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  Primary One registration 2002 starts 

  Men who chat up underaged girls on the Internet and have sex with them can expect a year in jail and a S$10,000 fine if they are caught. Chief Justice YONG Pung How set this benchmark yesterday when he dismissed the appeal of 45-year-old TAY Kim Kuan, upped his sentence from nine to 12 months, and hit him with the maximum S$10,000 fine. TAY, who is married and works for a construction consultancy firm, admitted having sex with a 15-year-old secondary school student he met online. CJ YONG made it clear that, as long as the accused had sex with an underaged girl, there was little excuse, even if the girl was not a virgin and was "wanton" and "completely loose". (Straits Times 29 Jun 2001)

  National Piano & Violin Competition 2001

  Registration for Primary 1 (2002) starts on 3 Jul 2001 and ends on 29 Aug 2001. It is for children born between 2 Jan 1995 and 1 Jan 1996. All schools will be open for registration from 8am to 11am and 2.30pm to 4.30pm. (Straits Times 26 Jun 2001)

  In five years, when eight new residential halls are built in Nanyang Technological University grounds, about 20,000 of the 25,000-strong NTU population are expected to live on campus. Then, NTU hopes to have its own campus village - Nanyang Point - which will be located in Nanyang Valley. The village will have all the amenities to serve NTU's academic community, including trendy cafes, cinemas, al fresco restaurants, shops, beauty salons, bookshops, travel agents and banks. (Straits Times 25 Jun 2001)

  From next year, all schoolchildren will have to tackle their project work in school during curriculum time. The new scheme, which all schools here have to adopt by then, will ensure that it is the youngsters and not their parents who do the project. About 20 to 25 hours of curriculum time a year have been put aside for project work at the primary and secondary levels, and 30 hours at the pre-university level. The ministry said primary and secondary schools need not assess the project work in the initial years. At the pre-university level, a trial is being done on assessing and grading project work, but the grades need not be included in the year-end examinations. (Straits Times 25 Jun 2001)

 School examinations should be held during term time and not during holidays, the Education Ministry said yesterday. Children need a break between school terms, it said. It was responding to queries on Yio Chu Kang Secondary School's move to hold mid-year exams for 300 O- and N-level students during the current month-long break. The ministry said schools are expected to hold their mid-year and year-end examinations before the end of the first and second semester respectively. (Straits Times 22 Jun 2001)

  University-bound students worried that poor scores for project work in junior college may hurt their chances of entering a university here, have got a year's reprieve. The Education Ministry said that project work would now become an admission criteria only in 2005. The extension, it said, would give teachers and students more time to get used to project work. Students entering junior college in 2003 and those who join centralised institutes in 2002 will be the first to come under the project-work scheme. Junior colleges and centralised institutes began to assess students on project work last year. (Straits Times 21 Jun 2001)

  Malaysian billionaire and Raffles College alumnus Robert KUOK yesterday opened the Kuok Foundation House, a new eight-storey hostel for 203 students in the National University of Singapore. (Straits Times 20 Jun 2001)

  Nanyang Technological University has hit its target of S$500 million for its endowment fund 1½ years ahead of schedule. The amount includes S$417 million from the Government. It now wants to raise another S$200 million by 2010. (Straits Times 20 Jun 2001)

  A recent nationwide survey by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) revealed that 53% of Singaporeans and permanent residents here are really lost in cyberspace. The IDA study sought to measure the infocomm literacy of the population, defining it as the ability to do at least one kind of transaction on the Net other than e-mail. Among people who did not speak English, 99% were not infocomm literate. Teachers and government officials fared much better. Only 23% of teachers and 20% of government officials were Net illiterates. Teens were the most Internet savvy of the age groups. Only 22% were out of the loop. A total of 2,000 interviewees from 15 to 69 years old were surveyed. They reflected the distribution by gender, race and employment in the population as a whole. (Straits Times 13 Jun 2001)

  A new graduate degree programme will be offered at the National University of Singapore in July 2001. The Master of Science (Environmental Management) is a multi-disciplinary programme that will be taught by academics from seven faculties in the universities. Enrolment for this year has closed, but those interested in enrolling in the course next July may contact Dr Malone-Lee at (65) 874 6405. They can also e-mail rstmalon@nus.edu.sg. (Straits Times 11 Jun 2001)

