Press Releases

New Model for Teachers' Professional Development Launched

Thu, 31 May 2012 09:50:00 +0800

The Teacher Growth Model (TGM), aimed at helping teachers to develop holistically in the 21st century, was launched today by Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Education at the 6th Teachers’ Conference organised by the Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST), Ministry of Education (MOE).

The TGM is a professional development model which encourages Singapore teachers to engage in continual learning and become student-centric professionals who take ownership of their growth. The TGM also recognise that teachers need to be equipped with the relevant knowledge and skills so that they are better able to develop students holistically. The model was developed by the AST in consultation with educators of diverse profiles from across the ministry coming together to envision the learning needs of the 21st century Singapore teacher. Please see the TGM factsheet (216kb .pdf) for details.

The growth and personal well-being of teachers are essential to their professional development, which in turn has an impact on the quality of teaching and learning. Like their students, teachers have diverse learning needs. The TGM encourages teachers to pursue their development through multiple modes of learning, including going for training, mentoring, research-based practice, networked and experiential learning. MOE is committed to investing in the professional growth of teachers, and will continue to support teachers as they engage in continual learning throughout their career.

Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Education, said, “By encouraging teachers to learn together, the Teacher Growth Model will promote greater synergy and coherence across different professional departments and schools.”

Launch of the Interactive Heritage Trails

Wed, 30 May 2012 10:00:00 +0800

Students from the primary to junior college level will now be able to take learning of humanities outdoors through interactive Heritage Trails (iHTs) developed by the Ministry of Education (MOE). Launched by the Minister for Education, Mr Heng Swee Keat, at the inaugural Humanities Educators’ Conference 2012, the seven iHTs will enable students to develop an appreciation for heritage sites around Singapore as they visit the Central Business District, Chinatown, Civic District, Fort Canning, Kampong Glam, Little India and Singapore River using the iHTs.

Leveraging on Information and Communication Technology tools and applications on mobile phones, the iHTs are an enhancement to the pen-and-paper predecessor, the National Heritage Trails. The iHTs will recognise user locations and push site-specific information and questions for students to engage with. They can use mobile devices to access and respond to information sources like photographs, oral history accounts and videos about the sites on the trails, creating a multi-sensory learning experience.

The iHTs will thus enrich students’ learning by connecting learning in the classroom with authentic environments, encourage them to become more independent and self-directed in their learning, and also develop in them a sense of belonging and pride in Singapore and our rich heritage.

Set to enrich learning experiences, the iHTs are made possible with support from the National Archives of Singapore, the National Heritage Board and its affiliated museums, the National Library Board, the Urban Redevelopment Authority, participating schools, as well as various private organisations and individuals. More information on the iHTs are at Annex A.

Learning On The Move (LOTM) Tool

In addition to iHTs, the LOTM Tool, developed under the Infocomm Development Authority’s Experimentation@Schools programme, allows teachers to customise the existing iHTs or design new trails for their purposes. New trails can be developed in a cost efficient and timely manner by leveraging the mobile learning functionalities, content and authoring tools. One such school, Clementi Town Secondary School has designed a “Clementi Town NE Trail” to relate the significance of their neighbourhood with National Education values to their students. Three hundred free one-year school licenses for the LOTM tool are now available to schools on a first-come-first-served basis. More information on the Experimentation@Schools programme and the LOTM tool is at Annex B.

MOE Language Centre to Offer Spanish as a Third Language from January 2014

Sat, 26 May 2012 12:00:00 +0800

The Ministry of Education Language Centre (MOELC) will offer Spanish as a Third Language from January 2014, bringing the total number of Third Languages offered at the MOELC to seven¹. This was announced by Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister of State, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Education, at the official opening of MOELC’s new campus today.

Located at Cairnhill Road, the second² MOELC campus was built to give more eligible students the opportunity to learn a foreign language. Facilities at the new campus include fully-equipped audio-visual classrooms, a recording studio, computer labs, as well as a Resource Library.

The MOELC was set up in 1978 to offer French and Japanese as a Third Language. A year later, the choices for Third Language were expanded to include German. Subsequent years saw the introduction of Malay as a Third Language in 1986 and Arabic and Bahasa Indonesia in 2008.

The Third Language programmes aim to equip students with the language and cross-cultural literacy needed to enhance our cultural and economic relations with French-speaking countries, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and the Middle East. The French, German and Japanese Language Programmes have the added objective of enabling our students to acquire knowledge, experience and expertise in science and technology from non-English speaking countries such as France, Germany and Japan, which are widely acknowledged as leaders in these fields³.

The introduction of Spanish in 2014 aims to develop a core group of Singaporeans who will be proficient in Spanish to support Singapore’s efforts in exploring new growth opportunities and forging partnerships with Spain, Latin America and other Spanish-speaking countries. A ready pool of Singaporean Spanish speakers will also facilitate and contribute to the growth of Singapore companies’ interest in Latin America. At the same time, having a pool of Spanish-speaking executives, professionals and managers in Singapore will also increase our attractiveness as a hub for Latin American companies looking to set up operations in Asia.

To complement and support the teaching of Third Languages, the MOELC organises a variety of co-curricular activities such as local and overseas study cum immersion programmes and study tours, quizzes, essay-writing and story-telling competitions, video or film shows, handicraft making, cultural activities and visits to foreign companies in Singapore.

