Singapore has an excellent reputation when it comes to education. This small country spends about 20 percent of its budget on the schools, and for a nation as prosperous as Singapore, one would expect certain levels of excellence for their young people.
There are six years of education from the ages of 6-12. The Ministry of Education makes these years of Singapore schooling compulsory and also free. It’s considered a federal offense to keep children of this age from enrolling and attending regularly, so there is a great cultural impetus for learning here. The first four years are considered the foundation stage, and the next two are the orientation stage.
The subjects are English, the Mother Tongue, and Mathematics, and at the end of these six years, they test out of primary education to determine their placement in secondary school. These courses are all taught in English, with the exception of Mother Tongue classes, so that all citizens of Singapore have a strong command of the English language.
In secondary school, there are multiple tracks that a student can take, depending on their levels of achievement, and the subjects are very wide, including humanities and the arts, foreign languages, literature, as well as computer science. When it gets to the university level, it becomes even more specialized, and there are many options for higher education.
Chances are good that visitors staying at Singapore hotels will hear about the National University of Singapore . Its reputation in the world is remarkably high, and there are over 30,000 students attending each year, so everyone here is familiar with it. They also host and sponsor some of the theatrical and music events that take place in the city-state, and it’s well worth visiting to see what they have to offer for entertainment.
There are many other universities as well, some public and some private, offering a wide selection of specialization. The University of Chicago and NYU both have branches here. It is a very cosmopolitan city with an international reach, and the schools are the first step of moving their young people in the right direction.
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A friend of mine with a young family recently moved to Singapore. His description of the school system and the feeling of safety compared to New York where he moved from makes Singapore sounds so desirable. Hard to imagine living in such a different culture though despite the obvious benifits.