The selection of schools takes into account our goal of providing up-to-date facilities to enhance the learning environment of our students, while ensuring financial prudence. The four primary schools identified for PRIME will be upgraded to the latest standard so as to enable them to provide a conducive learning environment for our students, as well as enable these four schools to transit to single-session as part of the Primary Education Review and Implementation (PERI) Committee’s recommendation.

Another 20 primary and secondary schools will be planned for upgrading over the next few years. Under PRIME, schools will have more classrooms and be fitted with new or upgraded facilities including media resource libraries, IT learning resource rooms and pastoral care rooms. Schools undergoing PRIME will also benefit from the Flexible School Infrastructure (FlexSI) framework and the provision of an indoor sports hall as part of the upgrading plan.

Background

PRIME was launched in May 1999 to upgrade all schools to the latest standards so as to provide a conducive learning environment for our students. Estimated to cost $4.5 billion, this programme is implemented in phases. To date, 251 schools have been included in the earlier ten phases of PRIME. Of these, 227 schools have completed their upgrading.

Single Session Primary Schools

In April 2009, MOE had accepted the PERI Committee’s recommendation to move all government primary schools to a single-session model by 2016. Government-aided schools will be given more flexibility in their transition timeline, as they have to take into account stakeholders’ concerns. An estimated 18 new primary schools will be built. About 80 existing schools will also be upgraded separately under the Single Session Primary School Programme. These schools are in addition to schools upgraded under PRIME as they have either completed PRIME or are completed after 1997 and hence do not qualify for PRIME.

FlexSI

Under the FlexSI framework introduced in 2005, school infrastructure is made more flexible to support teaching approaches that better engage students, thus giving schools more room to innovate in teaching and learning. For example, the schools could have modular classrooms that can be opened up for larger group lectures, or partitioned for smaller group discussions; special-purpose rooms could be designed to allow multiple use of such rooms; common areas such as corridors and study areas could be designed such that they can be expanded learning spaces.

Indoor Sports Hall

Starting from early 2007, all schools would be provided with an indoor sports hall in phases. An indoor sports hall will provide schools with greater flexibility to conduct Co-Curricular Activities and Physical Education lessons, which are integral to the holistic education that our schools provide. Students will have more opportunities to participate in sports and games at any time of the school day without having to worry about the weather.

The public may obtain more information on PRIME on the MOE website or through the MOE Customer Service Hotline at tel. 6872 2220 during office hours.

Schools to be upgraded under PRIME Phase 11

With community spread of H1N1 on the rise in Singapore, schools will continue to be vigilant and keep up precautionary measures to slow the spread of the H1N1 virus in schools. Regular temperature taking and checks to identify those with influenza-like illness will continue. Staff and students who are unwell will be asked to seek medical attention and to rest at home. Schools will also continue to remind its students about the importance of personal hygiene and social responsibility.

However with spread of H1N1 present in the local community, schools will no longer require students or staff with travel history to take Leave of Absence, as this measure is no longer effective with effect from Monday 6 July. Those currently serving Leave of Absence will be informed that they can return to school from next week. Students from institutions of higher learning will return to school on Monday 6 July while students from schools will return to school on Tuesday 7 July (as 6 July is Youth Day, a scheduled school holiday).

The well-being of our students remains our top priority. We continue to seek the cooperation of parents to exercise social responsibility by ensuring that their child does not go to school, but stays at home and sees the doctor if he/she is unwell. This will help safeguard the health of their child and all students and staff in the school community.

MOE received comments from over 100 respondents from the PE sector and 50 students and members of the public through various platforms, on the key features of the new regulatory regime for the PE sector. These include the requirements under the mandatory enhanced registration framework and the voluntary quality assurance certification scheme called EduTrust. A summary of responses to the feedback received has been posted online.

In tandem with the earlier public consultation, MOE is now seeking feedback from members of the public and the PE sector on the new PE Bill, which would be tabled in Parliament by the third quarter of this year.

The consultation guidelines, summary of the draft PE Bill and a copy of the Bill itself can be found on the Government’s central consultation portal REACH, as well as on the MOE website.

MOE thanks members of the public and stakeholders who participated in the earlier public consultation exercise, and would like to invite the public to send their comments on the new PE Bill to MOE directly via email, fax or post at the following:

• Email address: MOE_CPE@moe.gov.sg
• Fax number: 6776 8604
• Postal address: Ministry of Education, 1 North Buona Vista Drive, Singapore 138675

Westwood Secondary School

A teacher from the school tested positive for the H1N1 virus on 27 June. He participated in three school activities from 22 to 26 June - an NPCC camp at Pulau Ubin (22 to 24 June), a Social Studies Workshop (25 June) and a staff seminar (26 June). The teacher did not have a fever or other symptoms apart from a cough.

While he had no fever, the school is taking the extra precautionary measure of placing all students and staff on LOA who were in close contact with this teacher since 22 June, when his cough started. This includes 74 school staff at the staff seminar. As a result, the school will postpone school opening by a week, and re-open on 7 July¹.

58 students will also be placed on LOA. These students will be advised to stay at home and to monitor their health closely while they are on LOA.

Presbyterian High School

A teacher from the school had earlier seen a doctor on 23 June afternoon when she felt unwell and was given two days of medical leave from 24 to 25 June. She attended the Staff Symposium on 26 June as she felt well. The teacher went to Tan Tock Seng Hospital on 27 June as she felt unwell again and tested positive for the H1N1 virus on 27 June. She was in close contact with teachers from the school on three occasions in the week - discussions with a few teachers on 22 and 23 June, and a staff symposium on 26 June.

