with children aged seven to 12.
Mr Julius Holmefjord-Sarabi, co-founder of music school Aureus Academy, said the enhanced leave reflects a broader push to support families.
"It's good for Singapore to be really focusing and emphasising family and childcare, because it can be quite challenging to raise kids with the costs and the challenges in Singapore," he said.
"I would say we're well-positioned to handle a change like this because of our curriculum and the way that we run our company. I can imagine there will be a lot of challenges for small businesses and businesses in general to adapt. But I don't see them being insurmountable."
The Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) called the government's move a significant commitment towards supporting both employers and families.
The reimbursement for leave costs will give employers more flexibility in supporting employees with caregiving responsibilities, said CEO Hao Shuo.
"The enhanced reimbursement support can also help employers adopt measures to address operational challenges arising from staff absences, including engaging temporary manpower where appropriate," he added."
Snap Insight: NDR 2026 - the real shift in family support goes beyond S$70,000 per child (24 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: What should strike Singaporeans about the National Day Rally (NDR) is that the government is changing the logic of family support. The almost S$70,000 (US$55,140) in support for every Singaporean child is simply the most visible expression of the biggest overhaul of family policy in a generation.
On Sunday night (Aug 23), Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced the new SG Child Support Package, including a S$10,000 Baby Gift in cash, S$2,000 a year for every child until they turn 16, subsidies that reduce the cost of childcare to S$150 a month and a post-secondary education contribution of S$10,000.
For decades, our policy stance treated child-rearing as a private undertaking. The costs of raising children were largely for parents to bear, with the state helping through grants and subsidies. That help was calibrated by birth order and concentrated around the early years.
As someone who studies how Singaporean families form and grow, I see the new measures moving us towards something different: treating the raising of children as social infrastructure - something built and maintained collectively because our whole society depends on it.
SHARING THE COST OF RAISING CHILDREN
Three shifts signal this reframing.
First, universality. Every Singapore Citizen child will now receive the same support under the new package, regardless of birth order. While the official narrative on marriage and parenthood packages has been to help families rather than address our historically low total fertility rate, it was still largely structured as an incentive ladder to encourage people to have more children.
Equalising the support while increasing the total amount does two things: It attaches the support to the child, rather than the parents’ decision to have another. And larger families will still naturally get more support overall.
Second, duration. Where support was more heavily front-loaded around birth and the early years, Child Credits now flow annually until 16, the Child Development Account runs to 16, and a further top-up arrives at 17 for post-secondary education.
With this, support becomes a more regular, predictable feature. It follows the timeline of raising children, recognising that the costs change rather than fade as children grow.
Third, who pays. All these help defray costs for parents, including the move to significantly cut fees at government-supported preschools. It is akin to how Singapore treats primary education, priced like a public utility rather than a market service.
Another significant move is to relieve employers of the costs of parenthood. The government will now reimburse all child-related leave in full, up to the cap, while childcare leave rises to between 8 and 12 days per parent, based on the number of children.
In footing the bill, the state removes employers’ excuse: If parents on childcare leave do not directly add to wage costs, an employer has fewer reasons to treat parents as costly hires, and the government rightly expects their buy-in for supporting parents in return."
20 bookshops unite for Singapore's first Indie Bookshop Day, with book talks, stamp trails and more (24 August 2026)
"Book lovers, get ready: 20 independent bookshops in Singapore are coming together for the inaugural Singapore Indie Bookshop Day (SGIBD) 2026.
Taking place mainly on Oct 3, with programmes beginning on Oct 2 until Oct 4, SGIBD invites the public to visit local bookshops and take part in programmes ranging from storytelling sessions and author visits to PowerPoint parties, live portraits and a bookshop stamp rally, and celebrate the reading communities in Singapore.
The event is jointly organised by participating independent bookshops and the Singapore Book Publishers Association, and is supported by the National Arts Council and international publisher Hachette Book Group. It also takes inspiration from bookseller- and reader-centric events in other countries, including Independent Booksellers Week in the UK and Independent Bookstore Day in the US./font>
Rather than bringing the participating bookshops together at a single venue, SGIBD will take place across the shops themselves, giving each participating bookseller the freedom to design their own programme./font>
“SGIBD is not a fair just to sell books, but to celebrate the spaces of our bookstores and bring more people into our worlds," Ibrahim Tahir, the founder and principal bookseller of Wardah Books, a bookshop located in Kampong Glam, said.
DIVERSE HOST OF PROGRAMMES
“The programme reflects the different identities of the participating bookshops; it really was up to what each bookshop wanted to do,” Ho TingXuan, a bookseller from online bookshop Wormhole, said.
The result is a diverse host of activities with each shop putting its own spin on what a celebration of books and reading can look like.
At Book Bar, visitors can browse President Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s book recommendations, while Epigram Books will invite readers to engage in a blind book swap or to share their own bookshop memories on a community wall. Wardah Books will also invite readers to pair books with batik through a “Batik Librarian” consultation.
Other activities are more hands-on, from watching a live sketching demonstration at Basheer Graphic Books and storytelling sessions at Eliko Picture Books & Things, to a bookselling workshop at Closetful of Books and a zine workshop at City Book Room.
Readers can hear about Singapore comics and self-publishing at Dakota Dreams, have a portrait drawn after making a purchase at Bommoi, or receive a personalised Malay poem typed on a typewriter at Nurul Anwar Bookstore.
There are also programmes designed to bring readers together. Wormhole will host a weekend pop-up featuring literary games and live bookmark illustrations, and a PowerPoint party where participants share their takes on books, while Woods in the Books will mark the relaunch of Alfian Sa’at’s The Invisible Manuscript.
Visitors can also explore the 20 participating bookshops through the SGIBD Passport, which doubles as a directory and stamp rally. Each shop will have its own customised stamp, and participants who collect stamps from at least half of the shops will qualify for a lucky draw, with prizes including book vouchers and a curated gift set of books.
The passport is designed to remain useful beyond the weekend, with maps and information to help readers discover the participating shops and plan their own visits. SGIBD will also suggest walking routes connecting bookshops in areas such as Chinatown, Bras Basah and Joo Chiat, while a paid bus tour is being planned for those who want to visit multiple shops in one trip.
Limited-edition SGIBD bookmarks will also be available at participating bookshops, while stocks last.
More information on the programmes, participating bookshops and registration details will be available on SGIBD's official Instagram."
Faishal Ibrahim in discussions to return to academia with NUS (24 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Former Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Faishal Ibrahim is in discussions to return to academia with the National University of Singapore (NUS).
In response to CNA's queries, NUS said on Monday (Aug 24) that the university and Associate Professor Faishal are discussing the arrangements for his return to academia.
Assoc Prof Faishal, who was also the Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs, resigned from politics in July after his interactions with a woman "fell short" of the standards required of a political office holder and Member of Parliament, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong then.
He was previously with NUS in 2010 as an associate professor of real estate at the former NUS School of Design and Environment, which merged with the Faculty of Engineering to form the current College of Design and Engineering in 2022.
Assoc Prof Faishal entered politics in April 2006 as part of a six-member PAP team that won Marine Parade GRC.
He was made senior minister of state for home affairs and acting minister-in-charge of Muslim affairs in May 2025.
CNA has contacted Assoc Prof Faishal regarding his potential return to academia."
SUSS drops AI detector as more Singapore universities question reliability of such tools (24 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) has disabled its university-wide artificial intelligence (AI) writing detector from August.
The university said in response to CNA queries that it recognises the limitations of AI detection scores, especially that these scores cannot conclusively determine whether generative AI was used inappropriately.
SUSS disabled Turnitin's AI writing detection score from Aug 11.
"This decision does not affect SUSS' expectations for students to uphold academic integrity and use generative AI responsibly," it said.
"Our focus remains on whether students can demonstrate understanding of, and ownership over, the work they submit."
AI writing detectors analyse text to estimate the likelihood that AI generated it. They can be integrated into plagiarism and text-similarity detection software already used by educational institutions, such as Turnitin.
The university's statement came after Nanyang Technological University (NTU) announced to its faculty earlier this month that it will discontinue the use of its AI detector from 2027, recognising that such tools are "fundamentally unreliable".
In a statement to CNA on Aug 22, NTU confirmed that it will stop using automated AI detection tools from 2027.
Professor Christian Wolfrum, NTU's deputy president and provost, said: "When AI detection tools were introduced, they served a reasonable purpose. AI use was uncharted territory, and universities needed ways to navigate that uncertainty.
"Now, the environment has changed fundamentally, and what was once a reasonable safeguard has become obsolete."
AI misuse was a source of controversy for NTU last year. In April 2025, three NTU students were accused of misusing AI for false and inaccurate citations.
NTU did not respond to questions about whether these unreliable AI detection tools contributed to any accusations of academic misconduct, and whether investigations into any of the previous cases would be reopened.
One of the three students, who has since graduated, told CNA that she had not received any updates from the university about her case.
Singapore Management University (SMU) said that it continues to use AI detection tools, but "never as the sole basis" for finding misconduct.
Associate Professor Michelle Lee, SMU's associate provost for undergraduate education, said that the tools are strictly "one input among several".
The assurance that a student's work is their own also rests on how assessments are designed and asking the student to account for their work directly.
"Detection software has never carried this responsibility on its own at SMU," Assoc Prof Lee said, confirming that SMU has no plans to change its approach.
"We believe the most reliable way to assure academic integrity is to design assessments that require students to demonstrate genuine competencies, not to detect whether AI was used after the fact."
Marine community fears loss of biodiversity hotspot to proposed western island development (25 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Local marine conservation advocates and recreational divers have raised concerns over development plans for a cluster of islands west of Singapore, including one of the country's most popular dive sites.
In response to the concerns, a Ministry of National Development (MND) spokesperson said the government “recognises the biodiversity value of the western Islands and its surrounding”, and it is “carefully studying the plans as there is a need to plan ahead and create options for the future".
As part of the planning process, the ministry said it will conduct technical studies to inform the development plans, including the reclamation profile. These will include feasibility studies, site investigations and surveys, and engineering and environmental studies, to better understand development possibilities and their preliminary impact on areas such as biodiversity and hydrodynamics.
"We will engage stakeholders early to listen to their inputs before studies and work commence, and their feedback will be carefully considered," the spokesperson said. "Their knowledge and expertise will help inform the studies, assess potential biodiversity impact and identify measures to avoid, minimise and mitigate impacts where possible."
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced at his National Day Rally on Sunday (Aug 23) that several islands, including Semakau, Bukom and Pulau Sudong, could be merged to support new industries and future power generation needs.
Pulau Hantu sits amid the three islands, and dive operators fear reclamation or access restrictions could harm both the marine environment and the local diving industry built around the site.
Mr Wong also announced that steps will be taken to improve access to Sentosa's western coastline, which is home to rich marine life and unique geology, while preserving its natural character.
Advocates are also calling for biodiversity experts and community groups to be more closely involved in the planning process, so that ecological and environmental concerns are brought to the table.
BIODIVERSITY VALUE OF ISLANDS
Stakeholders and observers highlighted the biodiversity value of the marine life and habitat at the islands slated for development.
Dr Lim Swee Cheng, a marine biologist and curator at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, said the island cluster represents a "very substantial portion of Singapore's remaining southern marine habitats", known among researchers and naturalists for its rich coral reefs and associated marine life.
"Some of these areas have remained relatively undisturbed because of restricted access, which has allowed comparatively healthy reef communities to persist despite Singapore's long history of coastal development," he said.
Ms Jharyathri Thiagarajah, who leads outreach and education at the museum, said Singapore's offshore islands are valuable as they support marine life and habitats "that are increasingly rare in our highly urbanised environment."
Ms Thiagarajah has led visits for students and members of the public to the islands, including Pulau Hantu and Pulau Semakau, since 2015.
From a biodiversity conservation perspective, such a development could permanently erase or alter habitats, species and ecological relationships that researchers may not even fully understand yet, she said. "Once these natural environments are gone, they cannot simply be recreated elsewhere."
Commentary: NDR 2026 - non-parents shouldn’t be default substitutes for parents on childcare leave (25 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: More childcare leave was one of the most significant announcements at this year's National Day Rally: eight days a year for each working parent with one Singaporean child aged 12 and below, rising to 10 and 12 days for those with two and three or more children, with the government reimbursing employers up to the existing cap.
This is an increase from the current six days if the youngest child is aged six and below, and two days if the youngest child is aged seven to 12.
For parents, the additional leave translates directly into more time to respond to their children's needs. The harder question is how workplaces adjust when parents actually use it.
Colleagues may have to urgently cover for them. Managers may have to reassign work at short notice. Deadlines may move. How disruptive this becomes depends on how easily teams can shift work when someone is unexpectedly away.
WHAT’S THE COST OF AN ABSENCE?
A Danish study published in the Journal of Labor Economics in 2024 found that among small firms, an employee who gives birth goes on leave for 9.5 months on average. Despite this, there are no measurable effects on firm output, profits or survival. While remaining employees work more hours, they also see increases in their earnings and are more likely to remain employed.
Certainly, the Danish setting differs from Singapore's, and the study focuses on parental leave rather than childcare leave. But the underlying question for employers is the same: How easily can the missing worker's tasks be reassigned?
The key is substitutability. Absences are easier to absorb when work can be reallocated to someone able to perform it.
BUILDING CAPACITY TO HANDLE UNEXPECTED ABSENCES
The need to take childcare leave can arise overnight. The absence may last only a day or two, but employers have much less time to respond.
In contrast, parental leave around childbirth can be anticipated. Employers may know months in advance that an employee will be away, giving them time to prepare a handover, reorganise responsibilities or hire temporary help.
Temporary hiring is much less practical when it comes to childcare leave.
More of the adjustment can come from capacity already inside the organisation. This can be built with cross-training. Managers should also ensure that there are clear handovers, shared documentation and that critical functions do not depend entirely on one employee.
Some overlap in skills may appear costly, but it becomes valuable when somebody is away. The same capacity also helps firms manage illness and other unexpected absences.
Employers must also carefully allocate who picks up the slack. If the same employee repeatedly stays late whenever a colleague takes childcare leave, the arrangement can quickly feel unfair regardless of who is paying for it.
Government reimbursement for childcare leave addresses the direct financial cost to employers. It does not determine who covers an urgent task that afternoon or whether the same person keeps absorbing it. Those are questions of work design and management practice.
This is especially important for employees without children. Greater support for parents should not result in non-parents becoming the default source of coverage.
Employers can reduce friction by rotating emergency coverage where possible, making expectations transparent and recognising the extra work when it falls disproportionately on particular employees."
Changing workplace attitudes a ‘much harder’ challenge in supporting parenthood: Indranee (25 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Changing workplace attitudes and practices towards working parents will be a key part of Singapore’s push to become more family-friendly, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah said on Monday (Aug 24).
She was speaking to CNA a day after a range of measures to support parents was announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the National Day Rally.
While the latest measures address financial, housing and caregiving concerns, the government is also looking at how workplace norms can change so that Singaporeans feel they can have children without sacrificing their careers, Ms Indranee said.
Financial resources are within the government’s control, but “the much harder part to do is changing mindsets and attitudes”, said Ms Indranee, who heads the National Population and Talent Division, which oversees the marriage and parenthood portfolio.
“So, workplace norms and culture and practices is an area that we're looking at,” she told CNA’s Singapore Tonight.
The effort is part of a wider review by the Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup, which is due to release its full report in early 2027.
MEASURES AIMED AT REASSURING SINGAPOREANS
Ms Indranee described the measures announced by Mr Wong on Sunday as the “first wave” of that review.
Among them are more childcare leave, lower preschool fees and greater financial support for families as their children grow.
“In one sentence, I would say that this slew of measures is intended to give Singaporeans greater confidence and assurance in their marriage and parenthood journey,” Ms Indranee said.
She said this represented a shift from concentrating resources and measures at the point of birth to supporting families over a longer period.
Having children is a journey that stretches across many years, with families facing different needs as their children move from preschool to primary and secondary school, and then tertiary education.
The measures are therefore intended to “walk that journey with parents so that they know that the government is there for them and that they have support along the way”, Ms Indranee said."
Amos Yee to be charged over online posts allegedly promoting racial disharmony, making indecent statements about children (25 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Amos Yee will be charged on Wednesday (Aug 26) over “alarming and racially divisive” content he allegedly published online.
The police said on Tuesday that they received several reports between April and July this year concerning online content published by Yee.
The content was “found to be alarming and racially divisive”, and investigations were subsequently conducted, they added.
Yee, 27, was found to have made two posts on his blog on Apr 7 and Apr 11. He also uploaded a video on X on May 27, in which he stated that Singapore's Malay-Muslim and Indian communities were heavily discriminated against by the Chinese majority.
“He also made statements about the government's treatment of these communities and suggested that they should protest against the government,” the police said.
In another blog post published on Jun 30, Yee said, among other things, that children were capable of consenting to sexual acts and advocated for the abolition of laws governing the age at which children can consent to such acts, according to the police.
“This is on top of three other videos that he made and which were found to be uploaded online in 2021, in which he made statements advocating sexual relationships involving children and the abolition of laws prohibiting child sexual abuse material.”
For allegedly publishing these contents, Yee will be charged with knowingly attempting to promote, on grounds of race, feelings of disharmony between different racial groups; and for making indecent communications likely to cause alarm.
The offences are under Section 298A(a) of the Penal Code 1871 and Section 4(1)(b) of the Protection from Harassment Act 2014 (POHA).
An offence under Section 298A(a) of the Penal Code 1871 carries an imprisonment term of up to three years, a fine, or both.
