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SINGAPORE    High & Low Tides

 

    Education - News

        NEWS

     Articles

Latest on top

New pay and career package for teachers

Education: Performance by ethnic group 1997 - 2006

New applied subjects at 'O' Level from 2008

159 Foreign Medical Schools recognised in Singapore

Five schools to pilot boarding programmes for students

New initiatives for Normal (Academic) Course

Singapore to have fourth university

Special and Express courses at secondary schools to merge

MOE Selects First Five FutureSchools@Singapore

Calculators for Primary 5 and 6 Mathematics

140 Foreign Medical Schools recognised in Singapore

MOE to develop 15 FutureSchools@Singapore schools by 2015

Study on returns to higher education in Singapore

Education: Performance by ethnic group 1996–2005

New Chinese Language Curriculum for Primary 1 and 2 in 2007

Inaugural Singapore Education Awards 2007

Major changes in teaching of English Language in our schools

Primary schools to do away with EM3 stream from 2008

Singapore to recognise more foreign medical degrees

New NorthLight School to offer vocational programmes in 2007

MOE opens more gates for secondary students

Regional ITE colleges to be completed earlier

Post Secondary Account for every eligible child

Key Survey Findings on Education Services 2003

Landmark City Campus handed over to SMU

Government allocates Bukit Timah Campus to NUS

University admissions under new A Level curriculum

Teaching Woes

Interim Changes to 2006 PSLE & GCE 'O' Level Mother Tongue Exams

NUS, NTU & SMU to become autonomous universities

No single intake for JC/CI admission in March 2006

UAGFSC recommends autonomy for NUS & NTU

Still envy our children?

Fumbling through Mother Tongue

Education: Performance by Ethnic Group 1994 - 2003

Changes to Teaching of Chinese in Schools from 2006

Mining the education domain

ITE campuses renamed as colleges from 2005

Over-indulging our children

New School Graduation Certificate from 2008 

Churning out better behaved Singaporeans

Of porn VCDs and the schoolboy

Job opportunities in private education

Is our English that bad?

Work & Play in Singapore: DPM Lee Hsien Loong

When children commit suicide

SM LEE Kuan Yew speaks to university students on the future for their generation

Are teachers always right?

Differences between British & Singapore O & A Levels - Excerpt of Minister's speech

Regulation of Kindergartens - excerpt of Minister's speech

Arts education in our schools - excerpt of speech by Education Minister

University Review Committee says no to 4th university for Singapore

4 schools to offer new Integrated programme

Education: Performance by ethnic group 1992 - 2001

Education Minister speaks on the new JC Curriculum

Govt accepts recommendations for changes to Junior College curriculum

Whither literature in our schools?

Sculptor & educator Joseph McNally dies

Happy Teachers' Day 2002
Education - Keeping pace with the needs of tomorrow: Excerpt of Minister for Education and 2nd Minister for Defence RADM (NS) TEO Chee Hean's speech

2002 PSC Scholarships: Excerpt of DPM LEE Hsien Loong's speech 

Taking life for granted

The Teacher's Dilemma

Educational performance by major ethnic groups (1991 - 2000)

What ills the teaching profession?

I'd rather be a trout than a bluefish

Are Singapore firms blind to homegrown talent?  

Has the National Library got to go?

A censorship taboo is broken on local TV

Conducting examinations during school holidays

Students learn at own pace with streaming - Dir. (Planning) MOE

Students' behaviour at exam time

Discipline in schools - a big problem now

Should handphones be allowed in school?

School Discipline: Put the cane in our teachers' hands

Pioneer Class: Singapore Management University

     News

     2009

 

Mystery of the Battle Box

Jing Yang, his classmate Angelina and his cousin Tim team up to solve a mystery about hidden treasure in an underground bunker which was built during World War Two.

A history dropout from a local university has been searching for the treasure for many years. The teenagers must find the treasure first – before he does. They stumble into a secret tunnel beneath the bunker with help from two spirits haunting the bunker since World War Two.

Just when they lay eyes on the gold bars hidden in the secret tunnel, who else but the history dropout should turn up behind them, startling them...

Now on Sale

     - Eight new junior sports academies for young talents

     2008

 

Compulsory implementation of seat belts on mini-buses

The three-year time frame for school buses to retrofit seat belts is to minimise the disruption to the transport of these children that are displaced...
The five-year timeframe for the remaining small buses takes into consideration the fact that priority will be given to school buses during the first three years, and the capacity of the workshops to handle the retrofitting work.

More.....

 

Release of the 2008 Primary School Leaving Examination Results

In all, 48,424 pupils (or 97.1%) have been assessed as suitable to proceed to secondary school. Of these pupils, 63.6% are eligible for the Express course, 21.6% for the Normal (Academic) and 12.0% for the Normal (Technical) course.
There are 1,432 pupils (or 2.9%) who are assessed to not yet be ready for secondary school in 2009 or more suited for vocational training...

More.....

 

MOE appoints 50 principals in 2008

The Ministry of Education (MOE) will be appointing 50 Principals at the 11th Appointment Ceremony for Principals to be held on 30 Dec 2008. They comprise 27 newly-appointed Principals and 23 serving Principals/HQ officers who will take up appointments in other schools...