From these activities, 70 staff will be asked to take LOA from school for seven days. As many teachers in the school will be on LOA, the school will postpone school opening by a week, and re-open on 7 July.

Continued Learning for Students

All students in Westwood Secondary and Presbyterian High School will be provided with Home-Based Learning (HBL) lessons. Staff, who were not in close contact with the teachers, will return to the schools to help coordinate the operations for HBL. The schools will deliver the materials for HBL and monitor the students’ progress through channels, such as telephone, email and the schools’ learning management systems. The schools will also keep parents informed of the learning activities and accompanying study schedules. When these students return to school, teachers may also conduct make-up lessons.

For students in these 2 schools who are scheduled to take their “O” Level Mother-Tongue oral examinations on 2 and 3 July, the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) will make arrangements for them to take the examinations later.

Hai Sing Catholic School

A trainee teacher, attached to the school tested positive for the H1N1 virus on 27 June. He attended a staff seminar on the morning of 25 June and six staff who were in close contact have been asked to take Leave of Absence (LOA) from 26 June to 2 July.

As only a small percentage of the school staff is on LOA, the school will operate as usual. When the school reopens on 29 June, the well-being of their staff and students will be monitored closely. Precautionary measures including twice daily temperature taking will be in place.

Close Monitoring

All affected staff, students and their parents, are being contacted by the respective schools. Affected staff and students have been advised to maintain high standards of personal hygiene and practise social responsibility.

The well-being of our staff and students is our utmost concern. As part of business continuity plans, MOE has advised schools to avoid situations which bring all their staff and teachers together. MOE is in close consultation with MOH and will activate other appropriate measures should there be a need to. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and keep staff, parents and students updated on new developments.

Footnotes

1. 6 July is Youth Day, a scheduled school holiday.↩

Every year, governments all over the world spend billions on reforms and improvements on education. Substantial increases in spending are needed to provide greater autonomy for schools, curriculum changes, smaller class size, better teacher-student ratio and more with the goal of a high quality education for their students.

Yet, some school systems are performing better than others. So, how do the world’s best performing school systems come out on top? What do they need to continue to do right, to nurture citizens who are ready for the challenges of the future?

To discuss these issues, the International Education Roundtable (IER), to be held in Singapore from 6-8 July, will bring together education ministers and senior government officials from Australia (Victoria), Canada (Alberta), China, Hong Kong, Sweden and the US for an open dialogue.

The discussions will centre on themes pertinent to education systems worldwide, including defining and preparing educated citizens of the future, attracting and recruiting good teachers and grooming school leaders.

Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen and Sir Michael Barber, Partner at McKinsey & Company and former Chief Advisor on Delivery to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, are co-chairing the sessions.

The IER is a joint project by the Ministry of Education and McKinsey & Company. The Roundtable provides education ministers with the opportunity to re-visit key findings from the 2007 McKinsey Report which covered 25 of the world’s school systems including 10 of the top performers; and responses to the report two years on.

With greater attention being paid to the results of international benchmarking tests and reports like the McKinsey Report, education reform has moved from the domestic agenda to international platforms like the IER. The IER presents a good opportunity for education ministers and officials to come together for discussion on a topic that is high on everyone’s agenda.

9th World Convention of the International Confederation of Principals (July 6-10)

Running concurrent to the IER is the International Confederation of Principals (ICP), which will be hosted by the Academy of Principals, Singapore (APS) this year. The keynote speaker of the convention and special Guest-of-Honour is Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong.

More than 1,200 school principals from 35 countries around the world are expected to attend the biennial convention to discuss the modern challenges in school leadership under the theme of the convention: Charting the New Education Landscape. The school principals will visit various Singapore schools to experience first-hand the innovative and creative approaches in teaching and learning.

Reflecting on the theme of the convention, APS President, Mrs Belinda Charles, who is also Principal of St Andrews’ Secondary School, said that the rapid changes overtaking the whole enterprise of learning and school management in this century underscored the importance of connectedness among school principals. “This convention will provide a unique opportunity for sharing of ideas and best practices both within and beyond education; from the practitioners and the systems leaders; from those with a history of success and those working towards new breakthroughs,” she added.

International Conferences held in Singapore in July

Besides the IER and ICP, July will see a confluence of international conferences that will bring some of the world’s leading thinkers in education to Singapore. These include:

• The 2nd International Conference on Vocational and Technical Education (VTE) organised by the Institute of Technical Education on 8-10 Jul, which will gather policy-makers and practitioners from around the world to learn from renowned experts about innovative VTE practices; and

• The Conference on Teaching and Leading for Understanding, organised by Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Wide-Scale Interactive Development for Educators (WIDE) World, on 10-11 Jul which will bring together over 500 local educators who will share inquiry-centred pedagogic and leadership practices to improve learning and teaching in the classrooms.

Implementation of Leave of Absence (LOA)

Schools will communicate with all parents via multiple channels to obtain the updated travel history of their children, inform them of the implementation of LOA, and update them on any new advisories given out by MOH. The multiple channels include phone calls, emails, postal letters and notices on school websites.

Schools will remind all school staff and students to exercise social responsibility to declare their travel history if they have been to affected countries and to stay at home for 7 days before returning to schools.

Continuity in Learning for Students on LOA

For students who are issued LOA, schools will provide Home-Based Learning (HBL) lessons to them, based on what the rest of their classmates are learning in school. Schools will deliver the materials for HBL and monitor the students’ progress through various channels, such as mail, telephone, hand delivery, email and the school’s learning management system. Schools will also keep parents informed of the learning activities and accompanying study schedule. This will allow parents to play a complementary role by helping to monitor their children’s progress in following the lessons prepared by the teachers. When these students return to school, teachers may also conduct make-up lessons to ensure they catch up with their classmates.