The official opening of the new MOELC (Newton) campus was held in conjunction with its 30th Prize Presentation Ceremony. The top students at each level for the various languages received prizes in recognition of their achievements. In addition, the valedictorians of each foreign language department were awarded the Ambassador’s Cup sponsored by the French, German and Japanese Embassies, in support of the language programmes at the MOELC.

Footnotes:

The seven Third Languages offered at the MOELC are French, German, Japanese, Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, the Malay Special Programme and Spanish. The Chinese Special Programme and the Malay Special Programme are also offered in schools to non-native speakers. ↩
Source: The other MOELC campus is located at Bishan, offering French, German, Japanese, Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia and the Malay Special Programme. ↩
In Singapore’s education system, all students offer the English Language (EL) and their respective Mother Tongue Languages (MTLs)—the Chinese, Malay or Tamil Languages. EL, as the common language of instruction, enables our students to plug into a globalised world, while the learning of MTL for the various ethnic groups provides a link to their heritage and Asian roots. The Third Language programmes are offered to eligible secondary school students who have an interest and inclination to learn an additional language, in addition to EL and their MTLs. As students offering a Third Language are non-native speakers and have no prior knowledge in the language, the Third Language programmes commence ab initio ie. at the beginner’s level. ↩

Singapore to Host International Biology Olympiad 2012

Wed, 23 May 2012 10:00:00 +0800

Singapore will host the prestigious International Biology Olympiad (IBO) for the first time from 8-15 July 2012. Over 260 of the world’s most promising pre-university biology students and 182 officials from 65 countries are expected to gather here. Students would be challenged to work through stimulating and novel biology problems and experiments. The IBO, into its 23rd year, aims to promote a career in science for talented students and to stress the importance of biology in our society.

Singapore first participated in the International Biology Olympiad as an observer country in 2000. In the first year of competitive participation (i.e. 2001), Singapore impressed the IBO community by winning two gold and two silver medals, ranking 3rd out of 39 countries. This performance was unprecedented for a first-time participating country. The outstanding performance of the Singapore team was sustained throughout the 10 years of participation. Our students are mentored by a team of dedicated academics from the National Institute of Education (NIE) and National University of Singapore (NUS), coordinated by the Singapore Institute of Biology.

The IBO 2012 is organised by a team of professors and staff from the NIE at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and the Department of Biological Sciences at the NUS, as well as other staff members from various departments in NTU and NUS.

The IBO 2012 will be opened by President Tony Tan Keng Yam, Patron for the IBO 2012, on 9 July at the NTU. The theory and practical tasks in the IBO will be conducted at NIE. Participants will be housed in NUS, while officials and jury members will stay in NTU.

Student participants and officials will also participate in various social, cross-cultural and education programmes to learn more about Singapore, in particular our cultural heritage and innovations in science and technology.

For more information and updates on the IBO 2012, please refer to IBO official website.

Singapore Students Put Up Good Achievements at The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2012

Tue, 22 May 2012 16:00:00 +0800

The Ministry of Education (MOE), the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the Science Centre Singapore congratulate the Singapore students on their achievements at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2012 held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the United States of America (USA) from 13 to 18 May 2012. The Singapore team submitted two individual projects and one team project.

The team project and an individual project clinched the top awards at the ISEF:

Ananya Kumar and Ang Yan Sheng from the NUS High School of Mathematics and Science won the Second Award in the team category of Computer Science, for their project titled Generalized Quantum Tic-Tac-Toe, under the supervision of Mr Royce Chai Ming Huang, Assistant Head of Research, Innovation and Enterprise at the NUS High School of Mathematics and Science. They received a cash prize of US$1,500. They also won a Special Award and received a Second Place Award of cash prize US$500 from the Association for Computing Machinery.
Low Kay Yi from Raffles Institution won the Third Award in the category of Medicine and Health Sciences for her project titled Treatment of BRAFV600Ein Colorectal Cancer, under the supervision of Dr Kenneth Hung and Dr Erin Coffee from Tufts Medical Center in Boston, USA. She received a cash prize of US$1,000.

The Singapore Team was led by Mr Edwin Lim, Curriculum Planning Officer, MOE, and accompanied by Associate Professor Kwek Leong Chuan, Principal Investigator at the Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore and a judge for the Singapore Science and Engineering Fair (SSEF) since 2001.

About ISEF

The ISEF, the world’s largest pre-college science fair, is held in the United States of America annually and provides the platform for top science and engineering talents of different nationalities to showcase their projects. This year the competition saw 1,549 finalists selected from 68 countries, regions and territories from the United States participating in the ISEF. Two individual projects and one team project from each affiliated fair are selected to compete at the international level. More than 1,200 judges from different fields of science, engineering, and industry professionals are involved in the on-site judging of the projects and selection of the winners. ISEF is often regarded as the “Olympics” of science research competitions. In each topic category, First, Second and Third awards are given out.

The Singapore Team is chosen from top awardees in the Singapore Science and Engineering Fair (SSEF) held in March this year. SSEF is a national competition jointly organised by MOE, A∗STAR and the Science Centre Singapore. The winners of SSEF are also eligible to participate in the A∗STAR Talent Search (A∗TS). This year, Low Kay Yi from Raffles Institution clinched the Second Prize award of S$3,000 cash at the A∗TS on 27 April 2012.