More.....

 

MOH to recognise more foreign dental degrees

From 1 January 2008, all dental schools accredited by the American Dental Association and the Canadian Dental Association will be added to the Schedule of the Dental Registration Act.
The addition of 48 American dental schools and 7 Canadian dental schools will increase the number of recognised foreign dental schools in the Schedule from the current 34 to 89. The list of new and current dental schools can be found in Annex A...

More.....

 

School of the Arts welcomes its first batch of 239 students

The School received an overwhelming response to the Talent Academy to recruit this batch of pioneer students for 2008. Over 1,000 applicants came for the Talent Academy.
Today, the School welcomes its first batch of 239 students who come from diverse social backgrounds and 129 primary schools...

More.....

     2007

 

Estate of Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat launches $25 million fund for education

The Fund will provide for three programmes: training opportunities to strengthen English language teaching in the region, opportunities for needy students in our polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education to gain overseas exposure, and scholarships for deserving students from Singapore and China to pursue their undergraduate studies in Singapore universities.
The Ministry of Education will administer the fund...

More.....

 

New pay and career package for teachers

MOE will be introducing a new Education Scheme of Service (2008) from 1 April 2008 to better recognise and reward good teachers. The new scheme will be more market responsive and there will be a stronger link between pay and performance.
Officers will be placed on a salary range system with merit increments that are based on one’s performance, potential and market wage movements. This will replace the current salary scale system with fixed annual increments. With the revision to the salary ranges, a one-off salary increment of up to 4% will be made to the salaries of eligible officers on the new scheme...

More.....

 

Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'N' Level Exams 2007 Results

This year, 11,568 (99.3%) students from the N(A) course and 6,307 (97.7%) students from the N(T) course will be awarded the N-Level certificate. The N-Level certificate is awarded to a candidate who obtains a passing grade of Grade 5 or better in at least one subject.
In addition, 110 N(T) students offered one or two N(A) subjects and 60 (54.5%) of them have obtained at least a Grade 5 or better in their N-Level Examination.[1]...

More.....

 

Higher contribution rate for Edusave accounts from Jan 2008

From Jan 2008, the Government will increase the annual contribution rate to Edusave accounts of eligible pupils by $10 to $180 for those at the primary level, and by $20 to $220 for those at the secondary level.

More.....

 

 

Singapore ranked 4th in international reading literacy study 2006

A representative sample of our pupils – 7000 Primary 4 pupils from all primary schools in Singapore – took part in the study in October 2005...
Singapore ranked 4th among 45 education systems which participated in PIRLS 2006, an improvement from rank 15th in PIRLS 2001 (see Table 1, Annex B). Singapore’s average score also improved from 528 in 2001 to 558 in 2006...

More.....

 

2007 Primary School Leaving Examination (PLSE) Results

A total of 49, 817 Primary 6 pupils sat for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) this year, a decrease of 798 (or 1.6%) over the 2006 cohort. Of these, 5176 were from the EM3 course...
In all, 48, 665 pupils (or 97.7%) have been assessed as suitable to proceed to secondary school. Of these pupils, 63.5% are eligible for the Express course, 22.2% for the Normal (Academic) and 12.0% for the Normal (Technical) course.
There are 1,152 pupils (or 2.3%) who are assessed to be not yet ready for secondary school in 2008 or more suited for vocational training...

More.....

 

Inaugural National Infocomm Club Awards

The National Infocomm Club Awards recognise the creativity of Infocomm Club students in using technology to educate and connect to the wider community, or within schools...
Primary Category
Top Winner :  River Valley Primary School (Project: The Adventures of Respect)
Merit Winner : Chua Chu Kang Primary School (Project: Intelligent Communicators)
Merit Winner : Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Project: HOPE)
Secondary / Junior College Category
Top Winner : Raffles Institution (Project: E-learning Packages for Down Syndrome Youths)
Merit Winner : Hwa Chong Institution (Project: Spiderportal)
Merit Winner : Victoria Junior College (Project: Automated Quiz Management System)...

More.....

 

Promoting more interaction between GEP and non-GEP pupils

From 2008, all the nine primary Gifted Education Programme (GEP) centres will introduce initiatives to promote greater interaction between GEP and non-GEP pupils, allowing them to learn, work and play together on a daily basis...

More.....

 

New applied subjects at 'O' Level from 2008

From Jan 2008, eight secondary schools will partner the polytechnics to offer to their Express and Normal (Academic) students, three new ‘O’ level subjects in applied disciplines: Creative 3D Animation, Fundamentals of Electronics and Introduction to Enterprise Development.
These new Applied Subjects will be reflected in the students’ GCE ‘O’ level Examination Certificates and be recognised for admission into Junior Colleges and Polytechnics...

More.....

 

Creating a Singapore fit for children

I believe that the next big frontier is pre-school education. The literature consistently suggests that early intervention through a high quality pre-school education can help make up for deficiencies in home environments by way of ensuring school readiness.
Yet 2006 figures show that five percent of children entering primary school have not attended preschool. We want to ensure that as many children as possible are in preschool, so that they get a good start in life...

