PRE-U INSTITUTIONS (Particulars)

Mr Yeo Choo Kok asked the Minister for Education (a) how many institutions for the 3-year Pre-U course have been set up so far; (b) how many more such institutins will be set up in the near future; and (c) whether all the students who are now taking the 3-year Pre-U course in ordinary secondary schools will be admitted eventually to these new institutions.

The Minister of State for Education (Dr Tay Eng Soon) (for the Minister for Education): Sir, I am answering on behalf of my Minister.

There are presently two centralized institutes for 3-year Pre-U students. They are Outram Institute located at Bartley Road and Townsville Institute located at Margaret Drive.

The Ministry of Education intends to set up another one or two centralized institutes in 1989/1990. Depending on the demand, more institutes will be opened later.

It is our intention to phase out the 3-year Pre-U course in secondary schools and accommodate all 3-year Pre-U course students in centralized institutes eventually.

Dr Lau Teik Soon (Serangoon Gardens): Sir, can the Minister of State comment on the performance of the 3-year Pre-U students at the 'A' level exams?

Dr Tay Eng Soon: Mr Speaker, Sir, the performance of the students who do the 3-year Pre-U course is generally not as good as those doing the junior college course. The reason is simply that these are students whose performance at 'O' levels is inferior to those who have gone on to the junior college. They have weaknesses, for example, in English or in Mathematics or in some of the core subjects that they have had to take at 'O' levels. Even though they have a 3-year course compared to the 2-year junior college course, it is still a difficult task for them to do well at the 'A' levels.

Dr Lau Teik Soon: Sir, in view of what was said yesterday, would it not be better to channel these students to the Polytechnic?

Dr Tay Eng Soon: Mr Speaker, Sir, I agree with the Member for Serangoon Gardens. But it is not a question of channelling students as if they were people that we could simply direct. We have to persuade them because finally they make their own choice and it is their own future. We have provided as much information as we can at 'O' levels to students who are looking ahead to their junior college, Pre-U centre or Polytechnic options. I could say that many of the students who go to Pre-U centres are those who have applied to the Polytechnics but because of competition are unable to get into the Polytechnics and they choose the Pre-U centres as a second option.

Mr Sia Khoon Seong (Moulmein): Sir, would the Minister of State not agree that the poor performance of these 3-year Pre-U course students is the result of the lesser attention paid by the Ministry of Education on these students as compared to the junior colleges, in terms of the facilities provided and so forth?

Dr Tay Eng Soon: Sir, it is not true that the students in the 3-year Pre-U centres located at secondary schools are neglected. First of all, the enrolment is quite small. In any secondary school, the number of Pre-U students would number at most a few hundred compared to the junior college which may have an enrolment of 2,000. So they get quite a lot of personal attention.

The facilities that they have are not as good as that in junior colleges. That is to say they do not have sports fields and all the other ECA facilities that junior college premises have. But I do not think that has any bearing on the academic performance.

Mr Sia Khoon Seong: Mr Speaker, Sir, has the Minister of State himself visited a Pre-U centre and a junior college to see the facilities in the classrooms? I am not talking about sports facilities. I am not talking of just the peripheral comparison. It is the teacher/pupil ratio. Has he made a comparison of that?

Dr Tay Eng Soon: Mr Speaker, Sir, it is true that in the Pre-U centres in secondary schools the students are taught in classrooms. Whereas in the junior colleges they are taught in lecture theatres, in very much larger groups. It can be argued that for some students the classroom method of teaching is, in fact, superior to that of a large lecture theatre where you receive a lecture en masse. So it can be argued that those who are in the Pre-U centres in fact have smaller classes and more personal attention in teaching.

Mr Sia Khoon Seong: Sir, are the library facilities, for example, in the Pre-U centre as good as the library facilities in the junior college, a factor very essential for good education?

Dr Tay Eng Soon: Sir, I do not have the figures. But I remember this question being asked here at Question Time sometime ago, comparing the library facilities in Pre-U centres with those in junior colleges. As regards the number of books per student, a norm which we observe, for junior colleges and Pre-U centres it is exactly the same, namely, for every student they will get 15 books allocated for their library. So in that sense, the provision for Pre-U centres is the same as for junior colleges.

Granted that the library in a Pre-U centre may be a smaller one and not as big as that in the junior college, but the junior college is a very much bigger institution.

Mr Philip Tan Tee Yong (Paya Lebar): Sir, can the Minister of State also tell us whether the teachers in the Pre-U centres are experienced teachers, or are they actually fresh graduates from the universities?

Dr Tay Eng Soon: Sir, the Ministry is aware of the 'A' levels that all these students have to do. And in the selection of teachers to be posted to junior colleges and to Pre-U centres, we take very much into account the academic background, the expertise, qualifications, and experience of the teachers.