SINGAPORE

Singapore or Singapura is a city or country in Southeast Asia. Singapura is a Malay word. Singa
means Lion and pura means City. That is why Singapore is also known as Lion City.

This Lion City was founded as a British Colony in 1918 and it had been developed into one of the
worlds busiest port today.

PEOPLE

The people of Singapore are largely descendants of immigrants from the Malay Peninsula, China and
the Indian sub-continent. Singapore has a population of about 5 millions.

Singapore is seen as a multi-racial country with the largest group is Chinese who made up of 75% of
the population. The rest of the population of Singapore is made up of Malay (14%), Indians (9%) and
Eurasians (2%).

Although the National language is Malay but English is atill used in Singapore as a language of
administration. Most of the people in Singapore speak fluent English. At times, you will hear some
Singlish too. Singlish is a mixture of English, Malay, Hokkien.

ECONOMY

Singapore had grows exponentially since independence and it has become one of the world's most
prosperous countries with the world's busiest port.

GEOGRAPHY

Singapore is located at the southern tip of the Malayan Peninsula between Malaysia and Indonesia
and has a total land area of 699 km. At present, Singapore has over 60 smaller islands around the
main island.

FACTS ABOUT SINGAPORE

1. World Toilet Organization was founded in Singapore.

2. Bukit Timah Nature Reserves has more species of trees than the whole of North
America.

3. Singaporeans can vote in the British Elections.

4. Singapore is made up of 63 islands

5. The longest human tooth.

In 2009, a doctor pulled out a 3.2cm long tooth from his patient at Eli Dental Surgery
Clinic.

6. Largest exporter of ornamental fish.

Singapore provides for 25% of the world market but exporters are still struggling with
land constrains.

7. The national anthem is found on the back of the SGD1, 000 notes.

8. Highest rooftop bar in the world.

1-Altitude is located at the top floor of One Raffles Place 282 meters above ground
level.

9. Buildings in Singapore cannot be higher than 280 meters.

This is partly because of busy air traffic. Buildings that scale this height include: One
Raffles Place, OUB Centre, UOB Plaza and Republic Plaza.
10. The largest fountain in the world.
The Fountain of Wealth at Suntec City, which cost Singapore about US$6 million to
build.

EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
The Ministry of Education aims to help students to discover their own talents, to make the best of these
talents and realize their full potential, and to develop a passion for learning that lasts through life.

Compulsory Education of 10 years.

Child above 6 years old has to attend school.
Parent or Guardian of the child will be charged if the child is consistently absent from school.

DESIRED OUTCOMES OF EDUCATION

He is a confident person who has a strong sense of right and wrong, is adaptable and
resilient, knows himself, is discerning in judgment, thinks independently and critically, and
communicates effectively;
A self-directed learner who takes responsibility for his own learning, who questions,
reflects and perseveres in the pursuit of learning;
An active contributor who is able to work effectively in teams, exercises initiative, takes
calculated risks, is innovative and strives for excellence;
And, a concerned citizen who is rooted to Singapore, has a strong civic consciousness, is
informed, and takes an active role in bettering the lives of others around him.

21ST CENTURY COMPETENCIES

Knowledge and skills must be underpinned by values. Values define a persons character. They
shape the beliefs, attitudes and actions of a person, and therefore form the core of the
framework of 21st Century Competencies.

The middle ring signifies the Social and Emotional Competencies skills necessary for children to
recognize and manage their emotions, develop care and concern for others, make responsible
decisions, establish positive relationships, as well as handle challenging situations effectively.

The outer ring of the framework represents the emerging 21st Century Competencies necessary
for the globalized world we live in. These are:

Civic Literacy, Global Awareness and Cross-Cultural Skills;

Critical and Inventive Thinking;
Communication, Collaboration and Information Skills

NURTURING STUDENTS

Flexibility and Diversity

 A Broad-based, Holistic Education
Teach Less, Learn More

ENABLING TEACHERS

Schools will have more teachers, full-time counselors, increased manpower grants and greater
autonomy over the next few years.

