Students may soon be able to apply themselves to new subjects such as drama, mobile robotics or retail operations at the O or N levels.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) is introducing seven new subjects in more than 60 secondary schools over the next two years, to reach out to more students who prefer hands-on learning to the purely academic track.

O-level electronics and computing start next year, along with three Normal (Technical) subjects – smart electrical technology, mobile robotics and retail operations.

In 2018, two more O-level subjects – drama, as well as exercise and sports science – will be offered.

An MOE spokesman said these subjects allow students to have “more extensive applied learning and be exposed to applied learning options in the post-secondary education institutions”.

She said the ministry worked with industry partners as well as the polytechnics, the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and universities to ensure that the new syllabus is “relevant and engaging”.

“The subjects feature opportunities for practical application of knowledge,” she added.

MOE teachers are undergoing training to teach the new subjects.

Meanwhile, most of the existing applied subjects introduced in 2008, will be phased out by next year.

These are mainly taught by polytechnic lecturers who also develop their curricula.

There are currently six of them, which are offered only at the O levels: fundamentals of electronics, biotechnology, design studies, introduction to enterprise development and media studies in both English and Chinese.

On average, a total of 310 students took these subjects each year in the last five years.

Only biotechnology and design studies will still be offered at the Singapore School of Science and Technology after next year.

Teachers welcome the new subjects, noting that more students can take such applied subjects in future as schools train teachers and build up their learning resources.

This is also in line with a greater push to allow students to hone their own interests beyond the traditional academic disciplines.

For instance, Hong Kah Secondary will offer electronics to 20 students from next year and hopes to cater to more in future.

“We hope to catch students’ attention in electronics at a younger age and hopefully they will be more receptive to a career in this field,” said physics teacher Wee Jin Yi, who will teach the new subject.

ateng@sph.com.sg

Get MyPaper for more stories.

A pedestrian, understood to be a foreign worker, was killed when a car ran into him at Keppel Road.

The accident happened close to 10.15am yesterday near the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.

The 35-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene, said police.

After crashing into the victim, the vehicle ended up in a ditch below the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE).

The driver of the car, who is 31, was taken to the Singapore General Hospital, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

SCDF sent one fire engine, a Red Rhino and two ambulances to the scene.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Get MyPaper for more stories.

A 33-year-old Singaporean supporter of terror group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was arrested here under the Internal Security Act in August, the Ministry of Home Affairs said yesterday.

Asrul Alias, a technician, has been placed under a two-year Restriction Order – which curtails his movements and activities – after investigations, the ministry added.

It also said in a statement that he will undergo religious counselling while under the Restriction Order.

The ministry said Asrul started reading online material on the conflict in Syria in 2014 and began viewing online sermons by radical preachers and videos of ISIS fighters in combat.

He shared pro-ISIS propaganda on social media and also spoke up against criticisms of ISIS that he encountered online, the ministry said.

Asrul stopped posting pro-ISIS material online after being warned by a family member and a friend some time last year and early this year.

But he remained supportive of ISIS and continued to consume the terror group’s propaganda online.

“As he was not an imminent security threat, he was not detained but given a Restriction Order under the ISA,” the ministry said.

A person who is under a Restriction Order must abide by certain conditions.

For instance, he cannot change his residence or employment, or travel out of Singapore, without the approval of the Internal Security Department’s director.

In its statement, the ministry also announced that Singaporean Mohammad Razif Yahya, 28, was released conditionally from detention under a Suspension Direction this month “after it was assessed that he no longer posed a security threat that required him to be placed in preventive detention”.

He had been detained in August last year for voluntarily fighting in Yemen after he began studying at a religious institution there in January 2010.

Razif had signed up for armed sentry duties and went through sniper training. He was armed with an AK-47 assault rifle and a Dragunov sniper rifle, and was involved in fighting the Houthis.

The ministry may revoke a Suspension Direction and re-detain the individual if he does not comply with certain conditions, such as prohibiting from associating with militant or terrorist groups, it said.

ziliang@sph.com.sg

Get MyPaper for more stories.