Author Topic: Education in Singapore  (Read 10319 times)

Offline Haji Hasan

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Education in Singapore
« on: December 09, 2007, 08:46:21 PM »


Singapore   سنگاپور

سنگاپوركا دارالحكومت سنگاپور سٹی ہے۔ لفظ سنگاپور سنسكرت زبان كا ہے جس كے  معنی شیر شہر ہے۔ شروع شروع میں سنگاپور ماہی گیروں كی بستی تھا۔ 1891 میں انگریزوں كی آمد كے بعد یہ ایك تجارتی راستہ كے طور پر استعمال ہونے لگا۔ جدید سنگاپور كی بنیاد STANFORD ROFFELS نے ڈالی۔

سنگاپور ایك چھوٹا سا جزیرہ نما ہے۔ جس كے اطرف میں سمندر اور درمیان سے دریا گزرتے ہیں۔
بلند بانگ عمارتوں سے عالی شان ہوٹلوں ڈیپارٹمنٹل سٹوروں اور شاپنگ پلازوں سے بھرا پڑا ہے۔ كسٹم فری پورٹ ہونے كی وجہ سے تمام دنیا كی سب سے بڑی شاپنگ ماركیٹ ہے۔ اگرچہ انگریزی بولی اور سمجھی جاتی ہے۔ مگر سنگاپور كی زبان چینی ہے۔

كیونكہ اكثریت چینی لوگوں كی ہے تمام آبادی كا چھ فیصد ہندوستانی ہیں جو جنوبی ہندوستان سے تعلق ركھتے ہیں۔ جن میں سكھ ، گجراتی شامل ہیں۔ مسلماب بھی آباد ہیں۔ ہندوستانیوں كی زیادہ تر آبادی لٹل انڈیا میں ہے۔ یہیں پر مختلف ہوٹل ، ریستوران اور ہندوستانی مندر ہیں۔ روایتی رسم و رواج سے یہ لوگ رہ رہے ہیں۔

 ORCHARD ROAD TO CHAINA TOWN تمام شاپنگ پلازوں اور ڈیپارٹمنٹل سٹوروں كی جنت ہے۔

MARINO SQUARE ایسا علاقہ جس میں میٹرو اور ٹوكیو جیسے عظیم الشان شاپنگ سٹور واقع ہیں۔ جن كا دعویٰ ہے كہ دنیا كی ہر چیز آپ كو مل سكتی ہے۔ سپر ماركیٹ، ہوٹل، ریستوران، منی سینما اور تھیٹر كی سہولت موجود ہے۔

RAFFLES CITY ایسا علاقہ جس كی عظمت ٣٨ منزلہ ہوٹل ہے۔ جو آراستہ پیراستہ دفتروں، شاپنگ سٹوروں سے بھرا ہوا ہے۔ دنیا كی بلند ترین عمارتوں میں سے ایك ہے اور ساتھ سے دریا كا گزر منظر كو دل فریب بنا دیتا ہے۔ صرف شاپنگ ہی نہیں بلكہ سیاحوں كی جنت بھی كہلانے كے لائق ہے كیونكہ ذوالوجیكل گارڈن، گولڈن منكی،نیشنل میوزیم، بوٹانك گارڈن، جوانك برڈ پارك، ٹائیگر بالم گارڈن، اور بے شمار مندر جن میں آرٹ كے نادر نمونے ، مصوری كے نمونے وغیرہ ہیں۔ اگر آپ جائیں تو ہندوستانی ہوٹل چند ذیل ہیں۔

1. OMAR KHAYANI

55- HILL STREET SINGAPORE 0617

2. MUMTAZ MAHAL

05-22/23 FOR EAST PLAZA O922

3. SHAMIANA RESTOURANT

460- ALEXANDERA ROAD 02-12 BUILDING

4.MOGHUL MOHAL

5.ORCHARD MAHARAJAH

25 CUPPAGE ROAD CUPPAGE FESRACE SINGAPURE

 سنگاپور میں جنوری سے مارچ تك مختلف ثقافتی میلے لگتے رہتے ہیں۔ نئے سال كی آمد بڑا جوش و خروش پایا جاتاہے اور بڑے رنگارنگ طریقے سے اس تقریب كو منایا جاتا ہے۔