More.....

 

MOE appoints 65 principals in 2007

This year, 23 of the 36 newly-appointed Principals are aged 40 and below, which is the largest number of young newly-appointed Principals in the last ten years.
Among them, the youngest are Mdm Eugenia Tan and Mrs Clara Lim-Tan at age 35. They will be heading Crescent Girls' School and CHIJ (Kellock) respectively...

More.....

 

NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia opens Singapore campus

Tisch School of the Arts Asia is the first-ever branch campus of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and it is also the first American art school to set up residence in Singapore.
Tisch Asia’s inaugural class of 33 graduate film students began their studies in September. More than half the students in this first group are from the United States, while the others come from Australia, Europe, Asia, and Central America.
In 2008, Tisch Asia will also begin offering MFA degrees in animation and dramatic writing...

More.....

 

159 Foreign Medical Schools recognised in Singapore

The Ministry of Health and the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) will be including an additional 19 leading international medical schools to the Schedule of the Medical Registration Act with effect from 1st October 2007...
Included are 6 medical schools from China, 4 from India, 4 from Japan, 2 from Taiwan and 1 from South Korea. 2 more medical schools from Europe have also been added...
Singaporeans graduating from any of the 159 international medical schools can also come back to Singapore, to supplement the number graduating from our own medical schools...

More.....

 

Five schools to pilot boarding programmes for students

Five schools will be piloting various models of boarding programmes starting from 2008, to support the all-round development of their students...
Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) Year 1 – Year 4 Integrated Programme (IP) students will board together to forge bonds across levels, through activities such as inter-hall games. Each IP student will board for at least two semesters in total.
Hwa Chong Institution Sec 3, Sec 4, JC1 and JC2 students will have the opportunity to board together on an optional basis, to forge bonds across levels. Boarding will take place for one term (3 months)...

More.....

 

New initiatives for Normal (Academic) Course

Currently, the criteria for promoting the N(A) students to Sec 5N  comprise a pass in English Language (EL) and the aggregate score of their best 3 subjects at the ‘N’ level examinations.  MOE will introduce the following refinements:

(a) Include both EL and Mathematics as compulsory subjects for computation in the aggregate score; and

(b) Increase the number of subjects to be included in the aggregate score to 5...

The refined promotion criteria will apply to the 2009 Sec 4N(A) cohort onwards...

More.....

 

School Achievements in 2007

The School Excellence Award (SEA) recognises schools for their excellence in both education processes and outcomes. It is the highest and most prestigious award in the MoA framework.
This year, 5 schools will be presented with the SEA trophy. They are:
1) Crescent Girls' School
2) Tanjong Katong Secondary School
3) Nanyang Girls' High School
4) Hwa Chong Institution
5) Victoria Junior College

More.....

 

Eight schools to be upgraded from 2009 to 2011

As part of the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) continuing efforts to renew and support our schools, eight more schools will be upgraded from 2009 to 2011 under the tenth phase of the Programme for Rebuilding and IMproving Existing Schools (PRIME)...
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.

More.....

 

Dunman High School joins Chinese language elective programme

"The Ministry of Education will be establishing a 5th Chinese Language Elective Programme (CLEP) Centre to nurture the language talent of students with an aptitude for Chinese Language. From 2008, the Dunman High School will be offering the CLEP...
"The CLEP is a two-year programme, which includes the study of classical and modern literature (poetry, prose, novels, and drama) and Chinese culture..."

More.....

 

Singapore to have fourth university

The Ministry of Education (MOE) is increasing the number of publicly-funded university places to cater to 30% of each cohort of Singaporeans by 2015...
The increase to 30% of cohort translates to about 2,400 additional university places per year for Singaporeans.

More.....

 

 

Update on the Norovirus outbreak at Pioneer Primary School

"Norovirus was confirmed in the stool of six food handlers. These findings highlight the importance of good food and personal hygiene. In particular, symptomatic persons should refrain from handling food when they are not well.
"The six infected food handlers have been issued orders prohibiting them from working until they are certified free of infection. MOH has also advised the school on the necessary prevention and control measures to avoid future outbreaks.
"Pioneer Primary School recorded a total of 147 Norovirus gastroenteritis cases, comprising students, staff and food handlers, during the recent outbreak. The illness is self-limiting and most recovered within 1-3 days. None was hospitalised..."

More.....

 

Special and Express courses at secondary schools to merge

"Starting from the Secondary One students in 2008, the Special and Express Courses will be merged into the "Express Course"...
"For the 2007 Secondary 1 cohort, there are 4,466 Express Course students and 4,410 Special Course students offering HMTL.
"In addition, some schools have placed Special and Express Course students in the same classes. Thus, there is now little distinction between Special and Express students in secondary schools..."

More.....

