DZ COS Engagement 2023

There will be 60 MOE Kindergartens (MKs) by 2027.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Today, there are 50 MOE Kindergartens (MKs) around Singapore. We are on track to opening another seven by 2025, and a further three by 2027, based on current plans. The 60 MKs will contribute to the Government's commitment to achieve 80% government-supported preschool places by around 2025.

2. Students will be posted to Secondary 1 through one of ________ Posting Groups.

• Two

• Three

• Four

• Five

Answer explanation

Starting from 2024 Secondary 1 cohort, MOE will post Primary 6 students to secondary schools through three Posting Groups – Posting Groups 1, 2, and 3 – mapped to the PSLE Score ranges for Normal(Technical), Normal(Academic), and Express courses respectively.

This ensures that schools continue to admit students with diverse strengths, and students continue to have access to a wide range of schools. Unlike streaming, Posting Groups will only be used to facilitate admissions, and to determine students' initial subject levels for most subjects at the beginning of Secondary 1. Beyond that, Posting Groups will not shape the secondary school experience.

3. From 2028, secondary school students taking mostly G3 subjects under Full Subject-Based Banding can now apply for the Polytechnic Foundation

Programme.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

More students will be able to access the Polytechnic Foundation Programme (PFP). Today, the PFP is only open to eligible students from the Normal (Academic) stream.

To allow a wider learner profile to benefit from the PFP, access to PFP will be expanded to include students taking G3 subjects or a mix of G3 and G2 subjects. This change will take place from the 2028 PFP intake and the number of students accepted every year could increase up to 2600 from about 1700 today. The PFP admissions criteria will be maintained to ensure students continue to have the fundamentals to cope with the rigour of the PFP.

4.There will be ________ places in publicly-funded universities for Singaporeans to get a degree at different points in their lives.

• more

• less

Answer explanation

By 2025, the “Lifetime Cohort Participation Rate” will increase from 50% to 60%. This means more subsidised places for adults to study in university.

In close consultation with MTI, MOM, and economic agencies, we have decided to increase the “Lifetime Cohort Participation Rate" for publicly-funded university degrees by 10 percentage points, from 50% currently to 60% by 2025, so that more Singaporeans can obtain a degree from our Autonomous Universities (AUs), not just at 18 years old, but throughout their lives.

5.Special Education schools will partner with selected mainstream schools for students to learn together. How will they do this?

• Playing sports

• Spending recess together

• Learning journeys and camps

• All of the above

Answer explanation

MOE will work closely with Gen Ed and SPED schools to develop more meaningful partnerships by finding synergy through shared strategic directions, niche offerings and location proximity. This will create more opportunities for students to interact and build meaningful relationships with one another.

An example of a successful partnership is between Bukit Merah Secondary School and Tanglin School. Partners since 2018, students from both schools share their passion for sports and co-curricular activities (CCAs) together through training sessions jointly organised by their teachers. Students shared that they learnt how to better work in a team, and how the Play Inclusive Badminton matches brought them closer.

6.What does the UPLIFT Community Network do?

• Organises learning journeys

• Supports students from disadvantaged backgrounds

• Helps students to make more friends in their communities

Answer explanation

To safeguard social mobility and ensure that these students receive the support and develop resilience to overcome challenges in spite their difficult home circumstances, we established the "Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Taskforce", or UPLIFT, in 2018. In 2020, MOE piloted the UPLIFT Community Network, or UCN, to strengthen the support ecosystem for students from disadvantaged families, and address school attendance issues early.