ORCHARD ROAD مختلف اطراف میں لاتعداد كلبوں، ڈسكو ، پب ، تھیٹر، یورپین كلب، بار سے بھرا پڑا ہے۔ مہنگا ترین شہر ہے۔ كرنسی سنگاپور ڈالر ہے۔ الیكٹرانكس كی مصنوعات سب سے سستی ہیں۔

سنگاپور حكومت كسی بھی مسافر كو سنگاپور كا ویزا دینے سے انكار كر سكتی ہے یا واپس كر سكتی ہے۔

سنگاپور میں مندرجہ ذیل ممالك كے لوگ نہیں آ سكتے۔

كمپوچیا، لاوٕس، ویت نام، جنوبی تائیوان۔

وہ حاملہ خواتین جو چھ سے زیادہ كی حاملہ ہو انہیں پہلے سے داخل ہونے كی اجازت حاصل كرنا ہو گی۔ ورنہ واپس كر دی جائیں گے۔

سنگاپور كے شہری اس سے مستثنیٰ ہیں۔

دنیا كے ہر ملك كا شہری بغیر ویزا كے سنگاپور آ سكتا سوائے اوپر دئیے گئے ممالك كے۔ عام
طور پر چودہ دن كا ON ARRIVAL ویزا دیا جاتا ہے۔ جو درخواست دینے پر بڑھایا جا سكتا ہے۔

یورپین ممالك امریكہ، كینیڈا كے لیے تین ماہ سے چھ ماہ كا ویزا جاری كیا جاتا ہے۔ ویزا سنگاپور ائیر پورٹ پر آنے سے ہی مل جاتا ہے۔ ملك میں آپ جتنی چاہیں كرنسی لا سكتے ہیں۔



Offline علم دوست

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Education in Singapore
« Reply #1 on: October 10, 2008, 07:30:08 PM »
Education in Singapore

Education in Singapore
Educational oversight
Minister
   Ministry of Education
Ng Eng Hen
National education budget    S$6.966 billion (2006)
Primary language(s)    English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil
Curriculum system
Competency-based curriculum    
Enrollment
 • Primary
 • Secondary
 • Post-secondary    532225
290261
213063
28901
Attainment
 • Secondary diploma
 • Post-secondary diploma    

Education in Singapore is managed by Ministry of Education (MOE), which directs education policy. The ministry controls the development and administration of state schools which receive government funding but also has an advisory and supervisory role to private schools. For both private and state schools, there are variations in the extent of autonomy in their curriculum, scope of government aid and funding, tuition burden on the students, and admission policy.[1]

Children with disabilities attend special education (SPED) schools run by Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs), which are partially funded by the Ministry of Education. Education spending usually makes up about 20 per cent of the annual national budget, which subsidises state education and government-assisted private education for Singaporean citizens and furnishes the Edusave programme, but the costs are significantly higher for non-citizens.

In 2000 the Parliament of Singapore passed the Compulsory Education Act,[2] which codified compulsory education for children of primary school age, and made it a criminal offence if parents fail to enrol their children in school and ensure their regular attendance.[3] Exemptions are allowed for homeschooling or full-time religious institutions, but parents must apply for exemption from the Ministry of Education and meet a minimum benchmark.[4]

In Singapore, the English language is the first language learned by half the children by the time they reach preschool age and becomes the primary medium of instruction by the time they reach primary school. English is the language of instruction for most subjects, especially mathematics and the natural sciences; the official Mother Tongue languages are generally not taught in English, although there is provision for the use of English at the initial stages. Certain schools, such as secondary schools under the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) which encourages a richer use of the mother tongue may teach occasionally in English and another language. There are also other schools which have been experimenting with curricula that integrate language subjects with mathematics and the sciences, using both English and a second language.

Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew related the idea of English as a common language in Singapore that both connected citizens of all ethnic-cultural backgrounds, so no ethnic group is forced to learn the language of another, and tied Singapore to the world economy.
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Kindergartens

Kindergartens in Singapore provide up to three years of pre-school for children ages three to six. The three years are commonly called Nursery, Kindergarten 1 (K1) and Kindergarten 2 (K2), respectively.

Kindergartens provide an environment for children to learn how to communicate, play, and interact with others, and to prepare them for the start of formal education in primary schools. Activities include learning of language and numbers, development of personal and social skills, games, music, outdoor play. Children learn two languages, English and their official mother tongue (Chinese, Malay, or Tamil). Many private or church-based kindergartens might not offer Malay or Tamil, so non-Chinese pupils might also learn Chinese in these kindergartens.

