Exam results drop, slightly

The Education Ministry’s latest report card for the ethnic groups showed Malay performance slipping slightly at the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), and at the GCE O and A levels.

Chinese and Indian students showed improvement at the PSLE and O levels, but both groups also dropped in performance at the A levels.

The good news in the data released on Friday is that children of all races did well overall at all the major examinations.

In the PSLE, over 95 per cent passed. At the O levels, over 95 per cent obtained at least three O-level passes and over 80 per cent obtained at least five.

And at the A levels, over 90 per cent obtained at least two A levels and two AO levels.

Across the board, Chinese students kept up their record of performing best at all three levels, their results outstripping the national average.

Malay students shone in mother tongue, outperforming Chinese and Indians at all three exams as in previous years. (story)

Minister proposes alumni should mentor students

Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam hopes to see more activities that will allow Singapore students to interact with their counterparts in the region.

Speaking at a student camp for over 180 students from Singapore and Malaysia on Wednesday, he stressed that this will help break down barriers between the young people who share a common future.

Foo Hui Chian, a Malaysian student said: “Even though we’ve just met each other for a few days, we’re like good friends, we’re staying in the same dorm, we get along very well.” (story)

Singapore and Malaysia cooperate on education, officially

Malaysia and Singapore Tuesday formalised their cooperation in the education field after realising recently that their past collaborations were done without official stamp.

Malaysian Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said he was shocked to discover that for many years education activities and exchanges between the two countries were conducted informally.

He was speaking at the opening of the Malaysia-Singapore Business Forum here prior to signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Educational Cooperation between the Education Ministries of Malaysia and Singapore at the forum venue.

His Singaporean counterpart who is also the Finance Minister, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, inked the MoU on behalf of the Singapore Education Ministry.

Speaking to reporters later, Hishammuddin said he discovered the matter about six months ago but with the good understanding and his personal rapport with Tharman, and Singapore’s government sincerity, the memorandum with all the details was readied in a very short time.

Under the cooperation, both sides will, among others, carry out exchange programmes involving ministry officials, school principals and students from both sides, teaching of the English language and inculcating good values among the students which will go a long way towards constructing a platform for even healthier bilateral relations in the future. (story)

Tharman becomes Finance minister

In a widely-anticipated promotion, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam becomes Finance Minister from Saturday. He retains his other heavyweight portfolio as Education Minister - for now.

He will hold this post until after the Budget Debate next year, ‘when he will relinquish the appointment and the Prime Minister will make consequential changes to other Cabinet appointments’, said a statement from the PM’s Office on Thursday evening.

The brief three-paragraph statement left unanswered the question of just who will take over at Education.

After six years at the Finance Ministry’s helm, PM Lee Hsien Loong will step aside for Mr Tharman, who became Second Finance Minister in May last year. (story)

National University of Singapore drops to 33 in rankings

The National University of Singapore (NUS) took a tumble, from 19th spot to No. 33 this year, in the ranking of the world’s top 200 universities published by The Times of London Higher Education Supplement on Thursday. However, this is due to a new way of scoring, said QS, the careers and education group that compiled the much-followed ranking.

It said, with the change, NUS’ previously high scores in certain categories such as the percentage of international faculty, did not give it much overall advantage this year.

On the other hand, NUS’ low score on staff- to-student ratio affected its ranking.

Mr Nunzio Quacquarelli, managing director of London-based QS, said NUS continues to do well in all other categories.

NUS improved its score this year for the number of academic citations faculty members notched up. It scored 84 out of 100.

(story)

U.S., Europe inspires programs for Singapore University

The Boston-based Northeastern University encourages its students to undertake up to three six-month internships during their undergraduate years and Babson College, ranked number one in the US for its entrepreneurship program, requires all its students to start and run a company while in university. These two ‘unusual’ university programs are among the different models that caught the eye of the team tasked with looking at how best to expand the university sector here to offer places to 30 per cent of each cohort by 2015.

Minister of State for Education Lui Tuck Yew who led the 13-member team on two study trips in the United States and Europe said the verdict was still out of what form the fourth publicly-funded university should take.

But after a focus group discussion with polytechnic students on Monday, he highlighted some of the interesting features of the institutions that the committee had visited. (story)

Singaporeans uneducated when it comes to sex

Here in Singapore, conventional sex therapy usually involves a trip to the gynaecologist, where the clinical setting is controlled and considered safe.Recently it seems some women and couples are looking towards alterative sex therapies, according to an article in the November 2007 issue of Her World.

Such therapy sessions can involve a group of women or be in a more intimate one-on-one setting.

Debbie Lim, 38, a party organiser told Her World that she has put together some 80 sex workshops over 12 years.

A typical session could involve the women sitting in a group on the floor, with towels on their laps, surrounding their sex couch. Questions are asked and discussions held. Then vibrators are handed out, so everyone gets to practise and also to help the women locate their pleasure points, all under the cover of their towels.

(story)