Polytechnic courses to be cut by 20%, more Normal (Academic) students to enter poly via through-train

SINGAPORE — The number of polytechnic courses will be cut by 20 per cent over the next two to three years, with those that are too specific to be folded in, as the Government tries to produce versatile graduates who can move from one job to the other given the quick-changing nature of the workforce.

Announcing the cut on Monday (March 5), Education Minister (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung, however, stressed that there will be no fall in polytechnic intake due to this change, which is to give students more “breadth and versatility”. 

Meanwhile, more Normal (Academic) students can enter polytechnics via a through-train programme, with next year’s intake to go up from the current 1,200 to 1,500, following the relaxation of eligibility requirements, said Mr Ong at the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) Committee of Supply debate.

Currently, the five polytechnics offer about 230 wide-ranging courses, with some that are too niche, said the MOE. But this figure is expected to go down to about 184 by the next two to three years.

The move is to avoid “over-specificity”, said Mr Ong as it “puts students at greater risk of being displaced when the industry changes”.

He added: “It can also stifle the versatility of students. By streamlining the course choices for students, we actually increase the career options for graduates.”

In the past, some polytechnic courses had been consolidated or done away with due to a variety of factors, such as fall in demand as well as lack of relevance to the industries, noted the MOE.

The ministry also said that it is currently discussing with the polytechnics on the courses that will be consolidated. 

One such course that is considered too specific and could be folded in is the diploma in digital forensics course, currently offered by Temasek Polytechnic. Under the course, students learn how to investigate and analyse evidence of digital crimes, such as identity theft or digital espionage. 

It could soon be consolidated into the polytechnic’s diploma in cybersecurity and digital forensics course, which also teaches students about forensics investigations relating to digital crimes.

To encourage greater versatility in students, the MOE will also extend a programme that allows students to build up fundamental knowledge and skills in a particular discipline before they specialise further.

Known as the Common Entry Programme (CEP), it is currently offered by the five polytechnics for their engineering course. In the first year, students will learn about the different areas in engineering covering electronics and biomedical engineering.

Once they have identified their strengths and area of interest, students can then choose to specialise in electronics or biomedical engineering. 

Since the CEP will also help students to make informed decisions about their future careers, the MOE will extend the CEP to business as well as information and digital technology courses from 2019. Students entering the courses via CEP will make up 30 per cent of its intake. 

Separately, the eligibility criteria for the Polytechnic Foundation Programme (PFP) will be expanded to include the top 15 per cent of the Secondary 4 Normal (Academic) cohort, thus raising the number of students who can enter polytechnics through this route, said Mr Ong.

In addition, the cut-off score to apply for the programme will also be raised from 11 to 12.

Introduced in 2013, currently only the top 10 per cent of the cohort can apply for the PFP, which allows students to take up a foundation year in the polytechnics instead of progressing to Secondary 5 and sitting for the GCE O-Level exams.

Since it started, the programme has “increasingly gained popularity” said the MOE. The number of students who went through the route has grown from 800 in 2013 to about 1,200 students in the last two years.

The move to expand the programme comes after it was found that the first batch of 800 PFP students who graduated last year, had performed better than their peers.

Over 35 per cent of the PFP students scored a grade point average of 3.5 and above, with Mr Ong noting that the achievement is typically attained by only 25 per cent of each polytechnic cohort.

While the norm is that 55 per cent of each cohort would score a grade point average of 3.0 and above, 70 per cent of PFP students managed to achieve it.

“There is an important lesson in education policy here. Given the right encouragement and a chance to prove themselves, especially in an area that the enjoy doing, the students will do their best, and have a good chance of doing well,” said Mr Ong.

“This inner drive outweighs the countless hours of tuition or study supervision.”

For 24-year-old Mr Jasper Yap, the PFP is an alternative route that allowed him to pursue his dreams. 

Sent to the Singapore Boys’ Home when he was a 15-year-old Secondary 2 student at Pei Hwa Secondary School in 2009, he was later retained twice and only managed to progress to Secondary 3 when he was 17 in 2011.

But the desire to help his single mother prompted him to steer clear of negative influences and “pull my socks up in my studies”, Mr Yap told TODAY.

After performing well in his GCE 'N' levels in 2012, Mr Yap said he could have gone to Secondary 5 and sit for the GCE O-Level exams. As he was uncertain that he could ace the exam, he chose the PFP route.

Now a co-founder of Eezee, a start-up that matches businesses to industrial goods and supplies, the entrepreneur said alternative study options such as the PFP allow students who are “more of a hands-on” to tap on their strengths.

“Not everyone is book smart. If there isn’t any PFP, some students who have the potential to succeed in polytechnic cannot enter the school only because they didn’t do well in their O-Level exams,” said Mr Yap, who has an offer to study information systems at the Singapore Management University (SMU).

“Imagine if there’s only a single route to success, students who can’t get on it will feel as if they have no future. Creating different routes to success will inspire students to achieve their dreams,” he added.