An offence under Section 4(1)(b) of POHA is punishable under Section 4(2) POHA with a fine of up to S$5,000 (US$3,900).
The police also said they had issued an Online Criminal Harms Act disabling direction on Aug 18 to take down the video on X.
“X has complied with the DD and the content is no longer available. For the remaining offensive contents, the police have issued stop communication directions to Yee to remove the existing posts on his personal blog,” they added.
“The police take a serious view of acts that threaten racial and religious harmony in Singapore, and of indecent communications, including those that advocate or promote sexual relationships involving children.
“Any person who commits such acts or communications will be dealt with swiftly and firmly in accordance with the law.”
Yee is already facing charges for dodging National Service obligations.
He is accused of failing to report for pre-enlistment medical screening over nine years, from April 2016 to March 2026.
He is also accused of leaving Singapore without valid exit permits over two periods: from December 2015 to April 2016, and from December 2016 to March 2026.
Yee had left Singapore for the United States in 2016, after being jailed twice for making remarks about Christians and Muslims.
He was granted asylum by the US in 2017, but later charged with possessing child pornography and grooming a minor.
He pleaded guilty in the US in December 2021 and was sentenced to six years' jail."
More youths investigated for shop theft in Singapore as experts urge early intervention (25 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The number of youths investigated for shop theft rose 28.8 per cent in the first half of 2026, compared with the same period last year, according to police figures provided to CNA.
A total of 358 youths aged between 10 and 19 were investigated from January to June, up from 278 in the first half of 2025.
The increase comes even as the overall number of shop theft cases rose at a much slower pace.
There were 2,095 shop theft cases in the first half of this year, up 2.2 per cent from the same period last year.
Food items, personal care products and alcoholic drinks were among the items typically stolen from retail outlets reporting shop theft cases.
WHY YOUTHS SHOPLIFT
Experts say young people may turn to shop theft for reasons beyond financial need or curiosity.
Possible factors include peer pressure, bullying, emotional distress and instability at home.
“Youths steal to gain social capital among their peers. Sometimes they (do it to) cope with their internal emotional distress or to cover basic needs when there is instability at home,” said Mr Narasimman Tivasiha Mani, executive director of Impart, a youth-focused charity organisation.
“When kids lack healthy pro-social avenues for excitement, or feel disconnected at home, they turn to risky behaviours to get that quick hit of dopamine or status,” he explained.
Social media could add another layer of pressure, as young people compare themselves with their peers and seek social acceptance.
“I believe that we are lacking a lot of role models for the youth, and that space has been taken up by other TikTok creators or people,” he said.
Constant comparison with others could contribute to a sense of “unmet needs”, added Mr Narasimman."
More leave for parents, more work for the rest? Childcare leave boost sparks workplace debate (26 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Whenever a colleague takes childcare leave, 29-year-old finance professional Adam (not his real name) usually shares the extra workload with the rest of his team.
Most of the time, he does not mind that the two colleagues in his team of five take time off work to attend to their children, especially when their absences were planned for and the tasks are properly delegated.
But when they take childcare leave at short notice, Adam, who is unmarried, often finds himself reshuffling his own leave plans or shouldering additional work.
So when Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced at this year’s National Day Rally on Sunday (Aug 23) that a new childcare leave scheme will give more time off to working parents, he felt conflicted as he was generally supportive of moves to address Singapore’s falling fertility problem.
“I work in a small company. If colleagues with children in my team are getting extended leave, more workload falls onto the people who do not have kids,” he said.
“I thought that the amount of leave they had was already quite substantial. I was taken aback when I heard they were increasing it.”
Under the new scheme, each parent will get eight days off if they have one child, 10 days if they have two children, and 12 days if they have three or more children.
This is up from the current six days off a year if the parent has a child aged six and below, or two days a year if the child is between seven and 12 years old.
Adam’s mixed feelings about the expansion of childcare leave were echoed by others.
CNA spoke to 10 people who were either single, married without children or have children above the age of 12, to understand how those who do not benefit directly from the childcare leave changes felt.
Like Adam, many were broadly supportive that the changes give parents the support they needed, but were worried that they could end up shouldering more work when their colleagues were away.
While those in bigger organisations said the impact would be minimal given that there is enough manpower to spread the burden, those in smaller firms are unsure that the work can be shared fairly.
Several also pointed out that short-notice childcare leave already causes staffing issues in leaner workplaces. Some worried that this could cause resentment between employees who are parents and non-parents.
The increase in childcare leave also gave rise to questions about fairness, as those interviewed felt that similar benefits could be extended to workers who provide care for elderly family members.
Asked about these concerns on CNA’s Talking Point on Monday, Minister of State for Digital Development and Information and for Health Rahayu Mahzam said they were “legitimate” issues.
Working as a lawyer before entering politics, Mdm Rahayu said she had also experienced the difficulties of shouldering the workload when her colleagues were on leave.
“Which is why we then need to manage the different stakeholders. And the government has always been doing this in collaboration with employers, with workers, with unions to try and come up with a middle ground that is workable."
She added that the government is not just in discussion with stakeholders about childcare leave, but flexible work arrangements and better manpower policies as well.
That means there is a need for proper human resources policies and conversations about supporting parents, she said.
“We are trying to encourage and nudge a culture where the whole society comes together and appreciates that we all may have different needs.”
Amos Yee gets fresh charges for indecent comments, promoting racial disharmony (26 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Online commentator Amos Yee Pang Sang on Wednesday (Aug 26) received four fresh charges linked to posts he made about race and children.
This brings his total number of charges to seven, including three for allegedly dodging National Service (NS).
According to charge sheets, the 27-year-old Singaporean allegedly promoted feelings of disharmony between racial and religious groups in Singapore in two blog posts in April.
In the posts, he allegedly discussed racial discrimination, commented on crimes and sentencing, and suggested that members of certain races should protest to hold another race accountable.
On May 27, he uploaded a video in which he allegedly commented on racial discrimination and the reasons for the number of inmates from a certain race. He also suggested that members of that race protest.
Yee is accused of indecent communication by publishing an article titled "Why Sex with Babies is Bad" on Jun 30, 2026.
He was also charged with indecent communications over videos made in 2021 while he was outside Singapore. The videos were titled "Free Speech for the Pedophile", "Why Child Pornography Should Be Legal" and "Why Pedophilia Is Alright". In the videos, he labelled himself as an "advocate" for "child porn" and "baby porn".
Asked if Yee had any position on the new charges, Yee's lawyer, Mr Divanan Narkunan, said the new charges were served yesterday and he was in the middle of taking instructions.
The prosecution offered bail of S$15,000, on conditions including that Yee must not post anything online concerning his views on paedophilia, or anything inciting ill feelings between racial groups.
Yee attended court with his mother but did not address the court.
X took down the video published in May after police issued a direction requiring it to do so. Police also directed Yee to remove the posts from his blog.
Yee was originally charged with NS enlistment offences after being deported to Singapore from the United States in March.
He was set to plead guilty to the NS-related charges in September, but the hearing has been vacated as of Wednesday and refixed for a pre-trial conference on Sep 18.
NS defaulters can be jailed for up to three years or fined up to S$10,000, or both, per charge.
For promoting racial disharmony, an offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
For making indecent communication likely to cause alarm under the Protection from Harassment Act, an offender can be fined up to S$5,000."
Former swimming coach gets jail and caning for molesting 10-year-old student repeatedly (27 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A former swimming coach has been sentenced to two years' jail and three strokes of the cane for molesting a 10-year-old student three times in a month, with his students telling the police about how he tickled them.
Quek Yeong Kang, also known as Alex, had claimed trial to three charges of molestation and alleged that the victim had complained about him so she could change coaches.
In a judgment made available on Thursday (Aug 27), Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan convicted him of the three charges, rejecting his evidence and bare assertion that the victim had fabricated the allegations.
The court heard that Quek, a 49-year-old Singaporean, was a swimming coach with 20 years' experience.
The victim took classes under Quek on Saturday evenings with her sister, her brother and another six students.
CNA is not naming the pool where it occurred in line with the gag order protecting the victim.
THE VICTIM'S ACCOUNT
According to the victim, she had swum a couple of laps in the pool on Oct 14, 2023 and was standing in the water when Quek came up behind her and molested her.
Initially, she thought it was an accident, but it happened again two or three times. She was 12 at the time when she testified, and used two dolls to demonstrate what happened.
She said the same thing happened again on Oct 21, 2023 after she had swum laps and was resting at the side of the pool. This time, she said she felt uncomfortable and that Quek had touched her two to three times.
On the third occasion on Oct 28, 2023, the victim said Quek molested her again in the same manner three to four times after she completed a set of laps.
During the class, she stopped to ask her sister if Quek had ever touched her private parts, and her sister confirmed that he had.
After the class, as they were walking out, the victim told her older brother that Quek had been touching her and her sister.
Her brother thought she was joking. The victim told her father about it a day later and he told his wife.
They called Quek's fellow coach and told him what happened, before obtaining Quek's number from him and calling Quek on speaker-phone mode.
The victim said that when her father questioned Quek, he could not answer and was stuttering. Her father then called the police."
Commentary: Twins suddenly made us a ‘large family’ - and taught me what gets harder as families grow (28 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Ask parents of two children if they would like to have a third child. One of the first questions in their minds will likely be: Do we have the energy to go through all that again?
If the answer is not an outright no, the questions quickly turn practical: Where will everyone sleep? How do we manage when we’re outnumbered? What do we do for transport? Can we still afford to go on a family holiday?
And perhaps the most important question: Will we be able to give each child enough attention?
For my wife and me, these questions came more suddenly than expected when we found out that we were having twins. We were thrilled, of course, even if becoming parents of three in two years was overwhelming, to say the least.
Such anxieties and concerns likely hold back other Singaporeans from having more children. The costs add up – time, energy, money, space – and can be enough to deter a return to the cycle of gynae visits, night feeds and diaper changes.
ONE MORE CHILD?
For couples who already have children, the question is often not whether they want another, but whether they can stretch to take care of one more.
It is this group of Singaporeans that the family support measures announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the National Day Rally (NDR) on Aug 23 target.
Singapore’s fertility challenge is not just one problem but a series of thresholds with different considerations. Getting couples to go from zero to one child is a different challenge from getting those who have already chosen parenthood to consider having another.
For the latter, the range of new measures could make the prospect of having one more child a little less daunting. This makes sense when Singapore appears to have an unrealised desire for larger families.
Even though the total fertility rate has been falling, parenthood aspirations remain high. The 2021 Marriage and Parenthood survey found that 35 per cent of married respondents felt that having three or more children made for an ideal family size, though only 25 per cent intended to have that many.
THE COST OF ONE MORE
Yes, having another child means more expenses. And it’s not just the cost of one extra person.
Going out as a family? You can’t take a standard ride-hailing car that seats four. If you own a car, you may need a bigger one.
Going on holiday? A family of five might not fit most standard hotel rooms.
Yet, some of the costs can be shared. There are economies of scale to be reaped, from hand-me-down clothes and books to sharing toys and beds.
The new S$10,000 Baby Gift at birth and annual Child Credits of S$2,000 from ages 1 to 16 also put more cash into the hands of parents, rather than credits tied to specific uses. This provides greater flexibility to help address cost concerns.
Just as important is predictability. Parents can count on financial support from childhood to the teenage years – after all, parents don’t just worry about the costs of diapers and formula milk.
The government has also recognised the transport problem. Mr Wong also said there will be additional support to help large families manage transport expenses.
Space is the other big concern. First-timer families will soon have an additional ballot chance for every Singaporean child when applying for Build-To-Order (BTO) flats. Mr Wong also said the government is studying further housing assistance for large families.
While children can share a room when they are younger, they will need more privacy and space as they grow older, particularly if they are of different genders. For multi-generational families living under one roof, like mine, the consideration for space becomes a lot more acute."
Young girls are becoming obsessed with skincare and makeup – why is this happening? (28 August 2026)
"Ifah’s daughter was only seven when she first became interested in her mother’s beauty products. The young girl would observe the older woman applying her skincare and makeup every morning and would ask her mother to apply the products on her too.
“She even learned how to apply them herself – I had to hide my stash so she wouldn’t keep using it,” the 37-year-old technical specialist, who declined to give her full name, said.
One of her friend’s daughters, an eight-year-old, once showed Ifah how she applies makeup and skincare. “She even does GRWMs,” Ifah said, referring to “Get Ready With Me” videos showing creators getting ready for the day.
“I was surprised at how ‘advanced’ she was in her makeup skills at her age.”
These young girls point to a worrying phenomenon known as cosmeticorexia, a blend of the words cosmetic and anorexia.
“Cosmeticorexia is an umbrella term for an unhealthy obsession with achieving ‘flawless’ skin that drives excessive, age-inappropriate, or compulsive use of cosmetics and cosmetic procedures,” said Dr Lynn Chiam, a dermatologist at the Children & Adult Skin Hair Laser Clinic at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital.
Dr Chiam told CNA Women that this preoccupation is evident among young children, particularly girls, who use skincare products meant for adult skin, despite having no significant skin concerns.
She said this can be seen in the “Sephora kids” phenomenon, where girls, typically aged seven to 14, spend a lot of time in beauty stores browsing and buying skincare or makeup.
WHAT COSMETICOREXIA CAN LOOK LIKE
“The blend of ‘cosmetic’ and ‘anorexia’ is used to signal an obsessive, compulsive nature of a behaviour, and it has physical and psychological consequences,” Dr Chiam said.
It can start with a heightened awareness of beauty products, skincare or even aesthetic procedures, she added.
“Some of my patients include teenagers who are well-versed not only in the newest creams and serums but also in procedures like lasers, energy-based devices, even Botox and other injectables,” she said.
Some have used products to achieve “flawless glass skin” – a South Korean beauty trend characterised by smooth, clear and highly moisturised skin – and other viral beauty trends.
Others ask for specific ingredients or treatments they’ve encountered online, without knowing or caring that these may be harmful to young skin, Dr Chiam added.
The concern, however, goes beyond how many products young girls own or how much they know about skincare.
Dr Chiam said some patients – and their parents – have told her how distressed the girls become when they miss a product in their multi-step skincare routine.
Others constantly buy new products to address perceived flaws, sometimes leaving them with little money for necessities such as lunch or school supplies.
“Often, these young girls will fixate on certain tiny blemishes and will spend considerable effort and money to correct them,” she said. “To them, their appearance is central to their self-worth.”
As their obsession intensifies, some children may become less concerned about whether the products they use are appropriate for their age, said Associate Professor Mark Koh, head and senior consultant of dermatology at KK Women's and Children’s Hospital (KKH).
“Social media marketing targets girls far more aggressively with complex anti-ageing products,” he said. “Ingredients such as retinoids, exfoliating acids, Vitamin C and heavily perfumed products are generally formulated to address concerns associated with adult skin.”
The impact of cosmeticorexia may extend beyond the skin. Lim Shoon Yin, executive director of gender equality organisation Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), said the phenomenon raises questions about what happens when young people's insecurities become a market to be tapped.
“This isn’t just a skincare trend; it’s a preview of how the next generation will relate to their bodies,” Lim said. “When eight-year-olds are using retinol, we’re not looking at vanity; we’re looking at an industry that has found a way to sell insecurity earlier and earlier.”
Early childhood sector aims to recruit 1,800 more infant care educators by 2030 (28 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The early childhood sector aims to recruit 1,800 more infant care educators by 2030 to meet rising demand for infant care places, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) said on Friday (Aug 28).
This follows Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's National Day Rally announcement on Sunday (Aug 23) that monthly fees for full-day childcare and infant care will fall to S$150 (US$120) and S$300 respectively by 2030, as part of efforts to make preschool more affordable and accessible.
The lower fees, before means-testing, will apply to every Singaporean child regardless of household income, and lower-income families will pay even less.
Full-day childcare at government-supported preschools currently costs S$365 to S$559 a month after basic subsidies, while infant care costs S$746 to S$1,256.
EXPANDED HIRING GRANT
From September, ECDA will expand its Manpower Hiring Grant to help preschool operators recruit and train local and foreign educators towards early childhood certification.
Under the place-and-train arrangement, employers hire candidates first, who then receive part-time training for the role. The grant covers up to 70 per cent of training stipends and 50 per cent of course fee subsidies for eligible trainees.
Training stipends will be raised across trainee categories, with extra support for infant care certification such as the Assistant Infant Educator and Fundamentals Certificate in Infant Care courses.
Funding under the grant will be extended by three years to Dec 31, 2030, and ECDA will explore overseas partnerships to widen the pool of candidates.
“ECDA’s focus is to build a strong and well-trained infant care workforce. Infant care educators require specialised knowledge and skills to support the developmental and caregiving needs of infants,” it said.
The agency is also looking to draw on preschool educators already qualified to work in infant care.
More than 2,000 hold such qualifications, but only about 4 per cent were working as infant educators as of August, with the rest serving older age groups.
ECDA said it is exploring additional support for educators interested in infant care, to encourage more of them to take up such roles and obtain certification where needed.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a Teachers’ Day celebration at E-Bridge Pre-School at Sumang Lane on Friday, Senior Minister of State for Social and Family Development Goh Pei Ming said the government's focus is to build a strong and well-trained infant care workforce.
"Infant care is much more than routine care. Our infant care educators create safe, nurturing environments where infants can grow, learn, and develop holistically. They are trained to be responsive to each child's needs and build warm, respectful, and trusting relationships with our young ones."
