MODIFIED STREAMING SYSTEM (Fine-tuning)

Mr Lew Syn Pau asked the Minister for Education whether there is a need to fine-tune the modified streaming system after three years of experience.

The Minister for Education (Mr Lee Yock Suan): Mr Speaker, Sir, the first streaming exercise under the modified streaming system was carried out at the end of 1991. Pupils joined one of three streams (EM1, EM2 or EM3) at Primary 5 in 1992. These pupils sat the modified Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) last year.

Under the present provision, pupils in all three streams follow the same syllabuses and take common PSLE papers in English language and mathematics. In practice, however, EM3 pupils, being the weakest, can only cope with the more basic aspects of the curriculum and answer the easier questions of the examination papers.

My Ministry has reviewed the system. It is of the view that some fine-tuning of the curriculum and examination in English language and mathematics for the EM3 stream is needed to better suit the abilities of the pupils.

The Ministry is modifying the syllabuses and writing separate textbooks and workbooks in these two subjects for pupils in the EM3 stream. Consequently, EM3 pupils will sit for separate papers, to be called Foundation English and Foundation Mathematics, at the PSLE.

From next year (1995), EM3 pupils in Primary 5 will use the modified syllabuses. These pupils will sit for Foundation English and Foundation Mathematics, in addition to basic mother tongue, in the PSLE in 1996. A new grading system (grades 1, 2, 3 and 4) will be adopted for the three subjects taken by EM3 pupils. Those who meet the requisite standards will proceed to secondary schools either in the Normal (Academic) or Normal (Technical) course.

This fine-tuning will better serve the needs of less able pupils in the EM3 stream in Primary 5 and 6. It will enable teachers to focus on the teaching of core content areas and prepare the pupils for the Normal course, in particular the Normal (Technical) course, in secondary school.

Mr Lew Syn Pau (Tanglin): Sir, I would like to ask the Minister, under the modified streaming system, how would the late developers at the PSLE examination be given an opportunity to move back into the main stream since the examination and gradings are now different and not quite comparable to the examination which the other PSLE students take. How would they be compared with the normal examination grades?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Mr Speaker, Sir, this is a fine-tuning. Under the present system, the weaker pupils in EM3 are supposed to follow the same syllabus and take the same examination papers. But, in practice, because they are slower, they are only able to cope with the more basic elements. So the purpose of this change is to focus the teaching and learning on areas where they are able to cope. But at the Primary 4 streaming, parents will still have the option of putting the pupils in the stream that they want. However, in Primary 6, if the pupils are unable to perform, they will have to go back to the EM3 stream. Subsequently, when they move on to secondary school, there will still be possibilities for them to cross streams, depending on their abilities. For example, some of the EM3 pupils do very well and they are allowed to go on to the Normal (Academic) stream. There will be remedial lessons for the weaker pupils.