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SINGAPORE: First there was the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme, which bright students could strive for on top of A-level certification.
Now, enter the junior college diploma — which is fast finding favour and could eventually end up as an alternative to the A levels altogether.
On Thursday, Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) joined the Raffles family of schools by rolling out its own school-leaving certificate, the Hwa Chong diploma.
And the Hwa Chong students, who undergo a six-year through train programme, will be getting the diploma sooner, with the current JC2 batch eligible for it.
But unlike the Raffles diploma, which will be awarded to a select group of students who undergo an enhanced programme, the Hwa Chong diploma will go to the top 30 per cent — or some 300 students — of each cohort.
It will document academic performance, scholastic achievements and community involvement.
And the school is sparing no effort — including getting a Nobel Laureate to sit on its advisory panel — to get the diploma recognised and setting "the benchmark standard for admission to any leading university, locally or abroad", said HCI principal Ang Wee Hiong.
Chaired by Professor Phua Kok Khoo, director of the Institute of Advanced Studies at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the 12-member advisory panel includes overseas luminaries such as Nobel Prize winner Professor Daniel Tsui, who lectures at Princeton University.
The panel will "assess educational performance to certify individuals, uphold standards and advance quality in assessment".
At its Founders' Day celebrations, the school also announced a three-way tie-up with NTU and A*STAR. From this year, up to 20 "high calibre" Year 5 students will be picked each year under the six-month Science Research Programme for H3 subjects.
They will each be matched with an A*STAR professor to engage in collaborative research on real-world scientific problems.
NTU president Su Guaning said the tripartite arrangement would not only see "outstanding" A*STAR scientists bring up bright talents, but also allow the students to earn credits for university admission.
As for the diploma, although recipients undergo the same programme as their peers, Mr Ang did not think awarding it was merely a cosmetic exercise, as the diploma would "reflect more accurately" students' achievements in their six years at Hwa Chong.
Mr Ang told TODAY: "We also want to reward students who excel in research projects, in line with the greater emphasis on independent and inter-dependent learning under the Hwa Chong Integrated Programme."
HCI's JC 2 student Stanley Lim, 17, believes the diploma would stand Hwa Chong students in good stead in the increasingly competitive climate. "Academic excellence is something that is now quite common. As a university, you want only the best and as an applicant, I want to stand out from the rest," he said.
Already, NTU has pledged to recognise the Hwa Chong diploma.
Said Professor Su: "It's very clear that Hwa Chong students are among the top pupils. And the diploma is based on an even stricter and holistic criteria."
He added that NTU was moving towards the American "pre-track" system where students gain admission to universities on the basis of their consistent performance in high school.
But thorny issues remain. Said Prof Su: "The Singapore education is getting more complex. You've got the IB... Raffles is talking about the Raffles diploma as well. How you compare one against the other?"
- TODAY/so
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