"I hope more people will join our preschool workforce and be the dedicated 1 per cent of Singapore's workforce who help shape our country and our future generations," Mr Goh said."
Dinosaur Odyssey, Japan's acclaimed live show with realistic dinosaurs, will land in Singapore in December (28 August 2026)
"Fancy getting up close with a walking T-rex in Singapore? You can now do so this December at Resorts World Sentosa, as Japan's acclaimed Dinosaur Odyssey live show will stage its first large-scale indoor production outside the country.
Happening from Dec 3 to 6 at Resorts World Convention Centre, Dinosaur Odyssey will feature 15 ultra-realistic dinosaurs, including a stegosaurus, brachiosaurus, ankylosaurus, triceratops and tyrannosaurus.
Each show lasts about 70 minutes and will see the dinosaurs moving about the space, within an arm's reach of audiences. The show will also feature music, dance and theatrical effects.
Approximately 3,000 seats are available at each show.
The dinosaurs in the show are designed to replicate the physical characteristics and movements of real dinosaurs, and are brought to life using a self-supporting mechanical suit.
There will also be a photo experience where ticketholders can get a professional photo opportunity with a 12-metre-long T-rex.
This add-on experience costs S$30 and is limited to just 100 people per show. Ticketholders will also get a dinosaur mini plate.
Dino fans can also look forward to a store offering more than 100 types of dinosaur-themed merchandise, including figurines and fossil replicas, as well as a cafe serving dinosaur-themed food.
General tickets for Dinosaur Odyssey will cost between S$58 (US$45.60) and S$128, with wheelchair accessible seats available at S$38.
A VIP package is also available for S$168, which includes one Cat 1 seat, a plushie, and a photobook.
An early bird sale will take place from Sep 3 to 9, with tickets going at 10 per cent off.
Official sales will then commence on Sep 10.
Tickets can be purchased via Sistic and Klook.
Dinosaur Odyssey will take place between Dec 3 and 6 at Resorts World Convention Centre. More information is available on this website."
Once excluded from PE, now a national athlete: Meet Singapore’s only female national wheelchair rugby player (29 August 2026)
"It used to be called murderball because of how physical the sport is. Most people know it as wheelchair rugby.
Each team has four players and, throughout the game, you will hear the resounding clang of wheelchair against wheelchair, metal against metal, as players fight to get a ball across the goal line.
These collisions are an integral part of the game, said 25-year-old Nur Sabrina Suhaimi.
“It’s like bumper cars – exhilarating. It is a game where you can unleash your madness in a legal way,” she laughed.
Hearing the young Singaporean para athlete talk, you might forget that she has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a rare genetic neurological disorder that damages peripheral nerves. It causes progressive muscle weakness and loss of sensation, usually beginning in the feet and legs, and can later affect the hands and arms.
Sabrina’s fingers curl inwards and she is unable to fully straighten them, making it hard for her to grip items, open a mineral water bottle or button shirts.
She needs a walking cane, as well as braces known as ankle-foot orthoses on both legs to walk short distances.
But when she’s on a purpose-built rugby wheelchair, she flies across the court.
As Singapore’s only female national wheelchair rugby player, Sabrina said the men were initially gentler on her simply because of her gender. That was until they saw her fire.
“Recently, we had a tournament, and I kept banging into my opponent. He told me that I own this court,” she laughed.
THE GIRL NO ONE THOUGHT COULD PLAY SPORTS
Colleagues and friends are always surprised that Sabrina plays this hard-hitting sport. Off the court, she is a gentle soul with the most infectious laugh.
Growing up, she was the smallest kid in every class, and not in the least bit athletic.
At five, she began walking noticeably slower than her peers. Then, as she progressively lost function in both ankles, she developed foot drop, making it difficult for her to lift the front of her feet when walking.
When she was eight, her mother took her to the doctor, but they could not figure out what was wrong.
Gradually, in secondary school, climbing steps got more difficult and her mobility declined. For her safety, her physiotherapist advised her not to participate in physical education classes.
“I thought I couldn’t do sports anymore, and that made me feel like I was different from others,” she told CNA Women.
It was only after her condition progressed to her hands and she could not flex her fingers that doctors conducted more specific tests and diagnosed her with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. She was 16 by then.
After years without an explanation, the diagnosis gave Sabrina a better understanding of her condition.
“There’s currently no cure for this. But as my muscles progressively get weaker, staying active can help me maintain my strength and mobility,” she said.
However, in May 2024, Sabrina suffered a bad fall. While stepping out of her house to get into her mobility scooter, she missed a step and fractured her ankle. The injury left her wheelchair-bound for a year.
“That was the lowest point of my life. I couldn’t do a lot of things. I couldn’t even go to the toilet on my own, and had to keep asking my mum for help,” she said.
“I had heard of other people with my condition losing the ability to walk and I was worried this would happen to me.”
The graphic designer had also been retrenched from her job at a creative agency a few months before the fall.
“I felt like I was just a burden to my mum,” said Sabrina. “I did not want my mum to have to worry about taking care of me when she got older.”
Little did Sabrina expect the injury to lead to a new passion and pride.
To get on her feet again, Sabrina joined an inclusive swimming class. One of her swimming coaches, who happened to be a former wheelchair rugby coach, introduced her to the game.
THE WHEELCHAIR BECAME HER SUPERPOWER
That’s how Sabrina went from being excluded from PE class to becoming a national athlete for Singapore, playing offence.
Wheelchair Rugby Association Singapore (WRAS) has around 27 members, including athletes with spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy, neurological conditions and amputations. The Paralympic version is played by athletes with impairments affecting both their upper and lower limbs.
Competitive players receive classification points according to their functional abilities, and they use custom-built lightweight wheelchairs designed for speed, agility and hard collisions.
High pointers usually dribble, pass or carry the ball and score, while the mid and low pointers block opponents to clear a path for them. Sabrina is classified as a high pointer because she has more functional abilities.
Because collisions are part of the game, falls are common.
Having just recovered from her own fall, Sabrina was apprehensive at first. But the wheelchair rugby community helped her overcome her fears.
“The moment someone falls, all the caregivers, coach and teammates will clap to give them support,” she said. Team staff members and match officials are trained to help them back up safely, and players also learn to protect their head and neck when they fall.
If the players aren’t injured, the game continues “like nothing happened”, she said. “Because of this, it feels like a fall is nothing that serious.”
MUIS to strengthen safeguards for children and youth through common framework across mosques (29 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) will develop a common safeguarding framework across mosques to strengthen protection for children and youth.
The council announced on Saturday (Aug 29) that it will also strengthen safeguarding education for children, youth and parents, and extend safeguarding resources and support pathways to vulnerable families.
The new measures come after a sexual assault case involving young children at a mosque. A self-styled religious mentor had taken two young boys from a vulnerable family into his fold, raped the younger one at least 10 times and molested the older one.
The 37-year-old Singaporean man, who was sentenced in mid-August, is not an accredited religious teacher.
MUIS had said after the case that it would strengthen existing security measures, including patrols and closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitoring.
“We want our mosques to be places where our young people feel comfortable coming back — to pray, learn, meet friends, ask questions, contribute and grow,” said Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Mr Zaqy Mohamad on Saturday at the aLIVE Service Learning (aSL) CARE-nival 2026.
“And they must also be places where our children and youths feel safe.”
COMMON SAFEGUARDING FRAMEWORK
The framework will set out safeguarding principles, the responsibilities of mosque personnel as well as clear reporting and escalation protocols when concerns arise, said MUIS in a press release.
It will be rolled out progressively through several initiatives, including training mosque staff and volunteers to help them recognise signs of abuse or neglect, respond appropriately to disclosures, maintain professional boundaries and understand their safeguarding responsibilities.
It will also establish clearer reporting and escalation protocols to standardise the documentation, reporting and timely escalation of safeguarding concerns, with clear roles and responsibilities across the organisation, said MUIS.
The council will also enhance monitoring for informal gatherings involving minors through a “risk recognition approach”.
This will identify recurring mentoring or teaching activities, conduct appropriate checks where necessary, and intervene where there are concerns about unauthorised teaching or inappropriate boundary crossings, MUIS said.
The framework will involve periodic safeguarding audits and spot checks, conducted with District Offices, it added.
These audits will review physical safety measures such as visibility, lighting, CCTV coverage and signage, while reinforcing safeguarding practices across mosque premises”, said MUIS.
The new framework builds on existing governance and safeguarding measures already implemented across mosques, including requirements for ARS-certified asatizah to conduct formal religious classes and registration requirements for external religious groups, the council said.
Other current measures include CCTV coverage and access controls where appropriate, safeguarding training for educators and staff, supervised children's activities, and an existing incident management and reporting framework.
STRENGTHENING EDUCATION
The council also plans to provide “practical, age-appropriate guidance” for children and youth on how to protect themselves.
“Protective behaviour learning inserts have been introduced for aLIVE students to help them recognise unsafe or inappropriate behaviour, know how to respond and report concerns to a trusted adult,” said MUIS, referring to its teaching programmes for young Muslims.
“Age-appropriate infographics will also be shared with students to reinforce these messages,” it added.
Parents will also be engaged through awareness resources and existing touchpoints, said MUIS.
“These resources will help parents to recognise warning signs, speak openly with their children about personal safety, navigate online risks and know where to report concerns or seek support.”
I took 10 weeks of parental leave but couldn't fully leave work behind (29 August 2026)
"Before I became a father, when mandatory paternity leave was still just two weeks, I thought spending two to three months away from work to focus on my growing family would be enough to transition to parenthood.
However, I was sorely mistaken.
It took me four months to find my footing as a father in 2023, even though I wasn't employed during that time.
Then, in October 2025, I had my second child. The tension between being present for my family and my work responsibilities hit me hard.
I am fortunate to work at Centre for Fathering, a non-profit. With support from the board directors and my colleagues, I had 10 weeks of parental leave when my second child was born.
But even then, fully disconnecting from work was harder than I expected.
I struggled as I considered the responsibilities and rhythms of the financial year, and how the team would operate without me.
Although I was physically present with my family, my mind was at work.
Even as the chief executive officer of an organisation dedicated to fatherhood, I found it hard to be fully present. It made me wonder: How much harder is it for other fathers?
MORE LEAVE, BUT WILL FATHERS TAKE IT?
Since Apr 1, 2025, paternity leave has been legally protected, and fathers are entitled to four weeks of mandatory government-paid paternity leave.
The latest Family Trends Report from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), released last month, showed that 61 per cent of fathers whose child was born in 2024 took government-paid paternity leave, up from 47 per cent for children born in 2016.
This is encouraging. But it also means that nearly four in 10 fathers take no paternity leave.
The reasons are often personal and practical. From our conversations with dads at the Centre for Fathering, some have shared concerns about stepping away from work, including difficulties arranging cover for their responsibilities, or balancing work and family demands.
Self-employed fathers may not be familiar with the support available to them as well.
However, such personal considerations are not the only factors that can influence a father's decision to take paternity leave. Workplace cultures can also discourage them from taking the leave available to them.
Many workplaces are still struggling to adapt to the notion of fathers as caregivers.
Even though progress has been made, attitudes and mindset shifts take time, and it could be many years before fathers are seen as caregivers with the same importance as mums.
Many workplaces provide entitlements such as parental leave and flexible work arrangements, but the attitudes of line managers and colleagues can send a different or loud message.
Subtle disapproval in tone or body language, and requests for meetings during a father’s leave tell people that those who make family a priority are seen as less committed to their work.
During this year's National Day Rally on Aug 23, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that parents will enjoy more childcare leave, with each parent getting up to 12 days of leave a year depending on the number of children they have.
While these measures give parents more opportunities to care for their children, workplace disapproval may discourage fathers from taking time off.
It reinforces mothers as the main caregivers, even though fathers do play a crucial role in a child's upbringing.
Today, about half of fathers and mothers do not use their childcare leave, as shown in the July report on family trends by MSF.
With the government now funding all childcare leave days, instead of employers bearing the cost of the first three days, a key cost barrier is reduced.
Employers should therefore have greater incentive to support workers taking leave, which could help increase take-up.
If take-up remains low, that could point to a gap between our ambition to be a nation "Made For Families", as the national initiative supporting marriage and parenthood puts it, and the lived experience of working parents."
'I am exactly where I want to be': The primary school dropout living life on his own timeline (29 August 2026)
"It was only a couple of years after dropping out of Primary 1 that Presslee Chng fully understood that his life was different. Every weekday morning, all the kids in his neighbourhood were lugging their backpacks to school, dressed in their uniforms – but he had absolutely nowhere to be.
Back then, his family got by on his dad's odd jobs, said Mr Chng, now aged 25. They would pack up what little they owned into boxes "every half a year to a year" because they didn't own a home and couldn't afford to keep up the rent in their various rental flats.
The unravelling of his nascent school life came in 2008 when the family was evicted from their flat. Mr Chng had just started Primary 1 at Anderson Primary School, but in the scramble of leaving, all his school uniforms and books were locked in their old flat.
At a cafe in The Star Vista mall, the wiry young man recounted his childhood to me with the practised ease of someone who has told the story many times before.
His parents, he said, sat him and his older two siblings down and explained that they would be pulling all three children out of school "temporarily".
Most of Mr Chng's memories of that time are hazy – but he does remember his mother looking sad and his typically rambunctious brother and sister being subdued for a while.
Initially, seven-year-old Presslee didn't fully appreciate how serious things were. He was just happy to stay home from school.
"It doesn't sound good now (but) as a kid back then I didn't like school," he confessed sheepishly.
Mr Chng didn't know it then, but he would never get the chance to wear his primary school uniform again.
He went on to spend nine long years out of the school system, missing many of the milestones a Singaporean child would mark in their academic journey, including the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).
It was only later on that he would realise how dropping out of primary school would set him back in life.
But now, Mr Chng is living a life he never dared to dream of as the proud recipient of a Ministry of Education (MOE) Teaching Award, and on his way to becoming a teacher."
Singapore to legislate stronger safeguards, possible daily time limit for teens on social media (31 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Singapore plans to introduce legislation early next year requiring social media platforms to roll out stronger safeguards for teens, including possibly setting a daily time limit, said Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo.
If a platform cannot or does not want to introduce these stronger safeguards, Singapore intends to raise the minimum age of access to that platform to 18, Mrs Teo told journalists in an interview on Friday (Aug 28).
The government wants to know what platforms can do to protect teen users from "stranger danger", or direct messages from people unknown to them, she said.
Algorithmic feeds, autoplay and infinite scroll are also a concern, with discussions touching on how to introduce a natural stop point for infinite scroll.
“The idea has been put forward when we engaged with many different groups, that a time limit for the use of a particular platform...could be one way of dealing with infinite scroll,” said Mrs Teo.
Singapore currently has a code of practice that covers six designated social media services: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, HardwareZone and X.
Mrs Teo noted that the measures Meta agreed to in its US settlement would apply to users up to age 18, in line with Singapore's intended approach, though the details differ in places.
“Some of the areas which Meta has agreed to implement are the same areas that we have been discussing with them about...But there are some differences in the details,” she said.
For example, Meta agreed to let parents of teen users turn off autoplay, but continuous autoplay remains the default. Singapore wants autoplay off by default, with parents able to switch it on.
Meta's settlement also included a daily limit of two hours across Facebook and Instagram, tightening to one hour per platform in a second phase.
Mrs Teo said there is no "magic number" but called the arrangement a useful reference point. “It doesn't mean if you use a service for 59 minutes it's very safe, and then if you use it for 61 minutes it's very unsafe.”
THREE HOURS "A BIT TOO LONG"
An expert panel convened by the Ministry of Health to study social media's impact on youth mental health found that one in three users aged 15 to 17 already spend more than three hours a day on social media, Mrs Teo noted.
The panel also found that one in six users aged 10 to 24 show signs of problematic social media use.
“What it does suggest is that three hours is a bit too long. It ought to be less than that,” she said.
Whatever figure Singapore settles on will not satisfy everyone, she added. “The daily time limit really is a reminder that we should get on with other aspects of our life.”
Beyond the newly operational Online Safety Commission, which began work in June, engagement on other aspects of online safety has been ongoing. Mrs Teo said platforms have known about the age assurance measures "for a long time", and about the stronger safeguards for nine to 12 months.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced in his National Day Rally speech in August that Singapore would require platforms to introduce stronger safeguards for young users.
While most platforms already set a minimum age of 13, enforcement is largely left to them, he noted, calling self-declaration "just not good enough" and pushing for more robust checks to properly enforce the minimum age.
CHECKING A USER'S AGE
Singapore already requires app stores to implement age assurance measures, Mrs Teo said.
This is done through one of three broad methods – age estimation, which uses information a platform has about a user to estimate their age; age inference, which uses similar information to conclude an age range; and age verification, which checks a user's age against official records.
When age assurance was made mandatory for app stores, operators were asked to propose their own methods, which were approved if they appeared "reasonably robust".
The government intends to take a similar approach with social media platforms.
“When it comes to being able to properly ascertain a user’s age, some steps are needed. If you don’t have a certain expectation of accuracy, then the methods of arriving at an estimation or an inference of the person’s age, these could lead to a lot of errors,” Mrs Teo said.
This means a single attempt to confirm a user's age may not be enough, she added. If a platform later gets signals suggesting a user is younger than it thought, it might need to reconfirm their age, meaning some inconvenience for users.
“If we want the platforms to be able to properly assess the occasions where they have a child user, then the rest of us have to support that these methods are implemented, and so we have some mental preparation that it may cause the rest of us some inconvenience.”
