School Drop-out Rate after Commencement of Northlight School and Assumption Pathway School

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Minister for Education if the Minister will provide an update on the school drop-out rate since the commencement of NorthLight School and Assumption Pathway School.

Mr Heng Swee Keat: The overall percentage of each Primary 1 cohort who do not complete secondary education fell from 4.0% in 2000 to 2.3% in 2005, and now to 1.0% in 2010.

Page: 895

This is the result of the efforts of the Ministry, schools, parents and other partners such as voluntary welfare organisations. MOE has been working with schools at both the primary and secondary levels to more closely monitor students who are at risk of dropping out. Schools have worked hard to engage and motivate their students, including the introduction of various initiatives such as the Time-Out Programme and the Youth Apprenticeship Programme.

In addition, MOE has worked to reduce the drop-out among students who complete primary education but fail to progress to secondary education. There are two key components. The first is that MOE and schools have enhanced efforts to reach out to students who did not report to secondary schools after their PSLE, or did not report to their primary schools to repeat the PSLE.

The second is the establishment of NorthLight School (NLS) in 2007 and Assumption Pathway School (APS) in 2009, which provides a new progression pathway for students who have failed the PSLE, many of whom might have otherwise not progressed beyond primary education.

As a result of these various efforts, the percentage of each P1 cohort who does not progress from primary to secondary schools fell from 0.4% in 2006 to less than 0.1% in 2010.

The two new specialised schools that MOE is setting up to cater to N(T) students will adopt or adapt learning points from NLS and APS to ensure an engaging educational experience for their students that will prepare them for further education and training.

We welcome more individuals and organisations to step forward to work with our schools, including NLS, APS and the new N(T) schools, to develop meaningful programmes that benefit their students.