In his recent National Day Rally speech, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong highlighted the significance of fostering a pro-family society in Singapore, with an emphasis on allowing parents more quality time with their children. This vision raises questions about whether similar support extends to educators, particularly those who juggle their professional responsibilities alongside parenting.

Teachers in Singapore routinely work longer hours than their international counterparts, a situation largely attributed to a growing range of non-teaching duties. Beyond classroom instruction, educators are tasked with managing administrative responsibilities, organising school events, and overseeing student welfare activities. These additional duties often encroach on time that could otherwise be devoted to teaching.

A parent volunteer with nearly a decade of experience assisting at local schools has observed the demanding workloads faced by teachers firsthand. While schools with active parent communities can distribute some of the logistical and organisational tasks, those without such networks encounter greater challenges. Compounding the issue, school general offices—charged with handling some administrative functions—are frequently limited by manpower shortages, inhibiting their ability to fully support teachers.

To address these constraints, there have been suggestions to expand dedicated operational teams within schools. Such teams would assume responsibility for vendor coordination, management of events, and co-curricular activity (CCA) administration. Advocates argue that this approach could alleviate the logistical burden on teachers, enabling them to focus more on their core educational duties.

Supporters of a more family-friendly education system contend that enabling teachers to balance their professional and personal lives is essential. Since educators play a critical role in shaping the next generation, ensuring they have sufficient bandwidth to perform their teaching roles effectively, while also maintaining a healthy work-life balance, is increasingly seen as a priority.

Efforts to reform school administrative structures to reduce teachers’ non-teaching workload may represent a step toward this goal. Such measures would align with broader national ambitions to strengthen families by allowing educators—many of whom are parents themselves—to dedicate time and energy both inside and outside the classroom.