Litracy
Rate in Singapore
General literacy rate among the resident population aged 15 years and over
: 94.2% in 2003.
Source :
www.singstat.gov.sg/keystats/annual/indicators.html
Broady,
the Education System in Singapore is as below :
I.
Nursery (1 yr), Kindergarten (K1 & K2) (2 yrs) (total 3 years) >
>
II. Primary (PSLE) (6 years) >
>
III. Secondary (O Level) (4 years) >
> III. Secondary (N Level) (4 years) >
Secondary (O Level) (1 year) >
>
IVA. Junior College (JC) (Pre-University) (A Level) (2 years)
>
> IVB. Polytechnic (Poly) (2, 3 years) (only top few %
go to University) >
> IVC. Institute of Technical Education (ITE).
>
V. University
Details
are as below:
EDUCATION
SYSTEM IN SINGAPORE
The
education system is flexible and caters to every child's abilities,
interests and aptitudes so as to help each develop to his fullest
potential.
I.
PRE-SCHOOL (NURSERY & KINDERGARTEN)
Nursery - 1 year - Children of 3 yrs and above are admitted. After
Nursery, children go to Kindergarten.
Kindergarten - 2 years (K1 & K2)
Normally, Nursery & Kindergarten are in the same Kindergarten School.
II. PRIMARY
EDUCATION (PSLE)
Pupils
go through a 4-year foundation stage, from Primary 1to 4, and a 2-year
orientation stage from Primary 5 to 6.
At the foundation stage,
all pupils follow a common curriculum which provides them with a firm
foundation in English, their Mother Tongue and Mathematics. Also included
in the curriculum are subjects such as Music, Art & Crafts, Civics and
Moral Education, Health Education, Social Studies and Physical Education.
Science is introduced from Primary Three onwards. Pupils are also
encouraged to participate in co-curricular activities.
At the end of Primary 4,
to maximise their potential, pupils are formally streamed according
to their learning ability. All pupils then advance to the next stage of
primary education, the orientation stage.
At the orientation stage,
pupils are placed in one of three language streams, namely EM1, EM2,
and EM3, according to their abilities. Pupils in the EM1 and EM2
streams do English, Mother Tongue, Mathematics and Science. EM1 pupils may
do Higher Malay/Chinese/Tamil as their Mother Tongue. Pupils in the EM3
stream do Foundation English, basic Mother Tongue and Foundation
Mathematics.
At the end of Primary Six,
pupils 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. Pupils who obtain the necessary
standards are then admitted to the Special, Express or Normal stream in
secondary schools.
For more info on
PRIMARY EDUCATION, please visit
website of Ministry of Education -
www.moe.gov.sg
For info on
PRIMARY SCHOOLS, please visit
following section of the website of Ministry of Education:
www.moe.gov.sg
III. SECONDARY EDUCATION ('O' LEVEL)
(There is no fixed
cut-off line for going to Express or Normal. And this cut-off line is
different for each school. It's quite high for some of the best schools
in Singapore while it's low for average schools. And for each school
also, it changes from year to year depending upon the overall results.
But about 180-190 out of 300 could be taken as a rough guide line for an
average school to entitle the student to go for Express)
-
Within the Normal
course, pupils have the option of taking the Normal (Academic) course
or the Normal (Technical) course.
-
Normal students take
'N' level examination at the end of the 4th year. Those who meet the
criteria go on for a 5th year of study, i.e., 'O' level.
-
On
the other hand, Express students take 'O' level examination at the end
of the 4th year.
-
On obtaining good results at
the 'O' level examination, they can proceed to the junior colleges,
polytechnics or technical institutes. An alternative for pupils who
cannot make it to 5N (the fifth year of study) is the technical and
vocational education at the ITE.
-
Pupils in the
Normal (Technical) course are prepared for a technical-vocational
education with the ITE (Institute of Technical Education).
-
The subjects
include
English, Mother Tongue, Mathematics, Science, (Combined Humanities -
only in upper secondary), History, Geography, Literature, (Visual Arts
- lower secondary, Art and Design - upper secondary), Design and
Technology, Home Economics, Civics and Moral Education, Physical
Education and Music. In Secondary Three, pupils can opt for subjects
of their choice, apart from the core subjects (English Language, the
Mother Tongue, Mathematics, Combined Humanities, a Science subject,
Music, Physical Education and Civics and Moral Education).
The electives depend on whether they are in the Arts, Science,
Commerce or Technical stream. They can also do a third language, such
as French, German or Japanese.
