Desmond Lee and Jasmin Lau to meet ex-teacher who wrote open letter criticising MOE on teachers' workloads
Education Minister Desmond Lee and Minister of State for Education Jasmin Lau have contacted former Ministry of Education (MOE) teacher Jo Ann Kuek following her viral post on teachers' workloads.
In her post, Ms Kuek highlighted the challenges teachers face on the ground despite MOE measures.
Ms Kuek told Stomp on 23 Nov that the ministers reached out via direct message. She said, "We will be meeting this coming week".
How it all started
On Nov 4, Mr Lee said that according to MOE's data, "teacher workload has remained stable in terms of total hours, at an average of 53 hours". However, he added that the Ministry understands that the "complexity" of teachers' workloads has "increased" over time.
Ms Kuek then posted an Instagram story that questioned why reducing class sizes seemed to be a "sacred cow that MOE refuses to kill", pointing out that large class sizes have long been a pain point for educators.
She also shared comments from teachers on Mr Lee's remarks, which spurred her to write a letter to him.
Ms Kuek received MOE's reply 15 days after her original email, which she shared on her Instagram stories on Nov 20.
The response from MOE's Strategic Manpower Planning Unit said that the Ministry takes a "needs-based" approach to resourcing, with more resources allocated to students with "greater needs".
MOE clarified that it nonetheless reviews and does not rule out "other options" that would contribute to "effective learning environments whilst managing the workload of teachers".
Subsequently on Nov 21, Ms Kuek shared the open letter in her now viral Instagram post.
"Part of me knew that the letter would do nothing to change the situation, and MOE's response (see IGS/ MOE highlight) 15 days later confirms it," she wrote.
Ms Kuek added: "I know the letter didn't reach the Minister (and for that matter, his father, former Min for Education, Lee Yock Suan, probably still thinks the same as he did in 1996), and the Ministry will always come up with some form of reasoning, or platitude about initiatives they've put in place."
'No clear plans' to help teachers
In the open letter Ms Kuek posted on Nov 21, she shared that she had resigned from MOE in 2010 after finding out her thyroid issues were stress-related. She has since been on lifelong medication.
A month later, she allegedly received a letter from MOE, informing her that due to a salary miscalculation, she "owed the Ministry $0.52, to be returned by mail" – something that Ms Kuek describes as a "slap in the face".
Yet, her motivations for the letter were to point out what she felt was "a lot of justification, but no clear plans" to help ease teachers' workloads.
She claimed that measures such as work-from-home days for teachers without classes or flexibility to leave early are not "reflective of reality", as most teachers do not have days without activities that do not require them to be physically present.
She also claimed that MOE is "reluctant" to tackle the issue of class sizes, which has recurred over decades. She cited a parliamentary report from 26 Mar 1996, where late Opposition politician Chiam See Thong proposed reducing class sizes to around 30 students.
Consider making surprise visits to evaluate policy effectiveness
She urges the education minister to make more "unannounced visits" to schools.
"Step into the classrooms that aren't being shown to you. Watch how teachers juggle diverse learning needs, behavioural issues, and administrative demands, often at the expense of actual teaching," she wrote.
She added that by asking "real questions" to a larger and more representative group of teachers and former teachers who no longer "fear reprisal", MOE will get "real answers".
Overwhelming response from teachers
After posting her thoughts online, Ms Kuek said many teachers reached out to share their experiences. Some expressed frustration that their feedback "rarely translates into change" or admitted they fear speaking out.
Her post was shared on the r/singapore subreddit, garnering at least 2,400 upvotes and 397 comments at the time of writing.
Commenter FOTW-Anton wrote: "Not in Singapore and my children's class size is 16. Makes a world of difference and the last thing i'd want is my kids having a stressed out teacher taking out their frustrations on them."
Some Redditors agreed that many issues that lead to teacher burnout, such as large class sizes, have not changed over time.
Redditor sgmaven commented: "Yes, teaching has been facing the same issues since as far back as the 1990s, when I entered the service. Nothing has really been done to address the situation of teacher burnout and disillusionment, unfortunately."
Putting together a brief
On Nov 22, Ms Kuek shared on Instagram Stories that both Mr Lee and Ms Lau have contacted her separately to "speak further".
Before meeting them this week, she said she is compiling a "brief" based on the flood of responses she has received from educators, which will also include suggestions for "near term action".
Stomp has reached out to MOE for comment.