  NLB Workshop on Reading Comprehension Strategies on 12 & 28 Jun 2001

  NTUC Income Scholarships now inviting applications. Closing date: 16 Jun 2001

  Eleven part-time students at Temasek Polytechnic have been left in the lurch after their library studies course was cancelled for lack of students. They had completed the requirements for the basic certificate in library studies but needed to obtain an advanced certificate to qualify for enrolment in a diploma course in the subject, which the polytechnic also offers. Twenty-one librarians graduated from the basic certificate course, but only 11 chose to progress on to the advanced course. The rest dropped out because they could not handle working and studying at the same time. Temasek is the only polytechnic to offer the library studies course and this is the first time it has cancelled the course since it started in 1997. (Straits Times 6 Jun 2001)

  A schoolbus driver drove a six-year-old girl to a quiet spot and molested her after dropping the rest of his passengers off. On 4 Jun 2001, WONG Twee Ann, 46, was sentenced to one year's jail and three strokes of the cane after he was found guilty by District Judge Mavis CHIONH of using criminal force on the victim in his mini-bus between 12pm and 12.30pm on 20 Jul 2000. (Straits Times 5 Jun 2001)

  A new programme for gifted undergraduates will be launched in July 2001 by the National University of Singapore (NUS), with 700 undergraduates, including 300 freshmen, having been hand-picked for the programme. Students selected for the University Scholars Programme will pursue specially-designed courses which will include core curriculum modules, on such subjects as human behaviour; science, technology and society; and social and economic analysis. (Straits Times 5 Jun 2001)

  According to the Ministry of Health, in 1990 one in five primary 1 pupils was myopic. By 1999, it was three in 10. In the general student population, myopia increased from 43% to 51% in the same period. (Straits Times 4 Jun 2001)

  A cross-campus exchange programme will be tried out by National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University when the new academic year begins in July 2001. Up to 20 undergraduates from each of the three universities will be picked for the scheme, which allows them to take up courses or spend a semester or two at another campus. The exchange students pay no tuition fees at the guest university and there will be mutual recognition of credits. The idea for a student-exchange scheme within Singapore was mooted by NUS Vice-Chancellor SHIH Choon Fong in September 2000. (Straits Times 30 May 2001)

  Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) awareness talks at the Library from June to August 2001 for pre-U students, teachers and parents.

  London: British parents are bribing their children with sports cars, exotic overseas holidays and designer clothes to make them achieve good examination grades, a survey has shown. The bribes start when their children are as young as 10 and continue until they leave school, at 16 and 18. (Straits Times 25 May 2001)

  A teacher with St Andrew's Junior College has gone missing with S$63,500 from the school's co-operative society, and may already have left the country. The mathematics teacher, an expatriate from Hongkong in his early 40s, joined the school about a year ago. (Straits Times 25 May 2001)

  Former Education Minister LEE CHiaw Meng died on 23 May 2001 at about 6am after a 2½-year battle with cancer. He was 64. The funeral is scheduled for Sunday and his body will be cremated at Mount Vernon Crematorium. (Straits Times 24 May 2001)

  About 1,400 principals and teachers from primary and secondary schools and junior colleges will attend the first Teachers' Conference to be held at Suntec City from 30 May - 1 Jun 2001. They will share their expertise and experiences in topics ranging from e-learning to sex education. (Straits Times 23 May 2001)

  London: Schools across Britain have begun to breath-test students, to weed out those who are smoking, with teachers and nurses using a new portable device called the Smokerlyzer, to detect even minute traces of cigarette smoke. Children blow into a mouthpiece attached to a plastic box which has lights and the device analyses carbon monoxide in the breath and indicates if the user smokes. A green light flashes on the device for a non-smoker, a yellow light reveals a moderate smoker and if a red light is triggered, it means the user is a heavy smoker. Among schools introducing the Smokerlyzer are those in Huddersfield, Yorkshire. (Straits Times 22 May 2001)

  In a three-day trial last week, a district court heard that LAM Peng Kwan, 59, a private tutor and former teacher at Tanjong Katong Girls' School, asked a 16-year-old girl to lift up the skirt of her school uniform so that he could point out her private parts. She said he also used his hands to rub her stomach. LAM, whose book, Comprehensive Biology - For O-Level Science, is still being used in schools, is also accused of touching the girl's private parts. The court will give its verdict on 22 Jun 2001. (Straits Times 20 May 2001)

  Nearly 1,200 of the students who entered polytechnics last year did so via the Institute of Education (ITE). A total of 659 ITE graduates last year enrolled in the four polytechnics here as full-time students, and another 523 as part-time students. In comparison, only 36 enrolled full-time for polytechnic diploma courses in 1990. In the mid-1990s, half the ITE students were primary school leavers. Now, of the 16,000 ITE students, 93% have N levels or O levels. ITE's yearly intake of 10,600 students is almost double its mid-1990s intake. (Straits Times 18 May 2001)

