MOE may review 30% target for university admissions: Ng Eng Hen
By Hoe Yeen Nie | Posted: 02 May 2011 1953 hrs <LINK rel=image_src href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/php4PmmTJ.jpg">
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</TD><TD class=bodytext vAlign=top width="60%" align=left>MOE may review 30% target for university admissions: Ng Eng Hen</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top background=/images/dotline_240.gif align=left>
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SINGAPORE: Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said the ministry may review upwards, its targets for university admissions, so long as the quality of degrees are not compromised.
It's currently 30 percent of each Primary 1 cohort to attend universities.
Currently, the aim is to have 30 per cent of each cohort in public universities by 2015.
Dr Ng also said no child will be denied a good education, because they cannot afford it.
Dr Ng also focused on how the ministry has tried to address the anxieties of parents, teachers and students, mainly about the opportunities available to all.
The Education Minister discussed how over a decade ago, the decision was made to shift Singapore's approach to education, and that the focus was beyond just academic achievements.
Dr Ng said: "What everyone was saying was, 'yes, grades do matter but it cannot overshadow everything'.
"What they were really concerned about in the subtext was, if my child doesn't get into the popular school, if they don't meet the right teachers, if we don't give them the right tuition, will they be disadvantaged? Will they be set so far back that they can never catch up?
"It was really an issue about opportunities."
Thus, flexibility was given to schools - resources to hire more teachers, build more schools and facilities and to shrink class sizes.
With that, weaker students could get more attention in groups as small as four to five.
Stress and pressure were one often cited issue, and Dr Ng said some students and parents he spoke to accepted the competition from foreigners, and added that the government has policies to calibrate their numbers.
This includes giving Singapore parents double the number of chances when balloting a place in Primary 1 for their child.
He also noted that there is a quota system in place that keeps foreign students in public schools at about 10 per cent of the student population.
At the universities it is about 20 per cent.
Dr Ng said: "We want to continue to listen to Singaporeans, to parents.
"We ought to listen to what people want, and we need to be able to adjust when we can. But at the end of the day, we want to make sure it's a good system overall."
Some political parties have spoken on education during the hustings.
When asked if the changes - for instance the move towards smaller class sizes - were motivated by the General Election, Dr Ng disagreed, saying education is a long-term venture.
"Education is not something that is a quick fix. If you look at every election campaign in every other country, they talk about the election, and quick throwaway lines, and it's not something you can do. You want to do something, you have to find teachers," said Dr Ng.
More degree options have also opened up, with institutions here partnering foreign universities.
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By Hoe Yeen Nie | Posted: 02 May 2011 1953 hrs <LINK rel=image_src href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/php4PmmTJ.jpg">
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=260 align=right><TBODY><TR><TD width=20 align=right></TD><TD width=240 align=right>
Dr Ng Eng Hen</TD></TR><TR><TD></TD><TD class=update></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD><TD><TABLE style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #cccccc" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=240><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="100%"><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=topic vAlign=top>Video </TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#cccccc vAlign=top>
</TD><TD class=bodytext vAlign=top width="60%" align=left>MOE may review 30% target for university admissions: Ng Eng Hen</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top background=/images/dotline_240.gif align=left>
SINGAPORE: Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said the ministry may review upwards, its targets for university admissions, so long as the quality of degrees are not compromised.
It's currently 30 percent of each Primary 1 cohort to attend universities.
Currently, the aim is to have 30 per cent of each cohort in public universities by 2015.
Dr Ng also said no child will be denied a good education, because they cannot afford it.
Dr Ng also focused on how the ministry has tried to address the anxieties of parents, teachers and students, mainly about the opportunities available to all.
The Education Minister discussed how over a decade ago, the decision was made to shift Singapore's approach to education, and that the focus was beyond just academic achievements.
Dr Ng said: "What everyone was saying was, 'yes, grades do matter but it cannot overshadow everything'.
"What they were really concerned about in the subtext was, if my child doesn't get into the popular school, if they don't meet the right teachers, if we don't give them the right tuition, will they be disadvantaged? Will they be set so far back that they can never catch up?
"It was really an issue about opportunities."
Thus, flexibility was given to schools - resources to hire more teachers, build more schools and facilities and to shrink class sizes.
With that, weaker students could get more attention in groups as small as four to five.
Stress and pressure were one often cited issue, and Dr Ng said some students and parents he spoke to accepted the competition from foreigners, and added that the government has policies to calibrate their numbers.
This includes giving Singapore parents double the number of chances when balloting a place in Primary 1 for their child.
He also noted that there is a quota system in place that keeps foreign students in public schools at about 10 per cent of the student population.
At the universities it is about 20 per cent.
Dr Ng said: "We want to continue to listen to Singaporeans, to parents.
"We ought to listen to what people want, and we need to be able to adjust when we can. But at the end of the day, we want to make sure it's a good system overall."
Some political parties have spoken on education during the hustings.
When asked if the changes - for instance the move towards smaller class sizes - were motivated by the General Election, Dr Ng disagreed, saying education is a long-term venture.
"Education is not something that is a quick fix. If you look at every election campaign in every other country, they talk about the election, and quick throwaway lines, and it's not something you can do. You want to do something, you have to find teachers," said Dr Ng.
More degree options have also opened up, with institutions here partnering foreign universities.
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