Extra attention will be paid to graduating cohorts of students. Schools will conduct make-up classes and remedial lessons to help them catch up with their studies, and to prepare them adequately for the national examinations.

Additional Precautionary Measures

When school re-opens on 29 June, schools will implement a number of precautionary measures. There will be several layers of checks. This includes setting up stations at the school gates to screen students and staff who are entering the school premises. At the screening stations, those who have returned from affected countries on and after 22 Jun but who may have missed the earlier notifications, will be served LOA and asked to go home. Those who are unwell will be also advised to go home. In the first hour, class teachers will conduct a temperature taking exercise and students will be asked to submit their declaration forms. Students who register a fever, or who have travelled to affected countries, will be immediately moved to another room. Those who are unwell and have travelled recently to affected countries will be isolated and taken by ambulance for medical treatment via 993. The school will inform the parents of other unwell students so that they can bring them to see a doctor and seek their cooperation to exercise social responsibility and ensure that their children are well before returning to school.

Schools will institute twice daily temperature taking, and closely monitor students. In addition, school assemblies will be suspended and CCAs scaled down during the first week after school reopens in order to minimise congregation of school staff and students. Recess will also be staggered. Schools will continue to keep their premises clean and remind their staff and students to maintain high standards of personal hygiene. There will also be tighter school security. All visitors will also be screened for travel history and temperature taking before they enter school premises.

Cooperation by Parents

MOE seeks the cooperation of parents to safeguard the health of their child and all students. Parents are requested to:

• Inform their child’s class teacher if their child has returned from an affected country on or after 22 Jun and not send their child to school for 7 days from the date of their return to Singapore;

• Complete the travel declaration form that will be sent to them before school opens and ask their child to submit it to their teacher on the first day of return to school. As there will be no assembly for the first week, students should report to their form classes; and

• Exercise social responsibility by ensuring that their child does not go to school, but stays at home and sees the doctor if he/she is unwell.

School and Public Education

To support schools in their effort to educate students in maintaining high standards of personal hygiene and practise social responsibility, MOE has developed an Education Package on H1N1 for students of all levels.

All schools will receive the Education Package before school reopening. The package includes a set of slides for teachers to use in educating and advising their students, posters to be displayed at strategic locations within the school to raise student awareness, as well as pamphlets for students to bring home and share with their parents. The pamphlets will include messages on good hygiene practices and social responsibility, for example on how students on LOA should stay at home to monitor their health condition and not congregate at public places.

Schools will dedicate time on the first day of school for teachers to help students gain a better understanding of H1N1 and the situation in Singapore. Teachers will use the materials to educate their students and communicate to them the importance of their role in helping to slow down the spread of H1N1.

Close Monitoring of Dynamic Situation

MOE is in close consultation with MOH and will activate appropriate measures should there be a need to. Parents and students can check the MOE website for more details. They can also contact MOE Customer Service Centre at 6872-2220 or call their child’s school if they have any query.

All primary and full schools will open for registration from 8.00 am to 11.00 am and from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm from Mondays to Fridays during the registration period. Details on the list of primary schools and vacancies available can be found on the Primary One Registration website.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) had added more classes to cater to the higher demand for Primary One places in the past few years. With a 10% reduction of cohort size for 2010, the number of school places will be adjusted accordingly to reflect the smaller cohort. There will be sufficient school places for all eligible Primary One students on a regional and nationwide basis.

One New School and Six Relocating Schools in 2010

A new school named Horizon Primary will open in 2010 in the new town of Punggol. Six primary schools namely Dazhong Primary, Guangyang Primary, Junyuan Primary, Kong Hwa School, Tampines Primary and CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School [Primary Section] will be relocating to their final or temporary locations where the schools will function in 2010. Annex B gives a list of registration centres for the new and relocating schools.

Compulsory Education

Under the Compulsory Education Act, Singapore Citizens born after 1 January 1996 and residing in Singapore are required to attend national primary schools regularly. Children born between 2 January 2003 and 1 January 2004 (both dates inclusive), have to be registered at this year’s Primary One Registration Exercise for admission to Primary One in January 2010.

If a child is assessed as being not ready or suitable for Primary One on medical grounds, a parent may seek approval from the Compulsory Education Unit for deferment of registration. Application can be made using the relevant form (48kb .doc) available on the compulsory education webpage or at the MOE Customer Service Centre at 1 North Buona Vista Drive Singapore 138675 (Tel: 6872-2220).

Any queries on Compulsory Education may be directed to MOE Compulsory Education Unit at moe_ce@moe.edu.sg or Fax: 6778-9356.

Registration Procedures

Parents registering their children under Phase 1 may submit the registration form and relevant documents through the older sibling who will be given the form by the school. For registration under Phase 2A(1) to Phase 3, a parent or a person authorised by the parent in writing is to submit the registration form and relevant documents at the school of choice. Each child should be registered at only one school at any one time. If the child is registered at more than one school, he may lose his place in the school of choice.

Allocation of Places

Children will be allocated places in the school according to the order of priority spelt out in the Registration Scheme at Annex A. Balloting will be conducted should the number of applications to a school exceed the number of vacancies during any phase from Phase 2A(1) to Phase 2C Supplementary.

At the end of Phase 2A(2), 50% of the remaining places in each school will be allocated for Phase 2B registrants and the other 50% for Phase 2C registrants in the school.