3rd Singapore International Mathematics Challenge (SIMC) 2012

Mon, 21 May 2012 15:00:00 +0800

Highest Number of Participating Schools Ever

The Ministry of Education, together with the NUS High School of Mathematics and Science (NUS High School) will host the 3RD Singapore International Mathematics Challenge (SIMC) 2012 from 21 to 25 May 2012. This biennial event is also supported by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (ASTAR) and Temasek Education Foundation (TEF). Mr. Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman of ASTAR, is the Guest-of-Honour for the opening ceremony on 21 May 2012. Mr. Lawrence Wong, Minister of State, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Education, is the Guest-of-Honour for the closing ceremony on 25 May 2012.

SIMC 2012 provides opportunities for both students and educators to interact with their counterparts from all over the world, paving the way for future collaboration in the area of mathematics. A total of 180 students, between the ages of 14 and 18, along with 66 educators from both local and foreign schools will be participating in this event. A total of 45 teams will compete against one another in a series of mathematical modelling challenges that require them to creatively apply mathematical concepts and methods. The event also includes sharing sessions that would provide educators from participating schools the opportunity to gain insights into different teaching pedagogies through a series of symposiums and workshops.

Started in 2008, the SIMC 2012 focuses on mathematics modelling problems, where the emphasis is on the creative applications of mathematics to solve real-world problems. The theme for SIMC 2012, ‘Experior. Expono. Excedo’ (“Experience. Expound. Exceed”) conveys the objective of getting young talents to engage in their passion for mathematics and to spur them to achieve greater heights in the field of mathematics.

Dr Hang Kim Hoo, Principal of NUS High School and Chairman of the SIMC Organising Committee noted the significance of SIMC as a platform where the best brains in Mathematics congregate and are recognised for their talents. He said, “SIMC has grown over the years since its genesis in 2008. I am indeed heartened to know that it has become a well-recognised international event with 45 participating schools from 22 countries and regions. With the highest number of participating schools ever, this event would not only provide an excellent opportunity for students to compete, but also to forge ties with one another, paving way for future collaborations in the area of mathematics.”

Mr Sin Kim Ho, Deputy Director of Curriculum Planning and Development Division (Sciences Branch), Ministry of Education, highlighted that the “SIMC not only allows students to demonstrate their creativity and mathematical skills in the challenge, it is also a vibrant platform for educators from different countries to come together, network and share good teaching practices in mathematics education”.

For more details on SIMC 2012, please refer to their website.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary Hawazi Daipi to attend the 5th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Education Ministerial Meeting

Mon, 21 May 2012 12:15:00 +0800

Mr Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Manpower, will attend the 5th APEC Education Ministerial Meeting (AEMM) in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea, from 22–23 May 2012. He will be accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Education.

The AEMM brings together Education Ministers from the 21 APEC member economies, to share perspectives on education and discuss programmes for educational collaborations. The 4th AEMM was held in Lima, Peru, in 2008.

The 5th AEMM will focus its discussions on the main theme “Future Challenges and Educational Responses: Fostering Global, Innovative and Cooperative Education”. There are also sub-themes on Mathematics; Science, Language and Culture education; technical and vocational education; higher education; Information Communications Technology in education; and teacher quality.

Inclusive Singapore, Nurturing Every Singaporean

Thu, 17 May 2012 11:00:00 +0800

71 More Primary Schools to be Upgraded to Support Holistic Education

The Ministry of Education (MOE) will be upgrading the infrastructure of another 71 primary schools from November 2013 to enable them to provide a wider range of programmes that improve the learning and development of our children. This is in line with the Primary Education Review and Implementation (PERI) Committee’s recommendations to enhance the quality of primary education by upgrading the infrastructure of primary schools to support the delivery of holistic education.

Estimated to cost about $650 million, the schools can look forward to new facilities that will support educational approaches which encourage more interaction and self-discovery, and facilitate experiential and hands-on learning. The new facilities also better support more differentiated learning, to meet the learning needs of different groups of students. These include redesigned classrooms, subject based banding rooms and learning support rooms.

With a greater emphasis on developing life skills, promoting socio-emotional development and nurturing confidence through a range of non-academic programmes, schools will also be equipped with new facilities such as a band room, dance studio and performing arts studio. In addition, an Indoor Sports Hall (ISH) will be built for schools which do not already have one. Please see Annex A for details on the facilities.

The large majority of schools will continue to operate on their existing sites in parallel with the upgrading works. MOE will take the necessary safety measures during the upgrading process.

The list of schools to be upgraded is at Annex B.

MOE has been upgrading primary school infrastructure in phases starting from 2009. The earlier three phases entailed the building of 11 new primary schools and the upgrading of 78 existing schools.

Direct Admission Exercises for Secondary Schools, Junior Colleges and Polytechnics

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:00:00 +0800

Students can apply for direct admission to secondary schools, junior colleges (JC) and polytechnics through the Direct School Admission – Secondary (DSA-Sec) Exercise, Direct School Admission – Junior College (DSA-JC) Exercise and the Direct Polytechnic Admission (DPA) Exercise respectively.

The Direct Admission Exercises provide schools, JCs, institutions and polytechnics with more flexibility to select students based on a wider range of talents and achievements, while holding to the key principles of transparency and meritocracy.

