Singapore’s Ministry of Education (MOE) will expand it’s Mother Tongue Language Electives Programme (LEP) from 2027, giving more students the opportunity to study Chinese, Malay and Tamil at a higher education.
Education Minister Desmond Lee announced the changes during the Mother Language Symposium 2026 in Singapore Expo on 1st August 2026.
Under the expansion, the Chinese Language Elective Programme (CLEP) at the junior college level will be introduced at Anderson Serangoon Junior College. Meanwhile, the Tamil Language Elective Programme (TLEP) at secondary and junior college levels will be offered at the Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre, allowing students whose schools do not offer the programme to attend classes there. The centre also organizes cultural programmes and showcases Indian performing arts.
The Malay (Special Programme) will also expand to fifth centre at National Junior College, creating an additional 80 to 90 places each year for students who wis to learn Malay as a third language.
Encouraging Bilingual Learning
Desmond acknowledged that raising bilingual children has become more challenging as very few families use their mother tongue as the main language at home. He encouraged parents to start with simple daily activities such as reading storybooks, speaking in their mother tongue at home or listening to songs together.
The Mother Tongue Language Electives Programme, first introduced in 1990 is to help students develop stronger language skills while deepening their understanding of literature and culture through activities such as local camps, overseas immersion trips and literary programmes.
AI to Help Teachers with Essay Marking
The ministry announced that it will introduced the Artificial Intelligence Essay Marking System (AIMS) in secondary schools from September.
The system will help Chinese language teachers mark grammar, spelling and sentence structure in both handwritten and typed essays. Teachers will continue to review and edit the feedback before its shared with students, allowing them to focus more on developing students creativity, ideas and writing skills.
In addition, MOE is testing new programme to expose infants to Chinese through sight, sound and touch with similar programme planned for Malay and Tamil. 6 MOE kindergartens are also piloting one-and-a-half hours of daily mother tongue learning, up from one hour as the ministry studies whether the program should be expanded nationwide.
Sources: Straits Times, Malay Mail
