More will be done to support teachers, including managing workload: Minister

To better support teachers, the Ministry of Education (MOE) and school leaders will find more ways to manage their workload and help them to grow professionally, said Education Minister Desmond Lee.

- Gabrielle Chan

It will also “redouble efforts” to attract and retain good educators to have a strong education fraternity, he said.

Results from a global study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) show that teachers here feel valued and experience high job satisfaction, Mr Lee said on Oct 8 at the National Institute of Education's (NIE) Professorships Summit held at Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel.

Singapore’s teachers also have a high workload compared with their peers in other systems, in terms of nonacademic tasks and online teaching, he added.

The Teaching and Learning International Survey 2024 report, released on Oct 7, found that teachers here work an average of 47.3 hours a week, higher than the OECD average of 41 hours.

Certain workload-related factors, such as administrative duties and marking, were identified by teachers here as their main sources of stress.

"We recognise these issues and have made moves to better support our teachers, including to manage their administrative workload," said Mr Lee. These measures include strengthening school administrative teams and introducing artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

"We have made AI and other digital tools available to teachers, so they can complete tasks more quickly. For example, using AI to help draft letters to parents and prepare initial first-cut drafts of students' testimonials."

MOE has also piloted procurement approaches to simplify processes like organising camps and making purchases, he said. These will be rolled out to more schools when ready.