If the number of qualifying applicants in Phase 2B exceeds the 50% cap, successful applicants will be determined first by proximity category of residence to the school and then by ballot. In the event that the allocated places for Phase 2B is not taken up, the remaining vacancies will be carried forward to Phase 2C.

MOE will post children who are unsuccessful in obtaining a Primary One place in a school of their choice at the end of Phase 2C Supplementary to schools near their homes that still have vacancies.

The number of P1 places each school will offer for the 2009 P1 Registration Exercise can be found at the Primary One Registration Exercise’s School Vacancies webpage.

Announcement on Balloting and Vacancies

Parents can find out which schools will be conducting balloting via Teletext (Channel 8, page 727) or through the Primary One Registration Exercise’s balloting page, at the end of each registration phase. Parents are welcomed to witness the balloting. The number of applicants for each school is updated daily on the Internet and Teletext.

False Information

Any parent found to have provided false information during the Primary One Registration Exercise will be referred to the police for investigation. A child who is successfully registered in a school based on false information given will be transferred to another school with available vacancies after all eligible children have been registered.

Other Information

Parents can find out more about the documents required for registration, statutory declaration for registration using address of the grandparent or parent’s sibling, and registration for overseas Singaporeans via Teletext (Channel 8, page 720) or through the Primary One Registration Exercise website.

Information booklets on this year’s Primary One Registration Exercise have been distributed to kindergartens and childcare centres. The booklets are also available at the MOE Customer Service Centre.

Held once every 3 years, the CCEM brings together Ministers of Education in the Commonwealth to discuss issues and programmes for education collaborations. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the CCEM. The theme of the 17th CCEM is ‘Education in the Commonwealth: Towards and Beyond Global Goals and Targets’. Besides the Ministerial Meeting, there are also concurrent forums involving other stakeholders in education, such as teachers, youth leaders and academics.

Ms Fu will meet with other Commonwealth Education Ministers at the sidelines of the CCEM. She will be accompanied by senior officials from the Ministry of Education.

Singapore has similarly seen a reduction in income disparity, reflected by the drop in the Gini coefficient from 0.489 in 2007 to 0.481 in 2008 - the first decline in a decade. The Gini coefficient is even lower at 0.462, after adjusting for government benefits and taxes. These are just some of the areas of progress made by low wage workers since the release of the recommendations by the Ministerial Committee on Low Wage Workers three years ago.

Progress Report of Ministerial Committee on Low Wage Workers

The Committee worked on various initiatives which were grouped under six broad spokes.

The key highlights of the Committee’s report (836kb .pdf) are summarised below:

Spoke 1 - Rewarding Work

• Nearly $840 million Workfare Bonus and Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) has been disbursed for work done in 2006 to 2008;

• More than 10,000 lower-income families received $144.3 million worth of Additional CPF Housing Grants (AHG), which served as an additional subsidy for lower-income families to offset the purchase price of a HDB flat;

Spoke 2 - Social Support to Enable Work

• From 2006 to 2008, a total of $33.4 million was given to an average of over 3,600 families annually under the Work Support Programme, which helps low wage workers or jobseekers upgrade their skills and find better-paying jobs, by providing them with temporary financial, medical and educational assistance;

Spoke 3 - Higher Skills for Better Jobs

• About 130,800 low-skilled workers received training under the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) framework; while 58,000 workers were trained through the Employability Skills System (ESS) from 2006 to 2008;

Spoke 4 - Expand Job Opportunities

• The Job Re-Creation Programme (JRP) has helped more than 47,000 workers acquire better skills, better jobs and better pay, while gaining inroads in the security, landscape, environment and conservancy industries;

Spoke 5 - Hope for the Future

• Over the three years, MOE’s Financial Assistance Scheme has helped an average of 40,730 needy students per year with $25.1 million disbursed; while the Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) and Centre-based Financial Assistance Scheme for Child Care (CFAC) have provided an average of over 11,200 children from low income families, per year, with some $41.6 million in fee subsidies;

• Between 2006 and 2008, an additional 1,200 vulnerable, low income families were approved for assistance under the Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) Scheme, bringing the total number of families approved on HOPE to about 1,700 at end-2008.

Spoke 6 - Sharing in the Nation’s Progress

• The $2.5 billion Progress Package was disbursed to all Singaporeans in 2006, with more given out to lower-income groups; and

• In 2008, the Government shared the Growth Dividends through a one-off $2 billion package and other household benefits, on top of the $4 billion GST offset package in 2007 that will be spread out over five years.

The Government has spent over $1.1 billion from 2006 to 2008 helping low wage Singaporeans . The Government will continue its efforts to help this group and refine schemes to provide them more targeted assistance. This includes a review of the WIS scheme in 2010 to ensure that it remains effective in encouraging work and providing financial assistance.

The Asian Youth Games celebrations will kick off with the Opening Ceremony at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 29 June 2009, where Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong will be the Guest of Honour. Representatives from the Olympic Council of Asia and the Singapore National Olympic Council will also be present.

More than 7,000 people are expected to catch the performances live at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. In a first for an international multi-sport games, the Opening Ceremony will be broadcast live via webcast to reach out to the international community.

