The Direct-Entry Scheme into Polytechnic Programme (DPP), which prepares students in the Normal (Academic) stream for progression to selected polytechnic courses via the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), continued to see strong response.

About 2,000 applications were received in main application phases for the intake this year. Of these, about half were accepted, said the Ministry of Education yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Polytechnic Foundation Programme (PFP), a one-year foundation course at polytechnics that prepares students for entry into relevant polytechnic courses, received about 1,300 applications, of which about 80 per cent were accepted.

For the previous intake, the DPP saw 1,300 applications, while the PFP received 1,100 applications.

Under the DPP, Secondary Four Normal (Academic) students undergo a two-year Higher Nitec programme at ITE.

Students who successfully complete the course and attain the required qualifying Grade Point Average are guaranteed a place in a polytechnic diploma course mapped to their Higher Nitec course.

About 1,000 DPP places are offered across all three ITE colleges annually.

The PFP offers students a practice-oriented curriculum. If students pass all their PFP modules, they will progress to their pre-selected diploma course. The polytechnics offer about 1,200 PFP places in total.

To be eligible for the DPP, Normal (Academic) students are required to obtain an ELMAB3 aggregate of 19 points or lower. They also have to obtain a Grade 5 or better in English and Mathematics.

For the PFP, a Secondary Five student must obtain an ELMAB3 aggregate of 11 points or fewer.

Applications to the DPP are now open, while applications to the PFP will open next month after the release of the O-Level results.

ELGIN CHONG