Introduction to Education in Singapore

The education standards in the Republic of Singapore have excellent international reputation and the education system is well known for producing students strong in math and sciences. There are more than 80,000 overseas students from 120 countries in the Singapore education system, spread out across local public schools, private international schools, three local universities, top international universities with campuses in Singapore, and polytechnics. 

The purpose of this article is to provide new expats in Singapore a brief introduction to education options available for their children in Singapore. Choosing a school can be a difficult decision as you need to consider a number of different factors including type of curriculum offered, the quality of education, location, fees, admission requirements, and of course the potential waiting list!

K-12 Education

Kindergarten through Grade 12, commonly known as K-12 education is a designation for pre-school, primary and secondary education. This is also known as elementary, middle school and high school levels in some countries.

At K-12 level there are two distinct choices for children of expat families: The local public school system and private international schools. It should be noted that local schools mainly cater to Singaporeans. While local school system is open to children of expat families who are on dependent passes, most of the expat families send their children to one of the private international schools in Singapore for reasons explained further below.

Local School System

All local schools are government-aided schools. Although the quality of education in local schools is considered excellent, often local education system is criticized for lack of nurturing a creative mind and focusing too much on fact memorizing and the examination as a motivator for learning. Recent changes in the broad based educational system aim to nurture a holistic individual with a passion for learning and a diversity of talent to compete in the fast evolving knowledge-intensive society. 

English is the the primary language of instruction in local schools.The local education system follows a specially architectured national curriculum that grooms Singaporean students for higher studies in a local university.

Curriculum

The curriculum for K-12 followed under the local school system is as follows:

1. Preschool - Kindergartens are learning centers that provide a structured 3-year pre-school education programme for children aged 3 to 6. The programme consists of Nursery, Kindergarten 1 and Kindergarten 2. Kindergartens meet five days a week, with school hours ranging from 3 hours to 4 hours in a day. The daily programme includes learning activities that develop language and literacy skills, basic number concepts, simple science concepts, social skills, creative and problem solving skills, appreciation of music and movement and outdoor play.
2. Primary Education - At the primary level, students go through a six-year course focused on English, the language of their cultural heritage known as ‘Mother Tongue’, and Mathematics.
3. Secondary Education - At the secondary level, students undergo one of three courses designed to match their interests, as well as learning abilities. The three courses are: The Express Course, which is a four-year course focusing on English, Mother Tongue, Mathematics, Science and the Humanities; the Normal (Academic) Course, which is a four-year course where student learn a range of subjects similar to the Express Course; and the Normal (Technical) Course, is a four-year course where students learn English, Mother Tongue, Mathematics and subjects with technical or practical emphases.

Top Local Schools

Launched in 2004, Edupoll is an online education guide focused on quality education in Singapore and selected countries around the world. There are currently 179 government or government aided primary schools in Singapore. Based on Edupoll's survey, the top 5 primary schools among the 179 are:

• Nanyang Primary School
• Rosyth School
• Henry Park Primary School
• Tao Nan School
• Raffles Girls’ Primary School

Meanwhile, there are 161 secondary schools in Singapore. The top 5 secondary schools, also based on Edupoll’s survey, are:

• Raffles Institution
• Raffles Girls’ Secondary School
• Hwa Chong Institution
• Nanyang Girls’ High School
• Dunman High School

To view a complete list of local K-12 schools, see MOE's list of local K-12 Schools.

Enrollment

Children who are dependent pass holders may directly apply for admission to local schools. Some of the key points that expat families need to consider when deciding whether to send their child a local school include: 

• The cost of sending your child to a local school is significantly lower than sending to an international school.
• Local schools’ curriculum as well teaching style is likely to be quite different from the student’s country of origin, thus academic adjustments will be necessary.
• Foreign students are also given the lowest priority during admission process, therefore getting into one of the top schools may be quite difficult.
• Local schools emphasize on exams and grades which are complained to be mere tests of memory rather than knowledge.
• Local schools provide the best opportunity to learn the local culture and language and adapt to the local society.

School Fees

International School System

An International school is broadly defined as a school that does not necessarily require their students to learn the local curriculum or the language of the country that the school is located in. Singapore is home to both a sizeable expatriate population, and some excellent private international schools.

Curriculum

Singapore international schools offer either an internationally recognized high school diploma or a high school diploma recognized in a specific country. This is an important consideration because most of these children atttend a foreign university upon completion of their K-12 education. 

Majority of the international schools in Singapore offer International Baccalaureate high school diploma (IB Diploma). An IB Diploma Programme is a worldwide leading university entrance course. It is taught in 2,075 schools, often in international schools, in 125 countries all around the world. The Diploma Programme curriculum consists of six subjects, an extended essay of up to 4,000 words, participation in the Theory of Knowledge, and a requirement of at least a total of 150 hours in Creative, Action, Service (CAS). Marks are awarded from 1 to 7 in each subject with 7 being the highest. In order to receive an International Baccalaureate Diploma, candidates must receive a minimum of 24 points.

Majority of the international schools use English as the primary of instruction in Singapore. Certain schools (.e.g United World College, Singapore American School, Tanglin Trust School) have strict English proficiency level as part of the admission creiteria while other schools (e.g. Overseas Family School, Canadian International School) specialize in enrolling students who are not yet as proficient in English.  Certain other international schools (e.g. The Japanese School, French School) offer a country specific curriculum taught in the national language of the country. 

