Direct admission exercises for secondary schools and JCs start this month

The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on 9 May that direct admission exercises to secondary schools and Junior Colleges (JC) will begin this month, while early admission to polytechnics will begin in June.

118 schools will be participating in the Direct School Admission-Secondary (DSA-Sec) Exercise this year, while 22 JCs will be participating in the Direct School Admission-Junior College (DSA-JC) Exercise.

Students applying through the DSA-Sec and DSA-JC Exercises will do so and will be selected for admission to secondary school or JC before their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) or GCE O-Level examination results are released.

Nevertheless, all students are still required to take their respective examinations. Students offered places through the DSA Exercised are also still expected to meet the minimum requirements in their PSLE or O-Levels for admission.

From this year onwards, MOE will be implementing a new scheme for early polytechnic admissions, which will begin in June.

The Early Admissions Exercise (EAE) will replace both the previous Direct Polytechnic Admission (DPA) Exercise and the Joint Polytechnic Special Admissions Exercise (JPSAE).

“Through the EAE, students can apply for admission based on their aptitudes and interests in the specific courses that they have applied for. Students with exceptional talents in areas such as leadership, community service, sports and arts may also be considered through the EAE,” said the MOE in a statement.

All five polytechnics are taking part in the EAE.

Successful applicants who applied for admission through the EAE will be given a conditional offer, and will only be granted admission if a net aggregate ELR2B2 score of 26 points or better at the O-Levels and Minimum Entry Requirements for admission to their specific polytechnic courses are achieved.

Those who have accepted a place in a polytechnic course through the EAE will not be eligible to participate in the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) and are expected to honour the commitment to the polytechnic course chosen during the EAE.