The kindergartens are run by the private sector, including community foundations, religious bodies, and civic or business groups. There are more than 200 kindergartens registered with the Ministry of Education. Kindergartens are also run by child care centres as well as international schools.

Primary education

Primary education is a four-year foundation stage (Primary 1 to 4) and a two-year orientation stage (Primary 5 to 6). Primary education is compulsory and free, though there is a fee of up to SGD 13 monthly per student that goes to the school to help cover miscellaneous costs.

Foundation stage

The foundation stage is the first stage of formal schooling. The four years, from primary 1 to 4, provide a foundation in English, mother tongue (which includes Chinese, Malay, Tamil or a Non-Tamil Indian Language (NTIL)) and Mathematics. Other subjects include civics and ethics ("Civics and Moral Education"), arts and crafts, music, health education, social studies, and physical education, which are taught throughout Primary 1 to 6. Science is taught from Primary 3 onwards.

Orientation stage

All pupils advance to the orientation stage after Primary 4, where English Language, Mother Tongue and Mathematics are taught at the appropriate level according to the ability of the pupils. Schools are given the flexibility to develop their own examinations to match pupils with the levels that suit them. The streaming system has been tweaked, where previously, pupils were streamed at Primary 5 to the EM1, EM2 and EM3 (English and Mother Tongue at 1st, 2nd and 3rd language respectively) streams, pupils are streamed according to the subject from January 2008. They can take their Mother Tongue at the higher, standard or foundation levels; Science and Maths can be taken at the standard or foundation levels.

Primary School Leaving Examination

Main article: Primary School Leaving Examination

At the end of Primary 6, the national Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) is held. The examination determines whether the student is ready to leave primary school by passing; however the primary purpose of the examination is to eventually allocate places in secondary schools to students based on their performance in the examination.

Secondary education

Based on results of the PSLE, students are placed in different secondary education tracks or streams: "Special", "Express", "Normal (Academic)", or "Normal (Technical)"
Students having assembly in the hall of a secondary school in Singapore.
Students having assembly in the hall of a secondary school in Singapore.

"Special" and Express are a four-year courses leading up to a Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary-level (O-level) exam. The difference between these two courses is that in the "Special" stream, students take 'Higher Mother Tongue' (available for Chinese, Malay and Tamil only) instead of 'Mother Tongue'. A pass in the Higher Mother Tongue 'O' Level Examination constitutes the fulfilment of the Mother Tongue requirement in Singapore, whereas Normal Mother Tongue Students will have to go through one more year of study in their Mother Tongue after their 'O' Levels to take the 'AS' Level Mother Tongue Examinations and fulfil the MOE's requirement. A foreign language, either French, German, or Japanese can be taken in addition to the mother tongue or can replace it. This is especially popular with students who are struggling with their mother tongues, expatriates, or students returning from abroad. Non-Chinese students may also study Chinese and non-Malay students Malay as a third language. This programme is known as CSP (Chinese Special Programme) and MSP (Malay Special Program). Mother Tongue teachers will conduct these lessons in school after usual hours. Students of Higher Mother Tongue languages are allowed to have up to two points taken off their O-level scoring,[5] a scoring system discussed below where a lower value is generally considered better, if they meet set benchmarks. The Ministry of Education Language Centre (MOELC) provides tuition-free language education for most additional languages that other schools may not cover, and provides the bulk of such education, admitting several thousand students each year.

Normal is a four-year course leading up to a Normal-level (N-level) exam, with the possibility of a fifth year followed by an O-level. Normal is split into Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical). In Normal (Technical) students take subjects more technical in nature, such as Design and Technology, while in Normal (Academic) students are prepared to take the O-level exam and normally take subjects such as Principles of Accounting. In 2004, the Ministry of Education announced that selected students in the Normal course would have an opportunity to sit for the O-level exam directly without first taking the N-level exam.

With the exception of schools offering the Integrated Programme, which leads to either an International Baccalaureate Diploma or to an A-level exam, most students are streamed into a wide range of course combinations at the end of their second year, making the total number of subject they have to sit for at O-level ranging between six to ten subjects with English, Mother Tongue or Higher Mother Tongue Language, Mathematics, one Science and one Humanities Elective being compulsory. The subject taken varies, and several new subjects such as Computing and Theatre Studies and Drama are being introduced in tandem with the Ministry of Education's revised curriculum. The subjects usually taken at O-Level:

The Ministry of Education Language Centre.
The Ministry of Education Language Centre.

