Education in Singapore
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Contents |
Overview
The Singapore education system aims to help students discover their own talents, to make the best of these talents and realise their full potential, and to develop a passion for learning that lasts through life.
The Singapore education system is flexible and diverse, catering to every child’s abilities, interests and aptitudes so as to help each pursue their goals, stretch their faculties and expand on their strengths. The Singapore schools strive to provide students with a broad-based education, focused on both academic and non-academic areas to ensure that students have a broad range of experiences and full opportunity to develop the skills and values needed in life.
Holistic Education
Among the key strengths of the Singapore education system are its bilingual policy, emphasis on broad-based and holistic learning, focus on teacher quality and integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into the classroom. Schools are also strongly encouraged to work closely with parents and the community.
Singapore Education Journey
A child in Singapore undergoes at least 10 years of general education. This comprises 6 years of compulsory primary education and 4 – 5 years of secondary education.
Primary School Education
Primary school students learn 3 core subjects: English Language, a second language (Mother Tongue) and Mathematics. These core subjects help develop students’ literacy and problem-solving skills to provide a strong foundation as they progress on their educational journey.
Students also take up other subjects like Arts & Crafts, Civics & Moral Education, Music, Social Studies and Physical Education. Science is introduced from Primary 3 onwards. Students also have a chance to engage in Project Work, which is offered as a non-examination subject. These subjects not only expose students to different areas of study at an early stage by equipping them with knowledge and skills, but also instil in them values and competencies for life.
After the initial foundation stage (Primary 1 to Primary 4), the 3 core subjects are taught according to the abilities of the students. Each core subject is offered to students at either the foundation or standard level at Primary 5 to Primary 6. This means that teachers will take into account the ability of their students in designing their lessons and assessment tasks. Students will thus learn at a pace that suits them.
At the end of Primary 6, all students sit for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), which assesses their abilities for placement in a secondary school course that suits their learning pace and aptitude. Students can also seek admission to a secondary school through the Direct School Admission exercise which allows some schools to admit students based on their achievements and talents in areas such as the arts and the sports.
Secondary School Education
At the secondary level, students are placed in the Express, Normal (Academic) or Normal (Technical) course based on their PSLE scores. The different curricular emphases are designed to match their learning abilities and interests. Students can move from one course to another based on their academic performance.
Students in the Express course offer 6 to 8 subjects at the Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education (Ordinary Level) Examination. Those with exceptional academic ability may offer a ninth subject.
Students in the Normal (Academic) course will offer academically-based subjects while those in the Normal (Technical) course will follow a curriculum that is more practice-oriented and hands-on. Students in both courses have to sit for the Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education (Normal Level) Examination. After the GCE ‘N’ level examination, students from the Normal (Academic) course who satisfy the requirements go on to a fifth year of study, where they will sit for the GCE ‘O’ level examination at the end of the year.
Students with a passion for the arts, music and languages can select from a range of elective programmes that focus on these specific areas of interests. They can also choose to take up advanced elective modules in applied areas such as Information Technology, Business, and Engineering offered in some schools.
Some schools also offer the Integrated Programme (IP), which provides a seamless education where secondary school students can proceed to pre-university without sitting for the GCE ‘O’ level examination. Schools offering IP will optimise the time freed up from preparing for the ‘O’ level examination to stretch the brighter students and provide greater breadth in the academic and non-academic curriculum.
Post-Secondary Education
After completing secondary education, students may proceed to junior colleges/centralised institute, Institute of Technical Education (ITE) or polytechnics. Thereafter, students from junior colleges/centralised institute or polytechnics who qualify may progress to university. Students from ITE who qualify may progress to polytechnic, and eventually to university.
Pre-University Education
Pre-University Education prepares students from the Singapore-Cambridge Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) Examination at the end of the 2-year junior college or 3-year centralised institute course. It prepares students for further education by equipping them with essential skills and knowledge required for tertiary education.
Students may choose from a wide range of subjects from different academic areas such as Humanities and the Arts, Languages and Mathematics and Sciences. To ensure breadth of skills and knowledge, students are required to offer at least one contrasting subject – i.e. a Science student should take a subject from the Arts or Humanities, and vice versa.
Students offer subjects at three levels of study – Higher 1 (H1), Higher 2 (H2), and Higher 3 (H3). H1 subjects offer students breadth and sufficient depth for them to acquire foundational knowledge and skills in a subject area that will support their future studies at university level. H3 subjects offer students a variety of learning opportunities to study a subject area in more specialised depth.
Most students will offer a combination of three H2 subjects and a single H1 subject and compulsory subjects of Mother Tongue, General Paper and Project Work. Students with the ability and passion for a particular subject or subject areas can offer an expanded curriculum by taking an additional H1 or H2 subject to broaden their range of subjects and intellectual horizons, or by offering up to two H3 subjects for deeper specialisation.
Special elective programmes are also available to students with talents in specific areas, such as art, music, drama, languages and the humanities. These elective programmes are offered as supplementary courses to the students’ core specialisation.
Besides content knowledge, life skills are an integral part of pre-university education. Students are given ample opportunities to engage in activities that will help them cultivate important qualities such as initiative, leadership, social responsibility and strength of character.
Institute of Technical Education
The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) aims to equip students with technical skills and knowledge to meet the workforce needs of various industry sectors. ITE provides full-time institutional training and traineeship programmes for school leavers as well as continuing education and training programmes for working adults.
ITE offers a broad-based, multi-disciplinary curriculum that ranges from engineering to technical, business and service skills areas. Through its many collaborations with global industry partners, ITE is able to enrich students’ learning experience and enhance their technical and professional knowledge.
Polytechnics
There are currently five polytechnics in Singapore: Singapore Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic and Republic Polytechnic.
Polytechnics provide quality practice-oriented training to equip students with skills to contribute to the technological and economic development of Singapore. Polytechnic graduates in Singapore are valued as practice-oriented and knowledgeable middle-level professionals, and are much sought after by industry.
The five polytechnics offer a wide range of courses that focus on students’ interests and development in various fields of study. The curricular emphases are designed in close consultation with industry to meet market demands and requirements. This ensures that students keep abreast of changing technologies and developments in their chosen industry and enter the workforce with skilled technical and professional knowledge.
Universities
There are currently three publicly-funded universities in Singapore offering full-time degree programmes: the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Singapore Management University (SMU). In addition SIM University offers publicly-subsidised part-time degree programmes to adult learners and working professionals.
The three publicly-funded autonomous universities maintain high standards of admission and performance. NUS and NTU are ranked amongst the top 100 universities in the world by the Times Higher Education Supplement World University Rankings in 2008. SMU has also established a reputation for producing high-quality graduates.
Singapore universities establish close partnerships and collaborations with other top universities worldwide to provide their students and faculty with expanded opportunities in learning and research, and to offer them a diversity of educational experiences and programmes.
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