Written Reply to Parliament Question on Emergency Preparedness Courses in Schools by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law

Question:

Dr. Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether there are plans to work with schools to make emergency preparedness, including basic first aid skills, mandatory for students, with the goal of CPR/AED certification at secondary school level.

Answer:

1. As part of the SGSecure movement, MHA is working with MOE to equip students with emergency preparedness skills through the 'Dispatcher-Assisted first REsponder" (DARE) programme.

2. The DARE programme was introduced at 15 secondary schools last year. A total of 3,000 lower secondary students were taught to perform CPR and how to use the AED during their PE lessons. Following this pilot, CPR and use of AED will be taught to all Secondary One students as part of the PE curriculum from the fourth quarter of this year. Drills and exercises are also conducted by schools to equip students with emergency preparedness skills.

3. MOE has also incorporated emergency preparedness lessons in its curriculum for Primary 5 and 6 students. Students learn simple first aid such as treating minor cuts, burns and nosebleeds, and how to recognise and manage general injuries related to sports and physical activity. Students also learn basic fire safety, such as how to identify possible fire hazards and to stay low when trapped in a smoke-filled room.