  From 1 Jun 2001, CPF members need not have a minimum sum (now S$65,000) before they will be allowed to use their CPF savings for tuition fees at tertiary institutions. They will be allowed to use up to 40% of their accumulated savings in the Ordinary Account, excluding amounts withdrawn for housing. The scheme, introduced in 1989, allows CPF money to be used to pay tuition fees for full-time courses at the three universities, four polytechnics, LaSalle-SIA College of the Arts and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. The money is taken as a loan and, one year after graduating, the recipient must start repayments to his parent's CPF account. About 8,000 tertiary students take advantage of the scheme each year. (Straits Times 15 May 2001)

  Two new programmes are on offer for graduates interested in the semi-conductor industry. The Postgarduate Manpower Programme aims to train 800 engineers with postgraduate degrees over the next three years. Companies will be encouraged to sponsor employees for full-time Master of Engineering, Master of Science and PhD degrees at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Graduates will join the sponsor companies when they graduate. Another training programme for engineering graduates is the Research & Training Programme. This aims to train about 450 research and development engineers over three years. Graduates will be recruited as interns for the research institutes and research centres under NUS and NTU for up to 12 months. During their internship, they will get on-the-job R&D training and will be deployed to work in the industry after their internship. (Straits Times 13 May 2001)

  Students learning Tamil and Malay can now use two websites, Nam Naadi and Nadi respectively, to polish their language skills. Created by the Ministry of Education, the websites offer jokes, educational games and contests, in addition to serious content to keep students engaged. The website for Tamil students is at www1.moe.edu.sg/namnaadi. The May website is at www1.moe.edu.sg/nadi.  (Straits Times 13 May 2001)

  More than 300 universities across Asia, Australia and New Zealand have been invited to participate in the AustralAsian Debating Championships (Australs), which will be hosted by Nanyang Technological University (NTU). A unique feature of the Australs Championships is that it is organised by students from the host varsities and judged mostly by students certified by the AustralAsian Inter-Varsity Debating Association. (Straits Times 7 May 2001)

  Several National University of Singapore professors have had their pay cut following a salary review late last year. This has led to some of them leaving. The salaries of the university's 1,600 academic staff were reviewed based on their research and teaching. The result was that about 5% had their pay cut, some by as much as 15%. But 60 - 70% received pay hikes, ranging from 2% to more than 30%. The Nanyang Technological University also reviewed salaries at the same time, but none of its 1,200 staff had their pay cut. Most received increments. (Straits Times 5 May 2001)

  Associate Professor CHIN Tet Yung, 49, steps down as the dean of the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Faculty of Law after nine years at the helm. He intends to spend time researching and writing books on the law of evidence and computers. His successor is Associate Professor TAN Cheng Han, 36, who is now vice-dean of the faculty. (Straits Times 30 Apr 2001)

  Most people in Singapore above the age of 40 are content to have sex once a week or less frequently, according to the preliminary findings of a survey of 500 people. But those who want to do it more often said that they did not do so because they were too tired or stressed out. According to the survey, men between the ages of 41 and 55 have sex 4.7 times a month, while the figure was 4.4 for women in the same age group. The frequency drops as the men grow older. Those above 55 only have sex 3.6 times a month. Women in that age group do it about once in two weeks, or 2.5 times a month. But those who are younger - aged 40 and below - are more active. On the average, men have sex 6.2 times a month, while the frequency is 5.4 times for women. More than 300 women and 100 men took part in the survey, which is part of a research on natural ageing. It was started last June by staff from the NUS and the National University Hospital. (Straits Times 26 Apr 2001)

  The demand for places on the Singapore Management University's (SMU) new accountancy degree course has outstripped supply - more than six times over. There are 100 places and an overwhelming 659 applicants. About 85% of them are A Level holders while the rest are polytechnic diploma graduates. The new course will not only qualify students to become certified public accountants, but also expose them to a range of subjects from business, arts and sciences. But, while it will take three years to obtain an accountancy degree at Nanyang Technological University, an SMU student could take up to four years to obtain his. (Straits Times 25 Apr 2001)

  A 15-year-old schoolboy was charged in court on 19 Apr 2001 with punching a schoolteacher three times in the face and elbowing the man in the chest. The alleged incident took place on 28 Jul 2000 in a secondary school in the western part of Singapore. The boy is out on bail and will appear in court on 3 May 2001. (Straits Times 20 Apr 2001)

