askST: Is there a quota on university places for polytechnic graduates?
SINGAPORE - In this first of the askST series on university education, senior education correspondent Sandra Davie of The Straits Times responds to questions on university places for this year and the chances of polytechnic graduates getting into university Q: My son was supposed to go to Australia to study, but we decided against it because the courses are being delivered online. Will there be more places offered by the local universities this year, as was the case last year? A: Education Minister Lawrence Wong told The Straits Times in an interview earlier this year that the six local universities offered around 1,000 extra places last year, on account of the disruption caused by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic which forced students to readjust their plans. Some of the additional places went to Singaporeans like your son who had planned to study overseas, but switched to local universities when their plans were disrupted. Others went to polytechnic diploma holders who opted to study instead of joining a weak job market. So, all in, 17,500 places were given out. This extra enrolment pushed the student participation rate in universities beyond the stated target of 40 per cent for eve...
7 special education schools to progressively operate at permanent sites from 2022
SINGAPORE - Seven government-funded special education (Sped) schools will progressively begin operations on new campuses at permanent sites from 2022. This is part of the Ministry of Education (MOE)'s ongoing efforts to enhance accessibility to Sped for students with moderate-to-severe special educational needs. The MOE had, over the past few years, announced the set-up of these new schools. Between 2017 and 2019, the ministry had said it would work with social service agencies Awwa, the Autism Association Singapore, Rainbow Centre and Metta Welfare Association to set up four new Sped schools. This was to address the growing demand for places for students who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with intellectual impairment. These four Sped schools - Eden School 2, AWWA School 2, Rainbow Centre School 3 and Metta School 2 - will begin operations at their permanent sites between 2022 and 2024. The MOE said the official names of these schools will be confirmed only at the time of school registration, before the schools move to their permanent sites. For now, each new school's working name is pegged to the name of the Sped school currently operated by the same organisation. Each school...