SINGAPORE — GCE A-Level holders who are planning to enrol in a polytechnic may no longer have to wait an additional year for admission.

From this year, they can do so within the same year of receiving their results.

Announcing the changes in a Facebook post on Friday (Feb 15), Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung said that his ministry will “expedite the process for A-Level graduates who are keen to pursue their studies in the polytechnics”.

“Polytechnics will make system adjustments to accept applications from A-Level students in the year they get their results,” he added.

These students would be eligible for a one-semester exemption if they take up a polytechnic course related to their A-Level studies, allowing them to be admitted directly to Year 1 Semester 2.

WHAT ARE THE CHANGES?

Typically, A-Level students who receive their results in February must apply for admission into polytechnics through the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) which takes place in January the following year. They may also apply via the respective polytechnics’ Direct Admissions Exercise which runs from December to March. If accepted, students will begin their polytechnic studies in Year 1 Semester 1 in April of the following year.

With the change, A-Level students who receive their results in February this year can apply to a polytechnic course of their choice in August. If accepted, they will be able to commence their studies in the same year. They will be admitted directly into Semester 2 of their first year in October.

WHY IT MATTERS

The change will allow A-Level holders who enrol in polytechnic courses to graduate a year earlier. Prior to this, an A-Level holder from the 2018 cohort would have received his or her results in February 2019. If the student chose the polytechnic route, he or she would begin the course in April 2020 and graduate in May 2023.

With the change, this student can enrol in October 2019 and graduate in May 2022. This means that the student can complete a course within two and a half years instead of three.

Mr Ong said that he hoped this would encourage more A-Level holders who are thinking about pursuing their studies through an applied pathway — which refers to courses that provide more hands-on education and industry exposure — to consider applying to polytechnics

Ms Kwek Ai Ling, an A-Level holder who graduated from Singapore Polytechnic in 2016 with a diploma in Experience and Product Design, said that the change would benefit students who were clear on what they wanted to pursue in polytechnic.

“It would be good for students to start polytechnic immediately in the same year, instead of waiting a whole year. It would make the transition from junior college to polytechnic easier,” said the 26-year-old, who is an undergraduate at the National University of Singapore’s School of Design and Environment.

The change is expected to affect about 200 students, which is the number of A-Level holders who are admitted into the polytechnics each year.

The Ministry of Education said in a press release that the change will not affect the number of places available in the polytechnics for O-Level holders or Institute of Technical Education students. There is no fixed number of places for A-Level holders as that would depend on the demand and quality of applicants.

The polytechnics will provide more details on the application process for A-Level holders on their respective websites in March.

RELEASE OF A-LEVEL RESULTS 

The A-Level exam results will be released on Feb 22 and school candidates will receive their results from their respective schools from 2.30pm onwards.

Private candidates will get their results through the post. They may also view their results online on the Examination Results Release System on the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board’s website from 2.30pm onwards on Feb 22.