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Source:
www.moe.gov.sg |
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MOVING TOWARDS A SINGLE INTAKE IN MID/END JANUARY FOR
JUNIOR COLLEGES AND CENTRALISED INSTITUTE |
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The Ministry of Education (MOE) is reviewing the
academic calendar of Junior Colleges (JCs) and Centralised Institute (CI), in
order to implement a system with a single intake of students in mid/ end
January each year. |
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This new system is made possible by the greater
control over the GCE ‘O’ Level examinations that will be taken by the
Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) from 2006. |
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MOE expects to move towards the new JCs/CI
calendar system in a few years’ time. |
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With the prospect of a single intake in mid/ end
January being possible over the medium term, MOE has decided not to proceed
with the previous proposal of a single intake in March 20061.
This will avoid the JCs/CI and all involved - teachers, students and parents -
from having to undergo two major adjustments to the JC/CI calendar within a
few years. |
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JCs/CI will therefore continue for the time being
with the existing academic calendar and two intakes based on the Provisional
Pre-U One Admission Exercise (PAE) in November/December, and the Joint
Admissions Exercise (JAE) in February/March respectively. |
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A single January intake will have advantages over
either the current system of two admission exercises or the
previously-proposed single March intake. A single intake system deals with the
current problem of “churning”. |
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A single January intake further enables
synchronisation of the JC/CI academic calendar and holiday periods with that
of primary and secondary schools. |
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Unlike a March intake for the first year of JC/CI,
it will also allow for alignment of school terms between different levels in a
JC/CI. This will enable more flexible deployment of teachers across levels and
make staff training and development more convenient. |
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In addition, a January intake would align the
calendar of all students, including those on the Integrated Programme (IP)2
and others who enter JCs/CI after their GCE ‘O’ levels. The latter would
otherwise enter JCs/CI in March, whereas IP students start their studies in JC
in January. |
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JC/CI Principals agree that a single intake in
mid/end January is a better option. Feedback from teachers, students and
parents also indicates that they prefer to have the school holidays
synchronised across different educational levels. |
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Since its formation in 2004, SEAB has been working
towards taking greater control over the GCE ‘O’ level examinations from 2006,
to suit Singapore’s educational requirements. With greater control, SEAB will
be able to revise and streamline the timetabling and processes involved in the
GCE ‘O’ Level examinations. |
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SEAB will undertake a thorough review with the
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) of all processes
involved in the examinations, with the aim of allowing students to get their
GCE ‘O’ Level results in January. The review of GCE ‘O’ Level processes is
expected to be completed by the 4th quarter of 2005. |
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Minister for Education, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam,
announced the above at a visit to Anderson Junior College on 30 March 2005. |
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Source:
www.moe.gov.sg Press Release 30 Mar 2005 |
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1 The shift towards a single intake in
March, beginning 2006, was announced in Feb 2004, following a study by MOE and
the JCs/CIs. The move was aimed at avoiding the “churning” of students caused
by the two separate admission exercises in January and March. The two intakes
result in a large turnover of students in JCs/CI. |
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2 IP students will constitute a third
or more of all JC students based on current projection. |
No single intake for JC/CI admission in March 2006
