Contrary to popular belief, the Education Minister has come out to say that the higher education institutions (ITE, Polytechnic, University) will NOT merge.
For more information, read the news article. http://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/singapore/story20170505-756710
Teachers affected by upcoming school mergers will be given bridging courses and lighter teaching loads where possible, said Senior Minister of State for Education Janil Puthucheary, as redeployed teachers were once again assured that they would not be retrenched.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Dr Puthucheary said the bridging courses will help equip the affected teachers with the competencies and content knowledge to make the switch, while the lighter loads would give them time and space to adjust.
Seven backbenchers asked about school and junior college mergers during what was Parliament's first opportunity to debate the issue.
Besides querying how the Ministry of Education (MOE) decides on school mergers, the MPs also asked how teaching staff can be prepared for the move.
In April this year, MOE announced that due to a shrinking student population, 14 schools will be folded into others by 2019 to keep school sizes feasible. For the first time, this merger exercise will include junior colleges.
Serangoon, Tampines, Innova and Jurong JCs will be absorbed by Anderson, Meridian, Yishun and Pioneer respectively, cutting the number of JCs from 23 to 19.
MOE had also announced that seven pairs of primary schools and three pairs of secondary schools will merge as well.
Dr Puthucheary said besides the bridging courses, affected teachers will also have the opportunity to be attached to their new schools before their formal postings begin. After they have been posted, MOE will continue to support these teachers through regular engagement sessions.
Redeployed teachers will also be paired with mentor teachers while schools, where possible, have been asked to adjust their workload.
He reiterated MOE's rationale for merging schools.
He said: "We recognise that school mergers are painful for students, staff and alumni, but they are necessary. Without mergers, some schools will be facing such low enrolment that they will not be able to provide our students with the array of subject combinations, co-curricular activities, and enrichment programmes that they deserve."
Dr Puthucheary said in the case of junior colleges, the intake is projected to fall by 20 per cent - from 16,000 students in 2010 to around 12,800 students in 2019.
"This fall of 3,200 JC1 students is equal to the intake for four typical JCs. If MOE does not take any action now, several of our JCs would find themselves with JC1 intake of below 400, less than half of the typical 800.
"Some would even struggle to fill 200 places. When this happens, the educational experience of the students enrolled in these JCs will be severely compromised," he explained.
In response to some MPs who asked if other options were considered, he said one option considered was to retain schools even when enrolment has fallen. Co-curricular programmes can be run at a cluster or regional level by bringing together students from various schools.
However, MOE decided against it as staff and students would face operational challenges such as timetabling constraints, and the need to travel between different schools for activities.
He also addressed the concern among some parents and students that fewer junior colleges would mean stiffer competition for places. He said the cut-off points may vary slightly next year following the mergers, but gave the assurance that every student who qualifies for junior college admission will have a place.
MOE plans to increase the JC1 student intake for the remaining junior colleges so that there are sufficient places.
hey guys my friend created https://tick.ninja where they pooled tgt lots of O Levels and A Levels notes for their juniors. Hope they help! Cheers :)
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Originally posted by Yeohkairong2000:Hi guys, i'm a jc1 student currently studying in one of the aforementioned JCs affected. My overall grades are so bad that i have an inkling and gut feeling that I'll have to retain (not just for my school's sake, but for my future's as well). I'm currently in a dilemna now. I feel like my current combi (BCME) doesn't suit me at all, since i'm really mathematically inclined so much so that i managed to get double A1s for E and A Math in A Levels and B in Promos (guilty of lack of practice though). Should I change my current subject combi of BCME to Further Math (with chem) combi? However, will the new combi in any way affect my chances of pursuing Veterinery Bioscience in Australia?
But yeah, for sure you'll need H2 Chemistry (arguably the most important subject in JC, I'm biased and proud of it).
Your discussion is really interesting)
The JCs, which will be merged in 2019, will adopt a combination of the full names of both colleges, with the name of the older JC coming first, said MOE on Thursday (Jan 11).
SINGAPORE: The four pairs of junior colleges (JCs) to be merged in 2019 will have names that reflect their history and heritage, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Thursday (Jan 11).
They will be named Anderson Serangoon JC, Yishun Innova JC, Tampines Meridian JC and Jurong Pioneer JC, it announced in its press release.