Highlights of Asia’s Youth, Our Future

Giving a glimpse of the Opening Ceremony today, the Singapore Asian Youth Games Organising Committee (SAYGOC) wowed guests with a preview of the show highlights, with sneak peeks at energetic dance performances and mass displays that will form the backbone of the Opening Ceremony’s show segment. The show comprises three mass displays, titled “Garden in the City”, “Asia’s Zest” and “Spirit of Evolution”, which make use of visual illusions as well as the innovative use of props and costumes to capture the imaginations of the audience. Highlights include an energetic dance featuring bamboo sticks, a musical piece incorporating Korean drums and Sanskrit phrases - an ancient Asian language — and a show-stopping descent from the skies by two dancers.

The AYG Ceremony will also feature a celebration song, “Asia’s Youth, Our Future (3.1mb .mp3)”, an upbeat number which carries the message of hope, friendship and community. Youth talent Amni Musfirah from the School of the Arts, as well as Nathan Hartono and Lian Kim Selby from Anglo-Chinese Junior College, will deliver renditions of the theme song, accompanied by the Singapore National Youth Orchestra.

In another novel move for an international sporting event, the contingent of more than 1,400 athletes from 40 countries participating in the inaugural Asian Youth Games will also partake as spectators throughout the Opening Ceremony. They will march into the arena from the viewing galleries, via specially constructed platforms to take the athletes’ oath and to witness the lighting of the cauldron.

The AYG, to be held from 29 June to 7 July 2009, will feature athletes across nine sports - aquatics (swimming and diving), athletics, FIBA33 (3-on-3 basketball), beach volleyball, bowling, football, sailing, shooting and table tennis.

Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, outlined the priorities of the Ministry of Education (MOE) in the school sector over the next few years. As part of the move to provide educational opportunities for all, he also announced enhanced financial support for students through the Edusave scheme and school-based financial assistance schemes.

MOE’s key priorities in the school sector over the next few years¹ are:

• Holistic education, to develop future-ready young Singaporeans.

• Educational opportunities for all, regardless of financial situation, so that education remains an important social leveler.

Holistic Education, to Develop Future-ready Young Singaporeans

An all-rounded education will prepare our children with the necessary mindsets, values and skills to thrive in the 21st century. In particular, MOE will strengthen the development of soft skills, starting with primary education.

The recommendations of the PERI Committee to improve primary education have been well-received. MOE will implement the changes to primary education progressively over the next few years as many of the recommendations require systematic implementation over the medium to long term. Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State, will help to oversee the implementation of the recommendations. MOE will work closely with parents and the community, and support schools and teachers.

With these changes in primary schools to be implemented over time, MOE believes that it is timely to review how we can similarly enhance opportunities for a holistic education at the secondary level.

MOE will also study how it can build on recent enhancements to better customise secondary education, in terms of curriculum offerings and approaches to students with different learning styles and needs. Recent enhancements in the secondary sector, like the introduction of new options and pathways for Normal course students, have shown encouraging signs. For example, teachers from the three N(T) Mark II schools² observe greater engagement and motivation levels amongst their students.

Educational Opportunities for All

More excellent schools — enhanced support for autonomous schools

In the last few years, MOE has expanded opportunities through new types of schools (e.g., School of Science and Technology will open next year), new programmes, new pathways to cater to the different aptitudes, interests and learning styles of our students.

To grow more excellent schools, MOE will increase the support provided to Autonomous Schools from June 2009 (see Annex A for list of Autonomous Schools). This will enable the schools to provide more and higher-quality student-focused programmes which will nurture the strengths and talents of their pupils and further stretch their potential. In terms of resources, Autonomous Schools currently receive additional funding of about $150 per student per year over and above the usual annual school operating budget. MOE will increase the funding to $300 per student. From 2010, Autonomous Schools will also receive additional funding to explore new pedagogical approaches to improve teaching and learning as well as to develop stronger programmes in the area of student leadership.

Support for weaker students

MOE has also enhanced provisions for weaker students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds — Learning Support Programmes for literacy and numeracy at the lower primary level, NorthLight School and Assumption Pathway School, support for N(T) Mark II schools to introduce more engaging teaching methods.

One particular concern is attrition. While attrition is low (0.2 percent at primary level and 0.8 percent at secondary level, while another 0.5 percent drop out in between), MOE’s goal is for every Singaporean to benefit from our education system. Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, chairs the Committee for Monitoring Attrition in MOE to help formulate strategies and programmes to engage students, support schools with greater need, and work with community organisations.

Enhanced Financial Support

In view of the economic downturn, MOE will spend an additional $67.5 mil to ensure that no child will be denied a quality education because of financial difficulties. This involves enhancing the Edusave Scheme ($65.9 mil) and a top-up of the discretionary funding for school-based schemes to assist needy students ($1.6 mil). Edusave

The Edusave Scheme was started by the Government in 1993 to maximise educational opportunities for Singaporeans. The Edusave Scheme comprises three key components:

• Edusave Pupils Fund (EPF) — The Government makes yearly contributions into the Edusave accounts for all Singaporean students studying in mainstream schools and government-funded SPED schools. Pupils can tap on these funds to participate in enrichment activities and learning experiences, where they can pursue their interests and develop their strengths;

• Edusave Grants (EG) — Annual grants are given to Government and Government-aided schools and junior colleges/centralised institute, independent schools and junior colleges, Institute of Technical Education and special education schools. Schools and institutions can use the grants to procure resources and equipment, and conduct programmes to enhance the quality of teaching and learning; and

• Edusave Awards (EA) — Awards are given to Singaporean students who have performed well or made good progress in their school work, or have obtained achievements in non-academic activities.

