As you likely know, come August 1, 2018, teachers in Singapore will have to pay up to S$960 a year for parking on campus:

Under this policy, for government and government-aided schools, carpark charges will be directly deducted from the relevant teachers' salaries. Independent schools will use other means to do this, such as fee collection.

HCI teachers' parking fees deducted from individual "development" fund

However, on Thursday (Apr. 19), The Straits Times reported that Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) teachers will not have to pay for these fees out of their own pocket.

Instead, following a "compromise", the carpark charges will be deducted from the teachers' individual professional development funds -- a fund the school allocates to each of its staffers that can be tapped into for taking courses or purchasing education resources.

This fund, according to the ministry, is part of the individual staff’s total remuneration package, and is subject to income tax.

We're not clear if other independent schools have similar schemes at the moment, but Hwa Chong credits at least S$800 a year into its staff's professional development funds.

Compromise reached with MOE

This decision was reportedly reached after a two-hour meeting between the school's leaders and the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Wednesday, Apr. 18.

Two broad factors, when considered together, led to this outcome:

1. Unlike government schools, HCI is one of the few in Singapore that owns the land it sits on.
2. Other than being sited on private land, HCI's governance structure is different from most other schools affected by the parking policy.

Like other independent schools in Singapore (e.g. Raffles Institution, St Joseph's Institution and Anglo-Chinese Institution (Independent)), HCI hires most of its own teachers directly, instead of getting them from MOE — its teachers are thus technically not considered civil servants.

Mixed reactions

This decision has drawn a mixed bag of reactions from netizens, with some advocating HCI's move while others question the use of the fund.

1) Those in favour

Those who are in favour of the move pointed out that since the school owns the land it sits on, it should be allowed to decide whether they want to charge for their parking fees.

2) Those opposed: Professional development fund... for parking fees?

Many, however, were concerned with the use of the professional development fund to pay for the parking fees.

For instance, some netizens posed the question: As a development fund, why should it be used to pay for parking?

One netizen did point out that this is would be fine insofar as the "gatekeeper for the fund" approves the usage.

3) Those opposed: Is this fair to teachers elsewhere?

But perhaps the main issue, which others pointed out, is really how fairly the teachers are treated, as the belief held is that all teachers in Singapore's mainstream education system, regardless of school, should be treated equally.

A pertinent point raised was that not every school would have a similar professional development fund to draw from.

Hence, deducting parking fees from there would result in unequal benefits reaped by teachers.

In a statement shared with Mothership on Apr. 20 aimed at clarifying misconceptions on the part of some members of the public, a ministry spokesperson said:

“HCI had shared with MOE that it was planning to collect payment for the season parking charges by deducting from individual staff’s flexi-benefits. These flexi-benefits – covering reimbursements for medical, well-being, learning and development, among others – are part of the individual staff’s total remuneration package, and is subject to income tax.

HCI is merely using a different collection method. There is no absorption or subsidisation of parking charges by HCI on behalf of its staff. Like their counterparts in other schools, HCI staff must pay for parking at the same rates, out of their own remuneration."

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Non-HCI teacher chimes in

Not everyone feels the supposed injustice though.

One local teacher, he said that he does not "feel aggrieved at what HCI managed to arrange", and pointed out that it would be "small-minded" of him to "feel unhappy just because someone else has good fortune":

Top photo from Wikimedia. All screenshots from The Straits Times Facebook.