COMPARISON OF STAFF, SERVICES AND FACILITIES AT PRE-U CENTRES WITH JUNIOR COLLEGES

Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education if he will say whether the teaching staff library services and other facilities at Pre-University Centres are comparable to those provided for Junior Colleges or are they poorer.

Dr Tay Eng Soon: Most of the teaching staff in the Junior Colleges and Pre-U Centres are graduates, i.e. 92% and 88% respectively. The pupil-teacher ratios are also similar, namely 16.6 to 1 in Junior Colleges and 22.8 to 1 in Pre-U Centres. Students in Junior Colleges are taught en masse in lecture theatres and in tutorial groups of 20-25. In Pre-U Centres, students are taught in class groups of up to 40 per class. All Junior Colleges and Pre-U Centres enjoy the same scale of provision for their libraries, namely, 15 books per student.