COMPUTER COURSES IN COMMERCIAL SCHOOLS (Upgrading of teaching standards)

Mr Goh Chee Wee asked the Minister for Finance and Minister for Trade and Industry whether the Ministry of Finance or the National Computer Board has any specific plans to upgrade or regulate the standard of teaching of the commercial schools which offer computer courses, in particular those which prepare the students to sit for examinations leading to certification or professional qualifications.

The Minister of State for Finance (Mr Lee Yock Suan) (for the Minister for Finance and Minister for Trade and Industry): Mr Speaker, Sir, at present, there are 12 commercial schools which train students for the joint National Computer Board - British Computer Society (NCB-BCS) professional computer examinations. These schools, like all other commercially-run schools, are required to register under the Education Act which prescribes that such schools must have proper facilities and qualified teachers.

The success rate of commercial school candidates in the NCB-BCS examinations has been relatively low. For example, only 14.8% of these candidates passed the 1983 Part I examinations as compared with a 37% success rate among candidates employed at Government computer installations. According to the BCS examiners, one of the main reasons for the lower success rate of commercial school candidates is that many of them are over-ambitious. More than 60% attempted all papers at one sifting as compared with 35% for UK candidates. Moreover, many candidates have relatively little working experience and, therefore, have insufficient knowledge of the applications of computer technology and data processing methods in business and industry. As the National Computer Board has a statutory responsibility to establish and maintain standards of computer education in Singapore, it is closely monitoring the performance of all candidates sitting for professional computer examinations, including those from the commercial schools. The NCB is of the view that the teaching standards in the commercial schools need to be upgraded. Towards this end, NCB will be organizing a seminar for instructors of these schools to upgrade their teaching skills and thereby improve the success rate of candidates. Further measures will be taken as and when necessary.