IMPLEMENTATION OF INTEGRATED PROGRAMME (Update on progress)

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IMPLEMENTATION OF INTEGRATED PROGRAMME:

(Update on progress): 12.

Mr Gan Kim Yong asked the Minister for Education whether he will give an update on the progress of the implementation of the Integrated Programme.

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: There are currently two schools and two families of schools that are offering the Integrated Programme (IP) this year. They are Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), National Junior College, the Hwa Chong family of schools, and the Raffles family of schools. A total of about 4,700 Secondary 1 and 3 students have joined the IP this year. From 2005, Dunman High School, NUS

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High School for Mathematics and Science, Temasek Junior College and Victoria Junior College, willbe offering the Integrated Programme.

The intent of the IP is to give our students more time and space to engage in broader learning experiences beyond the regular curriculum. While it is still early in the experience of this new programme, the schools are making good use of the space offered by the IP for a wide range of activities and learning opportunities. Through projects and research work, for example, students are given more opportunities to explore and apply the concepts that they have learnt.

Some schools have set aside one week in a term as a sabbatical for students to take leave from their studies and take partin enrichment activities of their choice, eg, in digital music, virtual reality or environmental science research. Another innovation is a series of inter-disciplinary colloquia at intervals of a few months, which bring together experts and teachers in different fields and disciplines. Some of the schools have also increased the number of mentorships and attachments at research institutions as part of their Integrated Programme.

In addition, as announced earlier, Dunman High School and the Hwa Chong family will also be offering the Bicultural Studies Programme for Chinese, with opportunities for up to six months of immersion in China for selected students. These additional activities are made possible because of the flexibility offered by the IP.

As the IP only started this year, more time is needed for the full benefits of the enhanced curriculum to be felt. On the whole, however, parents and students have been positive about the activities and programmes offered by theIP schools.

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As with any change to the school system, there will be some adjustments in the initial stage as we go up the learning curve. We are confident that our IP schools will ensure that their students reap maximum educational benefits from the programme.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Sir, first of all, I would like to ask the Minister whether the Ministry has a set target of the total number of students that should go through the IP andhow many percentthat would be for each cohort. My second question is: given that the IP would give them more time and space, would there also be more room for them to pursue non-academic interests, including character-development programmes?

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: As a rough guide, we expect about 10% of pupils in each cohort to go through the Integrated Programme. It is nota hard and fast target. It is an interim target that we have set. If we look at the current numbers, we will have about 8-9% of pupils in Secondary 3. Once we get up to the steady state in each of the current IP schools, about 8% of our students would be covered. So, we will assess the situation as we go along. The 10% guideline is a sensible one for now.

Character development and non-academic activities are provided more space for in the Integrated Programme. If we look at the IP schools, they are in fact doing that. Each school has its own programmebut there has tended to be greater emphasis placed on non-academic development, be it in character development or other specific, non-academic activities in the IP schools since the programme was launched.