Direct School Admission Scheme for Students in the Gifted Education Programme

Mr Yee Jenn Jong asked the Minister for Education whether the Ministry plans to review the Direct School Admission scheme for admissions to Secondary schools for students from the Gifted Education Programme.

Mr Heng Swee Keat: The Direct School Admission (DSA) scheme seeks to promote holistic education by recognising a more diverse range of student strengths, abilities and achievements, other than performance at the national examinations, as criteria for school admission.

A student's acceptance into the Gifted Education Programme (GEP) is not in and of itself a sufficient criterion for admission via DSA. They are still subject to merit-based admissions criteria set by the respective schools.

Some schools consider student achievements in GEP, for example, their achievements in academic competitions and participation in special projects.

This is no different from recognising students for their sports talent, demonstrated in their passion in training, their achievement in sports competitions, and/or their ability to be selected for and remain part of their respective national junior sports team.