2024 SS 4N Prelim (No School Name)

Section A (Source-based Case Study) Answer all questions. EXPLORING CITIZENSHIP AND GOVERNANCE Study the Background Information and the sources carefully, and then answer all the questions. You may use any of the sources to help you answer the questions, in addition to those sources which you are told to use. In answering the questions, you should use your knowledge of the issue to help you interpret and evaluate the sources. 1 Study Source A. What can you infer from Source A? Explain your answer. [5] 2 Study Source B. Why was this infographic published? Explain your answer. [6] 3 Study Sources C and D. Having read Source C, are you surprised by D? Explain your answer. [7] 4 Study Source E +RZXVHIXOLVWKLVVRXUFHDVHYLGHQFHDERXWWKHJRYHUQPHQW¶VHIIRUWVLQPDQDJLQJ the pandemic? Explain your answer. [7] 5 Study all Sources. How far do the sources show that the governments respond well to the needs of its citizens during the Covid-19 pandemic? Explain your answer. [10]

2 Do governments respond well to the needs of its citizens during the Covid-19 pandemic? BACKGROUND INFORMATION Read this carefully. It may help you to answer some of the questions. COVID-19 started in late 2019 and it had a significant impact on the entire world, affecting many aspects of life, including health, education, and daily routines. Governments around the world had to take swift and comprehensive actions to address the onset of challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. People of all ages were affected and economic stimulus packages were introduced to support individuals, businesses, and industries affected by the pandemic. School learning was remodelled to ensure continuity of learning and there were greater demands placed on all healthcare systems. All governments had to adopt a multi-faceted approach to manage the health crisis, support their populations, stabilize economies, and ensure effective communication and cooperation both domestically and internationally. Study the sources on the following pages to determine whether governments respond well to the needs of its citizens during the Covid-19 pandemic.

3 Source A: )URP7KH6WUDLWV7LPHVDUWLFOHSXEOLVKHGRQ)HEUXDU\WLWOHG³Wuhan YLUXV6PRRWKVWDUWWRIUHHPDVNGLVWULEXWLRQLVODQGZLGH´. The Government announced that all 1.3 million households in Singapore would be given a pack of four masks each amid reports of shops running out of stocks. Member of Parliament, Mr Darryl David said, "It's gone very efficiently and very smoothly. This shows that residents are very sensible and very reasonable. They understand that you don't need a mask if you are well. These masks are a precaution for those who are not well." Ms Denise Phua, Mayor of Central Singapore District, said that the relative calm was due to grassroots efforts to communicate with residents, whether by posting the mask distribution schedules on community noticeboards and in lifts or informing participants at events and functions over the last few days. Source B: An infographic from the Ministry of Finance sharing about the 2020 6LQJDSRUH¶VILQDQFLDOEXGJHWDQG6ROLGDULW\3DFNDJHJLYHQWR6LQJDSRUHDQV *Levy means a tax which employers must pay to hire the workers *Waiver means they do not need to pay the levy x Government pays 75% of the first $4,600 of monthly wages paid in Apr and May 2020 x *Waiver of monthly FWL due in Apr and May 2020 x FWL Rebate of $750/month in Apr and May 2020, for levies paid this year, for each Work Permit or S Pass holder x About 90% of all Singaporeans aged 21 and above in 2020 received the $600 payment through direct bank transfer on 14 Apr 2020 x Remainder to receive the payment on 28 Apr 2020 x x Apr 2020: Temporary Relief Fund to provide one-off cash assistance of $500 for those who need urgent help with basic living expenses x From May 2020 onwards, COVID-19 Support Grant of $800 a month for three months for those unemployed due to Covid-19 x

4 Source C: An excerpt from a parliamentary reply given by Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) WLWOHG³,PSDFWRI&RYLG-SDQGHPLFRQVWXGHQWV¶OHDUQLQJ´, 5 October 2021. Source D: An excerpt from The University of Melbourne RQOLQH DUWLFOH WLWOHG ³,QGLD¶V Covid-GLYLGHLQGLJLWDOOHDUQLQJ´,1 August 2021. More than 300 million students in India have had their learning disrupted by school closures as a result of the pandemic. Many schools have turned to digital learning as the solution. While there are advantages to this approach, the limitations of moving education online are there. A study showed that almost 60% of school children in India cannot access online learning opport unities and that infrastructure that supports learning is sorely lacking. Many struggled with internet signal, speed and many had to share their devices. Teachers were also ill-prepared for online learning and had found it ineffective. 7KHUHDUHVWDUNLQHTXDOLWLHVLQ,QGLD¶VHGXFDWLRQV\VWHPDQGPRUHQHHGV to be done. Source E: An excerpt from an RQOLQHQHZVDUWLFOH³$QJU\DERXW/RFNGRZQV&KLQHVH Protesters Call for Xi*¶V5HVLJQDWLRQ´E\9RLFHRI$PHULFD#, 27 November 2022. Three years after the virus emerged, China is the only major country still adopting a ³]HUR&29,'´SROLF\WKDWUHJXODUO\VHHVPLOOLRQVRISHRSOHFRQILQHGWRWKHLUKRPHVIRU weeks at a time and requires near-constant testing. On Friday, 10 people died in a fire in an apartment building, and many believe their rescue was delayed because of excessive lockdown measures. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered late Saturday in Shanghai, which experienced a devastating lockdown in which people struggled to secure groceries and medicines and were forcefully taken into centralized quarantine. A protester named Zhao said his friends w ere beaten and pepper sprayed by police. The protesters were yelling, ³:HGRQRWZDQW3&5WHVWV EXWZDQWIUHHGRP´ *Xi refers to the President of People's Republic of China # Voice of America (VOA) is the largest U.S. international broadcaster, it is funded by the U.S government. MOE has taken steps to ensure that students' learning is not compromised. We do so by keeping schools open as far as possible, and by ensuring that learning can still take place even under Home-Based Learning conditions. We have surveyed our students on their Full Home-Based Learning experiences and majority of them have indicated that their learning has not been severely affected. There will be some impact on learning with the loss of conventional in-person schooling. We will continue to take steps to improve these issues with the help of technology, the commitment of our teachers and the support of our parents.

5 SECTION B (Structured-Response Questions) Answer both questions. Being Part of a Globalised World Study the extracts carefully, and then answer the questions. Extract 1 Amazon laid off employees and as many 9,000 employees were affected. Those from the Singapore office were not spared. Many units in Amazon had expanded their manpower rapidly during COVID-19 pandemic due to high demand for digital services but it has since slowed down. Extract 2 Individuals experience the economic impacts of globalization as citizens or residents of a country. Many see their standard of living increase due to globalization. Extract 3 Being part of the global economy can bring about opportunities for economic growth for countries. Singapore has seen an increase in the production of goods and services over time. END OF PAPER Acknowledgements Source A: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/wuhan-virus-smooth-start-to-free-mask-distribution-islandwide Source B: https://www.mof.gov.sg/news-publi