'A' LEVEL EXAMINATIONS
Parliament of Singapore · 19 April 2004
Official Report, 19 April 2004, Vol 77, Issue 16 · Open in the reader (summaries, search, filters)
'A' LEVEL EXAMINATIONS: * * *
4.
Dr Tan Cheng Bock asked the Acting Minister for Education for the past five years (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003) how many students (i) sat for the 'A' level examinations; (ii) passed the said examinations; (iii) failed; and (iv) entered the university.
Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: ###
An average of 11,900 school candidates (Junior Colleges (JC) and Centralised Institutes (CI)) took the GCE 'A' level examinations annually over the past five years (1999-2003). An average of 88% of the students obtained at least two 'A'- and two 'AO'-level passes (including GP) 1 each year. There has been a steady increase in this percentage over the years. See Tables 1 and 2 below for details.
Table 1. Performance of JC candidates in the 1999-2003 GCE 'A' level examinations
Year: |
No. Sat: |
At least two 'A' and two 'AO' level passes (including GP): |
Without at least two 'A' and two 'AO' level passes (including GP): ---|---|---|---
No.: |
%: |
No.: |
% 1999: |
11,355
|
9,890
|
87.1
|
1,465
|
12.9
2000: |
11,903
|
10,255
|
86.2
|
1,648
|
13.8
2001: |
11,202
|
9,909
|
88.5
|
1,293
|
11.5
2002: |
11,389
|
10,218
|
89.7
|
1,171
|
10.3
2003: |
12,156
|
11,038
|
90.8
|
1,118
|
9.2
Table 2. Performance of CI candidates in the 1999-2003 GCE 'A' level Examinations
Year: |
No. Sat: |
At least two 'A' and two 'AO' level passes (including GP): |
Without at least two 'A' and two 'AO' level passes (including GP): ---|---|---|---
No.: |
%: |
No.: |
% 1999: |
246
|
142
|
57.7
|
104
|
42.3
2000: |
289
|
163
|
56.4
|
126
|
43.6
2001: |
373
|
244
|
65.4
|
129
|
34.6
2002: |
280
|
175
|
62.5
|
105
|
37.5
2003: |
223
|
154
|
69.1
|
69
|
30.9
An average of 11,100 students entered local universities to full-time, first degree courses annually in 1999-2003. See Table 3 for details. Besides going to local universities, a significant number of A-level graduates also pursue their studies in overseas universities each year.
Table 3. Annual intake to local universities 2 in 1999-2003
Year: |
Intake: 3
|
With 'A' level qualification: 4
|
With polytechnic or other qualifications: 5
---|---|---|---
From JC
|
From CI
|
Private Candidates
No.: |
%: |
No.: |
%: |
No.: |
%: |
No.: |
% 1999: |
10,617
|
7,611
|
71.7
|
105
|
1.0
|
210
|
2.0
|
2,691
|
25.3
2000: |
11,232
|
8,085
|
72.0
|
67
|
0.6
|
129
|
1.1
|
2,951
|
26.3
2001: |
11,144
|
8,383
|
75.2
|
53
|
0.5
|
113
|
1.0
|
2,595
|
23.3
2002: |
11,037
|
8,262
|
74.9
|
61
|
0.6
|
96
|
0.9
|
2,618
|
23.7
2003: |
11,419
|
8,545
|
74.8
|
48
|
0.4
|
157
|
1.4
|
2,669
|
23.4
1 Students satisfying this criterion are not allowed to repeat the A-level course in school.
2 Full-time, first degree courses only.
3 Includes SMU from 2000.
4 The NUS and NTU threshold requirements for applicants with A-level qualifications are:
(i). Obtained passes in at least two 'A'-level subjects;
(ii). Offered GP at the same sitting; and
(iii). Met the mother tongue requirements for admission.
5 Other qualifications include the International Baccalaureate Diploma, Malaysian STPM, India Standard 12 and other foreign qualifications.
Source: Singapore Parliament Official Report (Hansard) for 19 April 2004. Republished on SGParliament.