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Review of SgSL as an official language and funding support for SgSL interpreter services

Type: Parliamentary Questions,

Topic(s): Disability Services,  

Published on 27 February 2025

Mr Ong Hua Han asked the Minister for Social and Family Development:

  • (a) whether an update can be provided on Government’s study on the recognition of Singapore Sign Language (SgSL) as Singapore’s official sign language; and (b) what steps will the Ministry take to further enhance accessibility of Government communications and information via SgSL interpreters.
  • whether the Government will consider increasing funding support to (i) document the Singapore Sign Language (SgSL) (ii) provide more quality training for SgSL interpreters and teachers of the deaf (iii) provide more professional SgSL interpreter services and (iv) ensure SgSL interpretation is accessible in funded institutions of the Ministry of Education.

Answer

1         Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to address questions filed by NMP Ong Hua Han together, as they both pertain to facilitating communication and access to information for deaf persons. 

2         The Government is committed to ensuring that persons with disabilities, including deaf and hard-of-hearing persons, have access to information and communications under Enabling Masterplan 2030.

3         In education, students who require signing support in schools use Singapore Sign Language (SgSL) as the language for academic instruction and communication for students. These students attend designated mainstream or Special Education schools where they are supported by trained teachers and educational interpreters who use SgSL.  Institutes of Higher Learning and the Arts Institutes have funds to support the learning needs of students who require sign language interpretation services.

4         We provide access to information and communications across digital and non-digital platforms:

  • For TV broadcasts, since April 2020, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) has required TV broadcasts of significant national and public interest, like the National Day Rally and Budget speeches, to be accompanied by SgSL interpretation.  We have also increased the proportion of free-to-air TV programmes with interpretation, captioning or subtitling from 47.6% in 2022 to 60.7% in 2024, and aim to achieve 70% by 2030.
  • For digital services, Government agencies are required to meet the Digital Service Standards for designing Government websites which follow international web accessibility standards, including ensuring audio and video content is accessible.

5         The study on the potential recognition of SgSL as Singapore’s official sign language is underway. As SgSL is currently already used in practice, it is important to consider how official recognition will bring tangible benefits to the Deaf community. As such, beyond studying the potential recognition of SgSL, we are considering how other areas that affect the provision of deaf access services can be improved, including the training of SgSL interpreters and documenting SgSL to facilitate such training.