The Education System
Primary School
A child in Singapore undergoes six years of primary education, comprising a four-year foundation stage from Primary 1 to 4 and a two-year orientation stage from Primary 5 to 6.
At the foundation stage, the core curriculum comprising English, the Mother Tongue and Mathematics are taught, with supplementary subjects such as Music, Art & Craft, Physical Education and Social Studies. Science is included from Primary 3. To maximize their potential, students are streamed according to their learning ability before advancing to the orientation stage. At the end of Primary 6, students sit for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).
Singapore 's primary school curriculum has been used as a model internationally, especially its teaching methods in mathematics.
Secondary School
Secondary schools in Singapore can be government funded, government aided or independent. Students attend four or five years of secondary education under the Special, Express or Normal Course. The Special and Express Courses prepare students for the Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education 'Ordinary' (GCE 'O') Level examination in four years. Students in the Normal Course can opt for the Academic or Technical stream, both of which prepare students for the Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education 'Normal' (GCE 'N') Level examination after four years of study and upon satisfactory completion, the GCE 'O' Level examination in the fifth year.
Secondary education curriculum includes English, the Mother Tongue, Mathematics, Science and the Humanities. At Secondary 3, students can opt for electives of their choice, depending on whether they are in the Arts, Science, Commerce or Technical stream.
Singapore 's secondary school curriculum is recognized worldwide for its ability to develop students with critical thinking and intellectual skills
Junior Colleges / Pre-Universities
Upon completion of the GCE 'O' Level examination, students may apply for entry to a junior college for a two-year pre-university course or a centralised institute for a three-year pre-university course. Junior colleges and centralised institues prepare students for their entry to the university and lay the foundation for tertiary education. The curriculum comprises two compulsory subjects, namely General Paper and the Mother Tongue, and a maximum of four Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education 'Advanced' GCE 'A' Level subjects from the Arts, Science or Commerce Courses. At the end of the pre-university course, students sit for the GCE 'A' Level examination.
Universities
Since its founding in 1905, National University of Singapore (NUS) has since evolved into a comprehensive university offering courses in major disciplines such as the Sciences, Engineering, Technology, Law, Arts & Social Sciences and Medicine.
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) was set up in 1981 to provide facilities for tertiary education and research in engineering and technology. It has since incorporated the National Institute of Education (NIE) "the teachers' college" and expanded to include Accountancy, Business and Communication Studies.
Singapore Management University (SMU) was established in 2000 as the first publicly-funded private university with a focus on business and management program.
Leading International Universities
In addition to local universities, leading international universities have increased the level and scope of tertiary education in Singapore . One example is the top European MBA School INSEAD , which invested S$60 million in a facility at the Science Hub to set up Asia 's first international business school with a full campus. In 2000, the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business chose Singapore to site its facility, making it the first leading US business school to have a permanent campus in Asia .
Other leading international universities which have collaborated with local institutions to launch their presence in Singapore include:
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