 

Online submission of school choices for Sec 1 posting

"Parents of Primary 6 pupils will have an additional channel of submitting their child’s school choices for the Secondary One posting exercise at the end of this year.
"The Ministry of Education (MOE) will be introducing a new Internet System to make it more convenient for parents to be able to submit their child’s Secondary One school choices online.
"The new Internet System will also give parents the option of checking their child’s Secondary One posting results online...
"Parents who wish to use hardcopy forms to submit their child’s school options to the primary school can still do so. The Secondary One posting exercise procedures remains unchanged..."

More.....

 

 

Two in three Primary Six students have myopia

"About 30 % of our Primary 1 students and 2 in 3 Primary 6 students have myopia. By the time they are 18, 80% of them are myopic..."

More.....

 

Local university places offered to UNSW Asia students

24 students who had been affected by the closure of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Asia have been offered places by the three local universities, National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Singapore Management University (SMU).

More.....

 

Primary 1 registration exercise for 2008

"Under the Compulsory Education Act, Singapore Citizens born after 1 January 1996 and residing in Singapore are required to attend national primary schools regularly.

"Thus, a child born between 2 January 2001 and 1 January 2002 has to be registered at the 2007 Primary One Registration Exercise for admission to Primary One in January 2008. Children born between 2 January 1999 and 1 January 2001 (both dates inclusive), who have not previously been registered for Primary One classes, may also be registered for admission to school in 2008..."

More.....

 

Shell LiveWIRE Awards 2007 launched

"Jointly organised by Shell Companies in Singapore, the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), the ITE Alumni Association and the Singapore Press Holdings Chinese Newspapers Division, the prestigious Shell LiveWIRE Awards 2007 aims to groom, recognise and reward promising young entrepreneurs and promote the spirit of enterprise...

"To qualify for the Awards, applicants should be 35 years or below and have been in business from three to 36 months. The Top Award is $10,000. There will also be four Merit Awards of $2,000 each. The Closing Date of the Awards is 31 July 2007..."

More.....

 

MOE Selects First Five FutureSchools@Singapore

From 2008, students at Canberra Primary School, Crescent Girls’ School, Jurong Secondary and Hwa Chong Institution can look forward to even more innovative teaching methods and engaging lessons – made possible through more widespread use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
"These four schools will join a new primary school, Beacon Primary School, as the pioneer FutureSchools@Singapore..."

More.....

 

EDB on closure of UNSW Asia

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) Australia has taken the decision to discontinue the operation of its Asia campus in Singapore with effect from 28 June 2007. UNSW has taken this difficult decision on business grounds after careful thought and due consideration.
Mr Ko Kheng Hwa, Managing Director, EDB said, “We regret that UNSW has decided to close the Singapore campus. EDB has been fully committed and has worked closely with UNSW from day one towards the establishment of its Singapore campus.”...

More.....

 

Direct School Admission Exercise 2007 for admission to polytechnic

"The first Direct Polytechnic Admission (DPA) Exercise will commence on 11 July 2007, for admission into polytechnics in 2008...
"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..."

More.....

   

Direct School Admission Exercise 2007 for admission to JC1

"The Direct School Admission Exercise 2007 for admission to JC1 and its equivalent level (DSA-JC) will be held from Monday, 25 June 2007, to Friday, 5 October 2007...
"Similar to last year’s exercise, Government and Government-aided junior colleges (JCs) 1 will be admitting up to 10% of their 2008 JC1 intake using schoolbased criteria under the DSA-JC Exercise..."

More.....

 

Direct School Admission Exercise for Secondary 1 in 2008

"This year, 56 schools, 9 more than last year, will be participating in the Direct School Admission Exercise for admission to Secondary One in 2008...
"This year’s DSA-Sec Exercise will be extended to the new School of the Arts (SOTA), a specialised Independent School for talented youths in the visual and performing arts. SOTA will start in January 2008..."

More.....

 

Calculators for Primary 5 and 6 Mathematics

"To align assessment with the curriculum, the use of calculators will be allowed in part of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) Mathematics and Foundation Mathematics examinations from 2009.
"These examinations will be revised from the current single paper to a two-paper format from 2009. Calculators will only be allowed in Paper 2 of the examinations, which will contain questions for which a calculator can be used..."

More.....

 

Niche schools recognised for 2007

"Thirteen primary schools have been awarded the Programme for School- Based Excellence for 2007. In addition, the 24 schools which received the award in 2005 and 2006 had their awards renewed this year.
"Nine secondary schools have been recognised as Niche Programme Schools for 2007, in addition to the 12 schools that were recognised in 2005 and 2006..."

More.....

 

Schools may hire full-time Infocomm Technology executives

"From July 2007, schools will have the option to engage full-time Infocomm Technology (ICT) Executives.
"The ICT Executives will provide schools with professional ICT support and additional technical expertise to handle the increasingly sophisticated ICT implementation in schools..."

More.....

 

UBS opens Wealth Management Campus in Singapore

“ 'The Campus will be a centre of excellence for development programmes targeted at employees and clients in the Asia Pacific region. More importantly, it will also serve as a hothouse for wealth management research and thought leadership in new wealth management initiatives,' said Kathryn SHIH, Head of UBS Wealth Management in Asia Pacific...

