Straits Times ran an article today about the through-train (nowadays, that’s the buzz word to atasize anything) system that lets Secondary 4 students proceed to ITE directly without having to go through O levels examination at Secondary 5. Here’s the hard pill: I think the ITE through-train is really not a bad idea. However, I, too, feel that students should be given a chance to give the O levels examination a shot if they wanted to. After all, it’s their own life that they are responsible for at the later part of their lives - not their principal. So, in this aspect, I don’t think the principal should have said what she said.

While the article was enlightening, I felt that it was published as a means of damage control somehow; or perhaps this was just a good opportunity to educate the public, including myself, on the merits and criteria of taking this through-train. Contrary to how I speak of the ITE to my friends, I don’t think It’s The End as long the students are willing. Seriously, some students may not adapt well to the education system here, but this doesn’t mean that they are lousy or no good. It just means that they should find a system where they can fit in.

I have a friend who likes to draw. He does fairly well in his examinations too, but he didn’t see a purpose in going straight to a Fine Arts School overseas without getting some exposure first. Even though I have lost touch with him since then, I agree that… not every interest/career/job/work/etc. requires a person to go through a strict education system that Singapore embraces.

Extending this, if a student feels that the O levels examination is a waste of his/her time and that a direct entry to the ITE is a better choice (and that he/she qualifies for it, see below article), then go for it. If he/she wants to give the O levels a shot, then no principal should be in his/her way for it.

Back to the typical Singaporean myself, the ITE though-train sounds like a good option because it paints a fast track picture. Of course, I am in no position to comment since I am not in it.

WHO’S afraid of going to the Institute of Technical Education (ITE)?

Certainly not the 367 Normal (Academic) stream students who are the first to take the through-train programme from Sec 4 to a higher-level ITE course.

Until earlier this year, these courses were open only to those with O-level qualifications.

Like most of the fast-track students, Stephanie Tay, 17, could have gone on to Secondary 5 to take the O levels but went to the ITE instead.

‘At the ITE, what they teach is more hands-on compared to Sec 5, which is more academic,’ said the Greenview Secondary student.

Now taking a Higher National ITE Certificate (Higher Nitec) course in Biotechnology, she hopes to study business at a polytechnic in the future.

Likewise, Muhammad Luqman Abdul Halim, 16, went for Mechanical Engineering at the ITE.

He said: ‘I think it’s safer. If I do badly for the O levels, I will still end up in Higher Nitec.’

His decision was supported by his parents, he said, although his teachers at Dunman Secondary had encouraged him to attempt the O levels.

Now he is gunning to do aeronautical engineering at a polytechnic after he completes the two-year Higher Nitec course.

About 30 per cent of Higher Nitec students further their studies at polytechnics, said an ITE spokesman.

Those who ace their studies can also enter the second year of some polytechnic courses, keeping them on par with their Sec 5 peers who take the O-level-to-poly route.

Some schools have advised Sec 5 students to go to the ITE, but parents were upset as they preferred their children to take the O-level route.

It is currently harder to get a ticket for the through-train than it is to get promoted to Sec 5.

Some 72.5 per cent of the 11,653 Sec 4N(A) students who took the N levels last year were eligible for Sec 5, but only about half met the cut-off for direct entry to a Higher Nitec course.

Those students opting for the direct entry route have been attending a 10-week course since the start of January to prepare them for life at the ITE.

For one of them, Nurul Aisyah Supangat, 17, going to the ITE means she can focus on what she is interested in.

‘If I go to Sec 5, they have to teach us all the subjects. But at the ITE, they only teach the subjects relevant to our courses,’ she said.

For former Jurong Secondary student Yeo Shumin, 17, the ITE fast track is a boon as he wants to finish his studies quickly and start his own food or service business.

Shumin, who has a younger sister, convinced his teacher mum and contractor dad that he was sure of what he wanted.

‘I’m happy with my decision,’ he said.

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 19th January 2008

Got mobilization today ah? Hmm… But here’s something from Hut Du Gai Kar Sui…

Enjoy your weekend! =P

Apparently there will be no Ren Ci charity show this year while the probe is still underway. However, Ren Ci is still currently subsidized by MOH despite it being under probe. This show is typically held in January since it started in 2003. However, it had been probed last year after audits turned up discrepancies between the amount recorded by the charity as loaned out and that recorded by the companies as borrowed. MOH is concluding their investigations and will be making an announcement soon. Meanwhile operations are not disrupted and patients are still receiving care from the hospital.

THE popular Ren Ci Charity Show, usually a television fixture at this time of year, will not go on for now.

Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre chairman Chua Thian Poh said ‘no decision has been made’ on holding the event, since the charity is still under investigation.