Teachers will have more opportunities to develop themselves professionally.

EVERY SCHOOL A GOOD SCHOOL

What makes a good school?

A good school cares for its students, studying and knowing the needs, interests and
strengths of her students and motivates them to learn and grow.
A good school ensures all students acquire strong fundamentals of literacy and numeracy
and develops them holistically, in character, knowledge and critical competencies.
A good school creates a positive school experience for each student, making him a
confident and lifelong learner.
A good school has caring and competent teachers who are steadfast in their mission to
impact lives.
A good school has the support of parents and the community, working together to bring
out the best in our children, and
A good school cares for and provides opportunities to all students, regardless of family
circumstances.

Developing Good Schools

Resourcing Our Schools to Offer Customized Programmes

Raising The Professional Standards Of Teachers Across The System
Encouraging Learning And Innovation Across Schools
Promoting Partnerships between School and Community.

COMPULSORY EDUCATION

The two key objectives of CE are to give our children:

A common core of knowledge which will provide a strong foundation for further education
and training to prepare them for a knowledge-based economy;
And a common educational experience which will help to build national identity and
cohesion.

Background

Committee on Compulsory Education in Singapore (CCES) was formed in December 1999 to

review whether compulsory education should be introduced in Singapore, and if so, the form and
duration it should take.

CCES completed its work and presented its report to the Minister for Education. The key
recommendations are summarized as follows:

Compulsory education should be introduced.

Responsibility for sending children to school and ensuring that they attend school should
still remain with the parents.
Compulsory education should be up to Primary 6 as this is considered the minimum period
of education for all Singapore children.
Certain categories of children, e.g. those with special needs will be exempted from
compulsory education.
Statute

The Compulsory Education Act (Cap 51) was passed by Parliament on 9th October 2000 and
assented to by the President on 16th October 2000. It provides for compulsory primary education
in Singapore and related matters.

Compulsory School Age

According to the Compulsory Education Act, a child of compulsory school age is one who is
above the age of 6 years and who has not yet attained the age of 15 years.

Penalty

According to the Compulsory Education Act (Cap 51), where a child fails to attend regularly as a
pupil at a national primary school or a designated school/be home-schooled (where exemption is
granted), the parent/guardian of the child may be guilty of an offence.

PRIME (Programme for Rebuilding and Improving Existing schools)

Thinking Schools, Learning Nation is the Governments vision for Singapores education in the
21st Century. It aims to improve the education system to prepare the young to face future
challenges.

How is PRIME Carried Out?

On-site Rebuilding & Upgrading

Where feasible, a school will remain on-site while construction work is carried out for
either upgrading or rebuilding.

Otherwise, a school will move to a temporary holding school while upgrading or rebuilding
is carried out at its present site.

Relocation
Where a vacant site is available, the new school will be built on this site. The school will
relocate to the new site once the school building is ready.

Mergers
To optimize the use of resources, schools may merge and be relocated.

PRE-SCHOOL

MOE seeks to raise the quality of kindergarten education by:

1. Developing curriculum resources to support early childhood educators in creating and

delivering quality learning experiences for children four to six years of age;
2. Providing quality and affordable pre-school education through the MOE Kindergartens; and
3. Sharing curriculum resources and other good practices with the pre-school sector.

MOE KINDERGARTEN
The objectives of the MOE Kindergartens are to provide quality pre-school education that is
affordable to Singaporeans, as well as to pilot teaching and learning resources and establish
good practices for sharing with the pre-school sector. There are currently 15 MOE Kindergartens
located island wide, within primary schools and community spaces, where collaboration can
thrive.

The MOE Kindergartens seek to nurture children holistically, so that they are confident; have
strong social skills and a good foundation in literacy and numeracy.

RESOURCES FOR PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATORS

MOE is developing the NEL Curriculum, a comprehensive range of kindergarten curriculum
resources that supports early childhood educators in Singapore in creating and delivering quality
learning experiences for children aged four to six years.

