Tharman Shanmugaratnam: All Secondary School Students Will Receive a Laptop or Tablet By 2021

If you’ve subscribed to a Video-on-Demand service called the National Broadcast, you’d probably know that trying to find new information from the series is as difficult as trying to find an influencer who never humblebrags.

Difficult, but possible.

For example, we got to know that Singapore is testing sewage water for COVID-19 during Minister Lawrence Wong’s speech.

Today, Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who is the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, spoke with a theme of A Stronger and More Cohesive Society.

The most exciting part of his speech is how people behind him were shocked to know that one of the most beloved Ministers in Singapore is talking, with someone even “siam-ing” the camera.

And the second most exciting part of his speech?

It came in the 14-min-25-second mark, when you can hear students all over Singapore cheering.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam: All Secondary School Students Will Receive a Laptop or Tablet By 2021

Apparently, the Ministry of Education has a plan to provide all secondary school students with a laptop or tablets in seven years’ time.

That means if you’d only be excited if you’re a primary school student now.

But Mr Tharman announced today that the plan will be put on overdrive as every secondary school student will receive a laptop or tablet by next year instead.

He said, “MOE has been allocating extra resources to schools for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. We will give them more support in the coming years by hiring more teachers, allied educators, students welfare officers, and teacher-counsellors.

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“They will strengthen the school teams that support students who are doing less well in primary schools, and our UPLIFT efforts to help those at risk. And they will help students to go as far as they can through the full Subject-Based Banding system in secondary schools.

“Minister Ong Ye Kung is also accelerating plans to equip all secondary school students with a personal laptop or tablet for learning. They will each have their own device by next year, seven years ahead of the original target.”

You can watch the full speech here:

The Original Plan: 2028

The idea of every teenager having an iPad might be more shocking than those people in the video background, but it actually isn’t.

Earlier this year, MOE has announced about this plan as part of a national digital literacy programme.

The goal is to equip all secondary school students with their own digital device by 2028 so that students will have digital literacy skills.

Reader Bao: It’s not for TikTok?

That’s for you to decide.

Old men like us might find this refreshing, but it doesn’t appear so for the kids.

For example, all secondary one students from Orchid Park Secondary School had their own Chromebook each last year, which is a loan from MOE.

But nevertheless, that would mean that soon, those Gen Z people would be much more tech-savvy than us.

Reader Bao: They already are.

Good point.

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