Foreword

The Colombo Plan Staff College for Technician Education (CPSC) also dedicates itself primarily to enhancing the growth and development of the technician education systems in its member countries which are located in the Asia and Pacific region. Its programmes, projects, and activities are geared to provide the needed impetus for the professional development of senior level personnel involved in technician education development efforts.

UNESCO has launched an International Project on Technical and Vocational Education (UNEVOC) as of 1992 in co-operation with the Government of Germany. ILO, FAO, UNDP and NGOs interested in the reform of technical and vocational education. This project focuses on exchanging information, research and experiences on policy and programme issues in technical and vocational through a network of co-operating institutions

In a spirit of co-operation between UNESCO and CPSC, under UNEVOC, an attempt is being made to compile and publish studies on the development of technical and vocational education in Member States in the form of TVE profiles of 21 countries. It is hoped that this series will serve as a handy reference information on TVE systems, staff development, technical co-operation and information networking. These studies have been possible because of the full co-operation to UNESCO PROAP and CPSC by all concerned in the Member States.

The opinions expressed in this study are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of UNESCO and CPSC in this regard. This profile on Singapore was prepared by. Prof. M. Radhakrishna, Seconded Faculty Member by the Government of India

C.K. Basu
Director, CPSC

Victor Ordonez
Director, UNESCO PROAP

Part I. Introduction

1.1 General Information

Republic of Singapore is a small city state with varied ethnic and cultural features. It has a tropical maritime climate. The land area is 632 sq. km. and it has a population of 2.727 million. Its population density is about 4,300 per sq. km. It has a coastline of 193 km. Singapore is multi-cultural country with 76.6 per cent Chinese, 16.9 per cent Malays, 6.6 per cent Indian and 2.3 per cent others. Majority of Chinese are Buddhists or atheists, Malays are nearly all Muslims, Indians are Hindus, Christians, Sikhs and Muslims. The population is well unified inspite of great diversity. English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil are the languages of the nation with English as the common national language.

It is a predominantly urban and industrialized country with 100 per cent urban population. The population growth rate is 1.5 per cent.

Population	Population	Population
< 15 years	> 15 & < 65 years	> 65
23.2%	71.2%	5.6%

Its land distribution is
	Arable land	4%
	Permanent crops	7%
	Forests woodland	5%
	Others	86%

It has a strong and vigorous economy with per capita income of $10,300 and growth rate of 9.2 per cent. Petroleum refining, electronics, oil drilling equipment, rubber processing & production, beverages & ship repair are the major industries.

Singapore has a strong commitment to education and the nation invests 3.8 per cent of GNP or 11.5 per cent of government expenditure on education. It has achieved a literacy rate of (for ages > 15 years) of 86.8 per cent.

Part II. Structure of Educational System


2.1 Primary Education


The education at primary level commences at the age of 6 and above; the primary education has two stages - foundation stage and orientation stage. The primary stage spans four years from PI to P4 and emphasizes basic literacy and numeracy. The orientation stage spans two years from P5 to P6 and the pupils are placed in one of the three language streams depending on their abilities.

2.2 Secondary Education


At secondary level, students have a choice of three courses to match their learning abilities and interests. The courses are of four years and five years duration with majority of students taking up the four years course or the express course. Both the courses lead to Singapore - Cambridge General Certificate of Education.


2.3 Post-secondary Education


About 20 per cent of secondary school graduates join the workforce. An equal number of secondary school graduates join the vocational/technical schools. Another 20 per cent of these secondary school graduates opt for the pre-university/junior college courses leading to university education. The rest which is 40 per cent of the secondary school graduates opt for polytechnic courses.

Chart 1. Improved Educational System
About 60 per cent of the junior college/pre-university graduates enter university, 5 per cent enter polytechnic stream where they get one year exemption and the rest 35 per cent joined the nation's workforce.

2.4 University Education


There are two universities in Singapore - National University of Singapore and Wan Yong Technical University. One open university is expected to come up during 1996. There is little interaction between polytechnics and universities. The universities support education in almost all the disciplines. The universities receive a small percentage of students from polytechnic stream.

2.5 Vocational Education


There are 15 trade or vocational schools. These vocational schools meet the skilled manpower needs of the republic through a two year programme. The Parliament legislation on 27 February 1992 brought in Institute of Technical Education to provide post-secondary training for school leavers. The Institute of Technical education replaces the vocational and industrial training board. 95 per cent of the output of the trade schools goes into workforce while 5 per cent goes for polytechnic courses.

2.6 Technician Education


The technician education is catered to by the polytechnics. They receive about 40 per cent of school leavers and about 5 per cent of the vocational school graduates. The polytechnic system provides the necessary engineering technologists and middle level managers needed by the industry.