NEL Framework

The NEL Framework articulates MOEs belief and principles about how children learn and develop,
and what constitutes quality pre-school education.

The six learning areas are: Aesthetics & Creative Expression, Discovery of the World, Language &
Literacy, Numeracy, Motor Skills Development and Social & Emotional Development.

NEL Framework for Mother Tongue Languages

MOE envisions for every child to be an active learner, who enjoys using Mother Tongue Language
(MTL), communicates with confidence and appreciates local ethnic culture.

RESOURCES FOR PARENTS

The Nurturing Early Learners (NEL) Framework Guide for Parents which explains what the
Framework says about how children learn and develop and what children should be able to do at
the end of their kindergarten education.

PRIMARY SCHOOL
4-year foundation stage
Primary 1 to 4

2-year orientation stage

Primary 5 to 6.

Fast Facts

6 years of compulsory education

No school fees
Standard miscellaneous fees1:$6.50
Second-tier miscellaneous fees2:$6.50
Subject-based Banding allows students to offer a mix of standard and foundation
subjects, depending on their strengths
National examination: Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE)
Students are encouraged to participate in Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs) and
Community Involvement Programmes (CIP)

Primary School Curriculum

The inner circle centering on life skills ensures that students acquire sound values and
skills to take them through life as responsible adults and active citizens. It comprises the
non-academic curriculum.
The middle circle on knowledge skills seeks to develop students thinking, process and
communication skills. This will enable students to analyze and use information and be able
to express their thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively. It comprises skills-based
subjects.
The outermost circle covers the content-based subject disciplines i.e. Languages,
Humanities & the Arts, and Mathematics & Sciences. It ensures that students have a good
grounding in content across different areas of study.

SUBJECT-BASED BANDING

Subject-based Banding provides greater flexibility for your child by offering him the option of a
combination of standard and foundation subjects, depending on his strengths.
Why introduce subject-based banding?

To recognize the different abilities of students and give them greater flexibility to
concentrate on the subjects they are good at.
To encourage more interaction among students with different strengths.

WHAT ARE SOME CHOICES AVAILABLE?

If your child (for P4 exam) Your child may be recommended to take

Passes all 4 subjects and performs very well in 4 standard subjects + Higher Mother Tongue
Mother Tongue Language Language
Passes all 4 subjects 4 standard subjects
Passes 3 subjects 4 standard subjects
Passes 2 subjects or less 4 standard subjects; or 3 standard subjects + 1
other foundation subject; or 2 standard
subjects + 2 other foundation subjects; or 1
standard subject + 3 other foundation subjects;
or 4 foundation subjects

FROM PRIMARY TO SECONDARY EDUCATION

Post-PSLE Option Exercise

All students sitting for the PSLE (except for those admitted to secondary schools under
discretionary admission) will indicate their choice of secondary schools after the release
of the PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) results.

Discretionary admission to secondary schools

Key Changes

Secondary schools with Integrated Programmes have full discretion in student admissions.
Autonomous Schools and Independent Schools can set aside 10% and 20% of their school
vacancies respectively for discretionary admission.
Schools with approved niches of excellence can set aside 5% of their school vacancies for
discretionary admission.
Students are selected during the Direct School Admission Exercise using school-based
criteria, before the central posting exercise

SECONDARY
Secondary Education places students in the Express, Normal (Academic) or Normal (Technical)
course according to how they perform at the PSLE. The different curricular emphases are
designed to match their learning abilities and interests.

FAST FACTS

4-5 years of education

School fees after subsidy: $5.00
Standard miscellaneous fees1: $10.00
Second-tier miscellaneous fees2: $10.00
Autonomous Schools collect Autonomous School Fees, ranging from $3 to $18 per month,
on top of second-tier miscellaneous fees3
Independent Schools charge a separate scale of fees. The range of school fees for local
students (excluding miscellaneous fees) as at 2010 is $200- $300 per month.
National examination: GCE O Levels (for Express course) or GCE N Levels (for Normal
course)
All students take part in at least one CCA; CCA performance is considered for admission to
JCs, CI, polytechnics and ITE

SECONDARY SCHOOL COURSES

Express course:

4-year courses leading to the GCE O Level examination.