  Singapore scores best in getting students through basic and tertiary education with high pass rates, and producing mathematics whizzes, according to studies conducted by Professor Andy Green from the University of London Institute of Education. He has been studying the education system here since 1994. Professor Green used data from the 1990s and released his findings from two studies to The Straits Times. In Singapore, 63% of each cohort obtain A-level qualification, whereas only 52% do so in England. In mathematics, 20% of each cohort obtains an A level in the subject, compared with just 7% in Britain. The gap at tertiary level is even wider: On average, 55% of students in each Singapore cohort obtain polytechnic diplomas or university degrees, compared with 36% in Britain. (Straits Times 18 Apr 2001)

  A National University of Singapore (NUS) group beat 68 others from law schools all over the world at the prestigious Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition held in Washington from 1 - 7 Apr 2001. NUS's fourth triumph - it also won in 1982, 1985 and 1994 - puts its record ahead that of any other law school since the competition began in 1959 at Harvard University. The team comprises Subbrahmanyam, 22, CHAN Ho Ming, 24, Kabir Singh, 24, Davinia Aziz, 21, and Jason CHAN, 23. (Straits Times 17 Apr 2001)

  A new pay and career plan for teachers was unveiled by Education Minister TEO Chee Hean on 14 Apr 2001. Costing an additional S$173 this year, the plan gives teachers more bonuses, higher salaries and increased training opportunities. Teachers who stay with the service and retire after a full career could be rewarded with a total pay-out of up to S$120,000 with the introduction of a special gratuity called the Connection Plan. Under this plan, the MOE will put aside S$2,200 to S$4,800 every year for each teacher. The teacher can then withdraw a proportion of the money that has been accumulated for him at defined points - every three to five years - during his career. The amount he can withdraw can range from S$4,400 to S$20,000. The rest will be paid out in his 15th year and at about his 40th year of service. (Straits Times 15 Apr 2001)

  Singapore's universities will go ahead and use the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) to admit students in two years' time as planned, DPM Tony TAN said on 13 Apr 2001. This is despite the comments by University of California (UC) president Richard Atkinson in February 2001, calling for the elimination of SAT as a requirement for admission. (Straits Times 14 Apr 2001)

  A new performance bonus of between half-month and a month's pay was paid out to 95% of the total teaching force of 23,500 teachers last month for the first time. This bonus is among a slew of measures being taken to draw and retain young talent to replace the 3,500 teachers expected to retire in the next five years. Until now performance bonuses have been paid only to Education Ministry officers in senior management posts and those holding senior positions in schools, such as principals, vice-principals and heads of department. They make up less than 15% of the total teaching force. (Straits Times 14 Apr 2001)

  Seattle-based University of Washington and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) said on 10 Apr 2001 their professors and graduate students from different disciplines will work together on several research projects. This will include making replacement tissues for patients suffering from nose, throat and stomach cancer, and tele-medicine, where patients can be diagnosed by their doctors from home through the use of computers. (Straits Times 11 Apr 2001)

  A teacher who allegedly molested two primary school pupils was charged in a district court on 7 Apr 2001. Gilbert CHEE Boon San, 32, is also accused of forcing another pupil from the same school to sit on his lap. The three pupils, all girls, were 12 years old at the time of the alleged offences at a school in the north-west of SIngapore. No plea was recorded from CHEE. His case will be mentioned again on 16 Apr 2001. (Straits Times 8 Apr 2001)

  Eusoff College closes on 24 Mar 2001 after 43 years of service as a hostel

  A 15-year-old schoolboy was ordered by a magistrate on 20 Mar 2001 to foot the S$1,740 bill for three fires he had lit at his school in January last year. The boy, who cannot be identified as he is a minor, had earlier pleaded guilty to two charges of causing mischief by fire. A third charge was taken into consideration. He was also put on two years of probation and ordered to perform 150 hours of community service. The court heard that the boy had been having "personal problems with friends and studies" when he committed the offences. Yesterday, the principal of his neighbourhood school said that the boy had not been expelled and his behaviour had since been exemplary. (Straits Times 21 Mar 2001)

  Eusoff College, which opened officially in 1958, will close its doors on 24 Mar 2001. (Straits Times 20 Mar 2001)

  About 500 university students from 35 countries will discuss issues ranging from the impact of technology to the new economy's relevance in Asia at a conference here in August 2001. The four-day event will be organised by the National University of Singapore in collaboration with Harvard University. It is the first time that Singapore is hosting the annual meeting, known as the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations. (Straits Times 15 Mar 2001)

  Law degrees from more universities recognised here. The intake of law students at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore will be increased immediately from 150 to 185, and thereafter to 200. (Ministry of Law Media Release 9 Mar 2001)

  A new degree course in Malay language and literature will be offered by the National Institute of Education (NIE) this year. The aim is to have mored trained Malay-language teachers and improve malay-language teaching in schools. The first intake in July will be for about 50 students. (Straits Times 3 Mar 2001)