Officer from welfare home gets fine after elbowing, kicking 10-year-old boy in prayer hall (31 August 2026)
"SINGAPORE: An officer at a welfare home was ordered by the court on Monday (Aug 31) to pay a fine of S$8,000 (around US$6,300) for ill-treating a 10-year-old boy.
The 43-year-old Singaporean man pleaded guilty to a charge of ill-treating a child under his care.
The court imposed gag orders protecting the victim, which prevents the accused, the welfare home and the victim from being named.
The offender had been a welfare officer at the home since 2018 and was tasked with supervising the residents. He was also a practitioner of silat, a form of martial arts.
The victim had been a resident at the home for about half a year when a woman spotted him climbing a parapet on the second floor on Aug 11, 2025.
She complained to the welfare officer about the act.
The victim later went to the prayer hall on the first floor and the officer scolded him about it.
About 16 other residents were in the hall waiting for prayers to begin.
While in a row behind the other residents, the officer perceived that the boy was smirking at him and smiling.
He used Hokkien vulgarities on the boy and told the boy that he could spit saliva at him. He also said that the "camera" was not working, meaning that he could hit the boy without being caught.
The man then swivelled his upper body and struck the boy's face with his elbow, causing him to stagger to the right.
The boy stood still and was silent after this, but the man kicked him and pushed his chest, causing the boy to fall backwards onto his back and buttocks.
The other residents heard the impact and turned to look, and the man instructed the boy to join the rest for prayer.
The incident was caught on closed-circuit television cameras.
The victim sought medical treatment for tenderness and was discharged that same day. The doctor filed a police report."
From classrooms to communities: Young Singaporeans build ties in Uzbekistan (31 August 2026)
"UZBEKISTAN: Growing up in the ancient city of Bukhara, Amirbek Baxshilloyev was surrounded by craftsmanship.
He comes from a family of artisans and is an eighth-generation practitioner of goldwork embroidery, a craft closely associated with the historic Silk Road city.
But the teenager had ambitions that stretched far beyond his hometown.
He attended a Russian-speaking public school and developed an interest in mathematics, and hoped to pursue his studies overseas.
In his free time, the 17-year-old helped guide tourists around a mini museum at his family’s workshop – an experience that helped him improve his English.
That dream recently became reality when he was accepted into the engineering physics programme at the prestigious Stanford University in California.
“I'm proud to represent not just myself, but also an idea of someone from an underprivileged background getting into (such) schools. It inspires a lot of people,” Amirbek told CNA.
His long-term ambition is bigger: He hopes to help solve the challenges standing in the way of fusion energy.
He credits his achievement in part to Freshman Academy, an education centre in the Uzbek capital Tashkent. Among his mentors is Singaporean Nigel Li, who leads the academy’s research institute.
NURTURING UZBEKISTAN'S YOUNG TALENT
Mr Li, 27, said many young people in Uzbekistan have enormous ambition but may lack access to the resources and skills needed to pursue it.
“(The students here) are hungry for a lot of knowledge and opportunity, but they just don't have the tools,” he said. “We decided to … develop these programmes so that these students have the requisite skills to approach this complex world.”
The academy helps students build skills such as critical thinking and writing, while connecting them with opportunities abroad, ranging from undergraduate studies to apprenticeship.
Amirbek joined the academy’s Full Support programme, which guides students through the university application process. After securing his place at Stanford, he is now giving back by mentoring and coaching younger participants at the academy.
For Mr Li, education is an area where Singapore has something distinctive to contribute as Uzbekistan becomes increasingly outward-looking.
“Uzbekistan is hungry for expertise and knowledge and Singapore has a lot to offer,” he said.
“While we may not be a manufacturing powerhouse the way China is, or have the capital that the United States has, we have the know-how of nation building. We have expertise in developing educational pedagogies.”
Mr Li moved to Uzbekistan after returning to Singapore earlier this year from Washington, where he had worked and studied, specialising in conflict and arms control.
“I wanted to contribute my knowledge differently,” he said. “Rather than trying to mitigate destruction, I wanted to plant the seeds for development and construction of a new generation's ability to build a better world.”
What has struck him is the optimism he sees among Uzbekistan's youths. More than half of the country’s population of 38 million is under the age of 30.
“Every young person I meet wants to do something – start a business, study abroad, develop their own artificial intelligence language model. We can learn a lot from the hopes and dreams of people here,” he said."
Man gets jail, caning for raping stepdaughter; victim not believed by family, placed in welfare home (1 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A delivery man repeatedly raped his stepdaughter from when she was 16, including in the back of his van and in his one-room flat while his wife and six other children were asleep.
When the abuse was uncovered, the victim's mother and siblings did not believe her. She could no longer live with her family and was placed in a welfare home.
The 43-year-old Singaporean man, who cannot be named by court order to protect the victim's identity, was sentenced on Tuesday (Sep 1) to 22 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane.
He pleaded guilty to four charges of rape, with another nine similar charges taken into consideration.
THE CASE
The court heard that the man lived in a one-room flat with his wife, a 42-year-old woman, and their shared children.
The woman had seven children – four with her first husband, including the victim who is her firstborn, and three with the offender.
They were married towards the end of 2015, when the victim was nine.
The family slept together in the same room, either sharing a bed or sleeping on their own mattresses.
In June 2023, when the victim was 16, she began receiving lewd text messages from her stepfather. When she refused to engage in a sex act with him, he confiscated her phone.
That same month, she accompanied him on his delivery rounds in his van.
While they were in a car park in Tampines, the victim was sorting parcels when her stepfather raped her. He ignored her pleas to stop.
After that, he returned the girl's phone to her.
Between July and December that year, he raped her again in the van at least five times.
He also raped the girl at home, while the rest of the family was asleep around them. The girl would give in because he threatened to confiscate her phone.
On one occasion, she cried silently and covered her face with a soft toy.
In total, between June 2023 and February 2024, the man raped his stepdaughter at least 12 times. This happened at least once or twice a month.
One time, when the teenager missed her period, he told her to eat pineapples to avoid a pregnancy or induce a miscarriage.
The man regularly demanded sex from the girl by sending her text messages, which he would delete using his cloud access to the victim's phone.
However, the girl managed to capture a screenshot in February 2024. She felt helpless throughout the nine-month ordeal and was unable to stop her stepfather physically due to his strength.
She did not tell her mother, fearing that she would not believe her.
After the last rape on Feb 13, 2024, the victim could no longer endure the assault. She confided in her boyfriend, who advised her to inform her mother.
The teenager then showed her mother the screenshot of her stepfather's messages.
Confronted by her mother, the stepfather laughed it off and denied any wrongdoing. He also suggested that it was the victim who sent him lewd messages.
The victim confided in her school teacher, who referred her to a school counsellor. The counsellor reported the incident and a police report was made.
The police seized phones from the stepfather that contained recordings and screenshots from closed-circuit television cameras he had installed in the flat, depicting the man sexually abusing the victim.
He was placed in a drug rehabilitation centre for drug consumption from March 2024 to September 2025. After that, he was transferred to Changi Prison and has since been remanded for the rape offences."
AI, working parents, growth markets: New Minister of State Foo Cexiang on his priorities (1 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Bringing businesses, workers and the government closer together to deliver tangible outcomes for Singaporeans will be a key focus for new Minister of State Foo Cexiang, as he takes on his manpower and trade and industry portfolios.
For the MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, that means tackling questions such as how companies can harness artificial intelligence without compromising workers' development, how workplaces can better support parents and how Singapore can tap new growth markets overseas.
Mr Foo, who took office at the two ministries on Tuesday (Sep 1), said he sees his role as one of connecting different groups and perspectives, then finding common ground that can be translated into practical results.
Speaking to CNA on Aug 14, ahead of assuming his new role, Mr Foo said this approach has remained consistent throughout his years in the public service and his time serving residents in his constituency.
It is also one he intends to bring to his new portfolios.
MAKING AI WORK FOR WORKERS
Among the issues high on his agenda at the Manpower Ministry is how companies integrate AI while ensuring that workers still have opportunities to learn, develop and progress in their careers.
Mr Foo said he intends to work closely with the human resources (HR) sector on the issue.
“Together with HR, we’ll be able to influence, in some sense, how AI is integrated within not just a company, but a worker's career development pathway,” he said.
This means looking closely at which tasks can be handed over to AI and where space should be preserved for employees to gain experience and grow their capabilities, he added.
“We should integrate AI because the potential is significant,” he noted.
“But it's in the how and in the where that the in-depth conversations need to be had between companies, business leaders, HR leaders, unions and workers. That is the important conversation that will be critical in this next phase.”
BALANCING WORKING PARENTS & BUSINESSES
Mr Foo is also looking at how workplaces can better support parents while recognising employers’ operational needs.
As a father of three, he said he understands the challenge of balancing career and family responsibilities, and how this could weigh on young couples as they consider whether to have children.
He believes there is room to explore different forms of workplace flexibility and find arrangements that work for both employees and businesses.
“Many parents who are running companies or in managerial positions understand this tension intimately themselves because they have to manage this on an everyday basis,” he said.
“So, this is something we really have to work on, get more feedback and views, (explore) different scenarios, different forms of flexibilities, so that we are able to build into the overall system.”
Singapore teen births at lowest in over 20 years; safe, judgment-free environment key to seeking help: Experts (2 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: When Ms Jannyce Lim gave birth at 19, some relatives frowned on her decision to become a mother so young.
She struggled with postpartum depression and her husband was not able to provide the support she needed as he was still a student.
However, her mother stood by her. She stepped in to care for the baby and covered some of the baby's expenses when Ms Lim struggled to hold down a long-term job.
Ms Lim was one of 140 teenage mothers who gave birth in Singapore last year.
The number of teenage births fell by more than 40 per cent from 244 in 2024, and is at its lowest level in at least 20 years, according to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority’s (ICA) reports on births and deaths in Singapore.
ICA defines a teenage birth as one where the mother was 19 or younger when the child was born.
Ms Lim acknowledged that her experience as a teenage mother differs from that of many others. Having a supportive parent was significant, she said.
Since Ms Lim married before the age of 21, she was required to undergo a mandatory marriage preparation programme.
Through the programme, she also met a counsellor from Fei Yue Community Services, who gave her a safe space to talk about the difficulties she was facing.
The support she received from both her mother and counsellor helped make the transition into motherhood less isolating, she said.
Responding to queries from CNA on the factors that could have contributed to the decline in teenage births, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that because live births among teenagers remain “relatively uncommon” and the 2025 figure represents a single year of data, the lower figure does not necessarily indicate a declining trend.
Separately, the ministry said the incidence rate of abortions among teenagers over the past five years has remained largely unchanged, at about two in 1,000 teenage females.
While teenage pregnancies may be a concern that cannot be completely eliminated, experts said it remains important to ensure that young mothers who become pregnant have access to the support they need.
CREATING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT
Ms Lim had a strong support system to help her navigate motherhood, but not every teenager may have the same resources or be equipped to cope with the demands of becoming a parent at a young age.
Dr Cassandra Cheong, a consultant with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), said that while a teenager may be biologically capable of pregnancy, she may not be developmentally prepared for parenthood as her brain is still developing and is extremely sensitive to stressors.
“Teenage pregnancies often intersect with mental health concerns, unstable relationships, school disengagement, poor sexual health literacy and financial hardship,” said Dr Cheong, who also leads KKH’s Clinic for Adolescent Pregnancy.
These overlapping challenges can also make it harder for teenagers to seek support when they need it, particularly if they fear stigma or judgment.
“Creating an environment where young people feel safe to ask questions and seek help without fear of judgment remains one of the most important areas for improvement,” she said.
She said improving access to contraception, identifying at-risk individuals early, and providing dedicated services and post-delivery contraception counselling all play a role.
“Ultimately, preventing teenage pregnancy is not something any single service or sector can achieve alone. It requires a coordinated effort across healthcare, education, social services, and the community, each playing its part in supporting young people at different points in their lives,” Dr Cheong said.
Ensuring that teenagers feel safe seeking early antenatal care is important, as it allows for timely monitoring of mother and baby, early identification of complications, and access to nutritional, psychological and social support.
“Yet many pregnant teenagers face significant barriers to seeking care early. Some have limited awareness of their own reproductive health, not knowing, for instance, that a missed period warrants a pregnancy test, or even how to go about getting one. They may also be in denial, fearing backlash from family or societal stigma.”
Commentary: Support for children of unwed parents reflects Singapore’s refreshed social compact (2 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: There was one small but significant shift in the new SG Child Support Package unveiled at this year’s National Day Rally. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that every Singaporean child will receive almost $$70,000 (US$55,000) in direct financial support by the time they turn 17.
This includes children born to unmarried parents, who until now have been excluded from the Baby Bonus cash gift. As recently as February this year, the government explained in a parliamentary reply that this benefit was not extended to single unwed parents because it was “designed to encourage parenthood within marriage”.
In fact, such children were previously excluded from Child Development Account (CDA) benefits as well. It was only from September 2016 that children born to unwed parents qualified for government co-matching of their CDA contributions and the one-off First Step Grant (then S$3,000), though they would still be excluded from the Baby Bonus cash gift.
The latest change is welcome for single parents. But there is another significance for all Singaporeans: It suggests an evolution in Singapore’s social compact.
A GRADUAL SHIFT
The new SG Child Support Package represents the latest step in a broader policy evolution that has gradually extended social benefits to single parents.
There has been a “longstanding tension between the objective of promoting parenthood in the context of marriage (as a social norm the government wishes to uphold) and meeting the needs of single parents, especially those who are lower income,” as I noted in my book Refreshing The Singapore System: Recalibrating Socio-Economic Policy For The 21st Century (2021).
In 2013, paid childcare leave was extended to working single parents. From 2017, maternity leave for unwed mothers was increased from eight to 16 weeks to be on par with that for married mothers.
Further to this, the government announced in 2020 that unmarried single parents aged 21 and above could be considered for new 3-room HDB flats in non-mature estates, rather than having to wait till age 35 like singles.
Even so, there remains a differentiation in benefits according to a parent’s marital status. Notably, a single unwed mother cannot claim Working Mother's Child Relief, which allows married, divorced or widowed working mothers to directly lower the amount subject to personal income tax.
POSSIBLE TO PROMOTE MARRIAGE WHILE SUPPORTING EVERY CHILD
Extending benefits to children of unwed parents need not mean abandoning incentives for marriage entirely.
The government can continue to encourage marriage through policies directed at adults – including tax and other family benefits – without differentiating the support available to children according to their parents' marital status.
Singapore’s population challenge, underscored by a record-low fertility rate, makes it all the more important to find ways to pursue both objectives.
It is noteworthy that non-marital births have not risen despite the progressive extension of benefits to children of unwed parents, including CDA benefits from 2016. There was an average of about 745 non-marital births annually to Singapore citizen mothers from 2020 to 2024, compared with more than 1,000 annually from 2006 to 2012.
Past experience thus offers little reason to expect that providing more support to children of unwed parents will, by itself, lead to a significant increase in non-marital births."
Over S$30 million in SG Culture Pass credits used; new portal to help seniors access cultural outings (2 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Around 411,000 Singaporeans have used more than S$30.4 million (US$23.9 million) in SG Culture Pass credits in the scheme's first year, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) said on Wednesday (Sep 2).
As of Aug 31, about S$2.9 million had been spent on Singapore literature books, while about S$1.6 million had been used on local films.
Of the 1.4 million Singaporeans who registered for the SG Culture Pass, 68 per cent had not attended a local arts and culture event in the previous five years, MCCY said.
The ministry added it has been working with Active Ageing Centres, community clubs and nursing homes to organise cultural outings for seniors.
These partners help identify suitable events, redeem SG Culture Pass credits and plan the outings, helping seniors overcome barriers such as digital literacy and mobility challenges.
To make such outings easier to organise, MCCY will introduce a new Group-Assist Portal from mid-October, allowing more community partners to organise group outings and simplify the redemption of SG Culture Pass credits.
The portal will be piloted for outings from November to December in partnership with organisations such as Lions Befrienders and Care Corner Seniors Services.
“The launch of the new Group-Assist Portal will help us continue supporting seniors in staying socially connected and mentally active through organised outings to SG Culture Pass programmes,” said Care Corner Active Ageing Group deputy director Sharon Tang.
REACHING NEW AUDIENCES
Nine in 10 survey respondents who attended a programme using their credits said they were willing to attend another local cultural offering beyond the SG Culture Pass.
Youths aged 18 to 35 accounted for 43 per cent of credit usage, while adults and seniors made up 38 per cent and 19 per cent respectively, MCCY said.
Live events were the most common type of programme supported by the SG Culture Pass and accounted for the largest share of credit usage across all age groups.
“The SG Culture Pass provides this important nudge,” said Dr Hoe Su Fern, principal research fellow and director of the Cultural Policy Lab at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.
“It offers a crucial first taste of the arts,” she said, adding that this could help normalise activities such as watching a play or learning pottery as everyday pastimes.
Dr Hoe noted, however, that a single visit rarely builds lasting habits, and that whether people return depends on efforts by practitioners, organisations and supporters to turn that initial experience into a longer-term relationship.
Introduced in September 2025 to encourage more Singaporeans to experience local arts and heritage, the SG Culture Pass now supports more than 1,400 cultural programmes, 3,100 books and 23 films.
More than 900 arts and heritage partners, 76 publishers and 17 bookstores are involved in the scheme.
Eligible Singapore citizens aged 18 and above in 2025 have received S$100 in SG Culture Pass credits, which can be used until Dec 31, 2028.