DSA-Sec Exercise

The DSA-Sec Exercise promotes holistic education by giving students the opportunity to demonstrate a more diverse range of achievements and talents in seeking admission to secondary schools.

This year, 91 schools will be participating in the 2012 DSA-Sec Exercise for admission to Secondary One in 2013. The participating schools are listed in Annex A.

New Niche Programme Schools

Six new schools will offer discretionary places via the DSA-Sec Exercise for admissions from 2013 onwards. Another two schools, St Andrew’s Secondary School and Unity Secondary School, will offer a second niche. The schools’ niche programmes are as follows:

School	Niche
Canberra Secondary School	Digital Media
Naval Base Secondary School	Visual Arts
New Town Secondary School	Uniformed Groups
Queenstown Secondary School	Uniformed Groups
St Andrew’s Secondary School	Military Band*
Teck Whye Secondary School	Hockey
Unity Secondary School	Uniformed Groups*
Woodgrove Secondary School	Environmental Education

* This is the school’s second niche area of excellence.

A list of the 50 niche programme schools is at Annex B. Information on the schools’ selection criteria and their application and selection processes can be found on the schools’ respective websites.

MOE will continue to invite applications from schools interested in establishing niche programmes in subsequent years. MOE will provide support to these schools to build up the necessary capabilities to offer these programmes, so that more schools will have their own distinguishing niches.

3 Stages of DSA-Sec Exercise

The DSA-Sec Exercise will be conducted in 3 stages. Details of the exercise are listed in Annex C.

Students who take up Confirmed Offers or Waiting List Offers by schools during the DSA-Sec Exercise are still required to take the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). Those who take up Confirmed Offers are guaranteed a place in the school that has extended them an offer, provided that their PSLE results meet the minimum requirement for a course [Express/ Normal (Academic)/ Normal (Technical)] offered by the school.

Similar to previous years, students who have been admitted to a school through the DSA-Sec Exercise will not be able to participate in the centralised Secondary One Posting Exercise.

Students who have been successfully allocated to a school via the DSA-Sec Exercise are expected to honour their commitment to their posted DSA-Sec schools and will thus not be allowed to transfer to another school after the release of the PSLE results.

DSA-JC and DPA Exercise

The DSA-JC application period varies across the schools, starting from 16 May 2012. The DPA application period is from 5 July 2012 to 10 July 2012. Successful applicants will be offered places in a JC, institution or polytechnic prior to taking their GCE ‘O’ level examination or equivalent assessments, though they must still meet the ‘O’ level examination criteria for eventual admission to a JC, institution or polytechnic.

The DSA-JC Exercise provides students an opportunity to demonstrate a more diverse range of achievements and talents in seeking admission at the pre-university level. The institutions participating in the DSA-JC Exercise this year are listed in Annex D.

The DPA Exercise allows students who are interested in and have the aptitude for applied learning to seek prior admission to the polytechnics. The polytechnics participating in the DPA Exercise this year are listed in Annex E

Successful DPA applicants will be able to participate in the Polytechnic Preparatory Programme (PPP), conducted by the individual polytechnics from mid-January 2013 to March 2013. Under the PPP, students will engage in activities such as industry visits, student camps and leadership development activities. These activities aim to broaden the students’ learning experience and better orientate them to the polytechnic environment. Students may also register for polytechnic modules during the PPP. This would allow students to pursue advanced modules or cross-disciplinary modules during their polytechnic education.

Student Selection

For the DSA-JC Exercise, each JC or institution will admit students according to its own school-based admission criteria (which include both academic and/or non-academic criteria), taking into account the students’ personal qualities and the areas of focus (such as leadership, science, music and sports) that the JC or institution would like to emphasise. Students admitted via the DSA-JC Exercise will have to meet the admission criteria to a JC which can be found in MOE DSA-JC Exercise website.

For the DPA Exercise, polytechnics will take into account students’ abilities, talents and interests in the specific courses that they have applied for. For example, a student’s passion and talent in digital media could be considered when he/she applies through the DPA for a place in a Diploma in Digital Media Design. To ensure that students admitted through DPA are able to cope with the rigours of a polytechnic education, applicants will have to meet the prevailing polytechnic admission criteria, i.e.:

Obtain a net ELR2B2¹ score of not more than 26 points for the GCE ‘O’ Level examination; and
Meet the Minimum Entry Requirements (MER) for the relevant polytechnic course, which can be found on the polytechnics’ websites.

Similar to last year’s exercises, the percentage of students that JCs and polytechnics can admit via direct admission is as follows:

Government and Government-aided JCs² can admit up to 10 percent of their 2013 JC1 intake using school-based criteria under the DSA-JC Exercise. The four independent institutions³ offering pre-university programmes can admit up to 20 percent of their intake using school-based criteria. SOTA will admit a small number of its Year 5 students through the DSA-JC Exercise.
The five polytechnics - Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic - may each admit up to 2.5 percent of their Academic Year 2013 intake through the DPA Exercise. There will also be a course-specific cap of 30 percent for each polytechnic course under DPA. This is to ensure that students admitted through the GCE ‘O’ Level route will continue to have access to popular polytechnic courses.

Similar to previous years, if an applicant accepts an offer through DSA-JC or DPA, and is successfully posted to the institution, he will not be able to take part in the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) or Joint Polytechnic Special Admissions Exercise (JPSAE) subsequently.

