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National Library Board’s digitization efforts will be a boon to Singapore students

November 12, 2018 by Maths Statistics Science Tutor

12 November 2018

The National Library Board (NLB) has undertaken the impressive task of digitally archiving 180,000 Singapore websites ending with the .sg domain, as well as other electronically available content produced by Singaporean publishers.

The move is part of NLB’s effort to expand its repository of digital knowledge. Previously, the NLB concerned itself only with content producers working in print media.

Singapore’s websites will be archived at least once a year, the NLB said.

Director of the National Library Wai Yin Pryke said it is important to preserve the literary and intellectual heritage of Singapore as a maturing nation.

The NLB’s efforts will be a boon to students who are interested in acquiring more general knowledge. Students will benefit from locally produced content completely digitized and at their fingertips.

More opportunities for Institute of Technical Education graduates to pursue further diplomas

November 11, 2018 by Maths Statistics Science Tutor

11 November 2018

There will soon be more opportunities for Institute of Technical Education graduates to pursue diplomas during their working years.

The institution will be offering 10 new Work-Learn Technical Diplomas (WLTD) from April next year, where attendees will be able to work and study at the same time.

There will be places for around 350 trainees, who will be able to choose from course such as port automation technology, microelectronics, and hotel and restaurant management.

Students will also spend 70 per cent of curriculum time training on the job.

ITE first launched four such diplomas courses in April this year to provide a skills-based avenue for its graduates to upgrade themselves.

Improved Direct Schools Admission scheme aims to assist students from disadvantaged families

November 9, 2018 by Maths Statistics Science Tutor

09 November 2018

Singapore’s Direct Schools Admission scheme has been revised and improved in order to give students from disadvantaged families a better chance at getting into the schools of their choice, on their own merit.

The Ministry of Education has allowed all schools to increase their intake through the scheme.

Additionally, schools have also discontinued the general ability test and high ability selection test. Previously, those tests were meant for students who applied for academic programmes under the DSA.

And to top it off, students do not need to pay any fee for the applications, which are done through a centralised portal. Previously, some schools charged a fee ranging from S$20 to S$50 for each application because they deploy external resources — such as manpower — to conduct assessments.

As a result of these revisions, more students secured places in secondary schools through the Direct School Admission exercise this year. This year, 3,000 students secured places, up from 2,500 last year.

Critics have long pointed out that the scheme — introduced in 2004 — has deviated from its original objective of recognising and admitting students based on talents in areas such as sports and arts instead of just superior academic potential.

Second Minister for Education Indranee Rajah admitted that students from well-off families are in a better position to take advantage of the Direct School Admission scheme, and that affluent parents have been gaming the system by sending their children to a shadow network of preparatory schools.

Ms Indranee said that the latest refinements to the DSA scheme aim to “close the gap”.

Ministry of Education says that Singapore’s schools are well-resourced

November 7, 2018 by Maths Statistics Science Tutor

08 November 2018

Academic sorting into advantaged and disadvantaged schools has helped Singapore students do well in global education rankings.

But we now have to ask ourselves: does the current educational system in Singapore perpetuate educational inequity beyond what we should tolerate as a maturing society?

Disadvantaged students find it difficult hard to catch up with their more advantaged peers. If we do not address this issue, over time this inequity will become increasingly exacerbated.

The Ministry of Education has that Singapore’s schools are well-resourced and cannot be really termed “disadvantaged”, unlike in other education systems where there exist wide varieties in school resources and teacher quality.

However issues of social equity and ultimately social justice remain. Unless we rethink our approach to education, these issues will fester our national consciousness for a long time to come.

Advanced Certificate in Learning and Performance to be launched for course trainers

November 7, 2018 by Maths Statistics Science Tutor

08 November 2018

Starting next year, course trainers can attend a new Advanced Certificate in Learning and Performance programme. This course is designed to help trainers master skills that will enable them to become better educators.

This, and other new SkillsFuture initiatives, were recently announced by Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat. The purpose of these programmes is to raise the quality of adult education training and provide workers with the necessary support to ride the wave of change through skills upgrading.

Training providers will have to ensure that at least 80 per cent of their trainers or assessors are equipped with the necessary qualifications. This requirement previously applied only to Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) training providers.

A framework that provides information such as career pathways, job roles, and relevant competencies required, will also be introduced to help those who wish to join the Training and Adult Education sector.

Guidelines for educators and teachers on how to spot fake news are being developed

November 5, 2018 by Maths Statistics Science Tutor

05 November 2018

Guidelines on how to spot fake news are being developed by the government to teach people about media literacy and defend themselves against online falsehoods. These guidelines will help educators, trainers, and teachers teach students to spot fake news and perform fact checking.

The national framework for media literacy is being developed by the Ministry of Communications and Information with the National Library Board, the Infocomm Media Development Authority and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore.

A select parliamentary committee report that detailed 22 recommendations on how Singapore should deal with online falsehoods and their dire ramifications.

The committee has called for increased efforts to nurture an informed public and promote a culture of fact checking.

According to Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran, an informed public is the first and most important line of defence against fake news.

Mr Iswaran said that as part of the effort to educate people, we need to gain an understanding of trends and technologies, Internet usage patterns, and the opinions and concerns of citizens.

Singaporean students make their mark in Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition

November 3, 2018 by Maths Statistics Science Tutor

03 November 2018

A first year student in National Junior College’s Integrated Programme was one of those who excelled at the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition this year.

Janine Shum drew on her personal experience of being overlooked in Singapore, of being forgotten. She wrote a poem from the perspectives of an Afghan girl and a Singaporean girl, reflecting this deep sense of disaffection, of being shunted aside as the world moves on inexorably.

In her poem, the Afghan girl faces persecution for pursuing education, while the Singaporean girl feels stifled in the rat race. They are halfway round the world from each other and each live under vastly different material circumstances, yet this is the thread that binds them.

Another Singaporean, Ng Woon Neng, also did remarkably well in the senior category of the competition.

Woon Neng, a Nanyang Girls’ High School student, submitted a short story on her view of wealth, health, freedom and happiness.

Social mobility and Singapore’s education system

November 2, 2018 by Maths Statistics Science Tutor

21 November 2018

A recent report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development commended Singapore on its ability to provide upward social mobility to its citizens via a good education system.

Social mobility is defined as the movement of people between different levels of social stratification. Indicators for social mobility include changes in wealth, income and status. Upward social mobility is a virtue as it indicates the citizenry is becoming better off over time, at least in terms of material advantage.

However, the same OECD report alluded that Singapore does not do well in terms of providing relative mobility, that is, in terms of how disadvantaged students perform relative to their peers.

It is recognized that we should keep social mobility high because it is an undeniable good in itself.

Poor social mobility leads to an overly stratified society, as well as unfairness, tension and exploitation between different groups.

The OECD report also marks Singapore down in a metric termed “national resilience”. This measures the proportion of students in the bottom quarter of SES (“disadvantaged students”) who get marks in the top quarter of their country’s students.

Hence, Singapore has yet to create an equitable education system that gives equal opportunities to all students to succeed, regardless of family background.

It has also been noted that many disadvantaged students are going to what parents and educators deem to be less good schools, which is an alarming fact in itself, because too much academic stratification in our school system will ultimately tear the nation apart.

A disadvantaged student in what is perceived to be a not-so-good school has a higher chance of becoming discouraged and eventually becoming a disgruntled citizen. Singapore’s advancement and national security will be significantly threatened should this become systemic in our society.