Computing to be elective subject for upper sec students from 2026

From 2026, all upper secondary students can opt to do computing as an elective subject, in a bid to equip students with increasingly important digital and computational thinking skills.

- Elisha Tushara

Previously offered only to G3 students, or those in the Express course, it will now include G2 students as well.

Students now take subjects at G1, G2 or G3 levels, which are broadly mapped from the Normal (Technical), Normal (Academic) and Express standards, respectively.

Mr Ong Kong Hong, the Ministry of Education's (MOE) divisional director of curriculum planning and development division 1, said: "The syllabuses seek to develop students' appreciation of computing as a creative field while raising their awareness of cyber security, emerging technology and the impact of computing."

Other life skills, such as inventive thinking, communication, as well as striving for accuracy and thoroughness, will also be honed through the subject, he added.

The content covered increases in complexity and depth across the three levels.

G1 computing will replace the computer applications (CPA) subject, which is currently taken by students in the Normal (Technical) course. The subject was discontinued after the 2023 Secondary 1 cohort.

G1 computing will be similar to CPA, with some revisions in topics.

About 1,300 students from some 60 schools currently take O-level computing, which will now be known as G3 computing.

They include about 90 Secondary 3 students who take the subject in school-based centres as part of a pilot in 2025 allowing more students to enrol.