Part III. National Development Plans and Policies on Vocational and Technical Education



The island Republic of Singapore has seen very significant growth since attaining nationhood on 9 August 1965. Like the nation, vocational and technical education and training is dynamic. It undergoes significant changes regularly to be relevant. It strives to remain in the forefront in the light of changes in education, technology, economy and aspirations of school leavers and working adults. In view of the national policy to gear the system staying abreast with the latest development in technology and to provide the high-value-added services, the emphasis on vocational and technical training will continue. New plans and strategies have been formulated to further upgrade the vocational and technical education and training in Singapore.

The vocational and technical education in the Republic of Singapore is catered to by the institutions specifically set up to meet the different levels of manpower needs. The manpower requirements are fairly well assessed by Ministry of Trade and Industry and economic development bank on a five year and 10 year projections. The Republic organized its post-secondary technical and vocational education on a three-tier basis. The first level meets the country's high level management needs including professional requirements, the second level provides the engineering technologists and middle level managers, and the third level caters to the skilled manpower needs. The Republic also places a very high emphasis on continuing education of its workforce in order to keep them up-to-date. Thus, continuing education programmes are vigorously pursued at all levels - Institutes of Technical Education, polytechnics, universities and industry.

Part IV. Management and Funding of Technical Education System



The technical and vocational system is entirely funded by the Government. 100 per cent of capital costs are met by the Government. 15 per cent of running costs are met by the student fee which is about S$1200/student. Non-governmental grants and support is utilized for specific projects as in the case of overseas training of students of Ngee Ann Polytechnic or research projects being sponsored by industry.

The educational system is managed by Ministry of Education headed by the Minister and assisted by the Senior Minister of State and Minister of State. The secretariat is headed by the Permanent Secretary and assisted by a Deputy Secretary and a Director of Education. The Deputy Secretary looks after the functions of personnel, information and services and administration while the Director of Education looks after curriculum planning, schools, research and training and GDIS. The structure of management of education system is given in Chart 2.

In general, the cost of education in Singapore is very heavily subsidized by the Government. Primary education is free. The students of secondary schools pay a nominal fee. The Government subsidy for vocational and technical and tertiary level students is up to 96 per cent of the annual tuition fee. The total government expenditure on education for 1991/92 financial year was approximately S$2930 million of which S$2410 million was recurrent expenditure and the rest S$520 was development expenditure. About 60 per cent of the budget was allocated to technical and vocational education.

Chart 2. Organization Chart, Ministry of Education

Part V. Technical Education System



Technician education system is supported by four polytechnics located in Singapore. Two of these polytechnics have reached their full capacities and have intakes of about 13,000 full time diploma students and advanced diploma students and 4,000 part time diploma students. Two more polytechnics are recently established and they are expected to reach their full capacities in about 4-5 years time. The current student strengths in these new polytechnics is about 4,000 and 2,000 respectively.

The polytechnics offer a variety of programmes. The main programme is a three-year diploma for 0 level entrants and a two-year diploma for A level entrants. In addition to the full time diploma, the polytechnics offer part time diploma courses on evening-only and day release basis for those who are full time employed. These part time diploma programmes are of four to five year duration. Some of the polytechnics also have introduced dual training diploma courses in selected disciplines wherein the theoretical aspects are taught in the polytechnic and practical aspects are taught in the industry.

The polytechnics also offer advanced diploma programmes on modular basis spread over two years. It is meant for the diploma holders who want to upgrade their knowledge and skills. These courses impart additional skills, techniques and knowledge in a narrow specialization required by the diploma holder in their profession. As such, these courses aim to extend the capabilities of the graduates so that they perform better in their existing and future employment. Normally, the advance diploma programmes require two years of relevant post-diploma work experience.

The polytechnics also admit persons who have passed two year vocational courses. Such persons are often admitted to a two-year stream. Most polytechnic diploma holders enter the workforce. However, about 5 per cent of them eventually join the universities in Singapore and acquire degrees. About 30 per cent of the diploma holders also acquire degrees from overseas universities.

Since the system carefully plans its manpower needs, it directs its efforts to fulfill those needs by controlling the admissions to various institutes. Thus the intake for various courses may vary yearly depending upon the feedback received. Even though the cross migration of students from one stream to another is permitted, it is controlled such that manpower shortages do not occur.

For example, limited migration is possible from junior colleges (A level) to polytechnics, vocational colleges to polytechnics, polytechnics to universities.

The polytechnics very strongly encourage and support staff development programmes. These are organized internally in the areas of education, teaching methods, etc. All the new recruited teachers go through these professional orientation programmes. The faculty is also sponsored liberally to training programmes conducted outside the polytechnic and outside the country. The programmes may or may not lead to a degree. The programmes may include attachment to industry or oversees firm, teaching in an overseas university, qualification upgrading etc. For recruitment, the teachers must have five to ten years industrial experience. The teachers are encouraged to take up consultancy, to interact with industry on projects.

