Accepting Students under Direct School Admission Scheme's Academic and Sports Tracks

Madam, 121 Secondary schools participated in the 2013 Direct

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School Admission (DSA) Exercise, for admission to Secondary 1 in 2014.

The 10 schools that took in the largest number of students via the DSA scheme are schools specialising in developing specific talent areas – namely, NUS High School for Mathematics and Science, School of Science and Technology, School of the Arts, and schools offering the Integrated Programme.

Of the students who were admitted via DSA to these schools in 2013, 63% of them were accepted on the basis of a range of non-PSLE, academic-related merits; and another 17% of them were accepted on the basis of their sports-related merits.

Specialised schools like the NUS High School for Mathematics and Science would pick students with the potential to excel in various mathematics and science disciplines based on their strengths as well as inclinations displayed in these academic disciplines. Such peak academic merits may not be reflected in the overall PSLE T-scores.

Of the students admitted via DSA based on their sporting merits into these 10 schools in 2013, about 10% had PSLE aggregate scores that were 30 or more points below the school's PSLE cut-off point that year. Schools do ensure that these students, who were admitted via DSA based on their sporting merits, can cope with the pace of academic learning in the school.

I thank the Minister for State for her comprehensive reply. First of all, I would like to clarify that I support the DSA scheme in general because it provides the students with more options to choose a Secondary school without the PSLE scores. However, I am concerned about the DSA scheme. One of the concerns that I have is that it has unintended consequences. For example, some top schools not only manage to pick and choose the top students with the best academic results, these schools also manage to absorb students who excel in the area of sports but are less academically inclined, as revealed by the Minister of State. Ten percent of them have 30 points below the cut-off points. Perhaps these students could be better absorbed by the Sports School as they have this unique programme to develop both their academic as well as their sport talents. In my view, could MOE review whether some of the top schools could stop accepting sport students with PSLE scores 15 points below the cut-off points of the respective schools?

Madam, I am glad the hon Member supports the objectives of the DSA scheme, which was introduced to allow schools the flexibility to

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recognise a more diverse range of student achievements and talents other than performance at the national examinations. The Member has asked whether we could consider ceasing accepting students with PSLE scores of a certain range below the cut-off point of a particular school that is considering them under the DSA scheme.

Madam, I wish to highlight here that all schools would endeavour and do their best to support and develop the students under their care. Under our current system, we allow diversity in the approaches that the schools take to develop their students and every effort is made to ensure that students at the point of admission, whether via DSA or the secondary one posting, understand what is the approach favoured by a particular school. Also, efforts are also made to support students throughout their journey in school to ensure that they are able to cope in the school and that they are able to learn. Having said that, MOE will be reviewing our policy with regard to DSA with a view of developing our students better, taking into account their long-term needs as well as the educational objectives of DSA.

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I am glad to hear that MOE is reviewing the DSA scheme. Are there plans to expand the DSA scheme to include all Secondary schools and/or possibly even revamp the DSA scheme to make it non-optional, where every student taking the PSLE can gain admission to a Secondary school of choice based on both the PSLE results as well as their progress through a student portfolio that showcases their achievements in both academic and non-academic areas?

Madam, I thank the hon Member for her inputs. These will be taken into consideration. I am aware that there are a range of views with regard to DSA. I just wish to reiterate that when we look at these issues, it will be with a view towards the original focus as well as the educational objective, which is to recognise a range of students' achievements and talents aside from performance in the national examinations.

I would like to ask the Minister of State what is MOE's policy with regard to students who drop out of the CCA activities that they were selected in through DSA, say, after one or two years in the school? And does the Ministry keep track of this number?

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I do not have the information on hand that the Member is asking for. Perhaps the Member would like to communicate with us separately.

It is about the policy in general. If you do not have the number, what about the policy?

Madam, depending on the particular school that the student agrees to enter into, there would be a certain set of expectations upon which the student is offered entrance and upon which the student accepts. So, this really depends from case to case.