ITE Students Progressing to Polytechnic and University

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) (a) how have the present education policies helped to develop each child's potential to the fullest and ensure his success in life; and (b) whether there is a need to enhance the existing policies to ensure multi-paths created for each child that can ensure his success in life.

The challenges facing education today are very different from those in the past. Our education system then was primarily geared towards equipping young Singaporeans with the necessary literacy and numeracy skills very quickly. Today, our challenge is different. There are greater opportunities, young Singaporeans have more varied aspirations to fulfil and, upon entering the workforce, they must also be equipped with the skills and disposition to be resilient in a fast-changing global economy.

Our education system has changed in tandem. We have moved towards a philosophy of multiple pathways that support each student to go as far as he or she can, in his or her areas of passion and strength. For example, we have adopted subject-based banding in primary and secondary schools, so that students with strengths in particular subjects can be stretched in those subjects, while offering other subjects at a less demanding level.

The Direct School Admissions Scheme for secondary schools seeks to recognise students' specific talents in academic or non-academic areas, and is an alternative avenue to the Secondary 1 Posting Exercise based on Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) results. We similarly introduced aptitude-based admissions at the polytechnic and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) levels, for up to 15% of their intake, and also in our universities. These changes encourage students to pursue areas that they have the aptitude and interest in, and avoid an excessive focus on examination results at the various different stages of education.

We have also expanded pathways in higher education to offer more pathways for progression. Students in the Normal (Academic) course can now articulate to ITE and polytechnics after their "N" Level examinations, as an alternative to Secondary 5. Today, one in four ITE students already progress to polytechnics after graduation. We recently introduced a new ITE Work-Learn Technical Diploma pathway, to enable them to work towards their diploma while undergoing apprenticeships at good companies. For polytechnic graduates, the establishment of Singapore Institute of Technology has enabled more of them to pursue a degree. Our newest public university, the Singapore University of Social Sciences, caters to those who want to work first and pursue a part-time degree later.

The Member asked further about opportunities for ITE graduates. For the past 10 years, more than eight in 10 ITE graduates actively looking for jobs, found employment within six months upon graduation. The median gross monthly salaries of ITE graduates have also been rising, which is evidence of their strong employment prospects and industry-relevant skills. Some ITE graduates go on to upgrade their qualifications.

Beyond the ITE, polytechnic or university qualification, Singaporeans must also embrace lifelong learning and constantly upgrade themselves after entering the workforce. This is where the SkillsFuture movement comes in.

We will continue to improve the education system and pathways for our students, to continue to develop every child's potential to the fullest and ensure opportunities are available for Singaporeans to succeed in life. We will examine how we can better design the learning landscape, from preschool through to retirement. This is an endeavour that might take a generation, but we are well into our journey.