For 2009, MOE will increase Edusave funding by a total of $65.9 million to enable students to continue to participate in meaningful enrichment programmes even during these difficult times:

• One-off top-up of $80 to Edusave accounts of Singaporeans students (+$45.6 mil):

  In January 2009, the annual Edusave contribution rate was increased by $20 (from $180 to $200 at primary level and from $220 to $240 at secondary level). To provide more assistance to pupils during the current economic downturn, MOE will make a one-off top-up of $80 to the Edusave accounts of the primary and secondary students including those in special education schools. This additional top-up means that within 2009, each student will receive an additional $100 in their Edusave accounts.

• One-off top-up to Edusave grants to schools (+$11.8 mil):

  MOE will also provide a one-off top-up of $20 per student to the Edusave Grant (EG). The top-up to the EG will allow schools to sustain their enrichment programmes for their students. With the top-up, a primary school will see an average increase of $22,800 (27%) while a secondary school will see an average increase of $25,600 (22%).

• Increase in quanta for Edusave awards (+$8.5 mil):

  To better recognise students for their achievements in both academic and non-academic areas, MOE will raise the quanta for Edusave Awards (comprising Edusave Scholarships, Edusave Merit Bursary, Good Progress Award and Edusave Awards for Achievement, Good Leadership and Service). For the awards given out from December 2009 onwards, MOE will be increasing the amounts for these awards by between $30 and $150. For instance, a Primary 2 or 3 student will receive $100 for a Good Progress Award this year, up from $50 previously. A secondary school student from a lower income family who has done well in his school will get an Edusave Merit Bursary of $350, up from $250.

Additional Funding For School-Based Financial Assistance (+$1.6 mil)

In February 2009, MOE provided a one-time $10,000 grant to all schools via their School Advisory Committees/School Management Committees and an additional $10,000 top-up to schools which have more than 10 per cent of students under the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS). This grant was provided to ensure that all schools have sufficient funds for discretionary financial assistance to help students from families affected by the economic downturn.

This discretionary funding has been well-received by schools. To provide additional support, MOE will give an extra top-up of $5,000 to schools that have used up 50% of the discretionary funding before February 2010. The estimated cost of providing this extra top-up to schools is $1.6 million.

Other Funding Provisions

Besides the Edusave Scheme, MOE has several schemes which help provide students with educational opportunities. This includes MOE Financial Assistance Scheme, School Breakfast Programme, Opportunity Fund and Internationalisation Fund.

In January 2009, MOE announced the enhancement of the benefits under the MOE FAS so that students at the primary and secondary school levels now receive help to cover a wider range of school essentials. The bursary amount for JC students was also increased.

The Opportunity Fund continues to be another source for schools to tap on to provide additional help to their needy students by subsidising school-based enrichment opportunities.

The Internationalisation Fund is another source of funding to provide all students with an overseas immersion experience as an integral component of their schooling.

Overall, MOE has a comprehensive suite of funding sources to help different groups of students in our schools. With the measures announced in January 2009 ($23.4 mil) and in this press release ($67.5 mil), MOE will be providing in total, approximately $90 mil of additional financial support. Coupled with the very significant subsidies for school education and help from the community, Singaporean children will have every support to benefit from the opportunities offered by our schools.

• Annex A (28kb .pdf)

• Annex B (52kb .pdf)

Footnote

1. MOE’s plans for the tertiary education sector were released on 19 May 2009. SMS S Iswaran will help oversee the development of the Singapore Institute of Applied Technology. ↵
2. Bedok Town Secondary, Shuqun Secondary and Si Ling Secondary ↵

Announcing the setting up of the SST EAC at the school’s open house today, Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, said SST’s unique focus on entrepreneurship and close collaboration with industrial players, as well as its curriculum that focuses on applying knowledge to solve real-world problems, will help to groom students to be future captains of our economy.

The SST Entrepreneurship Advisory Council

The EAC, chaired by Mr Inderjit, is looking to tap on distinguished industry leaders with varied strengths and diverse expertise as members.

The key focuses of the EAC are to:

• Provide guidance and advice to SST in its efforts to promote innovation and entrepreneurship;

• Act as role models and mentors to inspire and motivate students; and

• Provide networks and contacts with industry players, including the creation of mentorship and internship opportunities for students.

On SST’s unique focus on entrepreneurship, Mr Chua Chor Huat, Principal of SST, said, “The economy of tomorrow will be very different from what we know today. We want to build a school culture where all our students are enterprising enough to create and harness opportunities around them, regardless of what careers they choose. Promoting an entrepreneurial mindset is a good way to help our students to constantly think outside the box, be nimble enough to keep trying new things, and persevere when the going gets tough.”

Mr Inderjit Singh, Chairman of EAC, added that “Singapore needs to create high growth technology enterprises and we will need to expose our students to entrepreneurship and especially technopreneurship as early as possible. I think SST is the best place to start and I am looking forward to help develop this aspect of our young people in SST.”

Facilities at the Permanent Site

SST students can also look forward to specially-designed, well-planned facilities at SST’s permanent campus, located at the junction of Clementi Road and Commonwealth Avenue West.

When ready in January 2012, the campus will complement SST’s customised curriculum and programmes, and provide an environment that is conducive for bright minds to spark off good ideas. Some of the key features are:

1. Specialised Studios and Labs

   The campus will be wireless-enabled and will have fully equipped studios and specialised laboratories to cater to SST’s curriculum. Some of the features are as follows:

   • Fully wireless-enabled campus — This allows SST students to readily access and share information for collaborative learning anytime and anywhere.
   • Science Hub — Incorporating design inputs of NTU and NP faculty, it provides opportunities for independent and collaborative research experimentation. For example, High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) equipment would allow Biotechnology students to isolate plant chemicals and survey food and drug products for contaminants.
   • Design studios — The studios will support design work for both the ADMT (Art, Design, Media & Technology) Subject and the Design Studies Applied Subject. The studios will integrate the classroom, computer lab and workshop into a seamless learning space for design activities ranging from conceptualisation to realisation, and can be reconfigured to double up as exhibition areas.
   • Media Studio — Supporting the Media Studies Applied Subject, the fully sound-proofed media studio will allow students to broadcast live news feeds to the whole school and to the Web.
   • Innovators and Entrepreneurs’ Hub — This will allow students to hold video conferences with technopreneurs and inventors overseas, simulate various corporate and industry environments and support SST’s focus on innovation and enterprise.