Students who have been successfully allocated a place to a JC or a polytechnic course via the DSA-JC Exercise or DPA Exercise respectively are expected to honour their commitment to the schools and polytechnic courses that they have been posted to, and thus will not be allowed to transfer to another JC or course after the release of the GCE ‘O’ Level examination results. This act of honouring commitments is an important value which we hope to inculcate in all our students.

Details of the DSA-JC and DPA Exercises can be found in Annex F.

Further Information

Students interested in participating in the DSA-Sec, DSA-JC or DPA Exercises should approach any of the participating institutions or visit their websites for more details regarding the selection exercises. They are advised to do so before the start of the respective exercises.

Alternatively, students can call MOE Customer Service Centre at 6872 2220 or refer to the following MOE websites for more information:

DSA-Sec Exercise website

DSA-JC Exercise website

DPA Exercise website

Footnotes

ELR2B2 is used for admission into the Polytechnics. It refers to English Language, two relevant subjects for the polytechnic course applied for, and best two other subjects excluding CCA.↩
These are: Anderson JC, Anglo-Chinese JC, Catholic JC, Innova JC, Jurong JC, Meridian JC, Nanyang JC, National JC, Pioneer JC, Serangoon JC, St. Andrew’s JC, Tampines JC, Temasek JC, Victoria JC and Yishun JC.↩
These are: Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), Hwa Chong Institution, Raffles Institution and St. Joseph’s Institution.↩

Students Have Their Say in 'The Big Quiz'

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:00:00 +0800

Pre-university (Pre-U) students will have a say in shaping the issues and questions in an upcoming current affairs quiz challenge and news outreach programme. The aim is to develop critical and communicative skills and deepen their knowledge of current affairs.

The Straits Times-Ministry of Education National Current Affairs Quiz is open to all Pre-U 1 and Year 5 students of 23 schools, including all junior colleges, Millennia Institute, ACS (Independent), School of the Arts, and NUS High School of Mathematics and Science.

The Quiz will kick off with a current affairs news outreach programme which comprises a weekly Primer published in the Friday edition of The Straits Times. These Friday Primers will be written by The Straits Times’ journalists covering the beats. They will cover a wide range of topics of interest and relevance to students including education, housing, the effects of globalisation, and the value of sportsmanship. The writer will explain why the issue is being covered, why it is of national interest, elaborate on the policy, and provide different perspectives on the subject. The Primer will also set the issue or policy in context and compare it with how other countries address it.

The articles will be published in a 12-week period leading up to the Quiz, from April to August excluding the school holidays in June and the National Day school holiday. The first primer will be published this Friday, April 27.

Students in Pre-U 1 and Year 5 will be provided a copy of The Straits Times newspaper every Friday for discussion of the topics during General Paper (GP) lessons. The Ministry of Education (MOE) will develop accompanying resources for teachers to use in their facilitation of classroom discussions. There will also be other outreach and fringe activities, including six talks by The Straits Times journalists at selected participating schools.

The Quiz is organised by The Straits Times in partnership with the Ministry of Education, and is the latest in several initiatives by The Straits Times to reach out to young Singaporeans as part of its effort to promote the newspaper reading habit and motivate them to use the newspaper as a resource tool to improve their current affairs knowledge on current local and global events.The questions will be based on content from The Straits Times over the past year.

Said Mr Warren Fernandez, Editor of The Straits Times:

“Our world seems to be moving faster, with major developments that impact all our lives. Our young need to understand how these will affect them, and newspapers can help them make sense of these developments. The Big Quiz is good way to help them stay abreast of the rapid changes taking place around them.”

Mrs Chua Yen Ching, Director of the Curriculum Planning and Development Division in MOE, added:

“The news outreach programme enables students to see that issues discussed in the GP classroom could achieve both academic objectives and real world significance. Students will gain more knowledge and understanding of current affairs to inform their views when discussing key issues in GP. As students read the news more widely, they become increasingly aware of their intricacy and their diverse contexts, and develop civic literacy and global awareness.”

The Singapore Press Holdings Foundation is the presenting sponsor of the quiz contest.

The Quiz will start with preliminary rounds on July 25, and will culminate in the finals on August 24, which will also include audience participation for student supporters.

The top winning team will get a challenge trophy and $5,000 cash prize, the second prize winner will take home $3,000 cash prize and the third prize winner, $1,000 cash prize. The fourth place will receive $500. Education Minister Heng Swee Keat will present the prizes to the winners at the finals.

Study Trip to the United States by the Committee on University Education Pathways Beyond 2015 (CUEP)

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:15:00 +0800

The Committee on University Education Pathways Beyond 2015 (CUEP) will be making a study visit to the United States from 22 to 26 April 2012.

The delegation will be in the US with Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who is the Chairman of the Ministry of Education’s International Academic Advisory Panel. The delegation comprises Minister of State for Defence and Education, Mr Lawrence Wong, who is the Chairman of CUEP, as well as members of CUEP and ministry officials.

Mr Tharman and Mr Wong will visit several tertiary education institutions, including the Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Boston, as well as The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York. Mr Wong will also visit Drexel University and Temple University in Philadelphia. In addition, the delegation will meet with academics and thought leaders in the higher education sector.