MCCY said it will continue to review the SG Culture Pass and work with sector partners to ensure that the scheme remains relevant, inclusive and effective in fostering participation.
This includes continuing to refresh the range of eligible offerings and exploring ways to expand the network of authorised ticketing platforms."
Childcare leave changes 'will take some time' to implement: Indranee Rajah (2 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Changes to Singapore's childcare leave scheme "will take some time" to implement as the government prepares legislative amendments and works through the operational details which could require "at least several months", Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah said.
Speaking in a CNA938 radio interview that aired on Wednesday (Sep 2), Ms Indranee, who chairs the inter-agency Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup, said that there are “a few things” that need to happen before more childcare leave can be implemented, including amendments to the Child Development Co-Savings Act that will take time to legislate.
“Operational issues” need to be worked out with employers, the unions and parents “just to make sure that we get all the details tied down”, she said.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced during his National Day Rally speech on Aug 23 that each parent will get eight, 10 or 12 days of leave a year if he or she has one, two or three or more children respectively.
This is up from the current six days of leave a year for each parent with children aged six and below, or two days a year if the children are between seven and 12 years old.
When asked about concerns that the enhanced leave could cause workload issues for employers and non-parents, Ms Indranee said that the leave situation at workplaces is generally a “very tight” one.
“If one person is out of play, somebody else has to step in, bear the load, or you have to scramble to find somebody to cover,” she said.
Ms Indranee said the government has done “step one”, which is to cover the costs of the childcare leave.
This means that the employer now has the additional cash in hand which they can use to pay those colleagues who are covering for the parent who is taking childcare leave, or to be able to hire somebody else to cover, she said.
EASIER SAID THAN DONE
However, she added that implementing more childcare leave is “easier said than done”.
Even if the details are ironed out, the implementation cannot be immediate as childcare leave is provided for in legislation. That means that amendments to the Child Development Co-Savings Act have to be proposed, debated and passed in parliament first, before the amended law comes into force, she said.
Ms Indranee added that there will also be IT systems that need to be updated to properly track parents who go on childcare leave, so as to ensure that employers are reimbursed the correct amount.
“It's going to take at least several months … these are the things that have to take place first, and we will announce the start date as soon as we can,” she said.
In the meantime, she exhorted workers to play their part to give sufficient notice to their employers before taking leave, whether to care for children or for their own aged parents.
For employers, she said having contingency arrangements should be part and parcel of normal HR policy.
“For example, the job sharing or flexi work arrangements would be helpful,” she said. “In fact, the flexi work arrangements part can benefit anybody - not just parents, but anybody who needs to take time off for unexpected contingencies.”
Social media bans for teens: What Talking Point learnt from Australia, Malaysia (3 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE/SYDNEY/KUALA LUMPUR: “I can guarantee,” a teenager told his peers, “no matter how many restrictions (the authorities) put in place, we’ll somehow find a way to bypass (them).”
It is a viewpoint the authorities themselves have heard over the past couple of months during focus group discussions as Singapore considers how best to regulate children’s access to social media.
At one of the discussions among youths aged 13 to 35, the same teen thought there should be “full access” from age 13 onwards. Another said the government could “give guidelines” to parents to implement at home.
As Talking Point host Diana Ser joined their group, none sounded confident about the enforceability of restrictions. Said one boy: “There’s only so much (the government) can do.”
Yet the pressure on policymakers continues to build up.
One in six young people aged 10 to 24 show signs of problematic social media use, associated with issues such as depression and anxiety. About one in five youths aged 15 to 35 have reported being cyberbullied.
While Singapore is now deciding how to protect its youth — with plans to legislate stronger safeguards early next year, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said this past week — some countries have already acted.
They include Australia, which became the world’s first country to ban access for under-16s to social media last December, and Malaysia, which implemented its restrictions in June.
Have the laws been successful and what does life look like for the teens living under them? Ser visited both countries to find teenagers making their way back to social media and the measures raising problems of their own.
Are bans the best solution, or are there other ways to keep children safe, Talking Point asks in a two-part special as the difficulty of protection becomes clear.
WATCH PART 1: Should children under 16 be banned from social media? (23:00)
A BAN WITH GAPS
Back in September 2024, Kelly O’Brien’s daughter, Charlotte, had been bullied at school for a couple of years, which eventually escalated online. According to O’Brien, the last message her 12-year-old received was, “you’re fat, you’re ugly, go kill yourself”.
She found her daughter’s suicide note the next morning. Asked if Charlotte would still be alive without social media, she answered: “Yeah.”
Eight weeks later, the girl’s parents were in Canberra, meeting the Australian prime minister and hoping to garner bipartisan support for raising the legal age for social media to 16.
“Having already lost everything, I thought there was nothing to lose to fight for other kids in Charlotte’s name,” said O’Brien.
What followed was that under-16s were barred from 10 social media platforms, with hefty fines for platforms that do not take reasonable steps to prevent under-16s from having accounts.
When the law was passed, though, Kelly did not feel happiness. “You can’t get your child back, but it’s (a) relief that other people might,” she said.
“(The ban) is for...the next generation who’d just know this life to be normal — to not want 10,000 likes or 800 followers.”
That hope may be aspirational. A study by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner found that 81.5 per cent of under-16s were using social media in March, compared to 85.9 per cent before the ban.
“Nothing really changed for me. I’m still on all of the platforms,” said Alyssia, 14, who had “done (her) lashes” and worn lip gloss the day she scanned her face, which was enough for her to complete the age verification.
Michael, 13, has seen his friends exploit the same loophole. They would “look left, look right” and “suck in their cheeks” to look older.
When the scan could not be beaten, teens found other ways around it, such as by switching devices and logging into a new account. Some of them got help from their parents, according to Michael.
“The ban has failed,” said Alyssia’s mother, Wendy Chang, who herself got locked out of Instagram when the ban took effect and she had to take a picture of herself for the facial estimation checks.
“For a whole week, I was banned,” she said, “but not Alyssia!”
A government-commissioned age assurance trial had tested more than 60 technologies and concluded that age verification could be done effectively. So, what has gone wrong?"
Not the technology, according to Andrew Hammond, who was the trial’s deputy project director. He pointed to flaws in the implementation such as the lack of an age buffer.
His team’s report recommended that platforms perform another check on anyone who gets a borderline pass, as testing for age assurance at 16 — when appearances change “quite regularly” — is “quite hard”, he said.
He thought it likely that someone like Alyssia was let “straight through” because there was no buffer mechanism on the platform.
In the case of Chang, he suggested that lighting, such as “too much light”, or a “variety of...scenarios” might have caused the inaccurate estimation of her age.
The failure he sees happening is that “people just aren’t getting asked to verify their age that often”.
To sign up on “nine out of the 10 platforms”, he said, it is enough for users to state that they are 16 or older, and “away you go”.
Australian authorities have responded. After flagging potential enforcement action against five platforms in March — Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube — for non-compliance with the law, the government has moved to almost double the maximum fine for breaches.
It is set to increase from A$54.6 million (US$39.1 million) to A$99 million."
Actor Romeo Tan on experiencing middle child syndrome while growing up (3 September 2026)
"Being the middle child isn’t always easy. Sometimes you’re just caught between an older sibling to “listen” to and a younger one to care for.
Romeo Tan can surely relate.
In the new Mediacorp multi-generational series Brighter Days, which spans more than three decades, the 41-year-old actor plays two roles: Li Zhongcheng, a 1996 HDB nanny, and his son Li Yiwei in 2026.
In the show, Yiwei grapples with the painful aftermath of losing his younger brother (Jeffrey Xu) as a child, an incident that also caused his mother to suffer from depression. Years later, after his brother is found, Yiwei struggles to earn his forgiveness for the pain he caused.
Speaking of brotherhood, that’s certainly something Romeo Tan can relate to in real life.
The actor has an older brother who is six years older and a younger brother who is five years younger.
When they were kids, Tan shared a bunk bed with his younger brother, which made them especially close.
He also looked up to his older brother and saw him as a good role model.
Tan, however, quipped in an interview with Chinese-language media vibes by 8world that his older and younger brothers are less close to each other, which is why he acts as the “middleman” between them.
But being literally in the middle comes with its challenges too.
Admitting that he experienced “middle child syndrome”, Romeo Tan said that he was more rebellious and would sometimes feel jealous of both his older and younger brothers.
“When I was young, mum would always say: ‘Gor gor (older brother) is a good role model, you should learn from him,’ and ‘Your younger brother is the well-behaved one, you should learn from him too,’” he recalled.
“I felt like I was always looking up to my older and younger brothers, but my mum never praised me.”
Thankfully, that never affected their sibling bond.
“Everyone knows their place. I won’t overstep my older brother, and my younger brother won’t overstep me. We also would never fight with our older brother,” he said.
“We respect each other and get along well. Even if we have occasional arguments, once it’s over, it’s over.”
The actor also admitted that he was a mischievous child who struggled academically and often gave his parents plenty of headaches.
“But I’ve always continued improving myself. When I was serving National Service, I became an officer and made my parents proud. Now that I’m an actor, they also think this ‘ah boy’ has turned out pretty well.”
Father wins right to choose son's primary school in court tussle with ex-wife (3 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A family court has granted a father the right to choose his son's primary school, after the boy's divorced parents failed to agree on the matter and filed applications to the court.
The former couple married in 2019 and had one child before divorcing in 2022.
The boy is due to enter primary school in 2027, according to a judgment published on Wednesday (Sep 2).
THE CASE
The boy's parents had agreed to joint custody. From February 2024, the mother would have the boy from Wednesdays to noon on Sundays, while the father would have him from noon on Sundays to noon on Wednesdays.
Both parents wanted the boy to be enrolled in a primary school of their choice. By the time the judge heard their applications in July 2026, the first phase of admission had passed.
District Judge Goh Zhuo Neng laid out some non-exhaustive issues which are considered and raised when determining which parent should have sole authority to register a child in a primary school.
First, the reputation of the school. Judge Goh said this is a "popular but often fruitless path of debate".
"Well-meaning parents would argue that their child would have the best start if they were placed in a school that is perceived to provide a superior curriculum and prestige," he said.
"This fails to take into account whether the child might adapt well to the environment and also that places in these schools would be oversubscribed and difficult to get into."
He said placing emphasis on this risks turning all applications on primary school registration into a ranking exercise, marginalising other factors which are more important.
The second factor is alumni association, which is usually raised together with the reputation of the school.
"However, the benefit here is distinct and relevant only insofar as it improves the child's opportunity to obtain a place in the school," said Judge Goh.
The third factor is the distance the child lives from the school, which the judge said was a "useful factor" in evaluating the issue, especially when the court is being asked to choose between a school that is very close and a school that is very far.
The impact of distance is particularly significant in the morning when the child has to wake up in the wee hours to attend primary school assembly, which usually starts at 7.30am, he said.
The distance will also have an impact on places given in priority to children who live within 1 to 2km of the school.
Another factor is which parent bears the greater share of responsibility in caregiving for the child, as this parent understands the child's schedule and needs and strong weight would generally be given to their choice of school.
Other factors include availability of places and conduct of the parents - behaviour which negatively affects the ability of the child to be enrolled would be taken into account, said Judge Goh.
THE DECISION
In this case, Judge Goh allowed the father to decide on the primary school. If there is no available spot at the school of his choice, the child will be registered at any other school where the father can secure a place.
The judge said he regarded travelling time and the time needed to prepare the boy for school as key factors.
Both parents opted for schools which were no more than five minutes from them.
However, they lived 30 to 40 minutes away from each other, so it would mean that the boy had to travel about 30 minutes each way when he stayed with the other parent.
The mother proposed a school, unnamed in the judgment, seven to 10 minutes from the boy's current preschool.
While this was in the interest of maintaining status quo, the judge did not think this was in the boy's best interests.
"Preschool start timings were more flexible and later than those of primary school. (The primary school) was also 20 minutes from both parents' homes," said Judge Goh.
He said giving the father sole authority to choose the school would give the boy three mornings a week where he need not wake up as early to get to school.
"This was a clear advantage the father had over the mother," said the judge. "The father would also be able to prepare (his son) for three full days of school...as opposed to the mother who only needed to prepare him for two full days of school."
Arts groups, museums seek to sustain momentum after SG Culture Pass attendance boost (3 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Arts groups in Singapore are looking to turn a boost in attendance from the SG Culture Pass into a longer-term habit as the scheme enters its second year.
Some say partnerships and new outreach efforts will be key to bringing arts and cultural experiences to more communities.
The SG Culture Pass was introduced in September last year to encourage more Singaporeans to experience local arts and heritage.
Around 411,000 Singaporeans have used more than S$30.4 million (US$23.9 million) in Culture Pass credits since its launch, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) said on Wednesday (Sep 2).
REACHING NEW AUDIENCES
The scheme appears to be reaching beyond the usual arts crowd.
Of the 1.4 million Singaporeans who registered for the pass, 68 per cent had not attended a local arts and culture event in the previous five years, according to MCCY.
Nine in 10 users surveyed also said they were willing to attend another local arts and culture event after using their credits.
Youths aged 18 to 35 accounted for 43 per cent of credit usage, while adults and seniors made up 38 per cent and 19 per cent respectively, the ministry said.
Arts groups say the challenge now is to sustain that momentum and reach those who may be harder to draw in.
At the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT), more than 60 per cent of the audience for its recent musical Legally Blonde used the Culture Pass.
Productions like this have helped bring in newcomers.
The theatre company said roughly half of Culture Pass users are visiting SRT for the first time.
Its focus in the scheme's second year will shift towards people who are not regular arts-goers.
“It's my sense that the older generation especially are not so frequent arts consumers,” said SRT’s managing director Charlotte Nors.
“The first wave of Culture Pass users might have a higher percentage of people who are theatre goers or arts consumers.”
SRT plans to introduce special Culture Pass packages for selected productions, including performances where the S$100 credit can cover two tickets.
It also hopes to encourage older Singaporeans to use their credits to take younger family members to children's shows."
Healthcare costs, education stress: Incoming Minister of State Shawn Loh on adopting ‘listening approach’ (3 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Healthcare costs for seniors and unnecessary stress in the education system are among the concerns incoming Minister of State Shawn Loh has heard from residents as he prepares to take on his new portfolios in health and education.
The MP for Jalan Besar GRC, who will assume his new appointment in January, is holding back from setting out firm priorities before taking office.
Instead, Mr Loh said he wants to first listen to a range of stakeholders, including those beyond his constituency, before forming his views and subsequently contributing to policymaking.
“I'm deliberately suspending judgment, and deliberately not trying to prescribe what I think are my ideas without first listening,” he told CNA.
Mr Loh said both ministries affect the lives of virtually all Singaporeans, and that his listening approach would also extend to those working in both sectors.
“I'm mindful that both for education as well as health, these are large ministries. The policies are delivered by a large group of highly dedicated professionals, whether it's education officers, nurses, doctors, and I want to hear their views as well."
CONCERNS FROM SENIORS AND PARENTS
As a first-term MP, Mr Loh has already gained a window into some concerns that intersect with his incoming portfolios.
The Whampoa ward where he serves has both an ageing population and young families moving into new Build-to-Order flats.
Among seniors he has interacted with, healthcare costs remain an issue.
“Some have outlived their savings, some have outlived what they provisioned for, for their healthcare, and there's a lot of uncertainty because they don't know how much more they have to pay for healthcare.”
He also spoke of parents concerned about stress in the education system.
While some stress is necessary for children to grow and move beyond their comfort zones, he said too much unnecessary stress “destroys the joy of learning for many of our children”.
“In an age where knowledge is so easily available, especially with AI, you don't want our children to graduate by having the joy of learning beaten out of them.”
Maintaining curiosity throughout life is particularly important, he added, and is an area he hopes to better understand.
Over the past year, he has raised issues in parliament ranging from the Silver Support Scheme for seniors to childcare, infant care and student care for families.
He believes these are concerns he can bring into discussions in his new role.
A PARENT’S PERSPECTIVE
Mr Loh’s family life gives him another perspective on both portfolios.
A father of four, he has one child in secondary school, two in primary school and one in childcare.
"We interact with both the education system and the healthcare system quite regularly. It allows me to have a first-hand feel, even before I joined politics, of the journey that many Singaporeans go through.”
He also has ageing parents, giving him an understanding of the caregiving pressures people in his age group face.
“I also understand that many in my age group are feeling the stresses or are anticipating the stresses of caregiving, and that's also an issue that I think many Singaporeans continue to think about.”
Commentary: Will Meta’s US settlement change how Singapore regulates social media? (4 September 2026)
SINGAPORE: Meta’s US$18 billion settlement with US states and territories, alongside its agreement to implement new child-safety features, came as a surprise. The federal lawsuit was expected to be a drawn-out affair but concluded one week after the trial commenced.
This latest development is significant as it adds another layer of duty of care by social media companies to young users.
It also guides policymakers on how they can enforce safer design. Singapore plans to introduce laws in early 2027 requiring social media platforms to roll out stronger safeguards for teens – and for platforms that do not comply, Singapore aims to raise the minimum age of access to 18.
PLATFORMS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE “HOW”
Meta and other social media companies have come under heavy regulatory scrutiny in recent years. Earlier this year, Snap and YouTube settled lawsuits over their impact on users’ mental health ahead of trial.
In legislating against social media, governments have focused on the “whom” and the “what” – young users, and harmful content. This approach has informed policies like the under-16 social media ban.
