This presentation discusses the basic educational system of Singapore and how the small country became one of the top country's when it comes to standards in education.

1. Reported by:
Ms. Annabel Obina Licudo

5. Singapore is an extraordinary success story. Since becoming an
independent republic in 1965, it has transformed from an
impoverished island with no natural resources and a mostly
illiterate population to a country of 5.8 million people whose
living standards match those of the most highly-developed
industrial nations. From the very beginning, Lee Kuan Yew, the
prime minister who led Singapore to this achievement,
understood that an educated workforce would be essential to
fulfilling his ambitious economic goals.

6. At the end of World War II, Singapore implemented the
first in a succession of economic development
strategies rooted in improved education and training.
Since the 1990s, the nation has focused on boosting
creativity and capacity for innovation in its students.

7. “Teach Less, Learn More”
In 2004, the government developed the this initiative,
which moved instruction further away from its early focus
on rote memorization and repetitive tasks and toward
deeper conceptual understanding and problem-based
learning.

8. In 2009, when Singapore participated for the first time in the
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the
results of Prime Minister Lee’s efforts were already clear. That
year, Singapore’s 15-year-olds were among the top performers in
all three subjects. In 2015, the nation was first in the world in all
three subjects.

9. “Thinking Schools,
Learning Nation”.

10. To prepare a generation of thinking and
committed citizens who are capable of
contributing towards Singapore’s
continued growth and prosperity
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11. The Singapore education system
aims to provide students with a
holistic and broad-based
education.
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12. Singapore’s national curriculum
aims to nurture each child to his full
potential, to discover his talents and
to develop in him a passion for life-
long learning. Students go through
a broad range of experiences to
develop the skills and values that
they will need for life.
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13. One key feature of the Singapore
education system is their bilingual
policy.
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14. Under the bilingual policy, every student
learns English which is the common
working language. Students also
learn their mother tongue language
(Chinese, Malay or Tamil), to help
them retain their ethnic identity,
culture, heritage and values.
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15. ● 1.Character Development
● 2. Self Management Skills
● 3. Social and Cooperative Skills
● 4. Literacy and Numeracy
● 5.Communication Skills
● 6.Information Skills
● 7.Thinking Skills and Creativity
● 8.Knowledge Application Skills
THE EIGHT CORE SKILLS AND
VALUES

18. Singapore school system structure
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The learning system in Singapore consists of
6 years of primary education.

19. ● Preschool, also known as nursery or kindergarten
is not compulsory and voluntary offered by both
the Ministry of Education Singapore and private
providers.
Preschool(3-6)

20. The government does not assess learning outcomes
for students in kindergarten or childcare; the first
nationwide screening of children’s literacy and
numeracy skills takes place in the first month of
primary school.
Preschool

21. In Singapore, the system includes six years of primary
school.
PRIMARY SCHOOL

23. The curriculum for primary schools is common for all
students in years one to four. For years five and six,
students can take individual courses at the foundation
or standard level. Foundational level courses are
designed to provide more support for students.
PRIMARY SCHOOL

24. The primary school curriculum includes ten subject
areas: English, Mother tongue language (available
for Chinese-, Malay- and Tamil-speaking students),
mathematics, science, art, music, physical
education, social studies, and character and
citizenship education.
PRIMARY SCHOOL

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The six years of primary education in
Singapore is compulsory and all
Singapore citizens living in Singapore must
attend primary school.

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Every child will study the primary curriculum
for 6 years to sit for their Primary School
Leaving Examinations, PSLE, at the end of
their sixth year.

28. Mother tongue language
Mother tongue language, also known as a second
language by other countries, is a compulsory subject in
Singapore.
Singapore is a multiracial country that homes the Chinese,
Malays, Indians as well as Eurasians.
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29. Mother tongue language
To preserve multicultural and racial diversity,
Singapore hence established the Bilingual Education
Policy in Singapore where MTL is a compulsory
subject to be taken in primary schools.
Henceforth, students can appreciate their cultural
heritage and communicate more effectively in their
mother tongue languages.
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30. Primary1–2
EnglishLanguage
MotherTongueLanguage
Mathematics
Primary3to6
EnglishLanguage
MotherTongueLanguage
Mathematics
Science

31. Assessment and
Qualifications
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32. Teachers perform continuous
assessment of their students
at all levels of education. On a
day-to-day basis, this
assessment is informal and
based on student work in and
out of the classroom.
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33. Previously, all students in primary school
took school-based exams throughout the
year and at the end of each year, but in
2019, the government dropped the
exams for Primary 1 and 2 and in 2021
dropped the mid-year exams for Primary
3 and 5
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34. Learning Supports
Struggling Students
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35. Schools screen students at the beginning of first grade
for reading and numeracy skills; those who need extra
help are taught in small learning support programs to
keep them on pace with their peers.
As part of this program, the Ministry funds learning
specialists at each school who work with these groups
of students.
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36. Special Education
To help facilitate their integration,
learning support specialists known as
Allied Educators help students with
conditions such as dyslexia or autism.
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37. Facing Your Fears
is a similar program designed to support students
suffering from anxiety. In this intervention, groups
of two to four students meet with facilitators and
Allied Educators to learn self-management
strategies over 10 weekly sessions.
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38. Teacher Recruitment
Only one institution—the National Institute of Education
(NIE)—is authorized to prepare teachers, and it offers
both a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree route
into teaching. In this way, Singapore limits its teacher
recruitment only to those students qualified for the
country’s rigorous research universities.
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39. Each year, Singapore calculates the number of
teachers it will need, and opens only that many
spots in the training programs. The selection
process is competitive: teaching is a highly-
regarded profession in Singapore and students
in teacher-education programs receive a
stipend during their training.
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40. Teacher Preparation and Induction
The National Institute of Education (NIE) is housed
in Nanyang Technological University, one of the
most prestigious institutions in Singapore’s higher
education hierarchy. All primary and secondary
teachers are trained at the NIE.
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41. During their training, teacher candidates receive a
monthly stipend equivalent to 60 percent of a
starting teacher salary, and their tuition is covered
by the Ministry of Education. Once they have
completed training, teachers must commit to three
full years on the job.
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42. THANKS
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