Education in Singapore Singapore’s Vision – An Intelligent Island Mustafa Ergün

Total land area: 260 sq. miles (680 sq. km) Population: 4.48 million Population: 4.48 million Main Language: English Main Language: English Literacy Rate: 95% in 2005 Literacy Rate: 95% in 2005 % with Secondary or Higher Qualifications: 61.6% (among resident non- students aged 15 yrs & over) % with Secondary or Higher Qualifications: 61.6% (among resident non- students aged 15 yrs & over) Singapore, an independent City-State

5 Features of S’pore Education System The bilingual policy - ENGLISH and Mother Tongue 6 years Primary; 4 /5 years Secondary; 2 years Pre-University Adaptive education system Post-school institutions - Institute of Technical Education, Polytechnics, Universities

Kindergartens in Singapore provide up to three years of pre-school for children ages three to six. The three years are commonly called Nursery, Kindergarten 1 (K1) and Kindergarten 2 (K2), respectively.

Bilingualism, or mother tongue policy, is a cornerstone of the Singapore education system. While English is the first language and the medium of instruction in schools, most students are required to take a "Mother Tongue" subject, which could be one of the three official languages: Chinese, Malay or Tamil. The bilingual policy was first adopted in 1966.[13] One of its primary objectives is to promote English as the common (and neutral) language among the diverse ethnic groups in Singapore. The designation of English as the first language is also intended to facilitate Singapore's integration into the world economy.[

6 years of primary education – Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) 4 to 5 years of secondary education – Government-aided schools; Specialized (Vocational) schools; Specialized independent schools; Privately-funded schools – 3 courses available: Special/Express, Normal (Academic), Normal (Technical) – GCE ‘O’ Level exams 2 to 3 years of post-secondary education – Junior Colleges (JC); Centralized Institutes (CI); Institutes of Technical Education (ITE); Polytechnic

Singapore Education Landscape All students follow a broad-based mainstream curriculum which is based on the British system. Some schools offer gifted education. Students study six (6) years at Primary level and four (4) or five (5) years at the Secondary level. After GCE “ O “ level (secondary school), most students go either to Junior Colleges for A-level studies, Polytechnics for Diploma courses, Private schools or the Institute of Technical Education. After GCE “ A “ level or graduation from Polytechnics, students will proceed to tertiary education e.g. universities in Singapore or overseas universities.

Primary education, normally starting at age six, is a four-year foundation stage (Primary 1 to 4) and a two-year orientation stage (Primary 5 to 6). Primary education is compulsory and free, though there is a fee of up to SGD 13 monthly per student to help cover miscellaneous costs. Orientation stage: Pupils were divided at Primary 5 to the EM1, EM2 and EM3 (English and Mother Tongue at 1st, 2nd and 3rd language respectively) streams. At the end of Primary 6, the national Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) is held.

Based on results of the PSLE, students are placed in different secondary education tracks or streams: "Special", "Express", "Normal (Academic)", or "Normal (Technical)" "Special" and Express are four-year courses leading up to a Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary-level (O-level) exam. Normal is a four-year course leading up to a Normal-level (N-level) exam, with the possibility of a fifth year followed by an O-level. Normal is split into Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical). In Normal (Technical), students take subjects of a more technical nature, such as Design and Technology, while in Normal (Academic) students are prepared to take the O-level exam and normally take subjects such as Principles of Accounting.

"Co-Curricular Activities" (CCA) are compulsory at the secondary level, where all pupils must participate in at least one core activity, and participation is graded together with other achievements throughout the four years in a scoring system known as LEAPS ("Leadership, Enrichment, Achievement, Participation, Service"). There are many co- curricular activities offered at the secondary level, and each student is judged based in these areas. The Integrated Programme, also known as the "Through-Train Programme”, is a scheme which allows the most able secondary students in Singapore to bypass "O" levels and take "A" levels, International Baccalaureate or an equivalent examination directly at the age of 18 after six years of secondary education.

Admission to post-secondary institutions Upon completion of the 4- or 5-year secondary school education, students (excluding Integrated Programme students) will participate in the annual Singaporean GCE 'O' Level, the results of which determine which pre-universities or post-secondary institutions they may apply for. Pre-university centres include junior colleges for a two-year course leading up to GCE 'A' Level, or the Millennia Institute for a three-year course leading up to GCE 'A' Level. Students who wishes to pursue for a professional-centred diploma education go on instead to post-secondary institutions such as the polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).

The pre-university centres of Singapore are designed for upper-stream students (roughly the top 20%-25% of the cohort) who wish to pursue a university degree after two to three years of pre-university education, rather than stopping after polytechnic post-secondary education. There are currently 18 Junior Colleges (JCs) and a Centralised Institute (CI), the Millennia Institute (MI, established 2004), with the National Junior College (NJC, established 1969) being the oldest and Innova Junior College (IJC, established 2005) the newest.

Singapore currently has two fully-fledged public universities (National University of Singapore & Nanyang Technological University), and two fully-fledged private universities (SMU & UniSIM). However, UniSIM accepts only adult learners in general, so A-level students may apply only to SMU, NUS, NTU, several foreign university offshore campuses, and more than ten other private tertiary institutions offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. A third university, Singapore Management University (SMU), opened in 2000 focusing on business and management courses.

In Singapore, English is the first language learned by half the children by the time they reach preschool age and becomes the primary medium of instruction by the time they reach primary school. English is the language of instruction for most subjects, especially mathematics and the natural sciences. Due to its large expatriate community, Singapore is host to many international schools, one of which, the Singapore American School has one of the largest intakes of international students in the world. Approximately 5,000 Singapore students studying in the U.S. Approximately 80,000 foreign students studying in Singapore

U.S. Universities In Singapore University of Chicago Graduate School of Business University of Nevada Las Vegas University of Hawaii at Manoa Cornell University School of Hotel Administration George Washington University Stanford University Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania And more …..

Government budget for education : at 19.3% of total budget Ratio of teaching staffs to student (Primary) 21.4 pupils (2009) Ratio of teaching staffs to student (Secondary) 17.9 pupils (2009) Enrolment ratio, aged 6-20 years 87.4% (2004),Literacy rate (aged 15 years and above) 94.6% (2004) Mean years of schooling (aged 25 years and above) 8.8 years (2004)