SINGAPORE: Fourteen primary schools and six secondary schools will merge in 2019, due to smaller cohort sizes and changing demographics across housing estates, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Thursday (Apr 20).

The changing demographics have resulted in an uneven distribution of students across primary and secondary schools, the ministry said at a briefing.

Demand for Primary 1 places in mature estates has fallen, resulting in surplus places and low enrolment in some schools. But at younger estates, new schools may need to be built to accommodate a higher demand for school places there, MOE said. 

The primary schools being merged are:

–  East View and Junyuan Primary, to be located on the site of Junyuan Primary.

–  Balestier Hill and Bendemeer Primary, to be located on the site of Bendemeer Primary.

–  Da Qiao and Jing Shan Primary, to be located on the site of Jing Shan Primary.

–  Damai and East Coast Primary, to be located on the site of Damai Primary.

–  Coral and White Sands Primary, to be located on the site of White Sands Primary.

–  Casuarina and Loyang Primary, to be located on the site of Casuarina Primary.

–  Cedar and MacPherson Primary, to be located on the site of Cedar Primary.

A new primary school in Sengkang, Fern Green Primary, will begin operations in 2018. MOE said this is to meet the high demand for school places in the estate.

The secondary schools to be merged are:

–  Yuhua and Shuqun Secondary, to be located on the site of Yuhua Secondary.

–  East Spring and East View Secondary, to be located on the site of East Spring Secondary.

–  Hong Kah and Jurongville Secondary, to be located on the site of Jurongville Secondary.

For the first time, eight junior colleges will also be merged, making this is the largest school merging exercise in the past decade.

BENEFITS OF MERGING

In explaining the benefits of the merger for students, the Education Ministry noted that schools need a “critical mass” of students in order to run programmes that can meet students’ interests and needs.

In smaller schools, the range of educational programmes and co-curricular activities (CCAs) may be limited, it said. For example, Siglap Secondary was unable to continue with its Red Cross unit and badminton CCA.

With too few classes in a secondary school, the number of subject combinations at the upper secondary level may also be limited.

Students in merged schools will get a good spread of enrichment programmes, and the possibility of more subject combinations and CCA options, MOE said. For example, after Si Ling Secondary merged with Marsiling Secondary, students benefited from one new Learning for Life Programme in outdoor education, and one new Applied Learning Programme in environmental education. There were also two new CCAs.

The merging of schools is not new, the ministry added. Three pairs of primary schools were merged in 2015, four pairs of secondary schools last year, and 11 pairs of secondary schools will be merged this year and next year.

SINGAPORE – Eight junior colleges (JC) are set to collapse into four in 2019, in the largest school merger exercise in the past decade affecting a total of 28 schools, the Education Ministry (MOE) announced on Thursday (April 20). 

This exercise will also see six secondary schools merging into three, while another 14 primary schools will be consolidated into seven.

With Singapore’s declining birth rates over the past two decades leading to a similar decline in demand for school places, MOE said it is taking the unprecedented step of merging JCs for the first time as it expects JC enrolment to drop by some 20 per cent from 2010, with 3,200 empty JC places expected by 2019.

In planning the JC mergers, the MOE said overall geographical coverage across Singapore was an additional consideration, on top of the schools’ enrolment size, geographical proximity, suitability of merger partners and infrastructure capacity. 

In the north-east, Serangoon JC will merge with Anderson JC, with the merged school to continue operations in the latter’s Yio Chu Kang campus.

Innova JC will merge with Yishun JC (YJC), and the consolidated school will operate out of YJC’s Yishun Ring Road location in the north.

In the east, Meridian JC will merge with Tampines JC, with the merged school moving into Meridian’s campus in Pasir Ris.

And in the west, Jurong JC will merge with Pioneer JC, with the consolidated campus to be located at Pioneer’s in Teck Whye.

From next year, ahead of the merger, Serangoon, Innova, Tampines and Jurong JCs will not take in any new JC1 students. Instead, all four will see their existing cohort through to graduation to minimise disruption to students.

The sites of the merged schools are chosen based on accessibility to transport and quality of infrastructure, the ministry said, adding that names of the merged schools will be announced at the later date. 

With some of these JCs having very low enrollment numbers, the decision was made to merge them, said MOE. However, it pointed out that the JC route remains an attractive pathway, with the proportion of JC-eligible students choosing JCs as their first choice remaining stable in the last five years.