Normal course:

Students in the Normal course follow either the Normal (Academic) [N(A)] or Normal
(Technical) [N(T)] curriculum.
4-year programme leading to the GCE N Level examination.
A 5th year leading to the GCE 0 Level examination is available to N(A) students who
perform well in their GCE N Levels.
Students can move from one course to another based on their performance and the
assessment of their Principal and teachers.

Express Course Curriculum

The inner circle centering on life skills ensures that students acquire sound values and
skills to take them through life as responsible adults and active citizens. It comprises the
non-academic curriculum.

The middle circle on knowledge skills seeks to develop students thinking, process and
communication skills. This will enable students to analyze and use information and be able
to express their thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively. It comprises skills-based
subjects.

The outermost circle covers the content-based subject disciplines i.e. Languages,
Humanities & the Arts, and Mathematics & Sciences. It ensures that students have a good
grounding in content across different areas of study.

Normal Course Curriculum

In the Normal (Academic) course, students offer 5-8 subjects in the GCE N Level
examination. They have, as compulsory subjects, English Language, Mother Tongue
Language and Mathematics. For upper secondary, Combined Humanities is also
compulsory

In the Normal (Technical) course, students offer 5-7 subjects in the GCE N Level examination.
This curriculum prepares them for a technical-vocational education at the Institute of Technical
Education. The curriculum is geared towards strengthening students proficiency in English and
Mathematics. Students take English Language, Mathematics, Basic Mother Tongue and Computer
Applications as compulsory subjects.

LANGUAGE PROGRAMMES IN SECONDARY SCHOOL

Tamil Language (TL)

HMTLs (HMTL)
Elective Programme in Malay Language for Secondary Schools (EMAS)
THIRD LANGUAGES
o Malay (Special Programme) / Chinese (Special Programme)
o Bahasa Indonesia and Arabic
o Bicultural Studies Programme (Chinese) [BSP(C)]
o Regional Studies Programme (RSP)
o Foreign Language Programmes

Foreign Language Ministry of Education Language

Centre (MOELC)
French / Japanese MOELC (Bishan) for pupils from schools
in the east and north zones (except for
Singapore Chinese Girls School
(Secondary)) and schools in the
 proximity of MOELC (Bishan)*

MOELC (Newton) for pupils from schools

in the west and south zones (except
schools in the proximity of MOELC
(Bishan)*) and Singapore Chinese Girls
School (Secondary).
German MOELC (Bishan) for pupils from all zones
Spanish MOELC (Newton) for pupils from all
zones

POST-SECONDARY
Institute of Technical Education

Established on 1ST of April 1992, Institute of Technical Education (ITE) took over the role and
functions of the Vocational & Industrial Training Board (VITB). Since its formation in 1992, ITE has
focused its effort on establishing the institute as a post-secondary technical institution of
excellence.

Polytechnics

Polytechnics were set up with the mission to train professionals to support the technological and
economic development of Singapore.

Public-Funded Universities

Singapores university education aspires to prepare students not only for todays world
but also for a world where there will be jobs that have yet to be invented and challenges
not yet foreseen.

Private Universities

(UniSIM) provides university education to working professionals and adult learners by adopting a
flexible learning approach to enable its learners to balance their career, family and studies.

Other Government-Affiliated Educational Institutions

Industry-specific diploma and degree programmes are also offered by educational

institutions affiliated with other government agencies. These educational
institutions include:
BCA Academy the education and research arm of the Building and Construction
Authority (BCA) which offers full-time diploma programmes, as well as other
courses, seminars and workshops, in construction, design and engineering.
Singapore Aviation Academy (SAA) the training arm of the Civil Aviation Authority
of Singapore (CAAS) which offers short courses, diploma, degree and executive
programmes relevant to the aviation industry.

