Subject-banding in Accordance with Students’ Ability and Talent Rather Than Schools’ Requirements
Ministry of EducationSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns MP Ms Irene Quay Siew Ching’s inquiry into how the 2028 post-secondary admission system will utilize subject banding and ensure students choose subjects based on talent rather than school requirements. Second Minister for Education Ms Indranee Rajah replied that the Ministry of Education is studying adjustments to the posting system to complement Full Subject-Based Banding. She stated that the goal is to recognize individual strengths by building on flexible schemes like the Polytechnic Foundation Programme and evolving aptitude-based pathways such as the Early Admissions Exercise. The Minister also highlighted the role of education and career guidance in helping students align their subject bands and institutional choices with their specific interests. These measures aim to create a system where admission reflects a student's aptitude and learning needs rather than just meeting rigid criteria.
Transcript
1 Ms Irene Quay Siew Ching asked the Minister for Education with regard to the post-Secondary admission system to be implemented in 2028 (a) how does the new subject banding determine subsequent admission to post-Secondary institutions of choice; and (b) how can it be ensured that a student chooses subject bands based on his ability and talent and not influenced primarily by entry criteria of his favoured post-Secondary institutions.
The Second Minister for Education (Ms Indranee Rajah) (for the Minister for Education): Mr Speaker, as announced earlier during the COS debate, MOE will study how the post-Secondary posting system should be adjusted to complement the roll-out of Full SBB.
We have some time to work out the details, and will announce them in good time. But the general thrust is to build upon ongoing efforts to recognise the strengths and talents of students.
For example, we have the Polytechnic Foundation Programme (PFP) today, where students who have done well in the Normal (Academic) course can apply straight to Polytechnic. The core feature of PFP is to inject flexibility into the posting system, recognising the fact that students blossom at different times and have different strengths. In future, under "one Secondary education, many subject bands", such considerations should not be just for special schemes like PFP, but an integral feature of the posting system.
In a similar vein, we will also study how we can further evolve the Early Admissions Exercise (EAE) for Polytechnics and ITE, and Direct School Admissions (DSA) for JCs.
To help students make informed post-Secondary choices, students go through education and career guidance (ECG) in secondary school to help them better understand their strengths and interests. Teachers and ECG counsellors guide students to explore different education pathways, different industries and job roles.
Full SBB and expanding aptitude-based admissions are part of the multiple pathways that we are creating to better cater to students with different interests and learning needs. We will keep evolving our education system to ensure that students are able to choose their subjects bands and PSEIs based on what best fits their aptitudes and interests.