Meta’s settlement in the US extends platforms’ responsibility to the “how”. What Meta agreed to – limiting the amount of time children spend on their platforms, banning access from midnight to 6am, and removing push notifications during school hours – will change how young users engage with social media.
Meta previously said its existing tools like screen-time warnings and parental controls make their services safer for children. However, experts highlighted that such features are rarely used as they are not automatically turned on.
The reality is that social media companies, being profit-making companies, make deliberate architecture choices to attract users and keep them on the platforms. What’s more, history shows how Meta tweaks product features for different markets for this purpose.
For instance, the company introduced Facebook Lite for developing countries that run on slower networks. A different set of tools usable with lower data bandwidths were introduced for Facebook Lite.
Other country-specific rollouts include Facebook Marketplace and the tweaking of Newsfeed after the 2016 US presidential election so users would see more posts from their friends and family, and fewer from brands, businesses and media. While this adjustment might not have been made for revenue purposes, it was a response to the scrutiny the platform faced for the spread of election mis- and disinformation.
These architectural changes point to social media companies’ ability to not just change product settings quickly but also for markets of their choice.
WILL SOCIAL MEDIA BE SAFER?
On paper, the changes that Meta said it will make to Facebook and Instagram aim to limit the amount of time young users spend there and make the platforms less addictive.
However, the new features do not fully address the problem of harmful content and the personalised targeting of users via platform algorithms. The harm posed to young people does not just stem from how much time they spend online but also what they are exposed to.
Moreover, making social media safer should not happen only after it is rolled out to users. User safety considerations must be made upstream, when a product is designed and being developed.
According to the World Economic Forum, “safety by design puts user safety and rights at the centre of the design and development of online products and services”. The intention is for technology companies to “minimise online threats by anticipating, detecting and eliminating online harms before they occur”.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR SINGAPORE
Meta’s lawsuit has made clear that if left to their own devices, social media companies are unlikely to take necessary drastic steps.
Regulators will have to shoulder the responsibility of defining safety standards for children and take action should social media companies fail to meet the standard. The community, comprising users, parents and educators, will have to remain vigilant and step up to call for accountability.
Singapore’s approach to improving online safety for users has been a multi-pronged one. Since 2022, the government has introduced a slew of regulations which seek to mitigate the negative repercussions of social media use at the content, platform, and system levels, and more recently, at the victim level.
At a forum organised by the Ministry of Digital Development and Information and the Institute of Policy Studies in July, Minister Josephine Teo said that safety is not just about content, but also how much time children spend on social media and the nature of their interactions.
Besides addictive features, policymakers should also be concerned with product features that put children in dangerous situations such as chat functions. For example, platforms could be required to restrict messaging from strangers and notify parents and guardians of accounts that send messages to their children.
While Meta’s product tweaks will be made for the US market only, the settlement is likely to nudge similar considerations in other jurisdictions, which could leverage their regulatory frameworks to impose obligations on Meta and other platforms. And they should, because children all around the world, regardless of their nationality, deserve so much more."
She once failed almost every subject and hated school – now she’s the teacher who fights for every student (4 September 2026)
“I hated school.” This was one of the first things Raja Shahridah Raja Suhaini told me, shortly after being named one of four National Level winners at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University’s Caring Teacher Awards 2026.
It is rare to hear a teacher admit this with such startling candour.
But the 35-year-old, known to her students at Beatty Secondary School as Ms Shah, was dealt very different cards from most.
Her father was incarcerated for the first five years of her life for drug use. And after his release, he joined her mother as a cleaner.
The family lived in a one-room rental flat, worrying about basic survival needs, such as what to eat the next day. Shahridah’s parents could not afford to take care of her two younger sisters and had to give them away to relatives.
Shahridah did not go to kindergarten. She spent her childhood trailing her parents to work.
“I was that young kid running around Takashimaya without shoes while my parents were cleaning the area. Sometimes, I helped sweep the floor,” she told CNA Women.
Her parents mainly spoke Malay, so when she went to Primary 1, Shahridah could not speak much English. She also could not read.
“I was scared most of the time. I didn’t understand what my teachers were saying. My teacher would take out this big book and make us read out loud in front of our friends. I always cried,” she recalled.
Right up to Primary 4, she failed every subject except Malay. She became rebellious and stopped caring, spending her time catching tadpoles in the school’s fishpond.
Today, the woman who once hated school is a teacher who goes from house to house knocking on the doors of pupils who skip school, inviting them back to class.
“There are times when I visited their house and it brings me back to when I was young,” Shahridah said.
THE TEACHER WHO NEVER WANTED TO BE ONE
When she was a child, Shahridah’s parents fought for every opportunity for her. On weekends, they would rent shows such as Mr Bean and RoboCop, deciphering the spoken English and subtitles together.
On their day off, they would take her to the library and have her read out loud. Librarians and other adults would correct her reading, and her parents would thank them for it.
By Primary 2, Shahridah could read.
Her parents would also take her to McDonald’s to do her homework. Whenever she encountered a difficult question, they would approach random strangers for help.
“Imagine walking up to someone and telling them you are not able to teach your own child,” Shahridah reflected.
Witnessing her parents’ hardship and sacrifices, Shahridah was determined to study hard to forge a way out of poverty for her family. From Primary 5, she started to score.
She went to Temasek Polytechnic to study Consumer Science and Technology and even won a gold medal for her academic performance.
After graduating, she received two job offers – one to be a Central Narcotics Bureau officer and the other, to be a Food and Consumer Education (FCE) teacher. It was her mother who decided for her.
Shahridah ended up teaching at Balestier Hill Secondary School, which later merged with Beatty Secondary School.
“Where I came from, you don’t have many choices. A lot of things get thrown to you. You just learn to like it. You do it and you do it well,” she said.
Teaching, however, turned out to be much more for Shahridah.
WHEN COOKING BECOMES CONNECTION
Shahridah teaches FCE to lower secondary students, and Nutrition and Food Science to upper secondary pupils, covering topics such as healthy food choices and practical cooking skills.
She gets her students to make trending pasar malam foods such as Ramly burgers, ice cream, and kunafah, a traditional Arab dessert.
“No other lessons will allow you to eat as you listen to the teacher,” she laughed.
Shahridah even bursts into Disney songs such as Let It Go and Can You Feel The Love Tonight while cooking – a quirk that endears her to students.
Many of them come to her with things they would tell no one else.
A girl with special educational needs who grew up without a mother came to Shahridah when she had her first period and did not know how to wear a sanitary napkin. Shahridah showed her how.
Another student who was living with a relative after his parents died also came to Shahridah. For three months, he waited outside the staff room after school to ask her how her day was.
“It felt like he wanted to say something and was holding back. But I did not expect it to be abuse. He was a very jovial boy,” she reflected.
“One day, I nudged him and asked, ‘What is it you want to tell me?’” That was when he told her he and his siblings were being physically abused.
Shahridah worked with the school and relevant agencies to move the boy and his siblings to a safer environment, although they had to be separated.
The boy is now 18, about to enter polytechnic, and currently working to earn money. “His siblings are all he has. He told me that he’s going to get a house so they can be together again. I’m proud of him,” Shahridah said."
Actress Rebecca Lim opens up about postpartum life after birth of daughter: 'The pressure to bounce back is real' (4 September 2026)
"Three months after the birth of her daughter, Singaporean actress Rebecca Lim, 39, has opened up about postpartum life and some of the challenges she's faced since then.
Lim's daughter, whom she calls Baby M, is her second child with husband Matthew Webster.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday (Sep 2), Rebecca Lim opened up about struggling with her body image, saying: "Mostly, I struggle with how I look in the mirror. And I despise myself for feeling that way. I know that there’s more to life than that. But I’m only human. And the pressure to 'bounce back' is real."
Lim added that she had to constantly remind herself that "comparison is the thief of joy".
"But some days, I can’t pretend that I’m okay. And perhaps that’s what I want to say. That it is okay if you’re not okay. Every one of us is fighting a battle no one else can see."
Lim also advised people to embrace their new selves because "perhaps this changed version is better. Softer, yet stronger and wiser".
Lim's post has since resonated with fans and friends alike, triggering a wave of support. Actress Vernetta Lopez reassured Lim, saying: "It’s a feeling many people, including myself, have, and I didn’t even give birth! You’re effortlessly beautiful, mummy or not, though!"
Rebecca Lim previously spoke with CNA Lifestyle about welcoming her newborn daughter to the family home, revealing that Baby M had to stay in the hospital for medical check-ups.
However, at the time, Lim said she tried to stay positive.
"I tried to think of it from a different point of view. Perhaps I could go home to spend a few more nights with just my son. That was the mindset that I was taking, as opposed to only worrying about my daughter," said Lim."
Public cleanliness satisfaction falls to 91%; toilets and neighbourhood spaces see biggest declines: SMU survey (4 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Satisfaction with public cleanliness fell to 91 per cent in 2025 from 94 per cent in 2023, with neighbourhood spaces recording the biggest decline among six domains surveyed, a study released on Friday (Sep 4) found.
Satisfaction with public toilets also fell sharply.
The study's researchers said the decline could partly reflect rising expectations, as Singaporeans have become accustomed to higher standards of cleanliness over the years.
The latest figure still marks a significant rise from 2017, when overall satisfaction stood at 82 per cent in the survey's first edition.
The 2025 Public Cleanliness Satisfaction Survey, conducted by the Singapore Management University (SMU), is the seventh edition of the study, led by Professor of Sociology (Practice) Paulin Tay Straughan and Dr Mathew Mathews, principal research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies.
It surveyed 2,007 Singapore citizens and permanent residents aged 21 and above between December 2025 and April 2026.
The findings come as the National Environment Agency (NEA) reported fewer fines and corrective work orders in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year, a decline it attributed to continued efforts to clean up targeted littering hotspots.
NEIGHBOURHOOD SPACES SEE SHARPEST FALL
All six domains measured – transportation nodes, leisure venues, commuter paths, spaces after public events, neighbourhood spaces and food outlets – recorded lower satisfaction than in 2023.
Transportation nodes and leisure venues remained the highest-rated, though satisfaction slipped in both: from 98.3 per cent to 97.2 per cent for transportation spaces such as roads, bus stops and MRT and LRT stations, and from 96.8 per cent to 95.1 per cent for leisure spaces such as parks, malls and playgrounds.
Neighbourhood spaces recorded the steepest dip of the six, falling from 93.3 per cent to 87.4 per cent, their lowest level since 2018.
The decline was sharpest at void decks, corridors and lift lobbies, where satisfaction fell 8.8 percentage points to 80.9 per cent, the largest drop among all 20 public spaces surveyed.
Asked about the decline in neighbourhood satisfaction, the researchers said several factors could be at play, including higher expectations, more waste from increased deliveries and whether cleaning services have kept pace amid higher manpower costs.
Food outlets remained the lowest-rated of the six domains, as they have been since 2021, with satisfaction falling 2.8 percentage points to 82.4 per cent. Hawker centres and coffee shops continued to be among the weakest performers, falling 5.5 percentage points to 76.4 per cent and 3.6 points to 76.8 per cent respectively.
Prof Straughan suggested that temperature could also shape perceptions of cleanliness, with patrons potentially less tolerant of non-air-conditioned hawker centres and coffee shops than of air-conditioned food courts.
"When it's hot, there's this perception that there's this level of grime...everybody is so grumpy, so that also affects how we perceive cleanliness of the spaces shared," she said.
PUBLIC TOILET SATISFACTION DECLINES
Separately from the six domains, the survey also tracked public toilets, where satisfaction fell 8.2 percentage points, from 83.7 per cent to 75.5 per cent.
Coffee shop toilets fared worst, dropping 12 points to 48.3 per cent, while hawker centre toilets fell 10 points to 60 per cent. Toilets in downtown and central business district malls remained the best-rated, at 93.6 per cent.
The fall in toilet satisfaction comes even as the Public Toilets Taskforce, set up in 2024, has recommended measures including grants for coffee shop operators to renovate and deep-clean their toilets.
The study suggested these efforts may have raised public expectations, adding: "The full benefits of these efforts may take time to be felt, particularly in high-footfall dining environments where maintaining cleanliness presents greater operational challenges, and where continued focus is expected to yield meaningful improvements over time."
Respondents were also less likely than before to see individual users as primarily responsible for toilet cleanliness, with more attributing responsibility to operators and premises owners instead.
"This may suggest that public toilet cleanliness is perceived differently from other public cleanliness issues and highlights the continued need to reinforce individual responsibility for maintaining clean public toilets," the study said.
Dr Mathews said people may expect more of themselves in places where they feel they have greater power and agency.
"But in areas like the toilet, for instance, people may not feel that they have the same level of ability to do something. But nonetheless, it's something that needs to continue to be highlighted - that everybody can play a part in (making) things better, even in bathrooms."
Beyond STEM: Why Singapore tertiary institutions are putting more emphasis on arts and social sciences (7 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Programming a robot to perform a series of movements once meant spending time writing lines of code.
Today, with artificial intelligence handling much of the technical work, students can get it done in under a minute.
That leaves them with more time to think about what they want the technology to do, and to find solutions for different scenarios.
It is a small example of a broader shift taking place in tertiary education institutions here: from STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – towards STEAM, which adds arts to the mix.
PSB Academy said demand for STEAM education has grown 47 per cent in the past two years, with student numbers rising from around 3,400 in 2023 to 5,000 last year.
Its CEO Derrick Chang said the demand is driven by students who want to expand their skill sets beyond their main subject of study.
He said technical students, for example, are looking to develop skills such as design thinking and communication skills, while non-technical students need to be comfortable using AI.
“Gone are the days where a technical person can just stay technical for a long time,” he said.
“As an engineer today and in the future, you need to be able to communicate your thinking, communicate your innovation.”
Noting that it was no longer “a single track”, Mr Chang said the ability to be multidisciplinary would continue to be critical to surviving in this new economy.
The private education institution is also building an Integrated STEAM Hub at Tai Seng, with larger, interdisciplinary learning spaces and high-tech facilities. The hub is expected to be ready in 2027.
FRAMING THE PROBLEM CORRECTLY
At the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), there is also a growing focus on combining technology with the humanities and social sciences.
The university said its refreshed curriculum is designed to attract students with strong interests in fields such as economics, business, psychology and philosophy, alongside those proficient in mathematics and the sciences.
Dr Grace Dixon, associate head of the programme, said these subjects should not be seen simply as “soft skills” added to a technology degree.
Instead, they help students understand the context and the problems they are trying to address before using design and AI capabilities to resolve them.
“It's not just about asking, 'can we do this', but 'should we do this', for whom and under what conditions?”
“If you frame the problem incorrectly, even an excellent technical solution may solve the wrong problem,” she added.
At the university, students and alumni will also get funding and support via a S$35 million (US$27.6 million) investment platform to pursue entrepreneurial projects.
At the Singapore campus of James Cook University, students are similarly being pushed to tackle real-world problems.
Its new barramundi hatchery facility lets students train in conditions that mirror the aquaculture industry, including learning how to respond when things do not go according to plan.
“We're really making sure that students are problem-focused, and that they've got practical skills, and that they're resilient,” said Professor Carole-Anne Upton, the university’s deputy vice-chancellor for Singapore.
“Resilience is quite a hard thing to teach, and we talk about resilience and agility as key skills for a changing workforce.”
Woman sues preschool for negligence after son was pushed off indoor slide by another student (7 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A woman is suing her son's preschool for negligence after he was pushed off a 75cm-high indoor slide by another student during playtime, leaving him injured.
She claimed that the teachers who were present at the preschool play area did not notice several incidents between her son and another boy because they were on their mobile phones or chatting.
The trial opened in the State Courts on Monday (Sep 7), with the woman claiming that there were no safety mats laid out under the slide at the time of the incident.
The woman is seeking an unspecified amount in damages. She is represented by Mr Goh Choon Wah and Mr Mitchell Leon from Characterist LLC.
A gag order has been imposed to prevent the publication of the identities of the woman and her child, as well as the preschool's name and address.
The court heard that the child is currently six years old and that the woman has another son who is nine years old. The woman's age was not revealed in open court, although she appeared to be in her 30s.
She presented four video clips of the incident that occurred on Jul 12, 2024. In the first, she pointed to a girl who was standing at the top of the slide and claimed that the girl was unsupervised by the teachers who were seated further away.
She said it would have been dangerous if the girl had fallen as there was no safety mat below.
In another clip, a different student hit her head on the wall while playing behind the teachers, but they "were really distracted, both looking at their phones at the same time", the woman said.
It was only after the girl cried loudly that the teachers noticed what had happened, the woman claimed.
The rest of the videos showed her son's interactions with the boy involved in the incident, including a head-on collision. The woman said her son could be heard saying "pain, pain" afterwards and the teachers were "completely unaware" that such an incident had happened.
The other boy pushed her son off the slide twice, she said. After the first time, her son fell to the ground but got back up. When he tried to climb the slide again, the other boy, who was already sitting at the top, pushed him off.
This time, the woman's son fell from the top step.
He used his hand to break his fall and "narrowly missed" a tricycle that another student was riding in the same area. After that, he ran to the teachers, showing them his hand. He was injured in the fall, although the extent of his injuries was not mentioned in court.
The woman and her husband broke down in tears in court as they watched the clip of their son. The boy's father covered his eyes as he wept while the video continued playing.
After composing herself, the woman told the court that she had created notes marking key moments in the video clips. "I wanted to have a sense of the overall supervision of the play from the start to the end. I wanted to put things into perspective on when there was supervision and when there was not," she said.