"Equipped with state-of-the art facilities, including a lecture hall with video conference facilities and voice activated cameras, five seminar rooms, a media lab for business technology training, networking and administrative areas, UBS expects to train approximately 5,000 existing and future UBS Wealth Management staff by 2010..."

More.....

 

Singapore first country to host Toon Boom Animation Festival

"Singapore will be the first country to host the inaugural Toon Boom Animation Festival, which kicks off on 2 April 2007...
"Free workshops will be conducted by ITE to train students who are not familiar with the Toon Boom software. Said Mr Bruce Poh, Director & CEO, ITE..."

More.....

     - 140 Foreign Medical Schools recognised in Singapore

     - TAF & Mindef physical fitness performance awards for schools 2006

 

     - Posting results for the 2007 Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE)

 

Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'A' Level Exams 2006 Results

 

Year

 

No. Sat

Minimum 2 A

& 2 AO-Level

Passes including GP

 

 

No.

%

2006

15,138

13,697

90.5

2005

12,314

11,217

91.1

 

More.....

 

ITE Road Show 2007

2 to 4 March 2007

More.....

     - Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'O' Level Exam 2006 Results

     - MOE to develop 15 FutureSchools@Singapore schools by 2015

     - Study on returns to higher education in Singapore

 

     - Two students to be charged in court for misuse of sparklers

 

     - Synthetic fields for eligible schools

 

SMU starts School of Law

"The Third Committee on the Supply of Lawyers estimated that an additional 140-150 legal professionals will be required each year from 2010 until 2015 to meet the needs of Singapore’s legal industry.

"To meet this number, the SMU School of Law will take in 90 students in AY2007, reaching a steady-state intake of 120 from AY2008 onwards.
"The NUS Faculty of Law will also increase its intake from the current 220 to 240 beginning in AY2007..."

More.....

     2006

 

Higher school fees for PRs and foreign students

"From January 2007, PR in Government and Government-aided schools, junior colleges (JCs) and the centralised institute (CI) will pay about 20% more for school fees. They currently pay the same fees as citizens at the secondary and pre-university levels.
"FS, whose fees are already higher than those for citizens and PR, will have their fees increased by about 30%. The new fees for FS will take effect two years from now (2009 ), to give time for them to decide if they wish to apply to become permanent residents..."

More....

     - Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'N' Level 2006 Results

     - Education: Performance by ethnic group 1996–2005

     - 2006 Primary School Leaving Examination (PLSE) Results

     - New Chinese Language Curriculum for Primary 1 and 2 in 2007

     - Inaugural Singapore Education Awards 2007

     - New committee to look into reducing school dropout rate

 

Singapore eases admission criteria for new lawyers

"Government announced on 17 August 2006, its in-principle acceptance of the recommendation of the Third Committee on the Supply of Lawyers chaired by the former Attorney-General, to allow Singaporean citizens or Permanent Residents ("PRs") who graduated from Overseas Scheduled Universities with Second Class (Lower Division) Honours to practise law in Singapore, provided they possessed certain relevant work experience or qualifications..."

More.....

     - New school principals in 2007

 

All schools to get indoor sports hall for PE, sports and games

"The indoor sports hall will mean an approximately 50% increase in a school’s sports facilities. It will give schools the flexibility to conduct CCAs and PE lessons at any time of the school day...

"Estimated to cost a total of $690 million, the project will be implemented in phases over seven years..."

More.....

 

Norovirus outbreak may have affected another two schools

"MOH has investigated into the Ang Mo Kio Secondary School outbreak which occurred on 25-28 Sep and established the cause as norovirus gastroenteritis. Investigations into the cause of outbreak at Stamford Primary School are still in progress although norovirus has also been identified.

"As at Friday, 6 Oct, two other schools [ACS(I) and Maris Stella (Primary)] have reported 20-30 cases of students and staff falling ill with similar symptoms. These cases are also being investigated to determine their cause..."

More.....

 

Recent outbreaks of norovirus gastroenteritis in two schools

"There has been an increase in the number of persons attending the polyclinics for acute diarrhoea over the past three weeks...

"However, in view of the recent outbreaks of norovirus gastroenteritis in two schools affecting a large number of school children, the Ministry would like to advise the public to be vigilant about diarrhoeal illnesses..."

More.....

 

Major changes in teaching of English Language in our schools

Singapore students do fairly well in reading literacy, but standards of oral and written communication are highly uneven. Some employers have observed a decline in oral fluency, writing skills and the ability to communicate with impact...

The EL curriculum will focus on developing oral confidence, grammar knowledge and a love for reading to anchor EL learning throughout the primary school years...

Secondary students will revisit and build on foundational skills, in particular, grammar and spoken English...

A new subject, English Language, to be offered at H1 and H2 levels, will be introduced at the pre-university level from 2009...

More.....

 

 

Primary schools to do away with EM3 stream from 2008

"Primary schools will introduce Subject-based Banding starting from the 2008 Primary 5 cohort, replacing the current EM3 stream.

"With Subject-based Banding, students will be able to offer a mix of Standard or Foundation subjects depending on their aptitude in each subject...

