SINGAPORE: Three separate admissions exercises will be merged into one from 2028, changing the way students apply for post-secondary places, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Tuesday (Mar 3).
The single application process will cover all post-secondary pathways, including junior colleges (JCs), Millennia Institute (MI), polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).
This change is timed to coincide with the first cohort of students under full subject-based banding sitting for the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) in 2027. These students will be the first to apply through the new exercise in January 2028.
The new Post-Secondary Admissions Exercise (PSE) will consolidate the Joint Admissions Exercise, the Polytechnic Foundation Programme Admissions Exercise and the ITE Joint Intake Exercise, which currently take place at different times of the year.
Other admissions pathways – such as Direct School Admission into junior colleges and early admissions to polytechnics and ITE, which are typically conducted before the SEC examinations – will remain unchanged.
The different educational pathways currently have different application portals and timelines, Senior Minister of State for Education David Neo said in parliament on Tuesday.
"As a result, students need to keep track of different application processes and timelines, which may create more uncertainty regarding their posting choices," he added.
Students will receive their SEC results in January, after which a six-day application window will open. The PSE portal, accessible via Singpass, will allow students to submit up to 12 course choices across eligible institutions, ranked in order of preference.
Posting results will be released by early February. Students posted to JCs or MI will report to their new schools the following school day, while those heading to polytechnics and ITE will do so in April.
When students with the same net aggregate scores compete for the last available spot in a course, the following tie-breakers will apply in order: citizenship, choice order, gross aggregate score and computerised balloting.
A gross aggregate score refers to a student’s score before any bonus points are deducted. Under the current Joint Admissions Exercise, bonus points earned through CCA achievements, language programmes or school affiliation are subtracted from a student's gross score to arrive at their net score.
By factoring in choice order as a tie-breaker, MOE said it hopes to encourage students to think more carefully about their options.
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The single application process will cover all post-secondary pathways, including junior colleges (JCs), Millennia Institute (MI), polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).
This change is timed to coincide with the first cohort of students under full subject-based banding sitting for the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) in 2027. These students will be the first to apply through the new exercise in January 2028.
The new Post-Secondary Admissions Exercise (PSE) will consolidate the Joint Admissions Exercise, the Polytechnic Foundation Programme Admissions Exercise and the ITE Joint Intake Exercise, which currently take place at different times of the year.
Other admissions pathways – such as Direct School Admission into junior colleges and early admissions to polytechnics and ITE, which are typically conducted before the SEC examinations – will remain unchanged.
The different educational pathways currently have different application portals and timelines, Senior Minister of State for Education David Neo said in parliament on Tuesday.
"As a result, students need to keep track of different application processes and timelines, which may create more uncertainty regarding their posting choices," he added.
HOW IT WILL WORK
Students will receive their SEC results in January, after which a six-day application window will open. The PSE portal, accessible via Singpass, will allow students to submit up to 12 course choices across eligible institutions, ranked in order of preference.
Posting results will be released by early February. Students posted to JCs or MI will report to their new schools the following school day, while those heading to polytechnics and ITE will do so in April.
When students with the same net aggregate scores compete for the last available spot in a course, the following tie-breakers will apply in order: citizenship, choice order, gross aggregate score and computerised balloting.
A gross aggregate score refers to a student’s score before any bonus points are deducted. Under the current Joint Admissions Exercise, bonus points earned through CCA achievements, language programmes or school affiliation are subtracted from a student's gross score to arrive at their net score.
By factoring in choice order as a tie-breaker, MOE said it hopes to encourage students to think more carefully about their options.
Continue reading...