Guaranteed poly entry for top ITE grads: Current and ex-students tell of challenges adjusting, suggest bridging courses

SINGAPORE — When Ms Jiayin Goh entered Ngee Ann Polytechnic last year after graduating from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), she worried that her educational background might put her at a disadvantage to her new classmates, who graduated with O-Levels. 

Instead, Ms Goh believes that the hands-on experience she gained from the events management course at her alma mater gave her a strong head start, and she found herself guiding her classmates on how to plan and organise events. 

Still, Ms Goh's positive experience is not shared by all students who make this transition, which has come under the spotlight after changes announced by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to give ITE students more academic opportunities.

One of the key changes means that Higher Nitec students who score a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 3.5 will be guaranteed a polytechnic place from the 2027 year of admission. This is expected to benefit the top 10 per cent of Higher Nitec graduates.

Based on interviews conducted by TODAY, many students who move from ITE to polytechnics adapt well like Ms Goh, now aged 21, but others struggle in their polytechnic studies and a few may even eventually drop out.

Some have suggested that bridging courses could help ITE students make the transition to polytechnic by having such courses focus on areas which may not have been covered in depth in ITE.

One former student who wanted to be known only as Zyrul, said he dropped out of Temasek Polytechnic after his second year due to both his inability to cope with the mathematics-related modules as well as unrelated financial issues.

Mr Zyrul enrolled into the intelligent building technology polytechnic course in 2006 after achieving a GPA of 3.6 in ITE, but struggled with subjects involving mathematics given his weak foundation in the subject since secondary school.

“There was not much mathematics in my modules at ITE, so when I went to poly, I struggled really badly at passing my maths modules that I had to retake in my second year,” said the 35-year-old jockey.

“Though I dropped out mainly because I had to work to support my family, I would not have done so if I had gotten help and improved in my maths subjects.”

The experiences of students such as Mr Zyrul raises the question of whether students from ITE have enough support to adapt to a new educational system to enable them to push through the polytechnic course. 

ITE alumni Muhammed Saufi Abdul Rashid, who pursued electronics at Temasek Polytechnic from 2007 to 2010, recalled two of his classmates who could not cope with the new modules involving mathematics, and eventually dropped out.

“We did not learn calculus in ITE, unlike other course mates who learned them in O-Levels. So we were quite lost and struggled in subjects involving maths,” said the 35-year-old senior technician.

To improve in his weak subjects, Mr Saufi did a "barter trade" with classmates who took calculus at O-Levels — he taught them the practical parts of the course, his own strong suit, while his classmates would tutor him on the theoretical aspects.

TODAY spoke with current and former ITE students about their experiences adapting to a new educational system and environment in polytechnics, as well as with polytechnics on how they are supporting such students.

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN ITE AND POLYTECHNIC EDUCATION 

Temasek Polytechnic’s director of academic affairs, Mr Sng Choon Leng, said that though students from ITE generally cope well given their prior exposure to the subjects being studied, they go through a period of adjustment in the same way as any student new to polytechnic.

If they need any help, Mr Sng said that there are counsellors and "care-persons" whom these students can reach out to, as well as their lecturers.

Temasek Polytechnic also said in a statement to TODAY that the school of engineering, where Mr Zyrul and Mr Saufi studied, now has a learning support programme in place for students who are struggling with the curriculum, including ITE graduates who attend the polytechnic. 

Lecturer Vilvum Ramu of Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Design and Media, who also attended ITE before enrolling in polytechnic, said that some polytechnic lecturers, like himself, serve as personal mentors who are assigned to look out for students and help them if they are facing issues in their studies.

Mr Vilvum said that personal mentors are typically in charge of 18 to 25 students and are trained to provide counselling for any problems students may have. 

Besides counselling support, the Ministry of Education (MOE) in response to queries by TODAY said that polytechnics also provide other support structures, including peer support systems and pastoral care, and academic counselling.

“Institutes of higher learning provide students with academic support such as bridging programmes, additional tutoring or reduced modular loads to help students bridge content gaps and complete their education,” MOE said.

BRIDGING COURSES, WRITING WORKSHOPS FOR FORMER ITE STUDENTS

Still, local non-profit social service organisation Malay Youth Literary Association (4PM), whose programmes largely cater to ITE students, said that more can be done to help ITE students adapt to a polytechnic environment.

4PM’s head of agency Abu Bakar Sidiq Aslam said that one possible measure is to organise structured bridging courses that teach ITE students skills such as essay writing and study techniques for subjects that are heavy on theory.

While all of the six former and current ITE alumni interviewed by TODAY lauded MOE’s latest initiative to secure spots for top Higher Nitec scorers, four of them said that such bridging programmes would have helped them adapt better to a polytechnic environment.

One of them, who wanted to be known only as Mr Muhammad, said that he initially struggled with the essay assignments when he enrolled into sports management in Republic Polytechnic. 

The 32-year-old, who works in the healthcare industry, said: “In ITE, there was more emphasis on practical rather than theory, but in poly it was the opposite. 

“It was a bit challenging for me to adapt to a curriculum that emphasised more on written assignments, and I think a writing workshop would have helped me immensely.”

Managing expectations and having a strong support system in classmates and seniors were also helpful in adapting to a new polytechnic environment, said another ITE alumni Manesh Rajan.

During his time taking manufacturing engineering at Nanyang Polytechnic, Mr Manesh’s classmates helped him in the theoretical and written aspects of the assignments, which he was not used to in ITE.

“Luckily, I came in with the right expectations that poly would have more of such aspects, so I knew the theoretical aspects were what I had to work on,” Mr Manesh, 34, said.