SINGAPORE (Mar 8): The Ministry of Education (MOE) is removing streaming for secondary school by 2024.

In five years, students entering Secondary One will no longer be labelled as “Normal” or “Express” and their abilities will not be termed “academic” or “technical”. Instead, they will be able to take subjects at the level of difficulty suited to them — a level of individual customisation new to the Singapore education system.

Rather than parking students into streams that strictly define what subjects they take and the depth at which those subjects is studied, the new system allows students to take each subject at a level suited to their needs and abilities.

For example, if one was stronger in Math, Literature and English – but less so at Chemistry – he could take Math, Literature and English at the G3 level and Chemistry at G1 or G2.

G stands for “general” and G1 will roughly correspond to Normal (Technical) standard, G2 to Normal (Academic) and G3 to Express. Graduating certificates will be streamlined from O Level, Normal (Academic) or Normal (Technical) certificates to a common certificate co-branded by Singapore and Cambridge.

The House gave these changes a resounding approval. Some Members of Parliament (MPs) have been calling for the streaming system to be reviewed.

The changes are also welcomed by experts, who agree that the move reduces labelling and stigmatisation and can help students excel at what they are good at.

What were some of the reactions to this news, and what are some of the concerns and questions that remain? Find out in this week’s issue of <i>The Edge Singapore</i> (issue 871, week of Mar 11), as we explore the possible consequences of the new flexi system.

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