Number of Junior College Students not Proceeding to Universities after Graduation

Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked the Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) for the past five years (a) how many junior college students do not go on to universities after their graduation; and (b) of these students, how many are male students who do not go on to universities after completing their national service.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: About three in 10 A-Level students who graduated from junior colleges from 2007 to 2011 chose not to or were unable to progress to a full-time programme in a local autonomous university (AU). This is about 4,400 students per year. Of which, about 1,600 per year, or two in five, were male students who have served their National Service. Most of the students who do not progress to the AUs have been pursuing other upgrading options based on their interest and strengths, such as polytechnics, arts institutions, overseas universities and private education institutions, or proceed to work.