"Schools will work out class and timetabling arrangements that allow students to take separate classes in Foundation subjects while being integrated with other students for the rest of the curriculum..."

More.....

     - School Achievements in 2006

 

UK Securities & Investment Institute opens Singapore office

"The SII anticipates offering its front and back office qualifications in Singapore, otherwise known as the Certificate and IAQ suite. It has appointed Mona Poomy as its VP based in Singapore.

"SII examinations are approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and there are a large number of international banks with offices in Singapore who are keen that their workforce are trained to the same standard of competence as those in the UK..."

More.....

     - SJI (International) to be Singapore's 3rd privately funded school

 

MOE unveils S$250m plan to boost teaching profession

"...an Enhanced PDL will allow a teacher who has had at least 12 years of experience to take up to 2½ months (1 school term) of full-pay leave...

"MOE will introduce a new Learning & Development Scheme. In the scheme, teachers will be entitled to claim up to $400 or $700 per year, for any learning-related expenses that they choose...
"MOE is increasing the starting salaries of Pass/ Pass (Merit) Degree and Diploma recruits by 1 increment (which is equivalent to an increase of 5-8%) with effect from 1 Sep 06. The current starting salaries of trainee teachers holding other qualifications remain competitive..."

More.....

     - DUKE - NUS Graduate Medical School to open in 2009

     -  Easier for returning Singaporeans to go back to our schools

 

 

Of young Singaporeans then and now

"As for assembly talks, we had guest speakers but unlike your 'interactive' talks; they did all the talking, we did all the listening and no one thought that we might want to ask them some questions.

"My teachers were more concerned that we did not fall asleep during the session. This I am told is one of those things that have resisted change as this generation of students is also similarly afflicted..."

More.....

     - Number of recognised foreign medical schools increased to 120

 

 Singapore to hold large-scale flu pandemic exercise

21-22 Jul 2006

"This large scale exercise will involve over 1,000 personnel from MOH, the Ministry of Education (MOE), home-front and related agencies such as the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Immigration and Checkpoint Authority (ICA), Maritime Port Authority (MPA) and the People's Association..."

More.....

 

MAS Launches Finance Scholarship Programme

MAS will set aside a budget of S$30 million from the FSDF over the next 5 years. It expects to award some 150 FSP scholarships over the next 5 years.

More.....

     - Singapore and MIT to start SMART research center here in 2007

 

Community Issues: Improving the teaching of English Language in Singapore schools

"It has been suggested that native speakers of English be hired. Proceed with care: Natives have come and gone in the past. Just now, there are hardly any in the schools.

"What has been MOE's experience? Clear speech is fundamental when communicating with Singaporean students.
"Few native speakers are BBC-perfect in diction, understood in any cultural context. There are British teachers (more so Scots, Irish and Welsh) whose speech would not be intelligible to Singaporean ears..."

More.....

     - Registration exercise for admission to Primary One in 2007

 

Government launches 10-year infocomm masterplan

THE GOALS – BY 2015, SINGAPORE WILL…

Create 80,000 additional jobs

Have 90 per cent homes using broadband

Achieve 100 per cent computer ownership for all homes with school-going children...

More.....

 

 

 

     - Direct Admission Exercise for JC in 2007

     - 47 schools in Direct Admission Exercise for Sec 1 in 2007

 

 

 

 

 

Act 3 International & NAC present Kidsfest

KIDSFEST IS REAL COOL!

1 - 6 Jun 2006

More.....

 

Easier for returning Singaporean children to re-enter local schools

First, at the primary school level, MOE will do away with the need for placement tests for returning Singaporean children seeking placement...

Instead MOE will identify a primary school nearest to their home with vacancies and offer a place to the child. We will implement this by the middle of this year.
Second, at the secondary school level, MOE will also do away with the need for returning Singaporean children to sit for multiple school-based tests.
Instead, MOE will develop a Centralised Placement Test (CPT) to provide a common yardstick...

More.....

 

Amended Enlistment Act requires males 13 years & older to get exit permits

MINDEF will require pre-enlistees aged 13 to 16½ to apply for Exit Permits if they intend to be away from Singapore for 3 months or more...

Those who require Exit Permits of 2 years or more will be required to furnish a bond...

The penalty regime for Exit Permit offences for those aged 13 to 16½ will be only a fine of up to $2,000, with no custodial sentences...

We will thus be introducing a new offence in the Enlistment Act under which parents and guardians can be made liable for the Exit Permit offences of their children or wards of ages 13 to 16½ so that the penalty can be imposed on their parents or guardians when the circumstances warrant it. The penalty regime for the offence will also be a fine of up to $2,000.

More.....

     - 13 more schools to be upgraded by 2009

     - Singapore to recognise more foreign medical degrees

     - New NorthLight School to offer vocational programmes in 2007

     - Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'A' Level Exams 2005 Results

 

More financial help for students from lower-income families

First, the income ceiling will be raised so as to allow the lowest 20% of households to qualify.

