Ministry of Education Singapore : Contact Online

Issue 07 - April 2005

Closer Step to the Futuristic Classroom

Varying the Primary School Landscape

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Varying the Primary School Landscape

To encourage greater diversity in the education landscape at the Primary level, the Programme for School-Based Excellence (PSE) is now in place.

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education, announced 16 successful school recipients of the PSE grant on 7 March 2005. The PSE provides a recurrent grant of up to $100,000 per year for each school to develop distinctive areas of excellence, ranging from the visual and performing arts to sports and National Education.

These schools will be given more leeway to develop their niche areas. Funds may be used for hiring additional staff or instructors, training teachers in the niche area and minor infrastructure development.

Contact gives you an insight into the programmes offered by some of the schools

National Education:
Admiralty Primary: National Education Village and Learning Trails
Greenridge Primary: Funtastick Harmony

Aesthetics/Arts:
Rosyth: Aesthetics Programme

Sports:
CHIJ Kellock: Continued Excellence in Sports (Netball and Mini-Tennis)
Pei Chun Public: Sports Talent Identification and Nurturing Programme
Park View Primary: Sports for All and Sports Excellence

Varying areas of excellence to be promoted in schools -- from aesthetics to sports and national education.

Evaluation criteria

•	Demonstrated strength of the school in the proposed area of school-based excellence;

•	Sustainability of the proposal in the long-term (three to five years);

•	Strong educational value, especially in character development for students; and

•	Strong support of stakeholders in the proposed area of school-based excellence.

Schools that receive PSE funding will submit an annual report on the uses of the funds during the past year, and whether the objectives of the programmes have been reached.

Related Link
• Press release on the Recipients for the Programme for School-based Excellence
• Programme for School-based Excellence