About 6-7% of Integrated Programme students opt to leave early: MOE

About half transfer to the O-level route or join a poly, while some move to other JCs

- Sandra Davie

At the end of the year, about 4,000 PSLE pupils will celebrate winning a coveted place in the Integrated Programme (IP).

But some students in the scheme will switch to the O-level route or make a quiet exit to polytechnics, other junior colleges and private schools in Singapore or overseas.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said that around 6 per cent to 7 per cent of the IP cohorts that graduated in 2022, 2023 and 2024 left before the six years were up. This translates to about 240 students in a cohort of 4,000.

IP students skip the O levels and proceed directly to the A levels or International Baccalaureate. They are expected to learn in an independent way, without having to prepare for two major exams in six years.

Of the students who leave, MOE said, about half transfer to the O-level route or join a polytechnic. Some move to other junior colleges, which, according to two students interviewed, suit them better and are less pressurising.

Others interviewed headed overseas or enrolled in international or private schools such as the Singapore Institute of Management to take up degree or foundation programmes that will enable them to transfer to degree studies at British or Australian universities.

Those who opted for the O-level route mostly transferred to the track within the same school, unless it was not available. Those transferring to polytechnics did so when they were in Secondary 4, or in the first year of junior college.

MOE figures show that demand for the IP remains strong, with about 7,000 Primary 6 pupils applying to the IP track through the Direct School Admission (DSA) scheme in mid-2024.