190 Schools Now Offer Niches of Excellence to Enrich Students' Educational Experience

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:00:00 +0800

Nine primary schools and eight secondary schools have been awarded the Programme for School-Based Excellence and Niche Programme status respectively this year. Ms Sim Ann, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education and Minister of Law made the announcement today at a visit to Changkat Primary School, which has been awarded the Programme for School-Based Excellence in Basketball.

Of these 17 schools, two primary schools and two secondary schools are recognised for their second niche area of excellence. This brings the total number of schools with areas of excellence to 190¹ and the range of programmes offered to 87. The niche domains span across sports, uniformed groups, aesthetics, information and communications technology (ICT), character education, and environment education.

The Programme for School-Based excellence and Niche Programmes were introduced in 2005 to help schools to develop their strengths and niche areas. This is to encourage the schools to offer a diverse range of programmes to provide students with more opportunities to grow in different areas of excellence, and enrich their educational experience. Through their niche programmes, schools also develop in their students various skills such as teamwork, communication and creativity.

Taking into account the schools that have been awarded the Programme for School-Based Excellence and Niche Programme status this year, there are now 83 primary schools with the Programme for School-Based Excellence, and 50 secondary schools that are Niche Programme schools².

These schools receive additional funding support to further raise the quality and reach of their school-based programmes in the different niche areas. An initial developmental grant of up to $150,000 over three years will be provided to the schools to build up one to two niches. A recurrent grant of up to $50,000 per niche per year will also be given for schools to sustain and maintain their niches after the first three years.

Programme for School-based Excellence for Primary Schools 2012

The Programme for School-Based Excellence scheme enables the schools to develop different areas of excellence and provide more opportunities for our students. Students with particular strengths or interests will therefore be able to make more informed decisions about their choice of schools together with their parents. The school will also benefit from developing a strong identity and school culture so that students can build a sense of camaraderie and affinity with the school.

Applications are evaluated based on the strength of the niche, sustainability, the educational value of the programme, the reach of the programme in the school, and the involvement of stakeholders in the programme.

The nine primary schools that have been awarded the Programme for School-Based Excellence status in 2012 are:

School	Niche
Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)*	Creative Thinkers
Catholic High School (Primary)	Volleyball
Changkat Primary School	Basketball
Edgefield Primary School	Dancesport
Fengshan Primary School	Netball
Hong Wen School*	Wushu
Peiying Primary School	Uniformed Groups
St. Anthony’s Primary School	Visual Arts
Yangzheng Primary School	Uniformed Groups

* This is the school’s second niche area of excellence.

Niche Programme Schools for 2012

The Niche Programme supports mainstream secondary schools with good development programmes in their niches. These schools can admit up to 5% of their Secondary One intake on a discretionary basis through the Direct School Admissions exercise. This enables a more diverse range of student achievement and talents to be recognised.

Applications are evaluated based on the strength of the niche, sustainability, the educational value and the reach of the programme. The eight secondary schools that have been awarded the Niche Programme status in 2012 are:

School	Niche
Canberra Secondary School	Digital Media
Naval Base Secondary School	Visual Arts
New Town Secondary School	Uniformed Groups
Queenstown Secondary School	Uniformed Groups
St. Andrew’s Secondary School*	Band
Teck Whye Secondary School	Hockey
Unity Secondary School*	Uniformed Groups
Woodgrove Secondary School	Environmental Education

Footnotes:

The 190 schools include Specialised Independent Schools, Specialised Schools, Independent Schools, Autonomous Schools and Junior Colleges. ↩
The other 57 schools, out of a total of 190 schools offering Niches of Excellence, are Specialised Independent Schools, Specialised Schools, Independent Schools, Autonomous Schools and Junior Colleges. ↩

Crest Secondary School to Provide Customised Curriculum and Programmes with Industry

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:00:00 +0800

Crest Secondary School, the first of two Specialised Schools for Normal (Technical) (SSNT) students, will start to admit students from January 2013. The school will provide a customised curriculum to suit the learning needs of its students. It will also work closely with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and industry partners to develop programmes and attachment opportunities for its students.

At the National Day Rally 2010, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the establishment of two specialised schools as an additional option for students eligible for the Normal (Technical) [N(T)] course. The schools will build on the successes of the N(T) course enhancements made to date, and the lessons drawn from NorthLight School and Assumption Pathway School, to provide a customised learning environment and a whole-school approach to developing their students.

Crest Secondary School will have a Secondary 1 intake of up to 200 students. In the subsequent years, there will also be places set aside for mainstream schools students who wish to transfer mid-stream to Crest Secondary School.

Board of Directors

A Board of Directors has been appointed to oversee and guide the development of Crest Secondary School. The Board members will serve a three-year term and will bring to the school their collective wealth of experience and expertise from the people, private and public sectors. This will help in facilitating stronger industry and community partnerships with the school.

The Board comprises the following members:

Mr Choe Peng Sum, Chief Executive Officer of Frasers Hospitality (Chairman);
Ms Melissa Kwee, Vice President for Human Capital, Pontiac Land (Deputy Chairman);
Mrs Chua-Lim Yen Ching, Director of Curriculum Planning and Development Division, Ministry of Education;
Mr Chris Lee, Creative Director of Asylum;
Ms Premalattha d/o Sadhasivan, Acting Assistant Director, SINDA;
Mr Damien Tan, Managing Director of TNT Express Singapore;
Dr Yek Tiew Ming, Principal of ITE West; and
Mdm Zulaiha Yusuf, Director, Corporate Services, Yayasan MENDAKI.

