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17 MAY 2007

DIRECT POLYTECHNIC ADMISSION EXERCISE 2007 FOR POLYTECHNIC ACADEMIC YEAR 2008

1.       The first Direct Polytechnic Admission (DPA) Exercise will commence on 11 July 2007, for admission into polytechnics in 2008.  The DPA Exercise will give the polytechnics greater flexibility to select students on criteria other than examination results, thus allowing a wider range of talents to be recognised.  The DPA Exercise also allows students who are interested in, and who have the aptitude for applied learning, to confirm places in polytechnic courses prior to taking their GCE ‘O’ level examinations.  Students accepted to polytechnics through the DPA can also benefit from special programmes in the polytechnics, before the start of the formal polytechnic calendar in April.

2.       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 2008 intake through DPA, or about 100 students per polytechnic on average.  There will also be a course-specific cap of 30% for each polytechnic course under the DPA.  This is to ensure that students admitted through the GCE ‘O’ level route will continue to have access to popular polytechnic courses.  

Student Selection

3.       In selecting the students, the polytechnics will take into account their abilities, talents and interests in the specific applied courses that they are applying for. For example, a student’s passion and talents in film and video production would be considered by polytechnics when he applies through the DPA for a polytechnic course in Media Studies.  More information on the polytechnics, the courses they offer and their selection criteria can be found on their websites. (See Annex A ).

4.       Students admitted via the DPA will still have to meet the following admission criteria:

(i)  obtain a net ELR2B2[1] score of not more than 26 points for the GCE ‘O’ level examinations; and 
(ii)  meet the Minimum Entry Requirements (MER) for their respective polytechnic courses.  The MER for each polytechnic course can be found on the polytechnics’ websites.

This is to ensure that students admitted through DPA will be able to cope with the rigours of a polytechnic education.  These students will not take part in the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) or Joint Polytechnic Special Admissions Exercise (JPSAE). 

DPA Exercise

5.       The exercise will be conducted as follows:

[1] ELR2B2 is used for admission into the Polytechnics. It refers to English Language, 2 relevant subjects for the polytechnic course applied for, and best 2 other subjects which could be elective subjects.

6.       Please refer to Annex B and Annex C for the details on the exercise and flowchart of the processes respectively.

Polytechnic Preparatory Programme

7.      The Polytechnic Preparatory Programme, which will be conducted by the polytechnics for all DPA students from mid-Jan 08 to Mar 08, aims to broaden the students’ learning experiences, orientate them better to the polytechnic environment, and help prepare them for polytechnic courses.  The Programme will include activities such as industry visits, student camps and leadership development activities. Students can also take polytechnic modules during the Programme.

For Further Information
 
8.       Students who are interested in participating in the DPA Exercise are encouraged to visit the websites of the polytechnics that they are interested in to obtain more details. 
 
9.       Students/Parents can also call the MOE Customer Service Centre at 6872 2220 for further clarifications or refer to the MOE website at http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/post-sec/dpa/ for more information.

10.     Students who are interested in a JC pathway and wish to gain direct admission to a JC can participate in the DSA-JC Exercise, which is conducted during the same period as the DPA Exercise.

Background

11.     The Ministry of Education (MOE) has been giving schools, polytechnics and universities greater flexibility in their admission of students to allow a more diverse range of student achievements and talents to be recognised.

12.     In March 2006, the Polytechnic School Review Committee (PSRC) chaired by the Minister of State for Education & Manpower, Mr Gan Kim Yong, recommended the introduction of Advanced Elective Modules (AEMs), Applied Graded Subjects (AGS) and the Direct Polytechnic Admission (DPA) Exercise, to cater more fully to the interests and aspirations of students who are keen to progress along an applied and practice–oriented path of education.  The report of the PSRC can be found at http://www.moe.gov.sg/corporate/pdf/psrc-report.pdf.