EDUN N25-02-004 V61 01502
6 April 2002
Steering Committee to Review Junior College/Upper Secondary
Education Inaugural Meeting,
6 April 2002
1. The Steering Committee
chaired by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry
& Education, held its inaugural meeting on 6 April 2002 to discuss the key issues
relating to the review of Junior College (JC)/Upper Secondary education. The list of
Steering Committee members is given at Annex A and
terms of reference at Annex B.
2. At the inaugural meeting,
the Steering Committee noted that the key to meeting the differing needs of our young lies
in the ability of the national education system to better customise and tailor our
education programmes. The result will be more choice and greater diversity, while not
losing the rigour and high standards of our education system. The Chairman said, "We
want to introduce greater diversity in the system, to provide choice and allow for new
approaches in the curriculum and in assessment methods. But we do not want to erode the
basic strengths of the Singapore education system, which sets rigorous standards and
encourages every student to aim high."
3. The Steering Committee
discussed alternatives in the JC/Upper Secondary education landscape to provide more
choice and greater diversity. It agreed that we have a good system that meets the needs of
the majority of students. The system could be better customised to maximise the potential
of our students.
4. In designing the JC/Upper
Secondary curriculum, the Steering Committee noted that the curriculum intent, delivery
and assessment must be better aligned to meet our educational objectives. The curriculum
should be sufficiently broad to prepare JC students for the new demands of the knowledge
economy, facilitate smoother progression from upper secondary to university education, and
achieve an appropriate balance between the breadth and depth of the curriculum.
5. The Steering Committee
discussed possible additional models of delivering JC/Upper Secondary education, such as
an integrated programme for students from Secondary 1 to JC2 or from Secondary 3 to JC2.
It noted that Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and the Raffles family of institutions
(Raffles Institution, Raffles Girls' School and Raffles Junior College) have each
submitted a proposal for a through-train programme to MOE. Preliminary discussions have
been held with the schools on the proposals and the schools are finalising the details for
submission to the Steering Committee for consideration.
6. The Steering Committee
also discussed whether privately-funded secondary schools are necessary and can play a
useful role in our education system. It noted that the Anglo-Chinese School Board of
Governors has submitted a proposal to set up a privately-funded secondary school. The
Steering Committee deliberated on the implications of opening up the privately-funded
secondary schools sector and felt that there was a need to study the issue further and
consult extensively.
7. The review of JC/Upper
Secondary education is a major undertaking. Any recommendations adopted will have long
term implications for Singapore. As such, the Steering Committee will be consulting the
public extensively on the issues. The Steering Committee, through the Feedback Unit, will
be organising consultation sessions to gather the views of various stakeholders on Junior
College/Upper Secondary education from April 2002. Focus group discussions will also be
held with teachers, educationists and others to seek views and feedback on the issues.
8. In addition, the Steering
Committee has launched a website at http://www1.moe.edu.sg/jcreview,
for the public to provide comments and feedback. When ready, a consultation paper setting
out the Steering Committee's preliminary findings, conclusions and recommendations will be
made available to the public for comments, before the Steering Committee finalises its
recommendations.
9. The Steering Committee
expects to complete its review in six months.
10. Members of the public are also
welcome to give their views in writing to
Public Affairs Division
Ministry of Education
1 North Buona Vista Drive
Singapore 138675
BACKGROUND
11. MOE launched our vision of
"Thinking Schools, Learning Nation" in 1997. Since then, we have initiated
improvements in curriculum, school management, and infrastructure. Most of these changes
and improvements are system-wide, and implemented across all levels. More recently, MOE
has also looked at improvements that pertain to specific groups within the system, such as
providing more options and choices for students in the Normal (Academic) course, as
announced on 11 January 2002.
12. In January this year, RAdm (NS) Teo
Chee Hean, Minister for Education, also announced that the Ministry of Education would be
carrying out a review of Junior College and Upper Secondary education to provide more
choices to cater to the different talents and aspirations of students.
Annex A
Steering Committee to Review Junior College/Upper Secondary
Education
Chairman