For exact info on subjects at various levels of Secondary education,
please visit
www.moe.gov.sg
For more info on
SECONDARY EDUCATION, please visit
website of Ministry of Education -
www.moe.gov.sg
For info on
SECONDARY SCHOOLS, please visit
www.moe.gov.sg
[Upon completion of
Secondary / 'O' level, students, based on the points they score in the
exam, can either go to JUNIOR COLLEGES (JC's) or POLYTECHNICS (POLY's)
or INSTITUTE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION (ITE's).
POINT SYSTEM
Below is a guideline of point system (for O level) (we recommend to
double-check this with the proper authority - school, MOE etc.).
75% and above A1 - 1
point
70 - 74% - A2 - 2 points
65-69% - B3 - 3 points
60-64% - B4 - 4 points
55-59% - C5 - 5 points
50-54% - C6 - 6 points
45-49% - D7 - 7 points (FAIL)
40-44% - E8 - 8 points (FAIL)
Below 40% - F9 - 9 points (FAIL)
Hence, higher the
marks, lower will be the points.
Broadly, the
students, who do well and get less no. of points in their 'O' level
examination, can get admission in JUNIOR COLLEGES (JC). With higher
points, they can get POLYTECHNICS (POLY) and if they are pass with very
high points, they should get INSTITUTE OF TECHNICAL COURSES (ITE).
There is no fixed
cut-off line here as well. And it is different for each JC or POLY. The
top students with lowest points can get the best JC's like Raffles
Junior College (RJC). And this cut-off line can be different every year
depending upon the over all results.
Although, minimum
points can get JC's, HOWEVER, some parents or students prefer Poly or
ITE as these institutions offer specialised / technical courses which,
they consider, have better job scope.
JUNIOR COLLEGES
(JC's) - As at beg-2004, there are 16 JC's.
POLYTECHNICS (POLY's) - As at beg-2004, there are 5 Poly's, namely,
Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic,
Singapore Polytechnic & Temasek Polytechnic.
INSTITUTE OF TECHNICAL COURSES (ITE's) - As at beg-2004, there are 10
branches of ITE - Ang Mo Kio, Balestier, Bedok, Bishan, Clementi, Dover,
Jurong, Pasir Panjang, Tampines & Yishun.
IVA. PRE-UNIVERSITY
EDUCATION ('A' LEVEL)
-
Upon completion
of their GCE 'O' Level Examinations, students can apply for entry to a
junior college for a two-year pre-university course, or a centralised
institute for a three-year pre-university course. Admission is based
on a points system computed from the aggregate of the student's GCE
'O' Level result.
-
At the end of the
pre-university course, students sit for the Singapore-Cambridge
General Certificate of Education 'Advanced' (GCE 'A') Level
Examinations. Their eligibility for tertiary education is determined
by the results of their GCE 'A' Level Examinations
-
The curriculum
for pre-university students comprises two compulsory subjects, namely,
General Paper and the Mother Tongue, and a maximum of four GCE 'A'
Level subjects. Subjects offered in the Arts Course include English
Literature, Music, Economics, History, Geography, Art and Design and
Mathematics. Students in the Science Course can opt for Physics,
Biology, Chemistry, Physical Science, Mathematics, Further
Mathematics, Economics and Computing. Management of Business and
Principles of Accounting are only offered in Centralised Institutes.
For more info on
PRE-UNIVERSITY EDUCATION, please visit
website of Ministry of Education -
www.moe.gov.sg
For info on
JUNIOR COLLEGES & CENTRALISED INSTITUTES,
please visit
www.moe.gov.sg
IVB. POLYTECHNICS
After O Level, many students opt to go to Polytechnics.
As at the beginning of 2004, there are 5 Polytechnics :
Nanyang Polytechnic
Ngee
Ann Polytechnic
Republic Polytechnic
Singapore
Polytechnic
Temasek
Polytechnic
Polytechnics were set up with the
mission to train middle-level professionals to support the technological
and economic development of Singapore. Reflecting the wide range of
abilities, aptitudes and interests of their students, the polytechnics
seek to train students with relevant and specific skills for the workplace
to give Singapore a competitive edge as we move into a knowledge-based
economy. Today, polytechnic graduates are valued as practice-oriented and
knowledgeable middle-level professionals, much sought after by industry.
Some of the courses :
Architecture, Accountancy, Banking & Financial Services, Business
Management, Logistics, Marketing, Biomedical, Aerospace, Electronics,
Electrical, IT, Multimedia, Interior Design etc. etc.
