Teachers' Workload and Hours Spent Working In and Outside of School

Louis asked the Minister for Education for each year in the past five years, what is the official mean and median number of hours that teachers (i) work per week (ii) work per week in school (iii) work per week out of school (iv) spend on administrative work and (v) spend on work that does not involve teaching or preparing for classes.

Mr Chan Chun Sing (MOE): The Ministry of Education (MOE) monitors our teachers’ workload through periodic surveys and polls, and various forms of staff engagements, including school visits by senior management. Such feedback gives us a holistic appreciation of the workload, so that we can adjust our policies and programmes as necessary.

From the internal surveys conducted over the last five years, the work hours that our teachers reported during term time has remained stable, averaging 50 to 53 hours per week. MOE works with schools and partners to manage the work demands on our teachers. For instance, MOE has enhanced IT systems such as Parents’ Gateway, to significantly streamline administrative processes. To reduce the workload and stress on teachers and students over the past two years, we have reduced the coverage of national examinations, and removed some school-based examinations.

MOE recognises the exceptional demands on our education system due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, our teachers have borne the brunt of it by taking on more responsibilities to ensure our students continue to learn in a safe environment. We have also had to move much faster in adopting blended learning as part of our response to the disruption caused by the pandemic. Home-based learning, as part of blended learning, provides opportunities for students to grow as self-directed learners. But it also means that our teachers have to adapt and learn to design effective lessons and develop suitable resources for home-based learning. Recognising the need to support teachers in this effort, MOE offers professional development programmes, and has made available a growing set of curriculum resources for teachers to use on the Singapore Student Learning Space, our national online learning platform. 

We will continue to see how best to keep workload manageable for our teachers. For example, schools have been given greater flexibility to pace the implementation of certain initiatives, including deferring implementation if this helps to spread out staff workload. I want to also highlight two aspects about workload which are not covered by a singular measure of hours worked in a typical week: first, to ensure teachers are not expected to respond at night and over the weekends to parents and students unless it is an emergency; second, to ensure that teachers are given sufficient protected time during the school holiday period to take a proper break. We will continue to uphold these guidelines and we also urge parents to support us in this effort.   

MOE will also work closely with schools and school leaders to further strengthen well-being support in the following ways. First, strengthen teachers’ knowledge and practical skills for self-care and emotional literacy. MOE provides well-being resources and organises workshops for teachers in areas such as managing difficult conversations and stress management. Second, enhance school culture for well-being by working with school leaders to foster a supportive culture of transparency, trust and open communication with teachers. MOE encourages school leaders to communicate expectations to help teachers better manage their workload. Teachers can also access well-being resources, including approaching the Wellness Ambassadors in their schools or calling the Whole-of-Government Counselling hotline.

Teachers are the pillars of our education system. Our focus is to ensure that teachers continue to be well supported and their workload remains sustainable in the long term. We care for their well-being and will continue to work with all stakeholders, including school leaders, parents, and the teacher unions, to support them.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Teachers Seeking Counselling Services in Past Five Years

Louis asked the Minister for Education for each year in the past five years, how many teachers have sought counselling services broken down by (i) the Ministry’s in-house counselling services and (ii) whole-of-Government’s counselling hotline, respectively.

Mr Chan Chun Sing (MOE): The well-being of our teaching staff is of paramount importance to MOE. We provide a range of resources to support their well-being, including professional development courses, avenues for peer support, and free counselling services which are available to all staff when needed.

The number of teachers in schools seeking support through MOE’s in-house counselling services averaged about 40 per year from 2017 to 2019, before COVID-19. This average number has risen to about 70 in the last two years. As an additional channel of support, the Whole-of-Government counselling hotline was rolled out in March 2021, with about 90 MOE staff using the hotline last year across both MOE schools and HQ.

MOE recognises the exceptional demands that COVID-19 has placed on the entire education system, and our teachers in particular have to shoulder many more duties to keep school safe while still ensuring learning continues for our students. MOE has therefore made adjustments both at system-level and school-level to re-prioritise initiatives and school programmes to pace out work for the teachers to better support them.

To enhance the support for the mental well-being of teachers, MOE introduced a new initiative on Wellness Ambassadors in September 2021. Nominated staff receive training to provide basic peer support and encourage their peers to seek help where necessary. Teachers can also access Mindline at Work, an online platform which provides self-care and well-being tips and resources, tailored to meet the needs of individual users. Teachers can also attend sharing sessions and workshops on teachers’ well-being offered by MOE.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Annual Resignation Rate of Teachers in Past Five Years

Louis asked the Minister for Education in the past five years, what is the annual resignation rate of teachers.

Mr Chan Chun Sing (MOE): In the past five years, the annual resignation rate for teachers has remained low and stable at around two per cent a year.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Comparison of Total Number of Hours Teachers Work Per Week between 2018 and 2020

Louis asked the Minister for Education whether the total number of hours that teachers have to work per week has increased or decreased for (i) 2019 compared to 2018 and (ii) 2020 compared to 2019.

Mr Chan Chun Sing (MOE): In 2018, our internal survey was focused on measuring specific components in teachers' workload. In subsequent years, our surveys had a more comprehensive coverage on teachers' workload. In 2020, due to disruptions caused by the Circuit Breaker, we did not conduct the typical workload survey. Instead, we conducted a series of polls to regularly monitor teachers' sentiments and morale during the pandemic. 

