EDUN N25-02-004 00102
3 Jan 2002
MOE RECEIVES MORE THAN TWICE THE APPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING
POSITION - SUPPLEMENTARY NIE INTAKE IN JANUARY 2002
1. The Ministry and the National
Institute of Education (NIE) is mounting a supplementary teacher-training intake in
January 2002 in response to the significant increase in the number of applications it
received in its teacher recruitment drive so far. The number of applications received in
the first 5 months (from 1 August to 31st December 2001) of the current recruitment cycle
was about 5780. This represents an increase of 125% over the 2570 applications received in
the same period last year.
2. In this supplementary intake in
January 2002, which is in addition to the regular NIE intake in July 2002, 250 trainee
teachers will undergo the one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) for
secondary/JC teaching. They will graduate from NIE in December 2002 and will teach as
trained teachers in our secondary schools/JCs from January 2003.
3. In August 2001, the Ministry of
Education announced its plans to step up teacher recruitment, especially teachers for
secondary schools and junior colleges to cater to the needs arising from an increasing
student enrolment at these levels over the next few years. We are pleased with the
response so far and will continue in our efforts to ensure that we recruit applicants with
the right aptitude and attitude for teaching. While the pool of applicants has increased
considerably, the selection criteria remain stringent. Our recruitment continues to be
from the top one-third of each Primary One cohort, which includes graduates, good 'A'
level holders and the top band of Polytechnic Diploma graduates.
4. To provide potential applicants with a
better understanding of teaching as a career, the Ministry will be organising a series of
public seminars and campus talks. The campus talks will also promote the MOE Teaching
Award to NUS/NTU students graduating in 2002 or going into the Honours programme/AMP in
2002.
5 The Calendar of Events in January is as
follows:
