More Places in Polytechnics and Universities for ITE and Polytechnic Students

Mdm Speaker, the Government has been increasing opportunities for ITE and Polytechnic graduates to pursue further studies at the Polytechnics and Universities respectively.

The proportion of ITE graduates progressing to full-time diploma programmes at the Polytechnics has increased from about one in 10 in 1995 to more than one in four today. Aside from providing more places, MOE also introduced the Direct Entry Scheme to Polytechnic Programme (DPP) in 2013 with an initial intake of more than 950 students. This allows well-performing Secondary 4 Normal (Academic) students to progress directly from ITE to a Polytechnic, instead of spending the year in Secondary 5.

The proportion of places at our Autonomous Universities held by Polytechnic graduates has also increased, from around 20% in Academic Year (AY) 2009 to about 30% in Academic Year 2013.

In 2009, the Taskforce on Expanding Upgrading Opportunities for Polytechnic Graduates recommended the establishment of the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) to partner overseas universities in creating more degree opportunities for Polytechnic students. In 2012, the Committee on University Education Pathways Beyond 2015 (CUEP) recommended that the degree Cohort Participation Rate (CPR) be raised from 30% in 2015 to 40% by 2020. The additional places provided through SIT and SIM University as applied degree pathways are intended to benefit our Polytechnic graduates. As part of these changes, SIT also became Singapore's fifth Autonomous University this year, offering a distinct approach to degree education that caters to a wider spectrum of preferences and abilities.

We recognise that progression is important to Polytechnic and ITE graduates. Obtaining diploma or degree qualifications are not the only means to progress in one's career. While

Page: 36

the Government has been increasing progression opportunities for Polytechnic and ITE graduates who wish to upgrade immediately, MOE is also developing multiple pathways that offer viable upgrading alternatives. For example, Polytechnic and ITE graduates may work first and pursue further studies later or progress through professional certifications and training. The Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review (ASPIRE) Committee is currently reviewing measures to deepen the quality of Polytechnic and ITE education and to further enhance career prospects and progression opportunities for Polytechnic and ITE graduates.

Madam, it is encouraging that the statistics has moved from 10% to about 25% over 20 years for ITE students going into Polytechnics. My question really is borne out of discussions with ITE students who, if you ask them a question of whether they want to go to Polytechnic, by and large, almost all of them put up their hands. My question then is, does MOE envision that 25% is going to increase over the next five to 10 years? And for Universities, my question is, is it envisioned that the SIT gathers more Polytechnic students within its corridors so as to decrease the number of students having to pay for private degrees, and that can be quite a hefty sum at the age of early 20s or mid 20s? Those are my two questions.

Madam, I thank the Member for his questions. Let me take the second question first. Certainly, it is anticipated that with SIT as well as UniSIM, there will be more places for Polytechnic students and, hopefully, rather than pursuing a degree in private institutions which will cost a lot more, the Polytechnic students will afford themselves of this new opportunity. I should also mention, as I indicated earlier, that both SIT and UniSIM are intended to be applied Universities, meaning that there would be a lot more emphasis on the practical aspects of learning, and that makes it a very natural next step for graduates from the Polytechnics because Polytechnic education is, in itself, applied or occupational education.

So, you can see that what we have done in the CUEP recommendations is basically open up the number of places in the universities with the idea that this would provide more opportunities for the Polytechnic students.

With respect to the second question about whether we envisage the number of ITE students going to Polytechnics to be increased over the next five to 10 years, I would say the answer is yes. The question is, at what point do they upgrade to Polytechnic? Is it necessary be immediately after ITE or could it possibly be after spending sometime at the workplace, gaining experience, and then when they go and take a diploma, it is directly relevant to their field of work or industry that they are working in? And the latter is something that we would like to see develop so that people are to leverage on the certificates that they obtain at the ITE, keep in the industry, deepen their skills and move forward to progress in the area that

Page: 37

they have gained experience in.