Chan Chun Sing

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Thursday (March 6) upcoming changes to the criteria for admission to junior colleges (JCs) starting in 2028, when students will be assessed on five O-Level subjects instead of six.

This is part of MOE’s endeavours to “broaden definitions of success beyond academic achievements and encourage holistic development” in Singapore’s students. It allows them more room to recalibrate their curriculum load, more time to pursue other interests, and more time to strengthen their development of 21st-century competencies.

“They will thus be able to devote more time and effort to pursue their interests, deepen their communication and collaboration skills through CCAs (co-curricular activities), and uncover new strengths through school programmes,” said Education Minister Chan Chun Sing in Parliament on March 6.

At present, the L1R5 criteria require students to attain at least a score of 20 in six O-Level subjects to qualify for admission to a JC. The subjects include one language, one humanities, one science or mathematics subject, an additional humanities, science or mathematics subject, and two other best-performing subjects.

By 2028, when the L1R4 criteria are implemented, a student must obtain a score of at least 16 across five subjects, with one of their best-scoring subjects removed from consideration. However, they will still be required to pass a mother tongue language subject.

MOE noted in a press release that the L1R5 admission criterion had been introduced in 1989 to address poor passing rates among JC students. Today, however, JC students are much better prepared for their A-Levels, with passing rates having substantially improved from approximately 65% in 1990 to about 95% in 2023.

“In line with MOE’s efforts to encourage holistic development in our students beyond academic achievements, it is timely to reduce the number of subjects required for JC admission from six to five,” the ministry said, noting reassuringly that students will still be sufficiently prepared for the rigour of the JC curriculum.

MOE also said that it would lower the cap on bonus points from four to three for admission to JCs in accordance with the decrease in the number of subjects included in the computation of the L1R4 net aggregate score.

However, the students who apply and are chosen for the Chinese, Malay, or Tamil Language Elective Programme will still qualify for an additional two bonus points beyond the bonus points cap, which means they can still receive a total of five bonus points.