Name and Location

Crest Secondary School will be located at Jurong East Street 24. The site is currently being refurbished to meet the needs of the enhanced SSNT curriculum and will be ready in the 4th quarter of 2012. The second SSNT will be located at Woodlands Drive 64 and will admit its first batch of students in January 2014.

The term “Crest” underlines the school’s aim of helping its students develop and rise to their potential in a persistent and sustained way—consistently building on their successes over time, as well as helping its students acquire the values and social-emotional competencies needed to succeed in post-secondary education, and eventually in employment and in life.

Enhanced Curriculum

Crest Secondary School will offer N(T) English and Mathematics as part of a four-year N(T) secondary school education, similar to other secondary schools. Greater focus will be given to building strong foundations in literacy and numeracy through a variety of ways in a whole-school approach.

The school will also focus on Citizenship and Character Education through programmes in Personal and Social Learning, Physical Education and Aesthetics as well as Co-curricular Activities to enhance the holistic development of the students. These programmes will address their socio-emotional needs, personal development and enhance the learning of life skills.

Crest Secondary School will also have the flexibility of customising its teaching approach to suit the learning styles of its students. The pedagogy adopted will emphasise skills-based activities and practical learning in a real-world context or workplace setting.

A tie-up with ITE will allow students to take ITE taster modules at lower secondary, before specialising in an ITE Skills Certification (ISC) at upper secondary in one of four areas—Facility Services, Mechanical Servicing, Retail Services or Hospitality Services. These ISC courses are anchored on prospective NITEC courses or industries that students can join after graduation. Crest Secondary School will work in close partnership with ITE and industry partners to provide opportunities for attachments and internships for its upper secondary students.

Qualifications

Like other students pursuing an N(T) course in secondary schools, Crest School students will graduate with GCE N(T)-level qualifications¹. In addition, they will also graduate with ISC qualifications and receive a School Graduation Certificate (SGC) as a holistic record of their achievements². With their GCE N(T)-level and ISC qualifications, graduates of Crest Secondary School can progress to further education at ITE, employment or apprenticeship at trade-based institutes.

School Staff

Mr Frederick Yeo, the former principal of Bowen Secondary School, has been appointed as the principal of Crest Secondary School. He is an experienced principal who has worked with N(T) students, guided by the belief that every child can be nurtured and developed to his or her fullest potential. He has also been directly involved in the setting up of Crest Secondary School.

Crest Secondary School has started recruiting teachers who express a strong interest in working with N(T) students. As part of their professional development, these teachers will attend in-service training courses to deliver the new customised programmes, curriculum, and pedagogy, and there will be continual training in areas like classroom management, counselling, curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. The school will also supplement its staff with seconded ITE lecturers with relevant industry experience to deliver the customised curriculum and pastoral support to its students.

In order to facilitate its skills-based pedagogy and programmes, Crest Secondary School will have a higher teacher-to-student ratio, based on class sizes of about 20.

Footnotes:

If there are students who enrol in Crest Secondary, but are found suitable to offer the N(A) course subsequently, Crest Secondary will facilitate their transfer to a secondary school with the N(A) course. Crest Secondary will also be able to support students who are found suitable to offer one or two subjects at the N(A) level. ↩
The SGC consolidates a student’s achievements in the academic and non-academic domains, and includes an assessment of the student’s personal qualities. ↩

eduLab at the Academy of Singapore Teachers (eduLab@AST) to Bring Ideas into Practice

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:00:00 +0800

Teachers will now have a “living lab” to experiment with evolving technologies before trying them out in their schools. Set to transform learning in the future, eduLab@AST launched by Mr Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Manpower at the International Conference on Teaching and Learning with Technology (iCTLT) 2012 today will play a key role in bringing ideas to practice.

eduLab@AST seeks to:

Foster ideation and collaboration across schools in experimenting with technology in education;
Promote adoption of successful use of technology in education; and
Provide ICT infrastructure to facilitate technology experimentation for schools and MOE to assess potential solutions prior to adoption

eduLab@AST will showcase experiments trialed in schools. It will also partner schools designated as ICT Centres of Excellence to spread mature innovations and successful practices, by leveraging existing structures and teacher networks that have been established. New technologies will also be channelled to these schools to test-bed new or emerging solutions. In turn, the experiences of these schools will be harvested and shared with other schools through eduLab@AST. Through this, eduLab@AST hopes to build a community where teacher-researchers interact with one another, and tap on research expertise from the National Institute of Education (NIE) and industry partners.

Since the eduLab programme was initiated in 2010, the programme has seen three ideas involving 20 schools (Please see details at Annex A.). Educators who visit eduLab@AST can learn more of how schools have infused innovative ICT practices into lessons and classroom activities. At the Project Highlights Section, school innovations as well as possibilities in the industry would be highlighted to schools for experimentation. Through these programmes, visitors will gain insights into ICT initiatives that educators have developed to scaffold students’ learning process. The Idea Workbench Section & Idea Pollination Section further allows educators to engage in collaborative discussion on how such ICT practices and solutions can be customised and adopted to best fit their school’s needs (Please see Annex B).

eduLab@AST is managed by the Ministry of Education (MOE) with support from the NIE, the Academy of Singapore Teachers, the Info-communications Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and NCS Pte Ltd. For more information on the eduLab programme, please visit eduLab@AST’s website.

iCTLT – Do It! Transform Learning, Shape the Future.

