DOUBLE-SITTING NO LONGER NEEDED AS “SAFETY NET”: MOE
The mid-year sitting for mother tongue was introduced in 1980 when there were concerns that students might not clear the exam requirements for post-secondary education, the Education Ministry said.
At the time, less than 40 per cent of students passed both their first and second languages, said Mr Chan on Friday.
Now, about 97 per cent of O-Level candidates clear the mother tongue requirements. “The landscape is now so different that we don’t need to offer this as a safety net for our students. Almost all of them would have no trouble meeting the MTL (mother tongue language) requirement,” MOE said.
Over the years, a falling proportion of students are choosing to take the exam at the second sitting. In recent years, about one-third of the cohort took the second sitting, and less than 2 per cent of these students got a different posting outcome as a result.
With the mother tongue exams moved later in the year, schools will not have to rush to finish the syllabus before mid-year, said MOE.
As English and mother tongue language are not content-based subjects, students do not need a period for intensive revision just before the exams. Moving the papers earlier spaces out the overall examination load for students, the ministry added.
“I understand that some may be concerned that they will have one less chance to improve their MTL (mother tongue language) grades,” said Mr Chan.
“But we need to strike a careful balance between striving for excellence, chasing the last mark and allowing our students to learn at a better pace.”
ADJUSTING POLYTECHNIC ADMISSION CRITERIA
With subject-based banding, changes will also be made to the polytechnic year 1 admission criteria.
Students currently have to offer at least five O-Level, or G3, subjects, and achieve an aggregate score of 26 points or better. This score is based on English, two relevant subjects and two best subjects.
From 2028, one of their best subjects can be fulfilled at the G2 or G3 level, while the remaining subjects must be taken at the G3 level.
With these changes, the net aggregate cut-off score will also be adjusted from 26 points to 22 points.
Source: CNA
