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Source:
www.moe.gov.sg |
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NEW SCHOOL TO OFFER ENHANCED VOCATIONAL PROGRAMME
IN 2007 |
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¡¡ |
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To better cater to students who can benefit
from a more customised and vocational curriculum, the Ministry of
Education (MOE) will establish a new school called NorthLight School (NLS). |
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The school, which will commence operation in
January 2007, will offer an enhanced vocational programme. |
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RATIONALE |
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In each cohort, there is a small group of
students who are unable to progress through the mainstream secondary
school system and are at risk of dropping out of school. |
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In 2005, there were 1,100 students who
failed the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). 12% of these
students failed the PSLE for the third time. |
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Amongst the students who repeat, some leave school
prematurely - either while repeating their Primary 6 year or, for those who
progress to secondary school, in subsequent years. |
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Currently, students need to be at least
14 years old to enrol into the two Vocational Training Centres (VTCs)
under the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) viz. Geylang Serai
VTC (GS VTC) and Assumption Vocational Institute (AVI). |
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The VTCs take in students who have
failed the PSLE three times as well as students who have prematurely
left secondary school. These institutions currently offer a two-year
vocational training programme for about 350 students each[1].
However attrition from these programmes has been high. |
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Feedback from teachers, parents and
students indicates that a holistic approach is required to engage
these students, to help them continue their education. |
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Further, many of these students could
gain from starting vocationally oriented education earlier than they
currently do. By doing so, they would benefit from a programme that
is better customised to their learning styles and better meet their
socio-emotional needs. |
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ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW SCHOOL |
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MOE will work together with ITE to set
up NLS. GS VTC will become part of NLS in 2007, while AVI will
continue to offer the existing vocational programme for now. The
insights and experience gained at NLS in terms of pedagogy and
curriculum may be adapted by AVI. |
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From 2007, NLS will admit students who
can potentially benefit from a more vocationally-oriented
curriculum, in particular, students who have failed the PSLE twice
or more (ie 13 years old or more). |
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A three-year programme will be offered
to these students[2]. This will enable students who are
not benefiting from the mainstream curriculum to have an earlier
start in vocational training. Parents and students will retain the
choice of taking the PSLE a third time in their primary schools. |
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NLS will also be open to students who
prematurely leave secondary school. In the longer term, admission
will also be possible for students who have failed the PSLE once,
after NLS has built up its capacity. |
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In 2007, NLS will be able to cater to up
to 600 students, including the current GS VTC students. In the
longer term, it is expected that the maximum enrolment at NLS will
be around 1,400 students. |
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ENHANCED CURRICULUM |
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The NLS will focus on equipping students
with the skills, confidence and learning abilities for them to
progress in their education and careers. It will aim to prepare as
many of the students as possible to progress to the NITEC program in
ITE. The following are the key enhancements to the curriculum: |
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Emphasis on socio-emotional needs and character
development. These will take up a greater share of curriculum
time. A focused programme will be introduced to help build students¡¯
self-confidence and instill important life-skills such as taking
responsibility and managing relationships. The school will also have
a full CCA programme including sports, games and the arts so as to
develop bonds amongst the students and develop character.
• Customisation of learning. The three-year
programme will allow greater emphasis on core competencies in
mathematics and language literacy. The school will adopt an
experiential and hands-on approach to learning. This will better
engage students who learn better in non-traditional classroom
settings.
• Improvements to vocational training.
Vocational training will remain the functional core of the
curriculum. However, there will be a wider range of vocational
options to stimulate students¡¯ interests and open up their career
choices. In addition to current programmes in mechanical servicing,
electrical servicing and food preparation, new programmes related to
service and creative industries will be introduced. |
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QUALIFICATIONS |
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Students will receive a School
Graduation Certificate as a holistic record of their achievements. |
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The School Graduation Certificate
consolidates a student¡¯s achievements in the academic and
non-academic domains, and includes an assessment of the student¡¯s
personal qualities. Similar to the existing vocational programme,
graduates from NLS will also receive the ITE Skills Certificate (ISC). |
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Graduates of NLS can progress to further
education at ITE, employment or apprenticeship with the industries. |
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SCHOOL STAFF |
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NLS will be located at the site of the
current ITE Macpherson campus by 2011. |
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In the interim, NLS will operate out of
two locations. New students will be enrolled in the former Broadrick
Secondary School which will be refurbished. Students of NLS will
therefore be able to enjoy the full complement of sports and other
CCA facilities of a secondary school. Existing students will
continue at GS VTC, which is nearby. |
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REVIEW AND CONSULTATION PROCESS |
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A joint MOE-ITE Steering Committee was
set up in October 2005 to review the existing vocational programme. |
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As part of this review, the Committee
consulted a wide range of stakeholders including students, parents,
school leaders and teachers. The Committee also drew insights from
visits to schools in Hong Kong and the United States. |
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BACKGROUND: HELPING STUDENTS STAY IN
SCHOOL |
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This new school is part of MOE¡¯s broader
effort to identify and assist students who are at risk of dropping
out of the education system. |
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At the pre-school level, MOE is working
with MCYS and other partners to help ensure that all children have
access to pre-school education. |
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At the primary level, MOE is enhancing
the Learning Support Programme (LSP) in English at Primary 1 and 2,
with a stronger focus on addressing the needs of students with
reading difficulties. All primary schools will also adopt a LSP in
Mathematics in 2007; 50 schools are already adopting this programme
in 2006. |
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At the secondary level, MOE is
implementing a revised Normal (Technical) programme with a more
practical approach to learning. At the post-secondary level, the ITE
is also introducing a broader range of options to better attract and
engage its students, for instance, in preparing them for the
service-related industries. |
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MOE is also significantly enhancing
counselling resources in schools. Every secondary school will have a
full-time school counsellor by the end of 2006 and all primary
schools and junior colleges/centralised institutes by the end of
2008. |
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[2]
Students who are premature secondary school leavers will be
offered a shorter programme based on their ability.
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Source:
www.moe.gov.sg Media Release 3
Mar 2006 |
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Notice |
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FrontPage Edition: Mon 6 Mar 2006
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