Contacted last week, Mr Chua said: ‘We have to wait until the Health Ministry’s investigation is over before deciding. What’s most important now is that patients are taken care of and the hospital continues to run smoothly.’

While declining to say more, Mr Chua confirmed there will be no charity show in the first three months of this year.

The televised show, which raised more than $7 million per show in the past two years, had been held in January since it started in 2003. The exception was last year, when it was held in March.

Ren Ci has been under probe by the Ministry of Health (MOH) since November last year, after ‘possible irregularities’ were discovered in certain financial transactions.

The charity had extended interest-free loans, amounting to millions of dollars, to several companies.

An audit turned up discrepancies between the amount recorded by the charity as loaned out and that recorded by the companies as borrowed.

Ren Ci’s honorary chief executive, the Venerable Ming Yi, is also an owner of a company the charity lent money to.

Profits from the Mandala Buddhist Cultural Centre were supposed to be ploughed back to the charity, the centre’s other owner told The Straits Times earlier.

MOH said it is concluding its investigations into Ren Ci and will make an announcement ‘in due course’.

It also said it will continue to subsidise Ren Ci’s patient care services, but declined to reveal how much it is giving the charity.

Donations are the lifeblood of the charity, making up half of its $30.3 million income last year.

Ren Ci’s main fund-raiser, the charity show, brings in the millions the charity needs to keep going. The hospital had over 320 staff last year, according to its website, and more than 400 patients.

Besides being a major money-spinner, the shows are a talking point. The Venerable Ming Yi’s daredevil stunts are much discussed.

He has, for example, abseiled from the 45-storey Suntec Tower 2 and walked across 20m-long, 15cm-wide parallel beams suspended outside the 66th floor of Republic Plaza.

Even as plans for the show are up in the air, Ren Ci had about $40 million in reserves last year, according to its website, with an operating expenditure of $18.8 million.

theresat@sph.com.sg

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 19th January 2008

It’s the time of the year for another parliamentary sitting again. This is a time when MPs are given opportunities to address any issues in the Parliament. For this sitting, some of the issues that will be submitted for discussion includes:

• impact of higher essential food prices and housing
• More help for people on Public Assistance Scheme
• Concerns of higher medical costs
• Measures to help low-income Singaporeans
• Myanmar’s issue

I don’t really know what happens in a Parliament meeting. I’m just hoping that such issues can be resolved and not just chucked aside. =)

THE impact of higher essential food prices and housing on needy Singaporeans will top the talk in Parliament when it sits on Monday.

Five MPs have filed questions asking the Government what it plans to do to help these Singaporeans cope with rising inflation.

Latest official figures show inflation hit 4.2 per cent last November, a 25-year high. Prices are set to rise further, pushing inflation to 5 or even 6 per cent this year.

Dr Muhammad Faishal (Marine Parade GRC) will ask National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan for measures to keep flats affordable for families on a tight budget.

His fellow MP in the same GRC, Mr Seah Kian Peng, will appeal to Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan for more help for those on the Public Assistance scheme.

Under the scheme, the destitute now get a monthly government grant of $290.

Higher medical costs is a concern of Mr Sam Tan (Tanjong Pagar GRC) and Nominated MP Eunice Olsen.

They will ask Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan whether these costs have risen substantially, and if so, how can the Government help the low-income cope with the hike.

Madam Halimah Yacob will also ask Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam for more measures to help low-income Singaporeans.

Another issue that will be raised is Asean’s handling of the Myanmar issue during the regional bloc’s annual summit last November.

Monday’s session, the first since the summit ended, will offer MPs an official opportunity to quiz Foreign Minister George Yeo on the behaviour of the country’s ruling junta during the summit - a major sticking point then.

MP for Tampines GRC Irene Ng will ask Mr Yeo, among other things, for his assessment of whether Asean’s credibility has suffered as a result of the debacle Recent news about how the Government of Singapore Corporation (GIC) and Temasek holdings are making significant investments in embattled banks will also surface in the House.

The latest example came on Tuesday, when GIC announced it was pumping US$6.88 billion (S$9.82 billion) into troubled American banking giant Citigroup.

Mr Inderjit Singh (Ang Mo Kio GRC) will be seeking Mr Shanmugaratnam’s assurance that these deals are sound investments.

Safety regulations in sports will also be discussed, following the recent deaths of five national dragon boat paddlers in Cambodia.

In an unusual move, MP for Jalan Besar GRC Lily Neo will also be filing an adjournment of motion - which allows a member to tackle an issue in depth - to speak about bullying in schools.

Five Bills to amend various laws will be debated. One of them is the Workmen’s Compensation (Amendment) Bill, which, when passed, will cover all employees, except domestic workers and those in the uniformed services, for work injuries.

Currently, the Act covers all manual workers, and non-manual workers earning $1,600 or less a month.

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 19th January 2008