They actually listened and finally reversed the whole decision which feels completely surreal right now even though I have been staring at the confirmation for an hour. I honestly never imagined we would get here after all those dismissive letters from the ministry but thank you for holding the line …
August 18, 2015
Final supporters
9 June 2015
Mr Lee Hsien Loong
Prime Minister
Orchard Road
Istana
Singapore 238823
Dear Prime Minister Sir,
Appeal – New Integrated Programme Junior College
Thank you for your timely intervention
in this matter.
Further to our Ipetition of 4 May 2015
and our update letter of 25 May 2015, we would like to present to you
our ongoing concerns and the truth behind the unfortunate
developments in this matter.
We are deeply concerned about the
possibility that the real issues and our correspondence has been kept
from you. We believe that this injustice perpetrated on so many of
our families is so high-handed, definitive and one-sided that no
person with a conscience would allow this unjust situation to
persist.
Update
We note that the MOE has totally
avoided and ignored our representations. They have simply gone
through the motions with little attempt to offer a real solution. A
heated dialogue session on 25 May was followed up with a feeble
attempt at a superficial “review” which lasted less than 2 weeks.
They have yet again given us a “our decision is final” letter on
5 June 2015. What was even more shocking was to see the press and TV
getting the news before the parents. This media campaign based on
calculated misrepresentation was part of their orchestrated effort to
suppress us parents and tell a twisted version of the story.
We totally and utterly reject their
claim that they have tried to search for a better solution and have
our interests at heart. We remain totally disappointed with the
pretense and hypocritical way in which they have handled this matter.
This provocation has only deepened the anger and bitterness of the
families involved. Many of us have totally given up on the MOE as we
have not been able to obtain a fair hearing or solution from them.
We feel that this uncompromising and
confrontational attitude is totally unbecoming of an arm of the
Government. This is especially so as the history of this episode is
littered with incidents of major inconsistences and half-truths on
the part of the MOE. There is concrete evidence to suggest that the
repeated and cascading delays were known much earlier but they
concealed this and kept parents in the dark. In the meantime, they
persisted in marketing the IP Programme to us as if everything was on
schedule. As a Ministry and an arm of the Government, we would expect
them to behave in an honest and honourable way. Whether by oversight
or deliberate, whether by deception or by omission, the
result for our families is an intolerable sense of betrayal.
The Real Issues
There are many issues involved here.
However, MOE has totally ignored the main issue which we have
brought up repeatedly. It is that MOE made a promise to our
families and they should honour their word and deliver the JC campus
on time without excuse or exception. Many families made the choice to
send their children to a new and untested JC based on the promises of
the MOE to provide a brand new facility. Just as they expect us
to honour our word and remain committed to the programme, the MOE
should honour their word to us. Is the word of the Ministry so cheap
and worthless?
We would also like to state that
taking 10 years to build a school in Singapore is totally ridiculous.
The JC was announced in 2010. It is now 2015. It will
not be ready for students till 2020. Casinos, shopping malls,
condominiums and blocks of HDB flats can be built in 3 years. Why
does it take 10 years to build this school?
Let us emphasise that there is no
rewind button for us. We cannot go back and start over. Hundreds of
us trusted the Ministry and commited our children to this JC with no
track record. This decision was not taken lightly as it involves 6
years of our children's lives. To aggravate matters, the programme
will now be saddled with low morale, unhappiness, discontent and a
deep sense of betrayal. MOE should be aware of their responsibility
and their accountability and not breach their obligations and renege
on the word that was given. MOE should not be toying with peoples'
lives with such impunity.
We are also gravely concerned that the
MOE is setting a very poor example for our future generations. Are we
teaching our students that when a mistake is made, no apology is
necessary and we should just cover it up? Are they to be taught to
dictate and force their own point of view without conscience? Is this
the lesson for our future citizens and leaders?
The Solution
There is a simple solution to all this
anger, frustration, anxiety and antagonism. The MOE should work with
the other agencies involved to expedite the building of the JC campus
by 2018 to honour and fulfill the word that they had given us.
We have no other agenda. All we ask for
is justice.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Parents and Students of
Catholic High School
CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School
Singapore Chinese Girls' School
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
June 25, 2015
June 24, 2015
I really need everyone to grab their phones and send this link to their contacts because we are about to hit the two hundred and fifty mark and that number is where things get really uncomfortable for the ministry. If we can just get this move over the line it might actually force them to stop the games and look at what they are doing to our families (which honestly feels like it has been their goal from the very start).
Reached 100 supporters
June 10, 2015
75 Comments
Really hope PM can instruct MoE to do the right things. MoE is currently setting a bad example for our students that when they failed to deliver a committed project on time, they just gave excuses after excuses without owning up to their mistakes. Very irresponsible work ethics to just tell parents to take it or leave it and leaving us with no choices.