Languages group:

   1. English language
   2. Mother tongue languages (Chinese language, Malay language and Tamil language)
   3. Non-Tamil Indian Languages (Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu languages)
   4. Higher Mother Tongue Languages (Higher Chinese language, Higher Malay language and Higher Tamil language)
   5. Foreign Languages (French, German, Japanese)
   6. Other Third Languages (Chinese language and Malay language)

Humanities group:

   1. Humanities electives (History/geography/literature electives and social studies)
   2. History
   3. Geography
   4. Literature in English
   5. Chinese literature
   6. Malay literature
   7. Tamil literature
   8. Higher art (Art Elective Programme)
   9. Higher music (Music Elective Programme)
  10. Principles of Account

Mathematics & Science Group:

   1. Mathematics
   2. Additional mathematics
   3. Combined sciences (Physics & Chemistry)
   4. Combined sciences (Chemistry & Biology)
   5. Combined sciences (Biology & Physics)
   6. Physics
   7. Chemistry
   8. Biology
   9. Integrated Sciences

Others:

   1. General art
   2. Design and technology
   3. Music
   4. Computer Applications
   5. Elements of Office Administration (until 2008)
   6. Elements of Business Skills (2009 onwards)
   7. Food and nutrition
   8. Religious studies (Confucian Ethics, Buddhist Studies, Islamic Religious Knowledge, Bible Studies, Sikh Studies, etc.)
   9. O-Level School-Initiated Electives [OSIEs] (Economics, Computer Studies, etc.)

The list above is not exhaustive, and does not include new subjects such as Computing and Theatre Studies and Drama, or less common subjects, such as Integrated Sciences.

Compulsory Subjects for a GCE 'O' Level candidate

   1. English Language
   2. Mother Tongue (Chinese, Tamil, Malay)
   3. Mathematics (Elementary)
   4. Combined Humanities (SS+GEOGE/HISE/LITE/ECONSE)
   5. Science (Either 1 combined science or 2 pure sciences)
   6. One other subject (Art, POA, DnT, FnN etc)

Candidates must take at least 6 subjects which MUST include the above core (EL, MT, MA, HUM, SCI) subjects.

Grade and scoring systems

Most schools commonly follow the kind of grading system awarded at the Singapore-Cambridge GCE "O" level examination, for which a student sits for at the end of four or five years of secondary education, sitting for at least 6 subjects. The level of achievement in each subject is indicated by the grade obtained, with A1 being the highest achievable grade and F9 the lowest:

    * A1/A2 (Distinction)
    * B3/B4 (Merit)
    * C5/C6 (Credit/Pass)
    * D7 (Sub-Pass/fail, that is, passing at a lower standard in the exam or fail)
    * E8/F9 (Fail)

A student's overall academic performance is measured through several points scoring system (such as the L1R5, L1B5 and L1R4 scoring system) depending on which type of post-secondary institution a student is intending to apply for. Each grade has a point value respective to it, for example, with grade A1 being 1 point, A2 being 2 points, and B3 being 3 points. Thus, the fewer the points obtained, the better the score. For example, in the L1R5 scoring system, the student's L1 or first language (either English or Higher Mother Tongue Language) and R5 or relevant 5 subjects (which must include at least one from the Science & Mathematics group, one from the Humanities group, and excluding subjects such as Religious Studies, Mother Tongue "B" and CCA). Consequently, an L1R5 score of 6 points is considered to be the best score attainable for entrance to a Junior College. A student requires an L1R5 score of below 20 points to be eligible for Junior College. On top of that, students must also pass English and Mother Tongue.

For non-major examinations, several schools use a Mean Subject Grade (MSG) scoring system, while schools running the Integrated Programme (IP) may also use the Grade Point Assessment (GPA) scoring system.

Co-Curricular activities

"Co-Curricular Activities" (CCA) are compulsory at the secondary level, where all pupils must participate in at least one core activity, and participation is graded together with other achievement throughout the four years in a scoring system known as LEAPS ("Leadership, Enrichment, Achievement, Participation, Service"). There are many co-curricular activities offered at the secondary level, varying at each school and each student is judged based in these areas. Competitions and performances are regularly organized. Co-curricular activities are often categorized under the following: Uniformed Groups, Performing Arts, Clubs & Societies and Sports & Games. Students may also participate in more than 1 CCA.