She claimed that these notes were not included in the preschool's submission. "I'm not asking for the school to catch every incident or be (an) insurer of any interaction between the children," she said, adding that, as an educator herself, she knew teachers had limits.
But she said it was "reasonable to expect that teachers will be looking out for dangers" in high-risk areas such as the slide and questioned the lack of mats.
In court documents obtained by CNA, the woman said photos of the preschool play area from 2017 showed shock-absorbent mats around the slide, but these were not laid out on the day of the incident.
DEFENCE QUESTIONS WOMAN
The preschool was represented by Mr Ling Vey Hong from Foxwood LLC. At the start of his cross-examination, he told the woman that he was a parent himself and was sorry that her son had been injured.
He then asked about her use of the phrase "no effective supervision" in her affidavit to describe the teachers' behaviour, questioning what she meant by that and whether she was referring to regulations by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA).
Mr Ling asked whether the regulations differentiated between supervision and effective supervision and questioned the claimant's understanding of the rules.
He also asked if she considered herself a careful parent, to which she said: "I find it very hard to say yes or no. I do the best I can."
He pointed to photos of her son regularly sent to her by the preschool and asked if she had noticed any safety mats in them. The woman replied that she only focused on her son's face to make sure he was doing well.
"We don't look at the surroundings. I trust that there will be safe play around the area," said the woman.
In turn, Mr Ling said: "You're saying you didn't notice the mats? Even though you're a careful parent?" The woman repeated that she did not say anything about the surrounding area as she trusted the school.
She also claimed that no teachers were positioned near the slide when they should have been there."
Teen gets reformative training for trafficking Kpods, kicking 84-year-old woman (7 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A teenager who committed several offences, including kicking an 84-year-old woman in a wheelchair and trafficking Kpods, was sentenced to a minimum of 12 months' reformative training on Monday (Sep 7).
His other offences involved working as a runner for a money laundering group and driving without a licence.
He pleaded guilty to seven charges, including trafficking etomidate and transferring benefits from criminal conduct. Another 17 charges were taken into consideration.
The teenager cannot be named under the Children and Young Persons Act as he was under 18 when some of the offences were committed.
The prosecution had earlier called for a pre-sentencing report to assess the teen's suitability for reformative training, saying probation was not a realistic option given the facts of the case.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ernest Goh said in written submissions that the teen's offences were "extremely serious in nature".
He added that the teen had committed a large number of offences over a substantial period from Feb 28 to Oct 16, 2025, often while on bail, "underscoring his recalcitrance and utter disregard for the law".
The prosecution also noted that the teen had previously breached a probation order and was subsequently detained at the Singapore Boys' Home. He reoffended less than a year after his release.
"A sentence of probation would not give sufficient effect to the significant degree of deterrence required in the present case," he said.
On Monday, the court heard that the teen was found suitable for reformative training. District Judge Kamala Ponnampalam told the youth that he required targeted intervention and was assessed to be physically and mentally fit to undergo reformative training.
The teen was also disqualified from holding or obtaining any class of driving licence for two years from the date of his release.
While the prosecution sought a three-year disqualification from driving, the judge said she gave a "concession" as he was a youth offender. But she reminded him that the concession would not be granted should he reoffend.
CAUGHT WITH KPODS
According to court documents, the teen had never held a driving licence authorising him to drive a motor vehicle.
However, he purchased a "ghost car" - cars without a valid Certificate of Entitlement (COE) - after coming across an advertisement on the messaging app Telegram.
He bought the car for S$2,500 (US$1,970) because such cars were cheaper and easier to buy than those with valid COEs. The car's registration under the Road Traffic Act had previously been cancelled on Aug 31, 2025.
The teen drove the car on at least six occasions. On one occasion, he drove at 95kmh on a road with a speed limit of 70kmh.
At about 10pm on Oct 15, 2025, after earlier consuming etomidate, he drove the car to Ang Mo Kio to pick up his girlfriend, who was 16 at the time. He then drove towards Causeway Point to visit a restaurant in the area.
But after exiting the Bukit Timah Expressway near Woodlands Checkpoint, he found himself on a road leading to the checkpoint and was unable to switch lanes because there were vehicles on both sides.
At past midnight on Oct 16, 2025, he drove into Woodlands Checkpoint and was subjected to vehicle checks. During the search, ICA officers found 124 vaporiser pods containing liquid, along with other vaporisers and pods. The items were subsequently seized by officers from the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).
Tests later found that all 124 pods contained etomidate. The teen intended to sell them for S$75 each, giving them a street value of about S$9,300.
The teen was arrested by HSA officers and was escorted to the police station to provide his urine samples. His urine tested positive for etomidate. He had consumed the drug by smoking Kpods bought through Telegram.
HSA officers also searched his house and found five vaporiser pods containing liquid."
AI replacing certain tasks, but not entire jobs: Ong Ye Kung (7 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: While artificial intelligence is replacing certain tasks, it is not replacing entire jobs most of the time, Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung said on Monday (Sep 7).
He added that AI is not resulting in mass job displacement, but it is used as a tool, which can lead to job redesign.
“As AI replaces knowledge creation, and even human connection, the impact will be even more profound. Seizing its opportunities, installing guardrails, and pushing back against its adverse impacts are parallel efforts of equal importance that we must start work now,” said Mr Ong at the annual Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum.
Held at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) University Cultural Centre, the forum was attended by about 250 students from various tertiary institutions and members of academia.
Speaking at the start of the forum, Mr Ong set out how he sees changes in the job market.
He cited Graduate Employment Survey (GES) data, which showed that from 2023 to 2025, the proportion of graduates who secured employment six months after graduation declined from 92.9 per cent to 88.9 per cent.
This reflects a “more competitive market”, he said.
Mr Ong said employers are facing changes too, pointing to industries that have been undergoing “significant change” over the years.
For example, automobiles are shifting towards electric vehicles, and ageing populations are reshaping healthcare.
“And then, there is AI. In some organisations and industries, it is automating certain routine tasks. However, these tasks used to be handled by new hires...so AI might have raised baseline expectations of what the new hires have to do,” he said.
“In summary, more graduates entering the market, employers needing to differentiate job applicants and higher expectations of new hires, and these are three compounding factors resulting in a tighter graduate job market and greater job search anxiety that you are facing,” added Mr Ong, who is also coordinating minister for social policies.
JOBS REMAIN RELEVANT
Mr Ong reassured students that Singapore is still competitive and creating jobs.
“You are not entering a declining or stagnant economy. You are entering an economy that is growing, that is attracting investments, and that is still dynamic,” he added.
Singapore remains relevant and competitive, and it has strengthened its position as a key node in global supply chains.
The country also has an open economy, a strong network of free trade agreements, tripartite cooperation, as well as stable institutions and political climate, said Mr Ong.
While some specific jobs such as programmers, editors and translators might be replaced by AI, “large swathes” of jobs remain relevant, he said.
“I know for a fact, healthcare workers remain as busy as ever. In fact, they are hoping that AI can help reduce some of their routine work, some of their tedious work, such as automating record-taking during a consultation with a patient, planning their work rosters ... and providing with an extra pair of eyes when they do diagnostic scans,” he said.
An interior designer told him that he uses AI to improve renderings for clients, but still coordinates contractors, applies for permits, liaises with clients and iterates ideas.
Mr Ong said a young executive from the MICE industry who organises road shows for government agencies also told him that AI can help with some artwork. However, the executive still has to design the overall experience, curate the themes and narratives, and work with partners and media to bring everything together.
“So the feedback by many of these conversations is quite consistent from people across many professions. Most of the time, AI is replacing certain tasks, but not entire jobs – at least not yet. So it is not resulting in mass job displacement, but it is used as a tool, which can result in some job redesign,” he said.
The minister also urged graduates to tap the support available to them, such as free access to AI tools at some universities, career guidance and career fairs.
Mr Ong added that the Singapore Business Federation and employers have a “very big part” to play.
“Employers can help prevent hiring from becoming an ever-escalating arms race. If I put it frankly, the intensity of this arms race is ultimately shaped by how employers hire.
“We are not asking employers to lower their hiring standards. But every additional signal that employers send – hiring candidates with more internships, more credentials, better grades – becomes something that students feel you must chase to curate your perfect CV,” he said.
Mr Ong said that hiring a fresh graduate is always about spotting potential and taking a chance.
Some students have spent years training and playing competitive sports, dedicated themselves to the arts, gone backpacking around the world, volunteered or taken on caregiving responsibilities at home.
While these experiences may not “fit neatly” into a conventional CV, they reflect a candidate’s resilience, initiative, discipline, empathy, character, and work ethic, he said.
“So I encourage, and hope, that employers will look at candidates more holistically, beyond GPAs and internships. Help assure applicants that this is how you hire, and cool down an arms race that is energy-sapping, and I think making the undergraduate experience less holistic for young people at a critical formative age,” he said."
New committee to strengthen safeguards in Islamic religious institutions after child sexual abuse case in mosque (8 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: A committee will be formed to examine safeguards across Islamic religious institutions and propose ways to strengthen them, Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Zaqy Mohamad said in parliament on Tuesday (Sep 8).
This follows the case of a self-styled religious mentor who sexually abused two young brothers, with some offences taking place in a mosque, while he was on bail. He was convicted and sentenced in August.
The offender was not an accredited religious teacher. Mr Zaqy described him as a regular congregant at the mosque.
"He gathered informally with small groups of youths in the main prayer hall. These were not religious classes that were approved or sanctioned by the mosque," said Mr Zaqy, adding that this is a common practice.
The man cannot be named due to gag orders protecting the victims' identities.
Mr Zaqy said the new committee will be led by two chairpersons who are respected members of the community: Associate Professor Razwana Begum and Ustaz Fathurrahman Dawoed.
The committee's composition and terms of reference will be announced later. It will report directly to Mr Zaqy and its findings will be shared with the community.
Members of parliament (MPs) filed parliamentary questions related to the case after it was reported in the media.
The government is also considering expanding the scope of criminal background checks for those who work with children to cover more types of roles, said Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development Goh Pei Ming.
He added that this may include voluntary screening for those working in unregulated sectors. "This could take the form of a certificate-based system, which several members have proposed," said Mr Goh.
Considerations include the practicability of screening requirements for employers, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises.
"However, when it comes to such things, the safety of our children will have to take priority," he said, adding that more details will be shared when ready.
Mr Goh said that the government must work through many considerations, including how to manage the compliance burden and operational constraints being placed on employers.
"Another important consideration is also the need to strike a balance between the protection of children and young persons, and the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-offenders," he said.
He added that the government will consult various industries and sectors to understand the potential challenges so that the screening framework can be implemented successfully. This will involve "many sectors, especially many of the unregulated ones", he said.
Currently, people applying for roles involving sustained contact with children and young persons are screened for past offences, including sexual offences, if these roles are regulated by public agencies.
This includes those applying to be full-time mosque staff, recognised asatizah or religious teachers, employees in Ministry of Education schools and Early Childhood Development Agency-licensed preschools, as well as members of SportSG's National Registry of Coaches.
Employers in unregulated sectors are not required to verify employees' criminal records. They may ask prospective employees to declare any past offences and consider this in their hiring decisions."
Singapore’s 15-year-olds second globally in using digital tools to solve complex problems: PISA (8 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Singapore's 15-year-olds ranked second globally in computational problem solving, a new Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) domain that measures how students use computational thinking and digital tools to solve real-world problems.
The new domain was introduced as the focus of PISA 2025's new Learning in the Digital World assessment. Singapore placed second in the world in this area, behind Macau and ahead of Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang in China.
PISA is an international study conducted every three years to assess how well 15-year-olds can apply their knowledge and skills to real-world situations.
The assessment covers reading, Mathematics, and Science, and evaluates students' ability to analyse, reason, and communicate effectively when solving problems.
It also includes an optional component focusing on 21st century competencies, which in 2025 focused on computational problem solving.
A total of 6,600 students from 145 public secondary schools and 12 private schools participated in the 2025 study. Top performers are students who score in the top two proficiency levels for a subject.
More than half of Singapore’s students are top performers in computational problem solving, compared to a quarter of students in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries on average, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) in a press release on Tuesday (Sep 8).
“They are highly effective in applying computational practices such as conducting experiments, analysing data, and building and debugging computational artefacts to solve complex real-world problems,” the ministry said.
In one task in the 2025 study, students programmed a robotic claw to sort out different objects, mimicking recycling plant operations. In another, they modelled the relationship between different exercises and fitness for an application that could help astronauts stay healthy at low gravity.
Singapore’s 15-year-olds reported positive attitudes and healthy behaviours related to using digital devices – 78 per cent said they compare different sources when searching for information online, said MOE in the press release.
OTHER DOMAINS
Singapore’s students also ranked first in reading, and second in mathematics and science for PISA 2025, the study showed. They ranked ahead of students from China in reading, but behind them in mathematics and science. Chinese Taipei came in third for reading, while Macau ranked third for Mathematics and Science.
In 2022, Singapore topped the global league tables in all three subjects.
Singapore also had the highest proportion of academic all-rounders, or students who are top performers in all three domains, among all participating systems at 15 per cent, MOE said.
In participating OECD systems, academic all-rounders formed an average of 3 per cent of students.
They also have strong environmental knowledge and beliefs in effecting positive environmental change compared to their peers, the ministry said.
Students from Singapore ranked second for the new environmental science module, with 27 per cent of them reaching the top two proficiency levels, compared to the OECD average of 7 per cent."
From childhood to career and family: NTU student simulates Singapore life through a game (8 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: What if you could go back and make different choices in life – from what you studied to the career you pursued?
For Nanyang Technological University (NTU) computer science student Zhu Ke Xiong, those questions have become the basis of a game that attempts to simulate an entire Singaporean life.
Called Singapore Life Simulator, the game can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
The third-year student has spent the past few months mapping out a web of decisions spanning childhood, education, careers, relationships and family life.
"This is like a flow chart of how the whole Singaporean life is mapped,” the 23-year-old said.
The simulation starts with the player in childhood, with each life phase featuring its own scenarios.
“For example, when you are in childhood, your life decisions are very rudimentary, like whether you want to put your mother's phone in your mouth or not,” he said.
As the player grows older, the decisions get more difficult – whether to sit for another round of the Gifted Education Programme selection exercise, ask a classmate out, stay in a university hall or take up a part-time job.
Eventually come the adult decisions such as choosing a career and a partner.
But behind those virtual choices was a very real concern: What happens when young people grow up believing there is only one “right” way to live?"
New student care operators to provide security deposits after Little Professors Learning Centre case (8 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Newly appointed student care and kindergarten care operators will be required to provide a security deposit from December, as the Ministry of Education (MOE) tightens safeguards following the termination of Little Professors Learning Centre's (LPLC) contracts earlier this year.
The deposit can be drawn on to mitigate financial losses if an operator's business fails, Education Minister Desmond Lee said in a written reply to a parliamentary question on Tuesday (Sep 8).
MOE has also started conducting more regular checks on the financial health of student care and kindergarten care operators to detect signs of financial difficulties earlier.
"This will enable MOE to work with operators earlier if any concerns arise," Mr Lee said.
The ministry has also tightened safeguards against unauthorised GIRO deductions.
Operators must now clearly state in their contracts with parents the purposes for which GIRO deductions may be made, and will only be allowed to make deductions for those purposes.
Operators who make unauthorised deductions may have their services suspended or terminated, Mr Lee said.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore is also working with the Association of Banks in Singapore and its member banks to review how safeguards for GIRO payments can be strengthened.
The tighter safeguards follow several issues that emerged at LPLC earlier this year, which led MOE to terminate the operator's student care and kindergarten care contracts in February.
The ministry had said at the time that it was reviewing how student care operators were appointed and whether its vetting processes needed to be tightened."
I got my degree at 36 while raising two young kids, but I’m still looking for a job – was it worth it? (9 September 2026)
"Two years ago, after 16 years in the workforce, I decided to get my degree.
I started working at 19 while still in polytechnic, hosting the weekday morning show on the then-Hot FM91.3 before heading to school.
By the time I received my diploma, I thought I deserved a break – I would work first and get my degree later on.
Eventually, I didn’t see the point of going to university. I already had a sought-after job, I was earning a good salary, and I was getting real-world experience.
Periodically, my parents would nag me about going to university.
My mother, a teacher, got her degree in her 40s. She studied part-time – two nights a week – for almost three years.
Midway through her studies, she was hospitalised with meningitis, but she still managed to get her degree – something she is infinitely proud of. The salary jump she received as a degree holder also made a difference to our family.
My father, on the other hand, was more carefree and never felt he needed a university degree. So, it was truly a “do as I say, not as I have done” moment when he made it abundantly clear that I had to have one.
I was already on the retrenchment track at my former company when he decided to nudge me about it again.
“When I was retrenched, I was slightly older than you and with no degree. I wasn’t even rejected from jobs. I couldn’t even land an interview,” he said.
I’m embarrassed to say I reacted like an angsty teen and shot back: “So a degree will magically get me a job?” But I enrolled for a course after that, purely out of guilt for speaking to my dad that way.
If my degree was going to make him happy and reassure him that I’d have a better chance of securing a job, then I’d do it for his peace of mind. I decided on a bachelor’s degree in business marketing to complement my broadcasting portfolio."
Enhanced childcare leave details to be announced in early 2027: Indranee Rajah (10 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The Marriage and Parenthood Reset Work Group will announce details of childcare leave enhancements in early 2027, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah said in parliament on Thursday (Sep 10).