MOE said the JCs will adopt a combination of the full names of both colleges, with the name of the older JC coming first. Other factors including stakeholders’ interests and the sentiments of all schools involved were also considered in arriving at the names.
“For the last four to five months, the JC principals had reached out to the various stakeholders in different ways, and one of the issues that was discussed and raised was the name,” said MOE’s Deputy Director-General of Education (Schools) Liew Wei Li.
She highlighted several options that came up in these discussions: To retain the names of one of the JCs, to have an entirely new name, or to combine the names. The combined name, she added, was chosen because there was no consensus among the stakeholders
“A combined name would be useful in the JCs’ case because we feel that it would give them both a good standing to go forward as a combined entity to unite both their strengths.”
JC principals have also held engagement sessions with their College Advisory Committees, staff and alumni associations on the merger of the JCs, including exploring different naming possibilities, said MOE.
Education Minister for Schools Ng Chee Meng said there are understandably diverse views in choosing a name.
"Names can mean a lot to each of us," he wrote in a Facebook post. "It is difficult to get consensus. For each pair we took into consideration the schools' history and heritage, stakeholders' interests and the sentiments of the schools involved.
"We might not be able to satisfy everybody, but from all your feedback, we know that you care for our schools and students," he added.
The merger of the eight JCs was first announced by MOE in April 2017, citing Singapore’s fall in birth rates and a decline in JC enrollment since 2014. This is the first time JCs here are merging.
It is not the first time combined names have been used in school mergers. For example, Loyang Secondary and Greenview Secondary, which merged this year, took on the name Loyang View Secondary. A combined English-Chinese name was also used in the case of the merger between Yio Chu Kang Secondary and Chong Boon Secondary, where the merged school is known in English as Yio Chu Kang Secondary, but in Chinese as Chong Boon Secondary.
“We’ve explored different options before,” said Ms Liew. “But for younger students, we have to bear in mind that longer names can be unmanageable for them.
“So we have to take such things into consideration when combining names.”
PRINCIPALS APPOINTED FOR MERGED SCHOOLS
Principal-designates have also been selected from the merging JCs, said MOE, adding that this is to provide better support and stability during the transition. They are:
- Current Serangoon JC principal Manogaran Suppiah will be the principal of Anderson Serangoon JC;
- Current Innova JC principal Michael Nelson De Silva will be the principal of Yishun Innova JC;
- Current Tampines JC principal Yoong Nyok Ke Pamela will be the principal of Tampines Meridian JC;
- Current Jurong JC principal Hang Kim Hoo will be the principal of Jurong Pioneer JC.
They will begin their appointment as principal-designates from Thursday, and will become the principal of the merged JC in 2019.
MOE also told Channel NewsAsia that it is looking into the redeployment plans for the other four incumbent principals of the merging JCs. In the interim, they will work with the principal-designates to coordinate and plan the merger of the JCs.
About 260 teachers from the affected JCs will be redeployed in 2018 and 2019, it added. The majority of them have been redeployed to other schools in January, while the rest have either joined MOE's headquarters or are still with the merging JCs.
“Those who are with the merging JCs will be redeployed in 2019, and MOE will be providing the necessary training and support to facilitate their redeployment,” the ministry said.
SCHOOLS TO DECIDE ON ISSUES LIKE UNIFORM, SCHOOL BADGE AND MOTTO
Ms Liew added that it will be up to the schools to decide on elements like the new JC’s uniform and school badge over the course of 2018.
“All these elements are very important symbols to the school, and they form their identity,” she said. “So we want to leave it to the merged JCs to make these decisions.”
Even before 2019, the JCs have already begun working together on such issues.
In the case of Jurong Pioneer JC, both colleges collaborated on the design for the interim uniform for 2018, which incorporated the emblems from both colleges. A heritage wall was also set up in Pioneer JC’s premises to display key college artefacts and memorabilia of both colleges.
As for Anderson Serangoon JC, staff and students from both schools came together from August 2017 to develop the concept and work out the programme details of their joint open house to be held this year. A Staff Learning Day was also organised before the start of the 2018 academic year, to encourage stronger ties between staff from both JCs.