The International Conference on Teaching and Learning with Technology (iCTLT) 2012 is jointly organised by the MOE, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and the Academy of Principals, Singapore (APS). A total of 1,400 local and overseas delegates are attending the conference. They include school leaders, educators, academics, researchers, classroom practitioners and industry leaders. This is a platform for the delegates to connect and collaborate with educators from various countries and regions on matters of common interest in the use of ICT to create an engaging and effective education for the 21st century students.

Delegates have the opportunity to engage in discussions on recent developments of educational technology in terms of research, pedagogy and technological solutions, to transform school curriculum implementation and teaching practices. There are three keynote addresses, 21 spotlight sessions and about 100 papers at the concurrent sessions. iCTLT 2012 is also featuring a School Leaders Track which allows policymakers and school principals to learn and discuss strategies for effective ICT implementation against the backdrop of the emerging trends of educational technologies.

Running concurrently with the conference is an exhibition featuring the latest technologies from industry partners that will offer possibilities to enhance teaching and learning. Pre-conference activities were also held on 27 and 28 March. The activities included learning trails to Chinatown, the Singapore River and Kampong Glam, and visits to the eduLab@AST, Classrooms of the Future and FutureSchools@Singapore. There were also eight interactive workshops with hands-on learning experiences for delegates to bring technology into the classroom more effectively.

For more information on iCTLT 2012, please visit the conference website.

Seven New Primary Schools for 2013 and Further Differentiation and Outreach at Primary One Registration

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 14:00:00 +0800

Seven new primary schools will be taking in students from 2013 and will open for Primary One (P1) registration this year. Please refer to Annex A (15.4kb .pdf) for the names and locations of the seven new primary schools.

As recommended by the Primary Education Review and Implementation Committee, the new primary schools will have new design norms such as redesigned classrooms, dance and performing arts studios, as well as an outdoor jogging path. These facilities support the delivery of holistic education, and facilitate engaged learning in both academic and non-academic areas.

Differentiation by Citizenship at the Primary One Registration Exercise

From 2012 onwards, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will implement measures to further differentiate between Singapore Citizens (SCs) and Permanent Residents (PRs) at the Primary One (P1) Registration Exercise.

Under the existing P1 Registration Framework, vacancies are allocated by ballot if the number of applications exceeds the vacancies at a school during that particular registration phase, based on home-school distance categories. Since the 2010 P1 Registration Exercise, each SC child has been given two ballot slips, while each PR child has been given one, when balloting occurs. Please refer to Annex B (14.3kb .pdf) for more information on the existing framework.

To further differentiate between SCs and PRs, from the 2012 P1 Registration Exercise onwards, when balloting is necessary in a specific phase, SCs will be given absolute priority over PRs. SCs and PRs will continue to be eligible for the same phases, and all applicants will be admitted if the total number of applicants in any phase does not exceed the number of vacancies. However, if the number of applications exceeds the number of vacancies in a specific phase, SCs will be admitted first ahead of PRs, before home-school distance is considered. The following two examples illustrate the new rule.

Example 1: School A has 50 vacancies in a specific phase and 61 children applying, based on the table below.

Home-School Distance	SC	PR
< 1km	38	3
Between 1km and 2km	10	1
> 2km	8	1
Total	56	5

As the total number of SC applications exceeds the number of vacancies, not all SC applicants will be admitted. The vacancies will be allocated to the SC children based on home-school distance in this order of priority – home-school distance is (1) within 1km, (2) between 1km and 2km and (3) outside 2km. In the above example, the 38 SC children living within 1km from the school will first be admitted, followed by the 10 SC children living between 1km and 2km from the school. After the 48 vacancies are taken up, the remaining two vacancies will be balloted among the eight SC children living outside 2km from the school.

Example 2: School B has 50 vacancies in a specific phase and 54 children applying, based on the table below.

Home-School Distance	SC	PR
< 1km	29	4
Between 1km and 2km	15	2
> 2km	3	1
Total	47	7

As the total number of SC applications is less than the number of vacancies in this phase, all the 47 SC children will be admitted first and PRs can still be admitted thereafter. The remaining three vacancies will be allocated to the PR children based on home-school distance in the same order of priority – home-school distance is (1) within 1km, (2) between 1km and 2km and (3) outside 2km. The four PR children living within 1km from the school will ballot for the remaining three vacancies.

By giving SCs priority before PRs only when balloting is required, MOE will retain the underlying principles of the P1 Registration Framework, which reflect a careful balance of considerations, and provide for diversity in our schools, while according SCs a further privilege.

International Students (IS) will continue to be eligible to register after SCs and PRs are placed, at Phase 3 of the P1 Registration Exercise.

Outreach

Over the years, our schools have mounted a range of programmes to meet the diverse needs of our students. To help parents to know the teachers and programmes of the primary schools in their vicinity better, schools will hold open houses and talks before the Primary One registration. That way, parents can be better informed of the range of schools that can meet their children’s needs. We hope parents will then continue to work with the school that their child is enrolled in to achieve the desired learning outcomes.