Part VI. Key Institutions and Courses


6.1 Key Institutions

1. Singapore Polytechnic
2. Ngee Ann Polytechnic
3. Temasek Polytechnic
4. Nanyang Polytechnic

6.2 List of Courses

1. Singapore Polytechnic

· Diploma in Accountancy (For 'O' level holders)
· Diploma in Banking and Financial Services (Banking)
· Diploma in Banking and Financial Services (Financial Trading)
· Diploma in Business Administration (Communications and Travel Management)
· Diploma in Business Administration (Marketing)
· Diploma in Business Administration (Public Relations and Advertising)
· Diploma in Business Administration (Retail Management)
· Diploma in Accountancy (For 'A' level holders)
· Diploma in Business Administration (Marketing) (For 'A' level holders)
· Diploma in Business Administration (Dual Training)
· Advanced Diploma in Business Information Systems
· Diploma in Chemical Process Technology
· Diploma in Process Engineering
· Diploma in Biotechnology
· Advanced Diploma in Plastics Technology
· Advanced Diploma in Food Technology
· Advanced Diploma in Environmental Engineering and Management
· Diploma in Architectural Technology
· Diploma in Building
· Diploma in Civil and Structural Engineering
· Diploma in Land Surveying
· Advanced Diploma in Project Co-ordination and Construction Management
· Advanced Diploma in Building Maintenance Management
· Advanced Diploma in Estate Maintenance
· Advanced Diploma in Civil and Construction Engineering
· Diploma in Electrical Engineering
· Diploma in Instrumentation and Control Engineering
· Advanced Diploma in Power Electronics and Control Systems
· Advanced Diploma in Power Systems Engineering
· Advanced Diploma in Process Control and Instrumentation
· Diploma in Electronics and Communication Engineering
· Diploma in Electronics and Communication Engineering (Dual Training)
· Diploma in Mechatronics
· Advanced Diploma in Industrial Electronics
· Advanced Diploma in Information Systems Technology
· Advanced Diploma in Mechatronics
· Advanced Diploma in Telecommunications
· Advanced Diploma in Microelectronics Engineering
· Diploma in Marine Engineering
· Diploma in Maritime Transportation
· Diploma in Nautical Studies
· Diploma in Mechanical Engineering
· Diploma in Manufacturing Engineering
· Diploma in Materials Engineering
· Advanced Diploma in Automation in Manufacturing
· Advanced Diploma in Industrial Engineering and Management
· Advanced Diploma in Manufacturing Technology
· Advanced Diploma in Tool Engineering and Design
· Management Diploma in Quality Assurance
· Diploma in Programming and Systems Analysis
· Advanced Diploma in Software Engineering
· Post-Graduate Diploma in Systems Analysis and Design
· Post-Graduate Diploma in Information Systems Technology
· Advanced Diploma in Software Engineering
· Post-Graduate Diploma in Systems Analysis and Design and Post-Graduate Diploma in Information Systems Technology
· Diploma in Electrical Engineering
· Diploma in Electronics and Communication Engineering
· Diploma in Marine Engineering
· Diploma in Mechanical Engineering

2. Ngee Ann Polytechnic

· Diploma in Accountancy
· Diploma in Biotechnology
· Diploma in Building Management
· Diploma in Building Services Engineering
· Diploma in Environmental Engineering
· Diploma in Business Studies
· Diploma in Banking and Financial Services
· Diploma in Electrical Engineering
· Diploma in Electronics and Computer Engineering
· Diploma in Mechatronic Engineering
· Diploma in Quality Assurance Engineering
· Diploma in Mass Communication
· Diploma in Mechanical Engineering
· Diploma in Mechatronic Engineering
· Diploma in Quality Assurance Engineering
· Diploma in Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering
· Diploma in Electronic and Computer Engineering (ARMY Course)
· Diploma in Electronic and Computer Engineering (RSN Course)
· Diploma in Electronic and Computer Engineering (RSAF Course)
· Diploma in Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering
· Diploma in Computer Studies
· Advanced Diploma in Data Communications and Networking
· Advanced Diploma in Information Systems and Software Engineering

3. Temasek Polytechnic

· Diploma in Business
· Diploma in Legal Studies
· Diploma in Operations Management
· Diploma in Tourism Management
· Diploma in Graphic Design
· Diploma in Interior Architecture and Design
· Diploma in Media Design
· Diploma in Product Design
· Diploma in Electronics
· Diploma in Mechatronics
· Diploma in Software Technology
· Diploma in Information Technology
· Management Diploma in Accounting and Finance
· Management Diploma in Sales and Marketing
· Advanced Diploma in Management Studies
· Diploma in Information Technology
· Advanced Diploma in Systems Development and Management