He Ting Ru and Gerald Giam to pose parliamentary questions regarding school security and welfare in light of River Valley incident

Singapore — Following the River Valley High School tragedy, Workers’ Party Members of Parliament He Ting Ru and MP Gerald Giam filed several Parliamentary Questions relating to school security and welfare. In a recent Facebook post, Ms He expressed her condolences to everyone who was affected by the incident. She also shared several questions that she would be bringing up on Aug 3. Her first three questions are to be addressed to the Minister for Communications and information, Josephine Teo. The questions are as follows:

1. What guidelines are there for the media industry when trying to approach individuals who have been affected by a traumatic incident to avoid hindering their recovery?
2. What special considerations will be implemented with regard to minors?
3. Are there plans to modify these guidelines?

Ms He will also ask Minister for Education, Chan Chun Sing several questions regarding school welfare over the last 5 years. The questions she posed are as follows:

1. What was the ratio of (a) school counsellors, (b) student welfare officers, and (c) teacher-counsellors to every 1,000 students divided by allocation to (i) primary, (ii) secondary, and (iii) tertiary school levels?
2. Do all schools have at least one of each type of the aforementioned officers?

Meanwhile, Mr Giam's questions were more focused on school security. Mr Giam will be asking the Minister for Education several questions.

1. Do all schools from primary to tertiary levels carry out regular lockdown drills? Are all washrooms and classrooms able to be locked from the inside without a key in case an attack ensues?
2. Will the optimal practices be shared across schools to make sure everyone is well-prepared in case of a school attack?
3. Will schools conduct enhanced security checks to make sure students, vendors, and visitors do not possess any offensive, controlled, or prohibited weapons in the school premises?
4. If checks are conducted, how will they be implemented and carried out?

Earlier today (Jul 27), Minister of Education, Chan Chun Sing gave a ministerial statement on the River Valley High School incident to address concerns that were raised. You Zi Xuan is an intern at The Independent SG. /TISG