Dear PM Sir, Pls dun let MOE tarnish our believe in PAP as quoted by our founder father in 1958 **We the PAP would prefer to lose on election rather than to win it on false premises and false promises. We have grown from strength to strength because we are honest, because what we say publicly we honour publicly.** Thanks!
I believe if MOE and government want to do it, it can be done by 2017/2018. Suggest to set up in phases so that students can move into the new campus at the earliest possible date.
The decision to send my daughter to the new JC was made after carefully weighing the advantages of the location of the interim and permanent premises, over the JC's lack of track record. It is therefore paramount that MOE honour the commitment to parents and students.
Holding school has to be near actual school. Surely Mt Sinai is not a win-win solution. People most directly affected are students. Their considerations must come 1st, not MOE's convenience. The JC is for students. MOE will not be travelling to Mt Sinai every morning 6am and returning home after CCA at 10pm.
Dear Keefe, Thank you for your comment. As a young Secondary 2 boy in CHS 2-3, I hope that you can respect other peoples point of view. I am sad to say that your tone is rude and disrespectful.
After much hustle and bustle about the completion of the new jc, the government is still adamant about placing the holding site at Mt. Sinai and has expressed that the jc will not be completed by 2017 afterall. On my part, i feel that the government may have indeed shown some neglience in the matter since they had already promised the jc few years back but it is not being fulfilled within the promised timeframe. However, now that it is officially stated that it will not be able to be built in time, will there be able use if we rushed them into building it by 2017? Yes, there had been other major projects being completed within a short period and i believe that the government are capable of it once again. But the main reason for the delay is due to new preparation of the transports routes along the area, if we selfishly request them to complete in the short timespan it may bring inconvenience in times to come. Besides, the structure of the jc is tall and even if it is completed by then, the foundation may have flaws and this may put the students in danger. So rather than putting the governemnt in a tough spot, why not give suggestions how the holding site could be better improved for a more conducive learning environment and programmes to better enrich the students. Thank you for taking time to read my comment :)
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Share this petition to help it reach more people.
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They actually listened and finally reversed the whole decision which feels completely surreal right now even though I have been staring at the confirmation for an hour. I honestly never imagined we would get here after all those dismissive letters from the ministry but thank you for holding the line …
August 18, 2015
Final supporters
9 June 2015
Mr Lee Hsien Loong
Prime Minister
Orchard Road
Istana
Singapore 238823
Dear Prime Minister Sir,
Appeal – New Integrated Programme Junior College
Thank you for your timely intervention
in this matter.
Further to our Ipetition of 4 May 2015
and our update letter of 25 May 2015, we would like to present to you
our ongoing concerns and the truth behind the unfortunate
developments in this matter.
We are deeply concerned about the
possibility that the real issues and our correspondence has been kept
from you. We believe that this injustice perpetrated on so many of
our families is so high-handed, definitive and one-sided that no
person with a conscience would allow this unjust situation to
persist.
Update
We note that the MOE has totally
avoided and ignored our representations. They have simply gone
through the motions with little attempt to offer a real solution. A
heated dialogue session on 25 May was followed up with a feeble
attempt at a superficial “review” which lasted less than 2 weeks.
They have yet again given us a “our decision is final” letter on
5 June 2015. What was even more shocking was to see the press and TV
getting the news before the parents. This media campaign based on
calculated misrepresentation was part of their orchestrated effort to
suppress us parents and tell a twisted version of the story.
We totally and utterly reject their
claim that they have tried to search for a better solution and have
our interests at heart. We remain totally disappointed with the
pretense and hypocritical way in which they have handled this matter.
This provocation has only deepened the anger and bitterness of the
families involved. Many of us have totally given up on the MOE as we
have not been able to obtain a fair hearing or solution from them.
We feel that this uncompromising and
confrontational attitude is totally unbecoming of an arm of the
Government. This is especially so as the history of this episode is
littered with incidents of major inconsistences and half-truths on
the part of the MOE. There is concrete evidence to suggest that the
repeated and cascading delays were known much earlier but they
concealed this and kept parents in the dark. In the meantime, they
persisted in marketing the IP Programme to us as if everything was on
schedule. As a Ministry and an arm of the Government, we would expect
them to behave in an honest and honourable way. Whether by oversight
or deliberate, whether by deception or by omission, the
result for our families is an intolerable sense of betrayal.
The Real Issues
There are many issues involved here.