Uniformed Groups

The main uniform groups are NCC (National Cadet Corps), NPCC (National Police Cadet Corps), NCDCC (National Civil Defence Cadet Corps), St John Ambulance Brigade, Red Cross Youth, Singapore Scout Association, Girl Guides, the Boys Brigade and the Girls Brigade. Students are expected to learn drills and wear the respective uniforms, hence the name.

Performing Arts

Performing Arts CCAs can vary, although most will include the Choir, Military/Concert/Symphonic Band, Dance groups for different ethnic culture, Drama and Debate. Most here are oriented on performing and the musical arts.

Clubs & Societies

Clubs and societies are a wide variety, ranging from Singapore Youth Flying Club to Robotics, Media and Infocomm Clubs and martial arts.

Sports & Games

Sports are mainly focused on competitive games, like Track and Field (running, jumping, throwing), volleyball, netball, basketball, archery, table tennis, badminton, tennis, gymnastics and more.

Gifted Education Programme

    Main article: Gifted Education Programme (Singapore)

The Gifted Education Programme (GEP) was set up by the Ministry of Education in 1984 amid some public concern to cater to the intellectually gifted students. As of 2005, the schools participating consisted of 9 primary schools — Anglo-Chinese School (Primary), Catholic High School (Primary), Henry Park Primary School, Nan Hua Primary School, Nanyang Primary School, Rosyth School, Tao Nan School, St. Hilda's Primary School, and Raffles Girls' Primary School. 7 secondary schools originally started the programme, but with the introduction of the Integrated Programme, most have included the GEP programmes into their IP curriculum. The two remaining secondary GEP schools are Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), an independent all-boys IP School, and Dunman High School, a mixed autonomous government school; the autonomous all-boys Victoria School had to suspend GEP classes due to low enrolment with GEP students preferring IP schools.

Pupils enter the programme through a series of tests at Primary 3, which will identify the top 1 per cent of the student population. A second selection is conducted at Primary 6 for those who do well in the PSLE. In the programme, pupils are offered special enrichment programmes to cater to their needs. However, not all students in GEP are successful. Some are not accustomed to the fast pace of study which affected their performance in the core subjects and may choose not to continue the programme at the secondary level.

The Secondary School Gifted Education Programme will be discontinued as of end-2008 as more students take the Integrated Programme (IP).[6]

Integrated Programme

Hwa Chong Institution, founded in 1919, is one of the schools in Singapore that is currently under the Integrated Programme.
Hwa Chong Institution, founded in 1919, is one of the schools in Singapore that is currently under the Integrated Programme.

    Main article: Integrated Programme

The Integrated Programme, also known as the "Through-Train Programme" (直通车), is a scheme which allows the cream of secondary schools in Singapore to bypass the "O" levels and take the "A" levels, International Baccalaureate or an equivalent examination directly at the age of 18 after six years of secondary education.

The programme allows for more time to be allocated to enrichment activities. By bypassing the GCE "O" level examinations, the students are supposedly given more time and flexibility to immerse themselves in a more broad base education which will eventually lead to the GCE "A" levels examination. In addition, the students enjoy more freedom in the combination of subjects between Year 1 - 4 as compared to their non-IP counterparts. Generally, only the top performers (usually from Special, and sometimes Express, stream) are eligible to be part of the IP programme. This will ensure that the main body of the students pursue their secondary education at their own pace by first completing a 4-year O Level before going on to a 2-year "A" level education (as opposed to a 2-year "O" level and 4-year "A" level education).

As a result, schools under this IP programme allow their students to skip the "O" levels at Secondary 4 and go straight into junior colleges (JCs) in Year5/JC1. The Integrated Programme or the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme has become an increasingly popular alternative to normal secondary education as it is seen to have moved away from the emphasis on the mere sciences, a side effect from the post-independence need for quick and basic education, to more refined subjects such as philosophy or political science, as well as the fact that scientific concepts are more highly stressed than before, as it is judged on the work of the student, rather than through an examination.

The first batch of IP students sat for the revised GCE "A" Level or International Baccalaureate Diploma examinations in 2007.

