SINGAPORE – Upper primary school pupils will have more opportunities to use digital devices for learning in school, even as Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said his ministry takes a more “nuanced” approach to technology use.

The Ministry of Education currently allows students in secondary school and beyond to have their own personal learning devices, which are tablets or laptops. Those in secondary school have, since 2021, been issued these devices.

Primary school pupils currently do not have their own learning devices, but schools can bring them in for upper primary pupils to share and use with supervision.

“We make this distinction because we want to strengthen our ability to guide them in their self-regulated use, because you must use devices with discipline and responsibility,” said Mr Chan.

He added that more lessons in primary schools could adopt interactive or multimedia elements.

“At that age, we want more materials, more experience, guiding them before we consider the next step as to whether we should or should not issue them devices.” 

The topic of technology use in classrooms was discussed among education leaders at the recent International Summit on the Teaching Profession that was held in Singapore. The three-day event ended on April 24.

Singapore has a more nuanced understanding of tech use, said Mr Chan. “Our question is not ‘to use or not to use’,” he said. “Our question is really how to use, for who, for what purposes?”

MOE has noted, among other things, the need for varying approaches for different learners, he said. “High-ability students take to technology like fish to water; they will be able to master it and use it to stretch themselves.”

But students with more needs will require guidance and social-emotional support, he said. 

Research has also shown that how one uses devices is important, beyond looking at one’s age and the amount of time spent on the devices, he added.

The impact on brain development can be quite different, depending on whether screen time is used for social media, games or learning, he said.

Teachers play a key role in deciding which digital tools – if any – are most appropriate for students according to their abilities and needs, said Mr Chan. 

“What cheers me most... is that our teachers are prepared to try, because when you try, then you know what works and what doesn’t.”