Progress of Normal (Technical) Students

Mr Yee Jenn Jong asked the Minister for Education for each of the past 10 years, what is the number of Normal (Technical) students and percentage of its yearly cohort who (i) progress to Secondary 2 Normal (Academic) stream at the end of Secondary 1; (ii) progress to the Normal (Academic) stream after the Secondary 4 Normal (Technical) examinations; (iii) qualify for a place at the Institute of Technical Education; and (iv) progress to study at a local polytechnic or university.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education (Ms Sim Ann) (for the Minister for Education): Sir, on average, around 380 students or 6% of each Secondary 1 Normal (Technical) cohort transfer to Secondary 2 Normal (Academic). Most students who could benefit from a more academically-oriented track are identified early and would transfer to the Normal (Academic) course prior to Secondary 4. On average, around five students transfer from Secondary 4 Normal (Technical) to Secondary 4 Normal (Academic).

All students who complete the Normal (Technical) course qualify for admission to the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), and compete for courses of their choice.

On average, around 960 students or 15% of each Normal (Technical) cohort go on to our polytechnics and autonomous universities. Many also upgrade themselves to Diplomas and other qualifications after gaining some work experience, through Continuing Education and Training programmes at our ITE, polytechnics, and universities.

Mr Yee Jenn Jong (Non-Constituency Member): Sir, I would like to thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the answer. I have two supplementary questions. The first is that it seems that the mobility out of the Normal (Technical) stream is still quite low despite there being provisions for them to move to the Normal (Academic) stream. What does the Senior Parliamentary Secretary think of re-combining Normal (Technical) back with the Normal (Academic) stream to increase the mobility for the late developers?

The second question is that for the Normal streams, are we able to offer more widely modular courses that range from those that are technical in nature to those in the visual and performing arts? By "modular" I mean that we can even have examinations at the end of the module rather than at the end of Secondary 4 for the major examinations.

Ms Sim Ann: I thank the Member for his concerns on mobility for students. Please allow me to explain. Amongst our students, there are different aspirations, different aptitudes, different interests and learning profiles, and our education system seeks to cater for such a range of profiles amongst our students. The most important priority for us is to help them to learn best whatever their learning profiles or interests are. And this is the reason why within the education system, we do set up diverse pathways for our students.

The key for us, beyond ensuring mobility beyond the pathway, first, is to ensure that each education pathway is well supported and resourced, and this we have done, including for our Normal (Technical) students. The second is to ensure that there is mobility between the pathways. For instance, our students are able to move laterally between Normal (Technical) and Normal (Academic). This is in response to the Member's concerns.

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The third thing that we do is also to ensure that beyond formal education, there continues to be continuous education and training so that our students are able to upgrade their skills. And I think the most important and overarching priority is to ensure that there are fulfilling jobs and good employment outcomes for our students, regardless of whether they graduate from ITE, from polytechnics, or from our autonomous universities.

In terms of the design of courses for our students, the Ministry of Education is constantly considering different methods of pedagogy and of organising the way our curriculum is taught and managed so as to optimise learning outcomes for our students. For our Normal (Technical) students, for instance, we are considering experimenting with different ways of organising their curriculum and this has also been discussed in the House previously.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for her reply. I have a feedback from parents when I speak to them. Many are concerned about children being streamed to Normal (Technical) at Secondary 1 level, whether it is too early especially for the late developers. But, in terms of self confidence, self-esteem – I know that pedagogy at the Ministry of Education is being taken care of – what measures are in place or the Ministry of Education is looking at to help them with their self confidence as they grow and mature?

Ms Sim Ann: As we had discussed previously, I think the key is to ensure that for all of our pathways, they are viewed as equally valid. For the Ministry of Education, we do not view any educational pathway as being superior to any other, and in terms of promoting the self confidence as well as the learning outcomes of our students, this is something that our teachers and our school leaders work very hard in, regardless of the educational stream. In the case of the Normal (Technical) students, for instance, we have resourced the schools with additional teachers and also with additional attention in terms of how the pedagogy should be developed so as to ensure that learning is customised as far as possible and also to cater to the interests of the students.