Some of the schools which offer the IP / IB programmes in Singapore are:

    * Dunman High School (IP + Bicultural Studies Programme)
    * National Junior College (IP)
    * NUS High School of Math & Science (IP - NUS High School Diploma)
    * Nanyang Girls' High School (IP + Bicultural Studies Programme)
    * River Valley High School (IP + Bicultural Studies Programme)
    * Temasek Junior College (IP + Chinese Language elective Programme)
    * Hwa Chong Institution (IP + Bicultural Studies Programme)
    * Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) (IP - IB)
    * Raffles Junior College (IP)
    * Raffles Girls' School (Secondary)
    * Raffles Institution
    * Victoria Junior College (IP)

Admission to post-secondary institutions

Upon completion of the 4 or 5-year secondary school education, students (excluding of IP students) will participate in the annual Singaporean GCE 'O' Level, which will then determine their aptitude and the pre-universities or post-secondary institutions they are able to be admitted into. Pre-university centres include junior colleges for a two-year course leading up to GCE 'A' level, or Millennia institute for a three-year course leading up to GCE 'A' level. Both junior colleges and Millennia Institute intake students by merit, and competition among students are usually higher than, since the emphasis on academics than professional technical education. Students who wishes to pursue for a professional-centric diploma education can be admitted into post-secondary institutions such as the polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).

Admission to a two-year pre-university course at junior colleges after graduating secondary school is determined by the L1R5 (first language + 5 relevant subjects) scoring system. This scoring system is based on the 'O' Level subject grades, which range from A1 (best) to F9 (worst). The candidate adds the numerical grades for six different subjects: English (or another language taken at the 'first language' level), a Humanities subject, a Science/Mathematics subject, a Humanities/Science/Mathematics subject, and two other subjects of any kind. The best L1R5 unmodified score is therefore 6, for a student with A1 grades in six subjects which meet the criteria given.

Students scoring 20 points and below can be admitted for either a Science or Arts Course. In addition, a student must also achieve at least a C6 grade, which is 50% or higher, in the GCE 'O' Level English Language and Mathematics papers in order to qualify for junior college admission. Pre-university centres that are usually associated with academic excellence, however, usually expect students to attain points in the single digits, in order to be admitted. This is because the system is merit-driven, with places given to those with lower scores first.

For admission to a three-year pre-university course at the Millennia Institute, the L1B5 (first language + 5 best subjects of any kind) scoring system is used and students are expected to score below 20 points being admitted. Students can opt for any of the science, arts or business streams when pursuing a three-year pre-university course.

For students seeking admission to diploma courses in polytechnics, the L1R4 (first language + 4 relevant subjects) scoring system is used. However, students will also be required to meet specific pre-requisites outlined by the different polytechnic schools they are applying for. Students applying for courses in the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) Colleges will also have an independent scoring system dependent on the course they are applying for.

Bonus points can be deducted from a student's raw score, thus lowering it. These bonus points may come from either scoring an 'A' or 'B' grade in CCA, taking Higher Mother Tongue Language and obtaining a minimum of 'D7', or through affiliation (for feeder schools). Bonus points are capped at 4, with exception for those applying to schools offering Chinese Language Elective Programme (CLEP) or Malay Language Elective Programme (MLEP).

Pre-university

    Main article: List of junior colleges in Singapore

The pre-university centres of Singapore consists of 17 Junior Colleges (JCs) and a Centralised Institute (CI), the Millennia Institute (MI, established 2004), with the National Junior College (NJC, established 1969) being the oldest and Innova Junior College (IJC, established 2005) being the youngest. The pre-university centres are designed for upper stream students (roughly the top 20%-25% of the cohort) who wish to pursue a university degree after two to three years of pre-university education, rather than stopping after polytechnic post-secondary education.

Originally, junior colleges in Singapore were designed to offer an accelerated pre-university education of two years instead of the to traditional three-year pre-university programmes, but the two-year programme has become the norm for students pursuing university education. Junior college has become synonymous to prestigious education. There are 5 traditional "top" junior colleges; HCJC/HCI, NJC, RJC, TJC and VJC. The Public Service Commission and other coveted scholarships (such as the FireFly, A*STAR and the President's Scholarship) are either largely or exclusively reserved for pre-university centre students.

Junior Colleges (JCs) accept students based on their GCE "O" Level results; an L1R5 score of 20 points or less must be attained for a student to gain admission. JCs provide a 2-year course leading up to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level ("A" level) examination. Centralised Institutes (CIs) accept students based on their GCE "O" Level results; an L1B5 score of 20 points or less must be attained for a student to gain admission. Millennia Institute, provides a 3-year course leading up to the A-level examinations.

