23 October 2021

Education Minister Chan Chun Sing has said that not all students necessarily have conducive environments for home-based learning (HBL).

Hence, putting students on a prolonged HBL schedule can have a negative impact on their academic progress and socio-emotional well-being.

Mr Chan said in a Facebook post that he was aware of the dilemma facing parents and educators on having to choose between resuming in-person schooling and extending HBL.

He said that allowing pupils to return to the classroom will give them a chance to learn while reconnecting face to face with their peers.

20 October 2021

Some international schools operating in Singapore are offering scholarships worth up to six figures, but not enough students are applying for them.

Hwa Chong International School (HCIS) and St Joseph’s Institution International High School (SJIIHS) are privately funded international schools that are based in Singapore. They both offer means-tested scholarships. At SJIIHS, 14 Singapore citizens and permanent residents on average apply for its 10 International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma scholarships on offer. Eight on average get selected.

Unlike other international schools, HCIS and SJIIHS do not require Ministry of Education approval for Singaporeans to enrol. Applicants for the SJIIHS scholarships must also achieve at least 12 points or below in their Secondary 4 preliminary examinations. Applicants will need an L1R5 score of 10 or below to qualify for HCIS’ academic scholarships, which have been offered for over 10 years.

13 October 2021

Paint tycoon Goh Cheng Liang, 94, believes strongly in helping needy students get an education.

This is probably motivated by the fact that he had had only six years of formal schooling, which he later saw as a disadvantage in life.

Mr Goh, one of Singapore’s richest men, set up the Goh Foundation in 1994. He donated $20 million to start the foundation. The Goh Foundation is the sixth largest foundation here. It gave out $16.1 million in grants and donations in 2019.

Mr Goh continues to donate to the foundation through his family trust. The foundation gives Mr Goh an appropriate vehicle to carry out his philanthropic work in a more sustainable and impactful manner.

13 October 2021

About 2,600 people graduated from the Singapore University of Social Sciences this October.

Convocation ceremonies were being held at the university last week.

During the first ceremony, Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong giving a speech as guest of honour. President Halimah Yacob, the university’s patron, was also in attendance.

Mr Tong, who is also Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, spoke on continuing to learn after graduation, growing resilience and doing good. He said to the graduands: “This may be controversial but I hope you fail at something.”

He noted that, indeed, failure is an inextricable part of future success.

08 October 2021

Investment in education is inherently risky, and hence, both individuals and policymakers must think about future-proofing education for career resilience.

We should establish a strong foundation in both literacy as well as numeracy in school. This is because mathematics and quantitative reasoning underpin much of the sciences, engineering and social sciences.

There is also a place for the humanities, which speak to what it means to be human and may confer an enduring advantage in an era of automation.

Many have found interdisciplinary exposure useful in honing a supple mind, so important for tackling challenging problems in the workplace and society. In institutes of higher learning, this can be achieved through a core curriculum, more flexible subject combinations or complementary course pairings.

07 October 2021

A ruckus has been raised yet again over difficult PSLE math questions.

The new PSLE scoring system with the use of bands rather than absolute scores is designed to reduce the tendency of the PSLE to over-discriminate and over-classify the academic ability of our children. The new scoring system is designed to reduce the impact of, for instance, leaving one or two questions blank or incompletely answered.

One message that we can tell our math PSLE hopefuls is that they should not feel discouraged if they cannot answer a couple of questions, as long as they have put in their best effort and have attempted the rest of the questions to the best of their ability.

Nonetheless, we should take the feelings of these young kids into account, as they may not be able to understand the rationale of being posed such challenging questions.

After all, the vast majority of students are not competing for some prestigious scholarship or a spot in some highly exclusive educational institution. It is more important to have a variety of questions that test different skill sets rather than one or two extraordinary tough questions.

07 October 2021

Local universities have moved more classes online this academic semester.

The National University of Singapore said online lessons are now strongly encouraged, but some face-to-face classes will still continue.

The Singapore Institute of Technology said that all lectures, seminars and tutorials would be conducted online, with students returning only for practical and laboratory lessons. SIT added that all student development programmes, physical training and activities on campus will be held online until Oct 24.

At the Singapore University of Technology and Design, lessons for first-year students will continue to be in-person, while the rest of its lessons will move online.

28 September 2021

Written by Dr Ng E-Jay, originally for the Math Lab

Firstly, the topics in H2 Further Mathematics taught are highly relevant to courses such as the physical sciences and data analytics at university level.

The current Further Math syllabus include important topics like linear algebra, mathematical induction, second order differential equations, and two sample hypothesis testing in statistics. These topics are usually covered in first year engineering, physical sciences, and data analytics courses, as well as also relevant to subjects like econometrics, business analytics, and sociology. Further Math is thus a good preparatory course for these university subjects.

Secondly, studying Further Math will help students strengthen their mathematical foundations and gain a broader appreciation of mathematics. The skills and problem-solving techniques gained during the Further Math course will often help students tackle difficult questions in the usual H2 Math exam papers. The Ministry of Education has also been constantly updating the syllabus so that there is greater emphasis on applications rather than on simply posing tough questions. Compared to the old syllabus Further Math prior to 2007, students are exposed to a wider variety of topics, many of which are applicable to degree courses in the physical sciences or in computer science.

Thirdly, students applying to study mathematics or the physical sciences in overseas universities, especially the most prestigious universities in the US or UK, may find that a good grade in Further Math is looked upon favourably by university administrators. In fact, the Cambridge University and the University of Warwick uses the Sixth Term Examination Papers (STEP) as a way of differentiating students of exceptionally high mathematical ability.