Singapore's Educational Model | Singapore Maths Tuition

Higher education in Singapore is significantly subsidised

July 27, 2018 by Maths Statistics Science Tutor

27 July 2018

Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education, said that higher education in Singapore is significantly subsidised.

For example, over 70 per cent of Institute of Technical Education students received financial aid or scholarships.

Additionally, course fees at ITE carry over a 90 per cent subsidy.

The Ministry of Education’s financial assistance schemes are support up to two-thirds of students enrolled in post-secondary institutions. Other merit-based scholarships defray students’ fees and school-related expenses.

A call for more inclusiveness in our education system

July 16, 2018 by Maths Statistics Science Tutor

17 July 2018

It is already well known that students in Singapore face stress from examinations and from peer pressure.

However there are other kinds of stress lurking beneath the surface.

Students who are disabled, for instance, sometimes feel that they are a burden to others, or feel that there are insufficient facilities catered for them. They may feel the need for more opportunities to mix and study together with students from mainstream schools and wish they could be treated more normally.

Students from mainstream schools will be enriched by the interactions.

They will learn to appreciate people for who they are, respect differences and deal with diversity.

Education system in Singapore is becoming more liberal and is loosening up

June 10, 2018 by Maths Statistics Science Tutor

10 June 2018

The education system in Singapore is becoming more liberal and is loosening up in a bid to reduce stress in students.

Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said that the Ministry of Education is implementing plans to introduce more flexibility into the educational system. Such plans include introducing a wider grade band system for national examinations, and embracing the concept of aptitude-based entry into higher learning institutions.

“We must remove that do-or-die mentality for every checkpoint,” said Mr Ong said at the opening ceremony of a pre-university seminar at the Nanyang Technological University. The pre-university seminarbrings together 550 students from 33 pre-university institutions like junior colleges and polytechnics to think of ways to transform Singapore.

Mr Ong nonetheless noted that the student workload at secondary schools and junior colleges remains heavy.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaks about the problem of stratification in Singapore society

June 7, 2018 by Maths Statistics Science Tutor

07 June 2018

Recently in Parliament, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong highlighted the problem of stratification in Singapore society. He stressed how it must not be difficult people with talent or ability, but lacking the right backgrounds and connections, to rise to the top.

Citing the example of Raffles Institution, PM Lee noted that over the years, the elite Singapore school has become less diverse. Just about half of current RI students live in public housing (compared to 80 per cent of Singaporeans who live in public flats). When the school reaches out to parents, it is told how some fear their child would not be able to fit in with more well-off students in RI.

Experts believe the Singapore education system over the years has become less of a social leveller. It has been suggested that the Singapore government relooking schemes that advantage richer families, such as the Direct School Admission system.

Member of Parliament Denise Phua argued that it is an open secret that the DSA benefits children who have the means to be nurtured in specific areas from young.

Universities need to find ways to change and adapt

February 12, 2018 by Maths Statistics Science Tutor

12 February 2018

Universities are currently looking into changing traditional methods of teaching and dealing with evolving challenges in education and rethinking the way their students are learning.

These changes, however, will take time, said education administators recently at the Disruptions in Education (DisruptED) forum co-organised by The Straits Times and the Singapore Institute of Management.

Technology is changing the way people gather information, said SIM Holdings chief executive Lee Kwok Cheong, citing the example of working adults choosing topics they want to learn from the wide range of courses offered by online education platform Coursera.

Dr Charles Zukoski, provost for the University of Buffalo, New York, opined that alternative forms of education will be developed to cater to the rising demand for higher education, such as shorter degrees or other types of credentials.

Time for Singapore’s university system to evolve and become more flexible

July 10, 2017 by Maths Statistics Science Tutor

10 July 2017

Singapore’s universities should become more flexible and move away from the British-inherited system of forcing students to decide on their majors early in their academic years.

It often takes a lot of time for students to decide on what careers they wish to embark and what their interests are. Consequently, such an “inbuilt inflexibility” in the current university system may not serve students’ interests well, nor be productive for the overall economy.

More flexibility must be introduced into the higher education landscape to accommodate those who may have discovered new interests midway through their academic programmes.

Newer universities in Singapore have recognized this, and when they were established, they tried to incorporate more flexibility in their systems. For example, students at SUTD have to declare their specialisations only at the end of their first year, after taking common modules in subjects such as design, science and mathematics. At Yale-NUS College, most students have to declare their majors only at the end of their second year.

At the bigger and older universities like NUS or NTU though, not many students have the chance to switch their course of study midway through their programme. Less than 1 per cent of NTU’s undergraduates do so, and at NUS, only about 2 per cent of eligible students successfully changed their major or programme in the last academic year.

Several faculties at NUS have revised their undergraduate curricula to allow students to pursue double-major or major-minor combinations that allow them to pursue other interests and disciplines without having to push back their graduation date. The university now offers more than 90 structured double-major and major-minor combinations.

Starting school 45 minutes later each day has worked out well for Nanyang Girls High

May 17, 2017 by Maths Statistics Science Tutor

17 May 2017

Parents, teachers and students have praised Nanyang Girls High’s policy of starting school 45 minutes later, at 8.15am every day.

Mrs Ho-Sam Choon Juen, dean of student systems and info management at Nanyang Girls High, said: “We’ve known that our girls were not sleeping enough because of their academic and extra-curricular commitments.”

Since the policy began a year ago, chemistry teacher Mr Muhammad Imran has noticed a distinct change in the students. “I think everyone is more energetic when school starts,” he said, noting that there were “fewer sleepyheads in class”.

Students have reported that the extra extra sleep has allowed them to get through the school day better than before. They can sit through lessons with longer attention spans and also have energy left over for CCAs after classes.

The case for schools in Singapore to start later has surfaced regularly over the years. But the arguments against it have always included how this would clash with the work schedules of parents and the possible need for reductions in curriculum time.

To assuage the concerns of the different groups, Nanyang Girls High re-designed the timetable structure, re-distributed the curriculum hours, staggered the recess timing, and changed the assembly to a fortnightly session. Curriculum hours for each subject have been left intact, and teachers still have sufficient interaction time with students during lessons.

Parents have also been assured that if they needed to continue sending their daughters to school at 7.30am, there would be teachers around for security.

When contacted, the Ministry of Education said that most schools start their school day at around 7.30am or later. The ministry said, “Schools take into consideration their parents’ feedback, transport provisions and traffic situation around their schools to determine their start time. Schools are also mindful that starting schools later has an impact on schools’ dismissal time, with lessons continuing during the hotter part of the afternoon.”

MPs call for closer look at private tuition industry

September 27, 2013 by Maths Statistics Science Tutor

TODAY Online
17 September 2013

SINGAPORE — The private tuition industry came under the spotlight in Parliament today (Sept 16) as several Members of Parliament (MPs) rose to their feet and raised questions on how to retain teachers in the education service who may leaving for more lucrative roles in the private sector.

Nominated MP Janice Koh had tabled a question about the impact of the tuition industry on social mobility and providing children with equal opportunities, and the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) ability to retain good teachers.