The income limits under the FAS for Government and Government-Aided Schools will be increased from the current $900 (Gross Monthly Household Income) to $1,500 for families with 1 or 2 children; and from $1,050 to $1,800 for families with 3 or more children.
Second, the benefits granted to FAS recipients will also be expanded. They will receive a full waiver of the standard miscellaneous fees, compared to the 50% waiver under the current FAS. FAS recipients will also get a 75% subsidy on national examination fees.

More.....

 

     - Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'O' Level Exams 2005 Results

     - Release of 2005 GCE 'O' Level Exam Results

 

Survey on Singapore Youth & Their Portable Gadgets

by Second Year Media and Communication students in Singapore Polytechnic’s School of Business

"Out of the 795 respondents who owned handphones, Nokia had the highest share at 56% while Samsung and Sony-Ericsson tied for second place at 16% each...

"Respondents were asked to choose one item that they would not be able to live without from a list that included the handphone, PC, TV, portable music device, PDA, portable game console and digital camera. 78% of all the 800 respondents indicated that they could not live without their handphone."

More.....

 

LASALLE-SIA ©Day 2006

Sat 11 Feb & Sun 12 Feb 2006

Your day to choose creativity, courses, careers for the July 2006 Intake!

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     - Single January intake for JCs and centralised institute from 2009

     - TAF & Mindef Physical Fitness Performance Awards for Schools 2005

     2005

     - Schools to get more say in design of school facilities

     - Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'N' Level Exams 2005 Results

     - NTU launches inaugural Nanyang Alumni Awards

 

     - NAFA bags prestigious honour at British Business Awards

     - PSLE 2005 Results

NUS Corporatisation Bill

"The new legislation aims to safeguard the Government’s strategic interest in the university sector and yet, give the universities the autonomy to be nimble and responsive to the dynamic landscape...

"The NUS Bill also provides the legislative provisions to transfer NUS’ property, rights and liabilities to the successor university company, and will repeal the existing NUS Act which establishes NUS as a statutory board..."

More.....

 

Prevention of child abuse and neglect in Singapore

"Over the last 5 years, my Ministry investigated an average of 188 complaints of alleged child abuse each year. Only in 40% of cases did our investigations reveal real evidence of abuse.
"Granted, the number of cases with evidence of abuse increased by about one and a half times from 61 in 2000 to 90 in 2004. This is due largely to greater awareness among those who have regular contact with children and who reported the incidents to the authorities for intervention..."

More.....

 

     - NUS School of Computing holds int'l multimedia conference

     - 51 new school principals for 2006

 

LASALLE-SIA to launch scholarship for acting & musical theatre degrees

"The Veda Mekani Scholarship for Acting and Musical Theatre will be launched on 28 October 05 at The Arts House. For the occasion, LASALLE-SIA will be presenting the first public performance by its pioneer cohort of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre students...

"In this cabaret-style presentation, students will perform a range of songs from the early classic animated features including Snow White, Dumbo and Pinocchio, and through to the recent masterworks like Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid and Toy Story..."

More.....

 

We Know What You Did Last June School Break: ACNielson Survey

Average spent by parents on each child during the June school break
Below $100
31.9%
$100 - $199
21.2%
$200 - $499
16.9%
$500 - $999
8.6%
$1,000 - $1,999
2.1%
$2,000 and above
2.5%
Not sure
16.8%

More.....

     - Direct school admission to Sec 1 in 2006

 

Study Mum Situation in Singapore

"As at end Jul 05, there were about 6,800 study mothers in Singapore of whom some two-thirds were from the PRC...

"As at end Jun 05, less than 1,000 study mothers were holding Work Permits..."

More.....

 

     - 25 primary schools to pilot new Chinese Language curriculum

     - MOE opens more gates for secondary students

     - School Achievements in 2005  (replaces ranking of top schools)

     - Educational Performance by Ethnic Group 1995 - 2004

 

     - Regional ITE colleges to be completed earlier

     - Post Secondary Account for every eligible child

 

Prime Minister's National Day Message 2005

"...Every Singaporean – and not just a select few – must receive the best education that he is capable of.

"So we are investing heavily in polytechnics and ITEs, and not just in universities. We are paying attention to Normal stream students, and not just those in the Express and Special streams. We are emphasising lifelong learning, and not just pre-employment education.

"We also need to remake our city, so that it is vibrant, cosmopolitan and throbbing with energy, with our own distinctive X-factor that makes us stand out from other cities.
"Global cities like London, Paris, New York and Shanghai are continuously re-making themselves, so all the more must we. This is the deeper reason, beyond attracting tourists, why we are developing integrated resorts..."

More.....

      - SMU staff & students parade into new City Campus

 

Easier to enter the Sports School from 2006

"...First, the Sports School will admit all students with high sporting potential regardless of their academic ability. This will take effect from 2006..."

More.....

       - Happy Birthday Singapore! - National Day Projects

     - MAS launches NUS Centennial Commemorative Coins

 

Shots Fired at Secondary School

We refer to the article “Shots fired at secondary school”, published in Today on 30 June 2005.
In paragraph two of the article, it was stated that “…unknown to most of [the students], their school has been the target of an unidentified sniper”. The article also stated that shots have been fired at the school since April, that bullet holes mark some of the walls, and that “air gun pellets may have been discovered during a police investigation.”
We would like to clarify that to-date, there is insufficient evidence to suggest the presence of a sniper. Police are still establishing the cause of the damage to the windowpanes. We have also conducted checks in the school. Although there were small holes on the damaged windowpanes, there were no bullet holes or other markings on the walls. Neither were there any air gun pellets nor projectiles discovered.