Funding and scholarships

Students in most junior colleges and centralised institute pay a subsidised school fees of S$6 and up to S$22 per month for other miscellaneous equipment and special programmes fees, depending on the status and programmes offered by the college. However, certain independent junior colleges, such as Raffles Junior College and Hwa Chong Institution, will require new students to pay a higher school fees at S$300 per month. Scholarships and bursaries are provided for students whose score was within the 95th percentile from the O-levels, and for students requiring financial assistance. Under these schemes, they are only required to pay an amount equivalent to the school fees of a non-independent junior college. Bursary holders are required to pay a fraction of the full fees, based on their family income. A student whose household salary is S$2000 (75% of an average Singapore household income) is required to pay 75% of the full school fees, while another whose household income is less than S$1000 per month only has to pay 25%. Apart from that, there are also MOE pre-university scholarships awarded to academically-enabled students who choose to pursue and specialise their education at a junior college, providing yearly scholarship allowance and remission of school fees. These scholarships include the Pre-University Scholarship, which provides a scholarship allowance of SGD750 per annum, as well as specialised scholarships such as the Humanities Scholarship, Art Elective Programme Scholarship, Language Elective Programme (French, German & Japanese) Scholarship and Music Elective Programme Scholarship which provide scholarship allowances of SGD1000 per annum in addition to a remission of school fees as well as additional grants for overseas trips or programmes (ranging from SGD1000 to SGD2000).

Admissions and matriculation

The Provisional Admission Exercise is a transitional period of 3 months in junior colleges that allows students to have a 'feel' of JC life.
The Provisional Admission Exercise is a transitional period of 3 months in junior colleges that allows students to have a 'feel' of JC life.

There are two ways to be admitted into a pre-university centre, namely through the traditional Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) as well as Direct School Admission (DSA). In the JAE, students apply for admission using their Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'O' Examinations scores, while in DSA which is conducted roughly half a year earlier, students apply directly to the various colleges for placement on the basis of talent which can range from the academic, to the cultural and performing arts to sports. Upon acceptance, students will be automatically admitted to the college irrespective of the year's JAE cut-off score, although students will still have to meet the minimum criteria of scoring an L1R5 of below 20 points for entrance into a junior college (although most JCs tend to require a minimum score of 15 points and below to avoid the student from struggling academically). In the JAE, students will have to compete nationally on the basis of their academic scores and credentials to gain admission to their college of choice.

In the past, there used to be two intakes, namely the Provisional Admissions Exercise (PAE) and the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE). However, from the 2009 academic year onwards, a single intake system will be implemented with the Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'O' Examinations being brought forward to minimise movement and excessive administration work involved in the two-intake system.

A-level curriculum and examinations

   The factual accuracy of this section is disputed.
Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.(March 2008)

From January 2006, the two-year and three-year pre-university curriculum framework in pre-university centres was replaced with a new and revised curriculum with the first batch of students sitting for the GCE "A" Level examinations in 2007. In this newly enforced curriculum, the system of categorising subjects according to "Alternative Ordinary (AO)", "Advanced (A)" and "Special (S)" papers or levels has been scrapped and is replaced with the Higher One (H1), Higher 2 (H2) and Higher 3 (H3) categories. H1 subjects are worth 1 Academic Units (AU), H2 subjects 2 AUs, H3 subjects 1 AUs and students are expected to take a minimum of 10 AUs (viz. 3H2+1H1) and a maximum of 12 AUs (viz. 4H2) inclusive of Mother Tongue Language (MTL), Project Work and General Paper or Knowledge & Inquiry. Students who have taken Higher Mother Tongue language paper at the GCE "O" Level and have obtained a minimum grade of 'D7' are exempted from taking formal MTL lessons and examinations, albeit still having to attend MTL-related enrichment and not being allowed to replace the MTL unit with another subject as MTL is still regarded as an integral component of the curriculum.

