17 November 2018
From 2020, the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University will drop the 20 per cent weighting given to O-level results for polytechnic graduate applicants. Instead, polytechnic graduate applicants will be assessed primarily on their polytechnic grade point average.
Second Minister for Education Indranee Rajah, who announced the changes recently, said that this move would enable students with different learning styles to be evaluated more holistically.
NUS, NTU and the Singapore Management University will also offer up to 15 per cent of their yearly undergraduate places through the Discretionary Admission Scheme.
Additionally, Ms Indranee said MOE schools will no longer administer academic ability tests during DSA selection.
St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) principal Adrian Danker said his school has done away with admitting pupils based on academic abilities, even in specific subjects like mathematics or science. That is because the original intention of the DSA is to assess pupils’ other abilities. SJI now takes in pupils who show potential in their chosen fields.