Source: CNA/lc
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/merged-junior-colleges-jcs-new-names-9851338
Yishun Innova JC = YIJC
Tampines Meridian JC = TPMJC
Jurong Pioneer JC = JPJC
The niggling issue of new names for eight junior colleges merging next year has been settled.
The four merged schools will adopt a combination of the colleges' original names, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Thursday (Jan 11).
For each pair, the name of the older JC will come first to reflect its longer history and heritage, the ministry said.
Anderson JC and Serangoon JC will be known as Anderson Serangoon JC, and Innova JC and Yishun JC will become Yishun Innova JC. Meridian JC and Tampines JC will be Tampines Meridian JC, and Jurong JC and Pioneer JC will be called Jurong Pioneer JC.
Four of the current JC principals will continue as principal-designates of the merged JCs, starting on Thursday. The other four will be redeployed to MOE headquarters or to other schools by next year.
MOE also said that out of some 1,000 teachers from the eight JCs, about 260 have been or will be redeployed to other primary and secondary schools, JCs, or to MOE headquarters this year and next year.
This is the first time JCs have to be merged.
The MOE, when announcing the move in April last year, had said it was due to Singapore's declining birth rate. JC intake is expected to drop by a fifth, going from 16,000 in 2010 to 12,800 next year.
With the mergers, there will be 19 JCs in total next year.
Ms Liew Wei Li, MOE's deputy director-general of education (schools), said that in arriving at the final names, the ministry considered factors such as the schools' history and heritage, and their role in the community.
In the past year, the JC principals also discussed the naming issue with alumni associations, students, past and present staff and school advisory committees.
Ms Liew said that MOE had considered other options such as keeping only one JC name or coming up with an entirely new name, but decided on retaining both colleges' names.
"As the eight merging JCs form a substantial portion of our JC landscape, we believe that retaining the names of both colleges will allow the merging JCs to unite their strengths and move forward as a combined entity to forge a new journey together," she said.
The history of each JC and its journey through the years will be documented and preserved at a heritage space in the merged JC's building.
Anderson Serangoon JC will be located at the Anderson JC campus in Ang Mo Kio, and Yishun Innova JC will be at the Yishun JC site. Tampines Meridian JC will be located at Meridian JC in Pasir Ris, and Jurong Pioneer JC will be at Pioneer JC in Choa Chu Kang.
Principals, staff and alumni said that they were satisfied with the new names of the merging JCs as they reflected "the best of both worlds".
Madam Rosemah Rashid, subject head of Malay language and Tamil language at Tampines JC, said: "It's good to have both names as both colleges have heritage. Alumni from both sides will also not be alienated and will come back to contribute as the names are still familiar to them."
Ms Pamela Yoong, principal of Tampines JC, added:" It doesn't make sense to be inward and insist on keeping one name, and it's also difficult to find a good brand new name."
This is not the first time that schools’ names have been combined in mergers. For instance, Loyang View Secondary School, which merged at the start of this year (2018), is a combination of Greenview Secondary and Loyang Secondary.
A spokesman for MOE said that it adopts different approaches in naming schools “to suit the unique considerations of each pair of merging schools”.
“For primary and secondary schools, MOE takes into consideration the age profile of its students, as younger children may find longer names less manageable,” she said. “The combination of both schools’ names may also be repetitive, for example, North View and Northland Secondary,” she added.
1. Anderson Serangoon JC
Principal-designate: Mr Manogaran Suppiah, current principal of Serangoon JC
Site of school: Anderson JC
History: Anderson JC founded in 1984, Serangoon JC founded in 1988
2. Yishun Innova JC
Principal-designate: Mr Michael Nelson De Silva, current principal of Innova JC
Site of school: Yishun JC
History: Yishun JC founded in 1986, Innova JC founded in 2005
3. Tampines Meridian JC
Principal-designate: Ms Yoong Nyok Ke Pamela, current principal of Tampines JC
Site of school: Meridian JC
History: Tampines JC founded in 1986, Meridian JC founded in 2003
4. Jurong Pioneer JC
Principal-designate: Dr Hang Kim Hoo, current principal of Jurong JC
Site of school: Pioneer JC
History: Jurong JC founded in 1981, Pioneer JC founded in 2000