2. Eco-friendliness

   The new campus will retain as much of the existing green spaces as possible as part of the school landscape. Rooftop spaces will be effectively utilised to minimise construction on the ground. To harvest rainwater for the school’s usage, there will be water-retention ponds on the roof and eco-gardens within the campus.

3. Flexible Learning Spaces

   While each class will have only 20 to 25 students, flexible classrooms with foldable dividing walls, could be opened up for a teacher to address two classes of up to 50 students at the same time. The school will also have a “Superhall”, which can function as both an indoor sports hall and a multi-purpose hall with flexible seating arrangements for various occasions.

   SST students will also be able to find many collaboration spaces for interaction and discussion. There will also be display areas for students to showcase their creations to the school and the community.

School Admission

SST will select its students through the Direct School Admission (DSA) exercise this year. The school will admit up to 200 students for its first Secondary 1 intake in January 2010.

From now until mid July, interested students and their parents can register for DSA and find out more information on SST’s selection criteria via the SST website.

The new Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Book Prize, worth $500 each, will be awarded to up to 6 outstanding ITE graduates each year. The awardees will be selected from the recipients of the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship to Encourage Upgrading (LKY-STEP), which is given to ITE students who have excelled in their respective courses, and have progressed to full-time studies at the Polytechnics.

Mr Bruce Poh, Chief Executive Officer, ITE, expressed appreciation for MM Lee Kuan Yew’s thoughtfulness. He shared that, “The Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Book Prize will provide further recognition to outstanding ITE students, and encourage them to work hard and excel in their studies at the polytechnics.”

Background

The Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Memorial Lecture is an initiative of the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation in collaboration with Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) to honour the late Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien’s achievements as the “Architect of Modern Brunei”. One of the aims of the Memorial Lecture is to promote and expand knowledge as part of a contribution by Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation to the intellectual arena in conjunction with the efforts of institutes of higher learning and other agencies.

The LKY-STEP Award was presented for the first time in 2001. The LKY-STEP awards were made possible by then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew when he donated part of the proceeds from the sale of special editions of volume two of his memoirs to MOE to set up scholarships to encourage upgrading and life-long learning. Awards are given to outstanding ITE graduates pursuing full-time studies at our polytechnics, as well as outstanding polytechnic graduates pursuing full-time undergraduate studies at our universities. Each LKY-STEP award is worth $3,500. Since 2001, 60 ITE graduates have received the award.

• Provide accurate and adequate knowledge on human sexuality and the consequences of sexual activity so that pupils are able to make informed decisions.
• Impart intra- and inter-personal skills of problem-solving, decision-making and effective communication so that pupils are able to build responsible and rewarding relationships.
• Inculcate positive values and attitudes of sexuality so that pupils develop a respect for themselves and others as sexual beings, in line with the national value of the family as the basic unit of society.

Guiding Principles

• Parents bear the main responsibility for the sexuality education of their children.
• Sexuality education is premised on the importance of the family as the basic unit of society.
• Teaching of facts is integrated with the teaching of values, which reflect that of the mainstream society.

Curriculum

• Sexuality education in schools is covered both in the formal curriculum and co-curricular programmes.
• The formal curriculum subjects in which topics on sexuality are incorporated include Science, Health Education and Civics and Moral Education.
• Complementing the formal curricular programme are two co-curricular packages:
  1. MOE’s Growing Years (GY) series for upper primary, lower secondary, upper secondary and post-secondary levels. GY is developmental in nature, spanning the upper primary to post-secondary (JC/CI) levels. It addresses the subject of human sexuality from a holistic perspective, involving the intellectual, emotional, social, physical and ethical aspects of sexuality. It is covered under four main themes: Human Development, Interpersonal Relationships, Sexual Health and Behaviour, and Societal Influences. Schools implement minimum lesson hours of between 2-4 hours per year depending on level for the GY Programmes. (See Annex A (52kb .pdf)).
  2. Breaking Down Barriers (BDB) programme, jointly developed by HPB in consultation with MOE, for Sec 3 and JC/CI1 pupils, which focuses on STIs/HIV education (See Annex B) (52kb .pdf).

Policies on Sexuality Education

• All schools to provide Sexuality Education.
• Adoption of GY programme for all government schools. Independent and faith-based aided schools may have their own programmes.
• Delivery of BDB programme for all Secondary 3 students and JC/CI1 students.
• Parents may opt their children out of the school’s programme.
• Schools may tap on relevant expertise and community resources but should follow guidelines on the engagement of external agencies.

Enhancements

• Sexuality Education is an important programme. The following measures will be adopted to strengthen the delivery of sexuality education in schools.

