Merged junior colleges will combine full names of both schools

SINGAPORE — Eight months after news of their mergers sparked a strong public reaction, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Thursday (Jan 11) the merged junior colleges (JCs) will combine the full names of both colleges, with the older school's name coming first. This is to "reflect the history and heritage" of the JCs, it said.

The names of the four merged JCs will be:

- Anderson Serangoon JC (to be sited at Anderson JC);

- Yishun Innova JC (to be sited at Yishun JC);

- Tampines Meridian JC (to be sited at Meridian JC); and

- Jurong Pioneer JC (to be sited at Pioneer JC).

Principal-designates of the merging JCs have also been appointed. Anderson Serangoon JC will be helmed by Mr Manogaran Suppiah (who is currently Serangoon JC principal); Yishun Innova JC by Mr Michael Nelson De Silva (Innova JC principal); Tampines Meridian JC by Ms Pamela Yoong (Tampines Junior College principal); and Jurong Pioneer JC by Dr Hang Kim Hoo (Jurong Junior College principal).

Last April, in the biggest school consolidation exercise to date, MOE announced that 28 schools – including, for the first time, eight junior colleges (JCs) – would be merged in 2019.

The mergers, due to falling birth rates and shrinking cohort sizes, also affected three pairs of secondary schools and seven pairs of primary schools. The MOE announced the names of the merged primary and secondary schools last month.

Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday (Jan 10), Ms Liew Wei Li, MOE's Deputy Director-General of Education (Schools) said the ministry did not reach the outcome "mechanically". It was a "difficult decision" that was only decided "up to the last point".

Considerations included the schools' history and heritage, as well as stakeholders' interests and sentiments.

In the past months, JC principals have held engagement sessions with their staff and alumni associations, among others, to explore different naming possibilities. These include retaining the name of one of the JCs among the merged pairs, combining both names. or creating a new name. MOE kept in "close contact" with school leaders on the process, and it also received numerous letters and emails from the public on the matter.

"There were many voices, some loud, some louder, but there were some quiet voices as well… There was no way that everyone would be satisfied, however the decision," said Ms Liew.

RATIONALE BEHIND COMBINED NAMES

Responding to TODAY's queries, an MOE spokesperson reiterated there was "no consensus on the preferred naming option" following the engagement sessions. "On balance, a decision was made to retain both names to allow the merging JCs to unite their strengths and move forward as a combined entity to forge a new journey together," the spokesperson added.

On what would happen to the combined names should these JCs be subjected to another round of mergers, the spokesperson said: "Should there be a need for further mergers in future, MOE would minimise naming complications by studying various options and their practicalities."

This is not the first time that full names have been combined for merged schools. The merger of Braddell Secondary School and Westlake Secondary School resulted in Braddell-Westlake Secondary School in the 2000s.

Other examples include a combination of the two schools' names, such as Loyang View Secondary School, which came about after a merger of Loyang Secondary School and Greenview Secondary School this month.

There are also other permutations – Yio Chu Kang Secondary School adopted Chong Boon as its Chinese name after the merger of the two schools. Similarly, Fajar Secondary took on the Chinese name of Chestnut Drive Secondary after the two schools came together.

The MOE spokesperson said the ministry "adopts a range of approaches to naming (merged) schools to suit the unique considerations of each pair".

For primary and secondary schools, it takes into consideration the age profile of its students, "as younger children may find longer names less manageable". The combination of both schools' names may also be repetitive, for example, North View and Northland Secondary, the spokesperson said.

The merging of the JCs would see about 260 teachers redeployed this year and next. The majority of this group has already been deployed to other schools this month, while the remaining teachers have either joined MOE headquarters or are still with the merging JCs, said the MOE spokesperson.

"Those who are with the merging JCs will be redeployed in 2019, and MOE will be providing the necessary training and support to facilitate their redeployment," said the spokesperson.

The announcement last April triggered emotional reactions from students, alumni and the general public. Education Minister (Schools) Ng Chee Meng said in Parliament the move was painful but necessary. If things had been left as they were, "several" JCs would only be able to fill less than half of their desired JC1 intakes, with some possibly struggling to fill even 200 places, he had said.