However, MOE has totally ignored the main issue which we have
brought up repeatedly. It is that MOE made a promise to our
families and they should honour their word and deliver the JC campus
on time without excuse or exception. Many families made the choice to
send their children to a new and untested JC based on the promises of
the MOE to provide a brand new facility. Just as they expect us
to honour our word and remain committed to the programme, the MOE
should honour their word to us. Is the word of the Ministry so cheap
and worthless?
We would also like to state that
taking 10 years to build a school in Singapore is totally ridiculous.
The JC was announced in 2010. It is now 2015. It will
not be ready for students till 2020. Casinos, shopping malls,
condominiums and blocks of HDB flats can be built in 3 years. Why
does it take 10 years to build this school?
Let us emphasise that there is no
rewind button for us. We cannot go back and start over. Hundreds of
us trusted the Ministry and commited our children to this JC with no
track record. This decision was not taken lightly as it involves 6
years of our children's lives. To aggravate matters, the programme
will now be saddled with low morale, unhappiness, discontent and a
deep sense of betrayal. MOE should be aware of their responsibility
and their accountability and not breach their obligations and renege
on the word that was given. MOE should not be toying with peoples'
lives with such impunity.
We are also gravely concerned that the
MOE is setting a very poor example for our future generations. Are we
teaching our students that when a mistake is made, no apology is
necessary and we should just cover it up? Are they to be taught to
dictate and force their own point of view without conscience? Is this
the lesson for our future citizens and leaders?
The Solution
There is a simple solution to all this
anger, frustration, anxiety and antagonism. The MOE should work with
the other agencies involved to expedite the building of the JC campus
by 2018 to honour and fulfill the word that they had given us.
We have no other agenda. All we ask for
is justice.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Parents and Students of
Catholic High School
CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School
Singapore Chinese Girls' School
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
June 25, 2015
June 24, 2015
I really need everyone to grab their phones and send this link to their contacts because we are about to hit the two hundred and fifty mark and that number is where things get really uncomfortable for the ministry. If we can just get this move over the line it might actually force them to stop the games and look at what they are doing to our families (which honestly feels like it has been their goal from the very start).
Reached 100 supporters
June 10, 2015
75 Comments
I am a Secondary 1 student. I am very sad and disappointed with MOE. 'Tell a lie once and all your truths become questionable.' I do not know how to convince myself to trust MOE in the future. I will never ever forget this episode in my life when I was being cheated.
Really hope PM can instruct MoE to do the right things. MoE is currently setting a bad example for our students that when they failed to deliver a committed project on time, they just gave excuses after excuses without owning up to their mistakes. Very irresponsible work ethics to just tell parents to take it or leave it and leaving us with no choices.
Dear PM Sir, Pls dun let MOE tarnish our believe in PAP as quoted by our founder father in 1958 **We the PAP would prefer to lose on election rather than to win it on false premises and false promises. We have grown from strength to strength because we are honest, because what we say publicly we honour publicly.** Thanks!
I believe if MOE and government want to do it, it can be done by 2017/2018. Suggest to set up in phases so that students can move into the new campus at the earliest possible date.
The decision to send my daughter to the new JC was made after carefully weighing the advantages of the location of the interim and permanent premises, over the JC's lack of track record. It is therefore paramount that MOE honour the commitment to parents and students.
Holding school has to be near actual school. Surely Mt Sinai is not a win-win solution. People most directly affected are students. Their considerations must come 1st, not MOE's convenience. The JC is for students. MOE will not be travelling to Mt Sinai every morning 6am and returning home after CCA at 10pm.
Dear Keefe, Thank you for your comment. As a young Secondary 2 boy in CHS 2-3, I hope that you can respect other peoples point of view. I am sad to say that your tone is rude and disrespectful.
After much hustle and bustle about the completion of the new jc, the government is still adamant about placing the holding site at Mt. Sinai and has expressed that the jc will not be completed by 2017 afterall. On my part, i feel that the government may have indeed shown some neglience in the matter since they had already promised the jc few years back but it is not being fulfilled within the promised timeframe. However, now that it is officially stated that it will not be able to be built in time, will there be able use if we rushed them into building it by 2017? Yes, there had been other major projects being completed within a short period and i believe that the government are capable of it once again. But the main reason for the delay is due to new preparation of the transports routes along the area, if we selfishly request them to complete in the short timespan it may bring inconvenience in times to come. Besides, the structure of the jc is tall and even if it is completed by then, the foundation may have flaws and this may put the students in danger. So rather than putting the governemnt in a tough spot, why not give suggestions how the holding site could be better improved for a more conducive learning environment and programmes to better enrich the students. Thank you for taking time to read my comment :)
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I am a Secondary 1 student. I am very sad and disappointed with MOE. 'Tell a lie once and all your truths become questionable.' I do not know how to convince myself to trust MOE in the future. I will never ever forget this episode in my life when I was being cheated.