05 January 2017
Singapore’s education system is gradually moving away from an over-emphasis on grades and pure academic achievement.
Students are now actively encouraged to embrace skills outside the classroom, develop novel interests, and hone a keen sense of curiosity about nature and the world at large.
There is a concerted effort to focus on lifelong learning and develop a love for knowledge.
To realize these ideals, the Ministry of Education has been implementing broad-sweeping policy changes to Singapore’s education system.
The practice of highlighting top scorers for national examinations such as the GCE O levels has been stopped.
Secondary schools are in the process of developing niche programmes for students to hone unique interests and abilities. More students are being exposed to applied learning through the introduction of new subjects like robotics and sports science.
Aptitude-based admission for five polytechnics and three of the local universities is also being expanded. This allows students to be assessed on a broad range of attributes and inclinations, and not just their examination grades.
The Earn and Learn scheme, a SkillsFuture initiative, also encourages fresh polytechnic and ITE graduates to work and gain additional useful qualifications simultaneously.