The move to merge JCs come against the backdrop of falling student numbers since 2014. Education Minister (Schools) Ng Chee Meng revealed in a parliamentary reply last April that JC enrolment has fallen from 30,200 in 2014 to 27,100 last year. He said then that falling cohort sizes in recent years are expected to continue to “trend down” over the next few years, and this would have implications for JCs.

The falling birth rates and corresponding decline in student population will also see another batch of secondary schools being merged in 2019, following last year’s announcement of what was then the biggest merger of 22 secondary schools between 2017 and 2018. Prior to that, the MOE had merged six pairs of secondary schools – two pairs in 2011 and another four pairs in 2016.

The schools to be merged this time are Shuqun Secondary School with Yuhua Secondary School, East Spring Secondary School with East View Secondary School and Hong Kah Secondary School with Jurongville Secondary School.

The 14 primary schools to be consolidated are East View Primary School with Junyuan Primary School, Balestier Hill Primary School with Bendemeer Primary School, Da Qiao Primary School with Jing Shan Primary School, Damai Primary School with East Coast Primary School, Coral Primary School with White Sands Primary School, Casuarina Primary School with Loyang Primary School as well as Cedar Primary School with MacPherson Primary School.

However, there will be a new primary school – Fern Green Primary School – which will open in Sengkang next year.

The ministry said the fall in live births in Singapore over the last two decades has resulted in a corresponding decline in overall demand for school places at the national level. The geographical distribution of the school-going population has also shifted from more mature estates to newer housing estates, leading to higher demand in the latter. 

MOE also stressed that no staff will be retrenched amid the mergers. They will either be posted to the merged schools, redeployed to other schools or to the ministry’s headquarters.

Some teachers may also be deployed to teach at primary and secondary schools, added the ministry.

Teachers who move across levels will go through bridging courses which will equip them with the pedagogical skills and content knowledge to teach at the primary and secondary schools they are posted to.

SINGAPORE: Hit by falling student enrolment, eight junior colleges (JCs) will merge in 2019 – the first time that JCs here are merging, the Education Ministry announced on Thursday (Apr 20).

The following JCs will be merged:

– Anderson JC and Serangoon JC in the north-east, with the merged school located on the site of Anderson JC.

– Meridian JC and Tampines JC in the east, with the merged school located on the site of Meridian JC.

– Yishun JC and Innova JC in the north, with the merged school located on the site of Yishun JC.

– Pioneer JC and Jurong JC in the west, with the merged school located on the site of Pioneer JC.

Fourteen primary schools and six secondary schools will also merge in 2019, making this the largest school merging exercise in the past decade.

All eight affected JCs are Government schools which do not offer the Integrated Programme.

The mergers are based on geographical proximity so as to maintain a good spread of schools across the country, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said, adding that the sites for the merged schools were chosen based on accessibility to transport and quality of infrastructure.

Singapore’s fall in birth rates has seen enrolment in JCs decline since 2014, the ministry said. The birth rate of Singapore citizens and permanent residents between 1993 and 2002 fell from about 49,000 to 39,000, a drop of about 20 per cent. The corresponding JC enrolment between 2010 and 2019 is projected to fall by a similar 20 per cent, from about 16,000 to 12,800.

Sufficient “critical mass” is needed for a school to offer a good range of educational programmes and co-curricular activities for its students, the ministry said.

A typical JC1 intake is about 800 students, MOE said, adding that if it does not take action, several JCs are likely to see a JC1 intake of just 200 to 400 students by 2019.

The geographical distribution of the school-going population has also shifted over the years, the ministry said. “While there is a higher demand for school places in newer housing estates, the demand in more mature estates has fallen,” it said.

The ministry also said that after the merger, it will still be able to meet the expected demand for JC places.

FOUR JUNIOR COLLEGES TO STOP TAKING IN STUDENTS

Four JCs – Serangoon, Tampines, Innova and Jurong – will stop taking in JC1 students from next year. MOE said this is to minimise the need for JC students to relocate physically to another site.

No staff members of the affected schools will be retrenched, MOE stressed. Affected teachers at the junior colleges will be posted to the merged school or redeployed – either to other schools or to the ministry’s headquarters.

Training and support will also be provided to teachers deployed to teach at the primary or secondary levels.

The names of the merged schools will be announced at a later date, said MOE. It added that the history and heritage of the schools will continue to be passed down to the future cohorts of the merged schools, through a heritage space in the merged schools’ buildings.

“MOE will work together with the affected schools to ensure a smooth transition to the merged school for staff and students, and in the process, forge a strong identity for the merged school,” it said.