17 August 2020

Education Minister Lawrence Wong has said that the Ministry of Education will continue to ensure that education in Singapore remains a social leveller.

He said that this will involve ensuring that schools “remain an uplifting force to help students from more difficult backgrounds”. These include those who do less well academically in schools, as well as those from less well-off families.

Mr Wong was speaking to reporters at Marsiling Secondary School last week, in his first media doorstop since the Cabinet reshuffle two weeks ago.

During the visit, Mr Wong spoke to students in some classes, and toured the school grounds. He also made a stop at the school’s vertical vegetable garden, which is used in an applied learning programme to teach students about environmental issues such as food sustainability.

Mr Wong said Dr Maliki will assist him in overseeing the Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Taskforce (Uplift) initiatives, as well as matters related to the higher learning institutes.

16 August 2020

New SkillsFuture work-study programmes for Singaporeans have been introduced in order to provide Singaporeans more opportunities to delve into lifelong learning and adapt to the fast changing economy.

The work-study scheme is targeted at fresh polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education graduates. Individuals who join these programmes hold the equivalent of a full time job. At the same time, they are also given the chance to upgrade their qualification to a specialist or advanced diploma.

These programmes will offer more than 140 places over the next two years.

One of them, a Bachelor of Technology in computing, will be introduced this month by the National University of Singapore, in partnership with SkillsFuture Singapore as well as Singapore-based global consumer Internet company Sea. It will be the first SkillsFuture Work-Study Degree Programme to be delivered in a “place-and-train” mode, with participants hired as full-time junior analysts prior to the start of the programme.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic graduates have been invited to apply for the first intake of this programme, while enrolment for subsequent intakes will be open to eligible polytechnic graduates from relevant disciplines.

10 August 2020

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has cautioned that the world faces a “generational catastrophe” because of school closures that took place globally this year.

Guterres said that as of mid-July, schools were closed in some 160 countries, affecting more than 1 billion students.

“Now we face a generational catastrophe that could waste untold human potential, undermine decades of progress, and exacerbate entrenched inequalities,” said Guterres during a recent launch of a UN “Save our Future” campaign.

In Singapore, former Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said previously that extended closure of schools would have a negative impact on students in academic terms, as well as in terms of their social development.

Co-curricular activities have resumed and students in Singapore have returned to having physical lessons in class. Nonetheless, intermingling across classes and levels is still kept low, with fixed exam-style seating and staggered arrival, dismissal and recess timings.

In university campuses, classes and consultations with no more than 50 people are permitted, but all large-scale classes and lectures continue to be held online.

07 August 2020

Most university orientation programmes are held online this year. Typical online programmes for incoming university students feature programmes such as online games and webinars.

At Singapore Management University, a group of 12 freshmen were hosted by two senior student facilitators in a teleconference call on the platform Webex.The incoming students were keen to know more about issues such as bidding for modules, which is a practice in SMU. Former Education Minister Ong Ye Kung also joined the group, taking part in some games and to chat with the students.

Other universities have come up with similar virtual orientation programmes. For example, the Singapore Institute of Technology will be holding a week-long orientation for its 2,800 freshmen from Aug 24 to Sept 1. It will feature virtual campus tours at each of the six SIT campuses, as well as activities such as having freshmen meet with their respective programme faculty, seniors and course mates via Zoom sessions.

The Singapore University of Social Sciences held similar programmes for its incoming students in July, and they included live chat sessions with SUSS competition groups such as the swimming, track and field and tennis teams.

Nanyang Technological University said its schools, residential halls and student organisations are putting together over 40 online transition programmes for some 6,000 freshmen this month.

04 August 2020

Education Minister Lawrence Wong has said that in recent times, the need for lifelong learning has become even more urgent than before as the pace of change in society has accelerated.

He spoke recently at the SkillsFuture@NTU event recently, along with Nanyang Technological University president Subra Suresh, NTU deputy president and provost Ling San, and other guests.

Learning does not stop at graduation, Mr Lawrence Wong said. “I know this is a tough period for job seekers, especially for our fresh graduates who are now looking to enter the workforce.”

The institutes of higher learning (IHLs) have stepped up efforts for fresh graduates this year, said Mr Wong. The support includes sourcing job openings and holding career fairs.

About 8,750 participants, including fresh graduates and mid-career job seekers, took part in the NTU event, which was organised with SkillsFuture Singapore and supported by local universities, polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education.

03 August 2020

Students from the Singapore University of Social Sciences are receiving assistance in their job search during the current difficult economic climate.

SUSS has been helping fresh graduates who wish to explore alternative job pathways beyond salaried positions. For instance, SUSS started two programmes in entrepreneurship and the gig economy this year, as a way of providing some training to graduates who wish to pursue their interests.

SUSS currently organizes around 100 traineeship positions offered as part of the Government’s SGUnited Traineeships Programme. It has received nearly 6,000 applications for the positions, which come with a monthly allowance and some training for up to 12 months. Since July 1 this year, some of the positions have already been filled.

SUSS will also train aspiring entrepreneurs through a Venture Builder programme which starts this month. Full-time and part-time SUSS graduating students who are eligible for SGUnited Traineeships can join the programme, which comes with a monthly allowance. It plans to start with 15 students, and eight have already been recruited.