The enhancements will take time to implement as they require legislative amendments, and the government is working out implementation details with tripartite partners, she said.
Employers also need time to manage the operational impact of the changes, added Ms Indranee, who chairs the workgroup.
She was responding to questions by Members of Parliament (MPs) on how the expanded childcare leave policy would affect the wider workforce and workplace operations.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced at the National Day Rally that parents will get up to 12 days of childcare leave each. Under the new scheme, each parent will get eight days off if they have one child, 10 days if they have two children and 12 days if they have three or more children.
This is up from the current six days off a year if the parent has a child aged six and below, or two days a year if the child is between seven and 12 years old.
The government will reimburse employers for the full duration of all child-related leave up to a cap.
The enhancements are the first set of recommendations from the workgroup, which was formed earlier this year to develop a roadmap for making marriage and parenthood more achievable."
IN FOCUS: Why Singapore's workplace culture remains a stubborn barrier to its fertility push (10 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: When Ms M Low’s newborn was fighting for his life in the intensive care unit (ICU) last year, she was still fielding calls and messages from her team despite being on maternity leave.
She asked them to contact her after she left the hospital, and they agreed, but the experience left a bad taste in her mouth.
“My son was in a critical stage in the ICU, and I felt that I should be left alone, because every day I’m worried about my son, every day I’m hearing grim news about my son,” said Ms Low.
Her son died after a month in hospital. But back at work, the persistent cycle of business travel and after-hours drinks went on unchanged.
When Ms Low, 38, became pregnant again, instead of trying to negotiate for a slower pace at work, she simply resigned. “Forget it, let’s take care of this pregnancy,” she recalled her husband saying.
While the recent National Day Rally announcements are helpful, progressive national policies, such as increased childcare leave and higher grants of almost S$70,000 (US$55,000) for each child, do not address the root of the issue for her.
The work culture in Singapore is “intense” and lacks boundaries, she said, adding that it actively prevents couples from starting families safely without having to sacrifice their careers.
On its end, the government has stated that measures announced at the National Day Rally are early moves in its reforms to support parents, and recognises that there is also a need to address workplace culture issues in Singapore.
In his rally speech, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong encouraged employers to do their part.
“Support parents in your organisations and give them confidence to take the leave they are entitled to. Help them settle back into work afterwards. Make sure that becoming a parent never becomes a disadvantage in someone’s career,” he said.
The Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup, which is headed by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, is set to release a fuller set of recommendations in early 2027 that is expected to tackle workplace culture issues.
Ahead of the rally, Ms Indranee said these issues could not be addressed earlier because more time is needed to balance the interests of employers and employees.
Adding that changing mindsets and attitudes at workplaces is “the much harder part to do”, Ms Indranee said employers, human resource professionals and line managers can shape the experience of employees.
A line manager who is empathetic and happy for you makes it much easier, while a manager who behaves like the employee taking leave is an imposition sends a different signal, she said.
“So, learning how to create better workplace norms and cultures, I think, is a very important part of this.”
Primary 1 registration: More Phase 2C places from 2027, new two-track scheme at 12 schools (10 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Most primary schools will set aside 60 places for Phase 2C from next year's Primary 1 registration exercise, up from 40 currently, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Thursday (Sep 10).
Smaller-intake schools with fewer than 180 Primary 1 places will retain 40 reserved places in Phase 2C. In this year’s registration exercise, 27 out of 179 primary schools had an intake of fewer than 180 places.
Phase 2C is open to all children regardless of prior connection to a school, so more reserved places should widen access for those without such ties, MOE said.
Phase 2B, which is for children whose parent has volunteered at the school, or who has ties to a religious or clan group affiliated with it, will keep to 20 reserved places.
Children in Phase 2B and earlier phases continue to have priority admission ahead of Phase 2C applicants. Balloting kicks in whenever applicants exceed vacancies in any phase from 2A to 2C Supplementary.
The larger Phase 2C allocation could reduce the number of places available in Phase 2A, which is for children whose parent is a former student of the school.
For example, in a school with 240 places where 90 are filled in Phase 1 – reserved for children with siblings already at the school – 20 of the remaining 150 places would be reserved for Phase 2B and 60 for Phase 2C. This means only 70 places would go to Phase 2A, down from 90 previously.
TWO-TRACK SCHEME IN 12 SCHOOLS
From next year's registration, 12 schools in neighbourhoods where public housing makes up less than 40 per cent of homes within 2km will also split their Phase 2C places into two equal tracks – one for applicants living within 2km, another for those beyond it – with no home-school distance priority within either track.
The 12 schools, mostly in Bukit Timah with a few in Marine Parade, are:
• Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)
• Anglo-Chinese School (Primary)
• CHIJ (Katong) Primary
• Methodist Girls' School (Primary)
• Nanyang Primary School
• Ngee Ann Primary School
• Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School
• Raffles Girls' Primary School
• Singapore Chinese Girls' Primary School
• St. Margaret's School (Primary)
• Tanjong Katong Primary School
• Tao Nan School
Singapore citizens continue to have priority over permanent residents, whose applications are considered only after all citizen applicants across both tracks are admitted.
Balloting will be conducted if the number of citizen applicants exceed its places in each track. If there are unfilled places in one track, they will be moved to citizen applicants in the other track."
Food, music and culture: Why some Singaporeans are choosing to learn Malay (11 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: For Mr Johanan Teo and his girlfriend, Ms Marisa Lim, a shared love of Malay food helped spark a wider interest in the culture – and eventually the language.
"We both really like Malay cuisine. We really like eating at nasi padang stores. We like going to Malaysia to try new food, new Malay food as well," said Mr Teo, 29, a full-time home chef.
He counts ayam masak merah, a spicy tomato-based chicken dish, among his favourites to cook and eat.
Their interest eventually led them to sign up for conversational Malay classes at their local community club using their SkillsFuture credits this year.
They are among a steady pool of adult learners picking up the language, some of whom are taking their learning beyond the beginner level.
One tuition centre told CNA it is also seeing growing demand among younger students.
During his National Day Rally last month, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that given Singapore's location in the region, it would be valuable for Singaporeans to learn Malay and better appreciate Malay culture."
New OBS Coney Campus officially opens, features wheelchair-accessible high adventure elements (11 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: The new Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) Coney Campus, which features wheelchair-accessible high adventure elements, officially opened on Friday (Sep 11).
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that while Singapore has "changed dramatically" since OBS was set up in 1967, the need to build character has not diminished.
"If anything, it has become even more important," he said.
"We know we cannot shield young people from every setback or difficulty. But we must continue to equip them with the capabilities and the ability to face adversity with confidence and grit. And that is exactly what OBS is designed to do."
Also in attendance on Friday were Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo as well as Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Goh Hanyan.
With the new campus, OBS will be able to offer the MOE-OBS programme to all Secondary 3 students by 2030.
Last year, about 65 per cent of the Secondary 3 cohort from across 90 schools took part in the programme.
"We will not stop at secondary school. We will expand opportunities for older students too," said Mr Wong.
"After secondary school, they can come back again – be it at ITE, polytechnic or university. So, we want OBS to become a rite of passage for all young Singaporeans."
Spanning 12ha, the new campus features team-based high and low adventure elements, some of which are wheelchair accessible.
This will allow more people to participate in the MOE-OBS Challenge programme, said Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) and National Youth Council (NYC) in a joint press release."
'More than just a privilege': Increase in Phase 2C places draws mixed reactions from alumni parents (11 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: When Jasmine heard that more places would be set aside for Phase 2C applicants in the Primary 1 registration exercise from next year, she felt disappointed and worried.
The change could mean fewer places under Phase 2A, which gives priority to alumni.
"As an alumna of Singapore Chinese Girls' School (SCGS), she will be eligible to register her four-year-old daughter in 2028 under Phase 2A.
Jasmine, who wanted to be known only by her first name, lives more than 2km from SCGS, but is considering moving closer to improve her daughter’s chances.
“For many years, it’s something that parents from these schools felt was very competitive, even in the alumni round. Now we’re going to be squeezed even more.
“I understand that people who are not in this position may feel it’s just a privilege. But it’s more than just a privilege. It’s a shared experience that you also want your children to have. The same traditions, same school environment, same stories,” the communications professional said.
“I want to share these conversations, bond over a similar childhood. And that's what I’d lose if I sent my child to another school,” she said.
Jasmine, who also has a two-year-old daughter, worries about the longer-term implications if her elder girl does not get into the school. If so, her younger daughter would not qualify for Phase 1 at SCGS, which gives priority to children with an older sibling already at the same school.
“I don’t know what it’s going to look like. I don’t think it’s fairer. You’re taking away the opportunity from some people,” she said. “You might potentially have a country of parents who will constantly try to work out how to get what they want.
“The competition in the alumni phase will now be even worse.”
The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Thursday (Sep 10) that most primary schools will set aside 60 places for Phase 2C from next year's Primary 1 registration exercise, up from 40 currently.
Twelve schools in neighbourhoods where public housing makes up less than 40 per cent of homes within 2km will also split their Phase 2C places into two equal tracks – one for applicants living within 2km, another for those beyond it – with no home-school distance priority within either track.
These schools are mostly in Bukit Timah, with a few in Marine Parade."
I attended a lecture in a bar and rediscovered the joy of learning so-called useless things (11 September 2026)
"Two weeks ago, I found myself attending a lecture for the first time since graduating from university in 2017.
I was early for class, which didn't happen often back in school. Despite that, my classroom, a cosy bar on the second floor of a Tanjong Pagar shophouse, was already packed to the brim.
There was another marked difference between this lecture and the numerous others I'd endured in my university days. I was excited about the topic: ghost stories in hyper-modern Singapore.
The lecture was conducted at Braveheart Sake Originals by Ms Ashley Chin, who did her research paper on the same topic as part of a master's degree at England's University of Cambridge.
Ms Chin, a curatorial research assistant at the Asian Civilisations Museum, spent the 45-minute lecture tracing a history of why and how we tell ghost stories in Singapore, from pre-colonial times to the present day.
One particularly intriguing example came from a 1950 article in The Singapore Free Press, which gave a blow-by-blow account of a medicine man's battle with a spirit in his house, even reporting that he had lost the fight.
Ms Chin contrasted this with how, as Singapore modernised, the media began to portray spirits as superstition.
As she talked, my classmates and I – about 40 of us in total – listened with rapt attention. Some took notes on their phones while nursing a cup of sake or a cocktail; others fixed their unwavering gaze on our teacher's PowerPoint slides.
Even after the lecture ended, the audience's curiosity took the discussion further, with questions about the rights of factory workers who experienced outbreaks of mass hysteria in the 1970s – episodes involving people screaming, fainting or entering trance-like states.
None of us really needed to know any of this. But we wanted to.
For most of us, learning has been tied to either grades in school or productivity in the workplace.
When was the last time we learnt something purely for the fun of it, with no exam paper to pass, skill to acquire or career benefit to reap – simply because we wanted to know?"
Singapore pianist Wang Congyu left school at 16, had no stable home in Paris and became a Steinway Artist (12 September 2026)
"When Wang Congyu sat down in an office at a concert hall in Courbevoie, northwest of Paris, he had already flown in from the south of France, taught piano masterclasses for four or five hours and asked one of his students to present the concert taking place elsewhere in the building.
Wang could have been forgiven for looking depleted when he sat down for the interview with CNA Luxury. Instead, the Singaporean concert pianist joked, gesticulated animatedly and spoke at the speed of a sprint.
This is just another day in Wang’s life. The 34-year-old, who grew up in Clementi, performs internationally, directs music festivals and has recorded albums devoted to Poulenc and Debussy. Since 2022, he has been a Steinway Artist, joining the piano maker’s international roster alongside musicians such as Diana Krall, Lang Lang and Billy Joel.
He had come a long way. When he dropped out of school and moved to Paris at 16 to study music, he was effectively homeless. He slept on friends’ couches and sometimes went weeks without a proper meal.
“The only thing I was thinking about was the next day,” he said. “What you’re going to eat, where you’re going to sleep.”
On paper, Wang’s story has the contours of a classic underdog tale: A school dropout who played piano for supper became a Steinway Artist whose work now brings together young soloists, teachers, conductors and orchestras. Wang does not see it that way.
“I don’t have any success,” he said. “It’s just like survival mode.”
Yet it raises the question: How did a boy who hated the piano, walked out of school and landed in Paris without a bed become a Steinway Artist performing on international stages?
THE PIANO HE HATED
For a man who has built his life around the piano, Wang’s first encounter with it was adversarial.
“I hated it,” he said. “I was really bad at it.”
Wang was three when his parents made him learn his first tunes. His older sister played the piano and violin, excelled at school and later became a doctor. Wang describes himself as her rebellious opposite: unexceptional at school and unwilling to practise an instrument he had never chosen.
Music caught his interest at about 13, when the chapel band at Fairfield Methodist Secondary School needed a pianist. Few students could play, so Wang joined. The others encouraged him and told him he was good.
“I didn’t know I had a gift,” he said."
This former lawyer writes inclusive children’s books so kids of different abilities can enjoy the same stories (12 September 2026)
"Lee Seow Ser was on a sabbatical from her legal career in 2014 when she fell ill and needed surgery and treatment. It was a “major turning point” in her life, she said, one that led her to take “a leap of faith” and leave her job.
“I had a deep yearning to fulfil other life aspirations,” Lee said.
Lee had been writing as a hobby while in legal practice. She volunteered with National Parks Board (NParks), taking photos and writing about Singapore’s parks. When literary festivals came around, she would take leave to attend them – “to treat myself to a ‘mental spa’ to stimulate my creative juices”.
While on sabbatical, she had lunch with her friend Hidayah Amin, founder of Helang Books, a local independent publishing house.
Lee asked her: Why don’t bookstores in Singapore carry books for persons with vision loss?
Lee didn’t have any personal connection with visually impaired people. However, she felt that, in a world shaped by visuals, “sight is a key sensory function and being able to experience the colours of this world is a privilege”.
“As someone who likes to write, I thought it both my duty and desire to render the content of what I write in a format accessible to those who wish to read but cannot do so with their eyes,” she added.
After researching braille books, the two women decided to transcribe Hidayah’s award-winning children’s book The Mango Tree into braille. It tells the story of a girl with a connection to the title tree, touching on family relationships and an appreciation for nature.
“We spent some of our own money to engage the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH) to transcribe the text into braille and to produce the braille book,” the 53-year-old said.
“We also took the innovative step of including a tactile cover image of the mango tree and its fruits so that blind children can feel the picture for themselves.”
Is Singapore psychologically prepared for a terror attack? (12 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: "It's the moment that you have all been waiting for. The people I will be killing."
Those chilling words were in a 21-page manifesto written by a self-radicalised 14-year-old student who was planning a mass-casualty stabbing attack at his secondary school during the school holidays.
With just weeks before his planned attack, the teen was arrested by the Internal Security Department (ISD) in May. Authorities called the incident a "close shave".
This year marks 10 years since the launch of SGSecure, the country's community response to the threat of terrorism.
CNA spoke to psychologists from ISD and the Ministry of Home Affairs' Home Team Psychology Division on whether Singapore and its people are psychologically prepared to deal with a terror attack."
'Sexual predator' exploited 14-year-old girl, arranged threesomes involving at least 6 other men (14 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Barely two months after his last sentence for a sexual offence against a 14-year-old girl lapsed, a repeat offender began preying on another girl of the same age.
The 39-year-old man befriended the teenager online before pressuring her into "threesomes" with him and his friend, and later with a former co-worker.
He then advertised for "threesome sex" with strangers, arranging encounters involving the victim and at least four men over the next few years.
On Monday (Sep 14), the man pleaded guilty to four charges of sexual penetration of a minor, two charges under the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act for recruiting a child for the purposes of sexual exploitation, and one charge of causing hurt to the victim.
Another 14 similar charges will be considered at sentencing.
None of the parties involved in this case can be named under a court order to protect the victim. The other men involved are currently under investigation.
The prosecution described the accused as a "sexual predator" whose history of offending showed that he posed a danger to vulnerable girls.
At the prosecution's urging, the court called for reports to assess the man's suitability for corrective training and preventive detention as sentencing options.
Corrective training lasts between five and 14 years, while preventive detention involves jail periods of between seven and 20 years.
Corrective training is imposed on repeat offenders with the aim of reforming them and correcting their behaviour. Preventive detention is a more severe punishment that places a recalcitrant offender in jail to protect the public."
How sport science is helping Singapore’s elite athletes gain a competitive edge (14 September 2026)
"SINGAPORE: Singapore’s elite athletes are increasingly tapping sport science and technology to uncover small performance gains that may not be visible to the naked eye.
With the Asian Games starting on Saturday (Sep 19), such marginal improvements could prove crucial as athletes seek an edge over their competitors on one of the region’s biggest sporting stages.
Sport Singapore’s (SportSG) High Performance Sport Institute draws on areas including physiology, strength and conditioning, psychology and performance analysis to identify where individual athletes can improve.
The aim is to use data alongside the observations of athletes and coaches, helping them make more informed decisions about training and competition.
“If a quick 1 to 2 per cent of anything can make a difference, you probably get an advantage,” said Dr Low Chee Yong, head of sport science and sport medicine at the institute.
“At the highest level, even the 1 or 2 per cent can lose a chance of silver or gold."
But he stressed that collecting data alone is not enough. The findings ultimately have to translate into meaningful changes in an athlete’s training.
“If everyone is unique, not one set of instructions can work for everyone,” said Dr Low.
“But with our data, now the coach is able to fine tune the instruction and help the athlete get the improvement they need.”