• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

Niche CCAs at schools to give way to more “learning opportunity” programmes

by Howard Lee
29/06/2015
in Current Affairs
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0

moeBy Howard Lee

There was a time where parents will send their children to a school because it excelled in a certain sport of co-curricular activity (CCA).

Not anymore, as schools begin to scale back the School-Based Excellence initiative, to be replaced by “programmes that focus more on learning opportunities rather than achievements”, reported media.

The Programme for School-Based Excellence (PSE) for primary schools was introduced in 2005 to help schools to develop their strengths and niche areas.

“This is to encourage the schools to offer a diverse range of programmes to provide students with more opportunities to grow in different areas of excellence, and enrich their educational experience,” said the Ministry of Education (MOE) in an earlier media release. “Through their niche programmes, schools also develop in their students various skills such as teamwork, communication and creativity.”

Primary schools that successfully applied for the scheme will receive a recurrent grant of up to S$100,000 per year per school, with the purpose of further raising the quality and outreach of these initiatives.

Schools apparently need to continually chalk up performance records in these niche areas in order to maintain the grant.

The PSE was also meant to be a way for schools to develop their own strengths, but the scheme also created problems for parents, as CCAs and programmes that do not contribute to the PSE initiative were often not given much, if any, attention by the respective schools.

As such, while initially touted as an initiative that “enables the schools to develop different areas of excellence and provide more opportunities for our students”, the initiative seems to have fallen short in providing such opportunities, at least for all students.

singapore-studentsMOE confirmed with media that as of last year, primary schools in Singapore have begun transiting to Learning for Life and Applied Learning programmes, which MOE had unveiled in 2013 for secondary schools to create “a colourful landscape of distinctive schools to choose from”, as then noted by Education Minister Heng Swee Keat.

The PSE was announced at the MOE Work Plan Seminar 2004 on 29 September 2004 by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, then the Education Minister.

Over the next few years, the PSE scheme will be gradually phased out from the entire education system.

It is not clear, however, if the “replacement” programmes” would serve the same purpose a PSE, or if they would be in the same tune of developing specialised CCAs for schools and students.

The Applied Learning programme emphases on developing thinking skills, connecting knowledge across subject disciplines, stretching the imagination and applying these in authentic settings in society and industries, with the intent of helping students “appreciate the relevance and value of what they are learning in the academic curriculum and develop stronger motivation and purpose to acquire knowledge and skills”.

The Learning for Life programme aims to provide students with real-life experiential learning to develop their character and values, cultivate positive attitudes, self expression and strengthen their people skills.

Learning for Life is integral to Character and Citizenship Education (CCE), which encourages in students a sense of rootedness and responsibility for their community and fellow Singaporeans. Activities might include outdoor adventure learning, sports, student leadership development, uniformed groups, performing and visual arts.

However, what the phasing out of the PSE scheme seems to be aligned with is the concept of “every school a good school”, a motto that has been close to Mr Heng’s term as Education Minister.

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

Malaysian court sentences man to 1,050 years’ jail, 24 strokes of the cane, for raping stepdaughter 105 times
AFP

Thai court jails activist for 28 years jail for royal defamation

26/01/2023
Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall
Community

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

26/01/2023
KKH’s lack of continuous monitoring baby’s vital signs “was not ideal”, said State Coroner
Health

KKH’s lack of continuous monitoring baby’s vital signs “was not ideal”, said State Coroner

26/01/2023
Dozens of COVID protesters still behind bars in China: HRW
AFP

Dozens of COVID protesters still behind bars in China: HRW

26/01/2023
8 dead, including 6 Chinese nationals, after ship sinks near Japan
AFP

8 dead, including 6 Chinese nationals, after ship sinks near Japan

26/01/2023
“党籍不会过期失效”  前进党称已就党籍终止知会卡拉
Health

Nurse disabled permanently after vaccine injury and sacked by SGH; Did the hospital advise her to apply for VIFAP?

26/01/2023
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Malaysian court sentences man to 1,050 years’ jail, 24 strokes of the cane, for raping stepdaughter 105 times

Thai court jails activist for 28 years jail for royal defamation

26/01/2023
Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

26/01/2023
KKH’s lack of continuous monitoring baby’s vital signs “was not ideal”, said State Coroner

KKH’s lack of continuous monitoring baby’s vital signs “was not ideal”, said State Coroner

26/01/2023
Dozens of COVID protesters still behind bars in China: HRW

Dozens of COVID protesters still behind bars in China: HRW

26/01/2023
8 dead, including 6 Chinese nationals, after ship sinks near Japan

8 dead, including 6 Chinese nationals, after ship sinks near Japan

26/01/2023
“党籍不会过期失效”  前进党称已就党籍终止知会卡拉

Nurse disabled permanently after vaccine injury and sacked by SGH; Did the hospital advise her to apply for VIFAP?

26/01/2023
Man and 2-year-old daughter fell into hole in bridge at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, “seconds away from drowning”

Man and 2-year-old daughter fell into hole in bridge at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, “seconds away from drowning”

26/01/2023
Ruling on Trump ban marks defining moment for Facebook panel

Meta says Trump to be allowed back on Facebook, Instagram

26/01/2023

Trending posts

Ho Ching breaks silence over Temasek’s write down of its US$275 million investment in FTX, says it “can afford to be contrarian”

US regulator questions VCs’ due diligence work prior to investing in FTX; Ho Ching says Temasek can afford to be contrarian

by The Online Citizen
24/01/2023
27

...

Two Indian nationals paid about S$330 and S$730 respectively for forged certificates submitted in their S-Pass application

MOM found issuing EPs meant for foreign PMETs to PRC waitress and general worker

by Correspondent
26/01/2023
26

...

Niche CCAs at schools to give way to more “learning opportunity” programmes

by Howard Lee
29/06/2015
0

...

“党籍不会过期失效”  前进党称已就党籍终止知会卡拉

AGC asked to explain purposes of 68 private letters of inmates illegitimately forwarded to prosecutors

by The Online Citizen
21/01/2023
16

...

Indian rupee falls 60% since signing of CECA while Singapore becomes top investor in India

by Correspondent
25/01/2023
34

...

“党籍不会过期失效”  前进党称已就党籍终止知会卡拉

Has HDB flats become “more affordable” by “selling” at a shorter lease of 50-years?

by Leong Szehian
25/01/2023
18

...

June 2015
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930  
« May   Jul »
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
  • Contact Us

© 2006 - 2021 The Online Citizen

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2006 - 2021 The Online Citizen

wpDiscuz