PRE-UNIVERSITY
Pre-University Education prepares students for the GCE A Level examination at the end of the 2-
year junior college or 3-year centralized institute course. Students who completed their pre-
university education will receive a School Graduation Certificate .

Fast Facts
2-3 years of education
School fees after subsidy2: $6.00
 Standard miscellaneous fees: $13.50
Second-tier miscellaneous fees3: $13.50
Independent Junior Colleges charge a separate scale of fees. The range of fees for local
students (excluding miscellaneous fees) as at 2010 is $300 $400 per month.

National examination: GCE A Levels

All students are encouraged to take part in at least one CCA; CCA performance may be
considered for university admission, if applicable.

PRIVATE EDUCATION
With effect from 21 Dec 2009, Private Education Institutions (PEIs) that fall under the following
categories are required to register with the Committee for Private Education (CPE) under the new
Private Education Act.

PEIs offering education leading to the award of a diploma or degree, or full-time post-
secondary education leading to the award of a certificate;
PEIs offering full-time preparatory courses for entrance / placement tests for joining
Ministry of Education (MOE) mainstream schools, or for external examinations; and
Foreign System Schools (FSS) offering full-time primary or secondary education wholly or
substantially in accordance with a foreign or international curriculum
Privately-funded special education schools

SCHOOL PROGRAMMES

Gifted Education Programme

Elective Programmes
Project Work
Co-Curricular Activities
Holistic Health Framework (HHF)
Social and Emotional Learning
Learning Support

PROGRAMMES - SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

Support for Children with Special Educational Needs

Subject Syllabuses
Arts Education
Character & Citizenship Education
Humanities
English Language and Literature
Mother Tongue Languages
Physical and Sports Education
Sciences
Approved Textbook List

TOP 3 PEROFORMING UNIVERSITIES

1.National University of Singapore

The National University of Singapore (Abbreviation: NUS) is a publicly-funded autonomous
university in Singapore. Founded in 1905, it is the oldest institute of higher learning (IHL) in
Singapore, as well as the largest university in the country in terms of student enrolment and
curriculum offered. N.U.S. is a research-intensive, comprehensive university with an
entrepreneurial dimension.
 N.U.S. is ranked as Asia's top university in both the QS World University Rankings and the
Times Higher Education World University Rankings in 2016. According to the latest 2016 QS
World University Rankings, NUS is placed 12th in the world and 1st in Asia. NUS also fared well in
the 201617 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, coming in 24th in the world and
1st in Asia. Alternatively, the ARWU ranking system published by the Shanghai Ranking
Consultancy that measures universities academic achievements and research performance
places NUS in 83th place worldwide in 2016.

2.Nanyang Technological University

The Nanyang Technological University (Abbreviation: NTU) is a publicly-funded autonomous
university in Singapore. NTU is consistently ranked amongst the world's best universities in all of
the major college and university rankings and is regarded as one of the top 2 universities in Asia.
In the 2016 QS World University Rankings, NTU was ranked 13th in the world and 2nd in Asia. In
the 2016 Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings, NTU was also ranked 2nd in Asia.
Additionally, it has been recognized as the world's top young university for 3 consecutive years
by the QS young university rankings.

3.Singapore Management University

The Singapore Management University (Abbreviation: SMU) is a publicly-funded autonomous
university in Singapore that specializes in business and management studies. The university
provides an American-style education modeled by the Wharton School of the University of
Pennsylvania.

SMU is ranked as one of Asia's top universities, debuting in the 2015 Financial Times EMBA
ranking at #10 in Asia and #36 worldwide, making it the highest ranked new entrant in 2015.
SMU's Masters in Applied Finance is ranked #2 in Asia and #34 worldwide by the Financial Times
and its Masters in Wealth Management program was ranked #2 worldwide by The Financial
Times in 2015, with London Business School ranked #1