Members of the public are advised that there is no cause for alarm. Further speculation on the incident should also be avoided.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
30 June 2005 @ 3.30 pm

Source: www.spf.gov.sg Media Release 30 Jun 2005

----------------------

     - ComCare Fund for needy Singaporeans launched

     - Registration of children for admission into Primary 1 in 2006

     - Key Survey Findings on Education Services 2003

     - Landmark City Campus handed over to SMU

     - Government allocates Bukit Timah Campus to NUS

     - National University of Singapore (NUS) turns 100

     - 43 sec schools in sec 1 direct admission exercise in 2006

     - University admissions under new A Level curriculum

     - First National Interschool Blogging Championship

     - Direct Admission Exercise 2005 for JC1

 

Monday with the Editor: Teaching Woes

"Handling a class of boisterous Express stream students is a world apart from handling a class of out-of-focus NA or NT students. Express stream students may be noisy and active, but they need the barest of tuning to keep them in order.

"Simple veiled measures such as harping on the haircut of students who stray work quickly to put them in line again. On the other hand, NA and NT students, more often than not, come from dysfunctional families. Some students are even impervious to caning..."

More.....

     - Interim Changes to 2006 PSLE & GCE 'O' Level Mother Tongue Exams

     - MOE to build six new primary schools by 2008

     - NUS, NTU & SMU to become autonomous universities

     - No single intake for JC/CI admission in March 2006

Count on our children to take care of us in our old age?

"...I see many youngsters engaged in animated conversation over who has the latest mobile phone and I think - at this age, they have yet to earn money and they are already bowing to peer pressure and thinking of spending more than pocket change. When they come into the mainstream of society, will they wise up and live prudently or will their parents still have to support them then..."

More.....

 

Monday with the Editor: Second-hand smoke in public places

"Just last month, in a small shopping centre in Hougang, I saw someone approaching a teenager who was puffing away in the air-conditioned lobby of the place, just outside a lan-gaming shop. When he told the young man not to smoke there, the boy retorted, 'I like it, leh!'..."

More.....

      - Posting results for the 2005 Joint Admissions Exercise

 

Monday with the Editor: Of pre-university students and CIP

"These boys from Maris Stella were busy running up to the young and the old. You could see the eagerness in their faces as they went about their task. Each approach was energetic, and though some pedestrians did not donate, the boys were not disheartened.

"In these boys, I saw the same enthusiasm which gripped me as a secondary student some thirty years ago when I was selling flags for charity. These boys from Maris Stella were certainly not of the same grain as the one who took the donation tin to lunch with his parents..."

More.....

 

School fields for public use

"Some 50 school fields all over the island will be available for public use under a scheme to maximise the use of sports facilities in Singapore...

"Members of the public can book the fields for a small fee; full soccer-sized fields can be booked for $50 per two-hour slots while smaller-sized soccer fields can be booked for $25 per two-hour slots..."

More.....

 

Student falls from school building

A 16-year-old student of Bedok South Secondary School was injured after he fell off the first floor of a building at his school yesterday. Police are investigating the incident.

Source: Straits Times 11 Mar 2005 (H2)

 

Changes to CCA and CIP for university admission

"... it will no longer be necessary to have a fixed CCA points system for junior college (JC) and Centralised Institute (CI) students applying to university from 2007 onwards. MOE will remove the CCA grading system, PEARLS, for first year students in JCs starting from this year.

"At the same time, MOE will remove the minimum 6-hour requirement for CIP for all students in JCs and the CI from this year. The CIP scheme, introduced in 1998, is now a vibrant feature of JC life..."

More.....

     - Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'A' Level Exams 2004 Results

     - Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'O' Level Exams 2004 Results

     - Notification of Release of 2004 GCE O-Level Results

 

Monday with the Editor: Competition from China whiz kids

"Rather than worry about the influx of talent that could threaten their children's future, our Singaporean parents should see these China whiz kids as a necessity for local schools, for our own students, having outdone their own kind at school over the past decades and not having worthwhile competition to spur them on to greater heights, can now count on these brilliant China kids to pace them into greater excellence..."

More.....

     - Tentative List of Singapore Public Holidays for 2006

     - Younger teachers can take up Senior Teacher appointments

     - ITE launches global vision

 

Prudential Children First!

Singapore International Festival for Children

3 - 20 March 2005

     - Parent complains about 'taupok' game in JC

     - UAGFSC recommends autonomy for NUS & NTU

Monday with the Editor: Still envy our children?

School starts today for more than 500,000 children across the island this new year. As these children stream back to their schools and begin looking around in their new classrooms, some of them may notice a classmate or schoolmate missing.

And they may realise that the tsunami which took place far from our shores over the holidays has something to do with that student's absence from school...

More.....