We therefore do not have comparable data for 2018 and 2020. Nevertheless, comparing the data from the 2019 and 2021 surveys, the average workload has gone up slightly from about 51 hours to about 53 hours per week during term time.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis delivered the following budget cuts at Committee of Supply 2022:

Reduce Workload of Teachers

Louis: Teachers wear many hats from teaching the curriculum, to holistic development, CCAs, and now COVID-19 regulations. We keep adding to teachers’ workload, but we still expect the same quality output from them.

A 2019 study already found that working hours of Singapore teachers is higher than the OECD average. The working hours have increased over the pandemic and our overstretched teachers are reaching out for help.

The average number of teachers seeking support through MOE's counselling services has almost doubled from before COVID-19. 

Teachers shared with me that they are stressed and overworked. One shared, "Many teachers are burning out, but seeking help is not an option because we are expected to show up for our students. I’ve had multiple anxiety attacks in school but I have to put up a front to go back to class."

Will MOE consider setting limits for teachers’ working hours and workload? Other than enhancing the Parents Gateway, reducing coverage of national exams, removing some school-based exams, how else will MOE reduce teachers’ workloads?

Ensure All Teachers Have Flexi-work Arrangements

Louis: Like many of us, teachers should enjoy flexible work arrangements (FWAs). Many are parents themselves. They prepare and send their children to school every morning before rushing to their own school. As a parent myself, I experience this chaos every morning.

Some teachers struggled with this, including my resident who told me that her principal does not allow her to have staggered working hours. On the other hand, I know of teachers who do and I used to take the elevator every morning with a teacher who sends his child to school before going to his school late.

We should ensure consistency across schools and all teachers should have FWAs, including staggered working hours.

Another teacher shared with me about flexible working hours for teachers without children. She shared that her school allowed her to leave school after 11.30 am if there are no matters in school. However, another school only allow teachers to leave after 2.30 pm even if they have classes before that.

Can MOE require all schools to offer FWAs, including staggered working hours and allow teachers to leave as long as there are no matters to take care of in school?

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Education for each year in the past five years, how many teachers resigned in their first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth year of service respectively.

Mr Chan Chun Sing (MOE): Over the past five years, the average annual resignation rate of teachers in their first ten years of service has remained low and stable, ranging between two per cent to three per cent, with very low rates in the first two years as newly-trained teachers have to serve a bond, a slightly higher resignation rate of three per cent to four per cent among teachers with around three to five years of service, before stabilising to about two per cent for the more experienced teachers. In general, the teacher resignation rates are lower than other schemes in the Civil Service.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Data on Schools Offering Flexible Work Arrangements and Staggered Working Hours for Teachers in Past Five Years

Louis asked the Minister for Education (a) for each year in the past five years, what is the number and percentage of schools that offered (i) flexible work arrangements for their teachers and (ii) staggered working hours for their teachers respectively; and (b) whether the Ministry intends to collect this data if such data is not available.

Mr Chan Chun Sing (MOE): MOE offers part-time work options to teachers in all schools to help them manage their work and personal commitments. Teachers can discuss with their school and agree on a part-time work arrangement which meets both the school’s and officer’s needs. On average, about 3.6% of our teachers in schools were on a part-time work arrangement between 2017 and 2021.

School Leaders also have the autonomy to implement other types of flexible work arrangements where operationally feasible. These include allowing teachers to report or leave at staggered hours if they have no lessons or duties at the start or end of the school day; or to work from home on a day where they have no in-person classes or other duties requiring their presence in school. Schools can determine how to implement such arrangements based on their specific needs, and do not need to keep MOE HQ informed. 

MOE is committed to supporting our teachers’ well-being while fulfilling our responsibility to students, including through flexible work arrangements.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Hiring of More Staff to Reduce Administrative Workload of Teachers and in Planning of Events

Louis asked the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry will consider reducing the administrative workload of teachers by hiring more members of staff to do administrative work and plan events; and (b) if not, why.

Mr Chan Chun Sing (MOE): All schools have a School Administration Team that performs administrative and operational functions. Schools are also given additional posts and funding which they can use flexibly to meet their needs by hiring more staff, including on an adjunct and casual basis, to help with administrative duties. However, there are natural limits to expanding schools’ administrative workforce, given national manpower constraints.

MOE has increased our support for schools in recent years in a number of ways to better manage the administrative workload. First, we have reduced administrative work by strengthening centralised services provided by HQ to schools where possible, such as providing one-stop support for more complex procurement and finance issues. Second, we have provided better support for our teachers in some of the administrative duties that they have to perform such as taking attendance or organising learning journeys and overseeing outdoor adventure camps. For example, teachers can use Parents’ Gateway, an IT system, to collect consent forms and disseminate information to parents. MOE also provides funding for schools to engage vendors to help with event planning and conducting after-school enrichment activities and camps, though teachers will still need to exercise oversight and provide the duty of care for their students. While these activities extend beyond classroom teaching, these are an important part of a teacher’s responsibility and should not be totally outsourced, as they contribute to the holistic development of our students. 

We will continue efforts to keep administrative workload manageable for our teachers, including through the use of technology and streamlining of processes. We will also equip school administrative staff with the necessary skills and support them centrally from HQ where possible.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)