Education Minister Chan Chun Sing emphasized how harmful online misrepresentation can be as a result of the recent online outcry about the Character and Citizenship Education (CCE ) lesson package on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Mr. Chan also warned against “potential external interference” from parties with an agenda to undermine Singapore’s cohesion during a budget debate on Monday ( Mar 4 ) during a budget debate on his ministry’s spending.
Following a number of articles that started appearing on social media channels late last month, Mr. Chan’s answer addressed worries about what schools are teaching kids about the Gaza issue.
Presentation slides that were allegedly used in the lessons were likewise distributed online, including one that used an , example of two students arguing after a football game to illustrate the conflict.
Online critics claimed that MOE had trivialized the issue in Gaza by contrasting the grim state of the area with a soccer game.
Mr. Chan made it clear that the drop in question was actually added by one university to help learners relate to the content subject. It was not distributed to all colleges.
He added that some website users” carefully selected” a drop from the training presentation to refute the claim that classrooms were telling students that the Gaza war had only just begun on October 7.
On the same day, Hamas attacked Israel, killing more than 1,100 people and holding over 200 captives. Following this, Israel launched a martial attack that has so far resulted in the deaths of over 30 000 people in Gaza, most of whom are children and women.
Mr. Chan said on Monday that the cherry-picking of the roll “insinuated that MOE was pro-Israel” and that the government had labeled one part as the aggressor and the other as the victim. He continued,” Some folks have been riled up by this.”
The secretary refuted this claim, saying that the terms used on that particular roll were “events since Oct 7”. Another roll that highlighted how the issue has a long and complex history also came before it.
This is in fact a sobering warning that in the online world, it is difficult to tell those who question the content with well-intentioned purposes from those who join the fray with the intention of inciting bad feelings on an already sensitive subject, according to Mr. Chan.
The minister claimed that MOE has even provided background information for teachers on the traditional context of the fight.
This was intended to be shared with students who simply wanted to learn more about history because the CCE lesson’s purpose was not to teach background.
SLIDES” WOULD NOT DO JUSTICE,” PUBLISHING Presentations
A few Members of Parliament ( MPs ) posed a question about how the slides ‘ misinformation was being handled by MOE.
The MP for Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency ( GRC ), Dr. Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah, questioned whether the slides should be made available. According to Mr. Chan, the ministry came to the conclusion that doing so “wo n’t do justice” to what teachers do in class because” the slide does n’t speak” after extensive discussions.
” We have tested this, and no matter how hard we try to make the presentations open or accessible, we will continue to do so.” We will also come back to the exact problem if it is done intelligibly, he said.
Dr. Wan Rizal’s inquiry on whether Singapore’s fake news rules can be applied to platforms that circulate slides apparently from the MOE-issued slides when they were not in truth. Mr. Chan did not respond directly.  ,