Top Schools

Student count for international schools varies from few hundred to few thousand. Although quality of education is generally high among internationa schools in Singapore, the relative quality level can vary significantly from one school to another. The top English medium international schools include:

• United World Class of South East Asia
• Tanglin Trust School
• Singapore American School

Enrollment

Expats planning to enroll their child into an international school should keep the following in mind:

• Annual school fees in Singapore's international schools can be quite high ranging from S$8,000 to S$30,000.
• The teaching policies at international schools emphasize creativity and individual needs of students and are less focused on exams. 
• Children at international schools have opportunity to make friendships that transcend cultures and develop a global perspective in a school with no dominant racial, national or religious identity. 
• When compared to local schools, international schools have smaller class sizes.
• International schools being a haven for the often relocating families, the students have to cope with loosing friends. 

Further information on local and international schools can be found at the Singapore Education in Singapore section of this website.

Higher Education

Post-secondary or tertiary education, also known as higher education, is the non-compulsory educational level following the completion of a secondary school education. Higher education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. The main institutions that provide higher education are colleges and universities. Some examples of institutions that provide post-secondary education are vocational schools, community colleges and universities. Higher education results in the receipt of certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees.

There are currently more than 80,000 international students from more than 120 countries taking up higher education in Singapore. These are mostly Asian students seeking high quality education close to home, as well as students from the U.S., Europe and even places as far flung as Nigeria seeking a global educational experience in a culturally diverse Asian country.

Prior to pursuing higher education in Singapore, children of expatriates need to apply as International Students, and thus even dependent pass holders are required to secure a Student Pass.

Local Universities

Singapore's universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs and provide Singapore with a highly-skilled, professional workforce. Students are awarded a degree after three to four years of full-time study, after which they enter the workforce or, if their results are outstanding, can proceed to postgraduate programs.

There are three major public universities in Singpaore. These are the National University Singapore, the Nanyang Technological University and the Singapore Management University. These universities are known worldwide for their quality education. Singapore's private local universities also have built their reputations for academic excellence. One of Singapore's best private institution is the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM). 

Fees for universities vary. Registration fees range from $120 to $700, while annual programme fees range from $12,000 to $34,000, depending on the courses and the school.

National University of Singapore

The National University of Singapore (NUS) has 14 faculties and schools, of which nine offer courses leading to first and higher degrees, namely: Arts and Social Sciences, Business, Computing, Design and Environment, Dentistry, Engineering, Law, Medicine, and Science. The NUS has been ranked among the World's Top 20 and Top 3 universities in Asia in the QS World University Rankings 2006 conducted by the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES). The NUS shared 2nd place in Asia and 19th spot overall with University of Tokyo. 

Nanyang Technological University

The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is organised into four Colleges and two Autonomous Institutions: S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) and the National Institute of Education (NIE). Its four Colleges are the College of Engineering, College of Business, College of Science and College of Humanities. Degrees awarded by NTU are recognised by the relevant professional institutions both locally and internationally. 

Singapore Management University

Singapore Management University (SMU) is Singapore’s first private university to offer American-style university education. It is modeled on the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The SMU has six schools—the School of Accountancy, the School of Business, the School of Economics, the School of Social Sciences, the School of Information Systems and the School of Law. 

On 1 April 2006, NUS, NTU and SMU were transformed into autonomous universities, allowing them to chart their own strategies towards achieving success in education. In the past years, there has been an expansion of the breadth and diversity of the local higher education scene with the addition of more universities, and institutes of specialization ranging from hospitality, culinary, and digital arts, to sports, e-learning and corporate training.

Foreign Institutes

Many of the world's leading foreign universities have established their presence in Singapore. These leading foreign universities have either set up a physical campus (institutes of higher learning) or have joint collaborations/programmes with local universities (local tie-ups). These schools claim to offer the same degrees and teaching quality as students would receive in the university's country of origin.

• INSEAD
• University of Chicago Graduate School of Business
• Duke
• SP Jain Centre of Management
• ESSEC
• Digipen Institute of Technology
• University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)
• New York University Tisch School of the Arts Asia

• John Hopkins
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
• Design Technology Institute
• German Institute of Science & Technology
• Shanghai Jiao Tong University
• Stanford University
• Waseda University
• Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
• New York University School of Law
• Cornell University

Polytechnics

There are currently five polytechnics in Singapore: Singapore Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic, and Republic Polytechnic. Each polytechnic specializes in specific fields, such as engineering, chemical and life sciences, business management, media and communication, tourism and hospitality management and information technology, among others. These polytechnics were set up to train middle-level professionals to support the technological and economic development of Singapore.

The polytechnics aim to train students with relevant and specific skills for the workplace to give Singapore a competitive edge as it moves into a knowledge-based economy. Singapore polytechnic graduates are valued as practice-oriented and knowledgeable middle-level professionals, much sought after by industries.

Polytechnics cost around $2,150 per academic year. This is exclusive of other charges eg. exam fees, miscellaneous fees, sports fee, student union fee, etc.

To search for schools in Singapore, see Singapore Education – Schools. To search for courses, see Singapore Education – Courses Offered

For more information on Singapore education from the point of view of expat families and foreign students, refer to Singapore Education section of this website.