SINGAPORE: Amid the national debate on the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) - including whether it has become a be-all and end-all for 12- year-olds - less pupils are choosing to retake the PSLE compared to previous years, as other education paths become available and awareness of such options grows.
Since 2007, NorthLight School and Assumption Pathway School - which opened their doors in 2007 and 2009 respectively - have been set up to provide vocational programmes for students who fail their PSLE and teach subjects such as Mathematics through more hands-on and practical methods.
In the five years before 2007, an average of two to three per cent of the cohort - or between 1,028 and 1,542 students - retook the PSLE each year. After 2007, this proportion fell to an average of one to two per cent of the cohort, or between 477 and 954 students each year.
Responding to media queries, the Ministry of Education (MOE) attributed this trend to the availability of new progression paths and learning support programmes in schools to help weaker students.
Changes in the education system such as subject-based banding have also contributed to fewer students retaking their PSLE, said the MOE.
This allows students to take subjects at either Foundation or Standard level, depending on what best suits their abilities, before they sit for the PSLE.
Together, NorthLight and Assumption Pathway take in about 350 pupils each year. Assumption Pathway Principal Wee Tat Chuen observed that the number of students coming to the school after their second or third try at the PSLE has fallen over the years.
Currently, most of its intake consists of students who failed the PSLE for the first time.
"I am starting to see more openness where parents are opting for a learning experience that best suits the child," said Mr Wee, adding that the public is also starting to see that vocational skills can be useful and progression is still possible even if a student does not perform well at the PSLE.
Former NorthLight student Thang Yuan Ting, 19, believes that not everything hinges on the PSLE. A graduate of the Institute of Technical Education, she is now happily employed in the retail sector.
Entering NorthLight after two unsuccessful attempts at the PSLE, Ms Thang said that she retook the PSLE to give herself another shot at Mathematics - her weakest subject.
But at NorthLight, she found herself enjoying learning more as teachers used kinesthetic methods and she could also try her hand at activities like drawing.
"I do not think that the PSLE is the end … there are still many options available and we can choose what we like," she said.
- TODAY
Fewer students choosing to retake PSLE
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Fewer students choosing to retake PSLE
