More Avenues in Education System for Students to Find Best Fit: Chan

These include more accessible DSA scheme, more varied, personalised learning options

- Gabrielle Chan

Learners of all ages will have more options as they navigate educational pathways that will best fit them, said Education Minister Chan Chun Sing.

These include a more accessible Direct School Admission (DSA) scheme, where pupils secure spots in schools based on their strengths in areas like sports and the arts, as well as more varied learning options such as work-study programmes.

This is what will move students from "good to great," said Mr Chan, as he outlined the Ministry of Education's (MOE) priorities for 2025, adding that it is not about increasing one's test scores, but developing innate qualities and life skills.

"The ability to learn by yourself, discover things, create new value propositions are things we want to inculcate," he said in an interview with The Straits Times ahead of the new school year.

These qualities will help them move beyond chasing traditional metrics of success, he said.

His ministry's plans include a review of the DSA process as part of efforts to "strengthen the middle" and "stretch the top," offering more options and tailored pathways for students.

More details of the changes to the DSA scheme will be released in the second quarter of 2025, said Mr Chan during the two-hour session.

Assessing skills is not as "black and white" as PSLE or grade point average scores, Mr Chan said. "If you want broader metrics, you must accept that there's some degree of judgment required."

The PSLE scoring system is "very precise" but also "narrow," he said.

Thus, the DSA system was introduced in 2004 to recognise talents in areas such as sports and the arts beyond academic achievements, allowing Primary 6 pupils to gain early admission into secondary schools with these strengths.