A) Maintain core focus on building healthy relationships and preventing STIs/HIV/teen pregnancies

• GY series will continue to be taught from upper primary to post-secondary levels to teach students the importance of building healthy boy-girl relationships and making responsible choices.
• All Sec 3 and JC/CI1 students will continue to receive BDB which presents accurate information on STIs/HIV and contraception from a health perspective.
• Mass lecture by HPB/MOE, as well as structured class-based component facilitated by teachers to understand consequences of unsafe sex and help teens acquire necessary skills to say no to sex.
• Parents of students who require more guidance will be notified and provided with options for referrals to counsellors, health professionals or to attend additional workshops to reinforce awareness of the consequences of unsafe sex, role-play responsible decision-making with respect to sex.

B) Panel of Professionals for Sexuality Education Curriculum Package

• MOE together with HPB will form a Steering Committee of professionals to advise on and review the curriculum.
• Steering Committee will include psychologists, counsellors, educationists and medical practitioners and will be chaired by Director-General (Education).
• COMPASS (COMmunity and PArents in Support of Schools), with representatives from community and parents will periodically review materials taught and provide feedback.

C) Build up a core team of teachers to teach Sexuality Education and external agencies to supplement

• MOE will continue to work with schools to train a core team of teachers to teach the main components of our Sexuality Education programme, through the GY series.
• As more teachers are trained, MOE will itself teach more of the Sexuality Education package.
• External agencies will still be used to supplement some lessons.

D) Tighten controls and accountabilities in the engagement of external agencies

• New vetting process will now be centralised at MOE.
• Vetting process will be tightened with a more stringent checklist to raise the level of accountability of providers.
• A committee, headed by Director (Education Programme) will vet and approve agencies/trainers on a panel.
• Schools to select external agencies from the approved panel if they need to supplement programmes delivered by teachers.
• External agencies can apply to MOE from mid June 09.
• Agencies to be appointed to the panel by mid Aug 09.
• Appointed agencies to sign agreement with MOE.
• The programmes they deliver in schools will be audited.

E) Empower parents with more information

• More information will be provided to parents such as key messages, guiding principles, the role of parents, school and the community, the scope of topics covered under Sexuality Education, the position on contentious issues and guidelines for the engagement of external vendors.
• Schools will also provide sufficient information to parents on their Sexuality Education programme, including topics covered at different levels and programmes run by external agencies.

F) Streamline processes for parents to opt out

• Parents can opt their children out of entire school programme for Sexuality Education or just for individual topics, talks and workshops.
• Schools will provide opt out forms on their website and write to the parents at the start of each year when they provide information on their overall programme and when they hold separate talks and workshops by external agencies.

Direct Admission Exercises

The direct admission exercises give JCs and polytechnics greater flexibility in selecting students while holding to the key principles of transparency and meritocracy.

The DSA-JC Exercise provides students the opportunity to demonstrate a more diverse range of achievements and talents in seeking admission at the pre-university level.

The DPA Exercise allows students who are interested in, and who have the aptitude for applied learning, to seek prior admission to the polytechnics. Successful DPA applicants will be able to participate in the Polytechnic Preparatory Programme, conducted by the individual polytechnics from mid-Jan 2010 to Mar 2010. Under the programme, students will get to engage in activities such as industry visits, student camps and leadership development activities, which aim to broaden the students’ learning experiences, orientate them better to the polytechnic environment, and help prepare them for polytechnic courses. Students can also take polytechnic modules during the programme, which may allow them to pursue more advanced modules or cross-disciplinary modules during their polytechnic education. Closing date for applications for the DPA Exercise is 13 July 2009.

Student Selection

For the DSA-JC Exercise, each JC will admit students according to its own merit-based admission criteria (academic and/or non-academic criteria), based on the students’ personal qualities and the areas of focus (such as leadership, science, music, sports) that the JC would like to emphasise. Students admitted via the DSA-JC Exercise will have to meet the criteria for admission to a JC, for example their GCE ‘O’ Level or equivalent results must meet the prevailing JC admission eligibility criteria.

For the DPA Exercise, the polytechnics will take into account students’ abilities, talents and interests in the specific courses that they are applying for. For example, a student’s passion and talents in film and video production would be considered when he applies through the DPA for a polytechnic course in Media Studies. To ensure that students admitted through DPA will be able to cope with the rigours of a polytechnic education, applicants will also have to meet the prevailing polytechnic admission criteria, i.e.:

• obtain a net ELR2B2¹ score of not more than 26 points for the GCE ‘O’ level examinations; and
• meet the Minimum Entry Requirements (MER) for their respective polytechnic courses. (The MER for each polytechnic course can be found on the polytechnics’ websites.)

Similar to last year’s exercises, the percentage of students that JCs and polytechnics can admit via direct admission is as follows:

• Government and Government-aided JCs² can admit up to 10% of their 2010 JC1 intake using school-based criteria under the DSA-JC Exercise. The 3 independent institutions offering pre-university programmes can admit up to 20% of their intake using school-based criteria.
• The five polytechnics - Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic - will each admit up to 2.5% of their Academic Year 2009 intake through the DPA Exercise. There will also be a course-specific cap of 30% for each polytechnic course under DPA. This is to ensure that students admitted through the GCE ‘O’ level route will continue to have access to popular polytechnic courses.

Similar to previous years, if an applicant accepts an offer through DSA-JC or DPA, and is successfully posted to the institution, he will not be able to take part in the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) or Joint Polytechnic Special Admissions Exercise (JPSAE).

Further Information

Interested students should approach any of the participating institutions or visit their websites for more details regarding the selection exercises. Please refer to Annexes for the list of participating institutions and details of the exercises.

Alternatively, students can call MOE Customer Service Centre at 6872 2220 or refer to the following MOE websites for more information:

• DSA-JC Exercise website
• DPA Exercise website