Statistics on Students Taking Tamil and Five Non-Tamil Indian Language in 2013 and 2023

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Pritam Singh, Aljunied GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) how many students sat for Tamil and the five non-Tamil Indian languages (NTILs) at the PSLE, "N", "O" and "A" level examinations respectively, in 2023; (b) what was the number of students who sat for the same examinations in 2013; and (c) what is the total Ministry subvention or grant allocated to the teaching and development of each of these languages in 2013 and 2023 respectively.

Response

1.The absolute number of students offering Tamil (TL) and Non-Tamil Indian Languages (NTIL) varies, depending on the cohort size. Overall, the proportion of students who took TL at PSLE, N-level and O-level examinations was around 4 - 5% in 2013 and 5 - 6 % in 2023. For NTIL, the proportion was around 1% in 2013 and 2% in 2023. A-level Tamil candidature fluctuates between 2 -3% between 2013 and 2023, depending on the number of students who have done well in Higher Tamil at O-level and need not offer Tamil at the A-levels. Candidature for A-level NTIL is also around 2-3%.

2.MOE's funding has also increased accordingly, based on the enrolment of Singapore Citizens and PRs in the respective languages, with more support for TL as an official MTL.