In tandem with the MOE's aim of achieving more depth rather than mere breadth, the H1 and H2 categories complement each other; in general, a subject taken at H1 is half the breadth of that taken at H2, but is of the same depth and difficulty. For example, students studying Mathematics at H1 will study lesser Pure Mathematics topics (which are largely Physics-related) than those studying Mathematics at H2, but will still face the same depth and difficulty in similar topics (such as Statistics). As such, an H1 paper can theoretically be said to be half of the content of an H2 paper albeit being at equal depth and difficulty (as opposed to how "AO" level subjects were merely easier papers than the "A" level subjects previously). Subsequently, for certain subjects such as History, students taking the subject at H1 level will only sit for Paper 1 (International History from 1945-2000), while students taking the subject at H2 level will sit for the same Paper 1 (International History from 1945-2000) in addition to having to sit for Paper 2 (Southeast Asian History from 1900-1997) as well. Students taking Science subjects such as Physics, Chemistry or Biology at H1 will only sit for the Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQ) and one written paper, and are not required to take the SPA or Practical examination as those taking the subjects at H2. Consequently, this new grouping system bears some semblance to the International Baccalaureate Diploma A1/A2/SL/HL grouping system.

Syllabus wise, the new curriculum framework gives students more choice of subjects to choose from and enables more permutations of subject combinations. However, unlike in the old curriculum which was criticised for being too specialised and unholistic, students are now required to take up at least one contrasting subject - i.e. Science students have to take up at least one Arts/Humanities subject, while Arts/Humanities students must take up at least one Science-based subject. For example, subjects previously not available to Arts/Humanities students such as Physics, Chemistry and Biology are now made possible at both H1 and H2 levels, while Science students now have more choice of doing an Arts/Humanities subject (such as Literature) at either H1 or H2 level. Alternatively, students can choose to take up a new subject, Knowledge & Inquiry, in lieu of the General Paper (GP) as a contrasting subject, as Knowledge & Inquiry (KI) is designed to expose students to Epistemology as well as to the construction and nature of knowledge, thus calling for the need to learn across disciplines such as Mathematics, the Sciences and the Humanities. KI is said to be similar to the IB Diploma's Theory of Knowledge paper, albeit being more difficult, as students have to sit for both an examination paper and do a 2500-3000 word Independent Study research paper. Due to its intensive nature, KI is classified as an H2 subject instead of an H1 subject like the General Paper (GP).

The "highest" level subjects, the H3 subjects, are meant to be more pragmatic and promote critical thinking unlike the previous "S" Papers. Under the revised curriculum, H3 subjects are examined either in the form of Research Papers (be it by Cambridge, or by local Universities), Research work (such as the HSSRP and A*Star Research Programmes) or (advanced) University Modules offered by the various local Universities which are approved by the MOE. Consequently, students are able to gain extra credits and skip several modules in the University with the H3 paper done with their other GCE "A" Level subjects. However, in order to do an H3 subject, students must be offering the corresponding subject at H2 level. H3 subjects are not offered in Millennia Institute and SRJC.

In general, the subjects offered under the new Singapore-Cambridge GCE "A" Level Examinations are (list is not exhaustive):

Science & Mathematics Group:
Offered at both H1 & H2 level: Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics
Offered only at H2 Level: Computing

Languages Group:
Offered only at H1 Level: Chinese Language, Malay Language, Tamil Language
Offered at both H1 & H2 Level: French, German, Japanese
Note: Language Subjects taken at H1 do not qualify as contrasting subject(s) for Science students. Only Language Elective Programme (LEP) students are offered to study French, German or Japanese at H2 level.

Humanities and the Arts Group:
Offered at H1 level only: General Studies in Chinese (GSC)
Offered at both H1 & H2 level: Economics, Geography, History, Literature in English, History in Chinese, China Studies in English, China Studies in Chinese
Offered only at H2 Level: Chinese Language & Literature, Malay Language & Literature, Tamil Language & Literature, Theatre Studies & Drama, Art, Music (Higher Art and Higher Music is offered to Art Elective (AEP) and Music Elective Programme (MEP) students respectively)

Business Group (for CI only)
Offered at H2 level: Principles of Accounting, Management of Business
Offered at H1 and H2 level: Economics

Others:
H3 Subjects:
1.Research Papers: Papers are offered by Cambridge for all core subjects including new "hybrid" subjects such as Proteomics, Pharmaceutical chemistry and Essentials of Modern Physics
2.Research Programmes: Humanities and Social Sciences Research Programme (HSSRP) by National University of Singapore, NUS Science Research Programme by NUS(NUS SRP), H3 STAR Science Research Programme (only offered to students of NJC), H3 NAV Science Research Programme (only offered to students of VJC).
3.University Modules: Modules such as "Geopolitics: Geographies of War and Peace" for Geography and History students and "Managerial Economics" for Economics students are offered and examined by the National University of Singapore. NTU will also be offering several modules in 2007.


Other Subjects:
Offered only at H1 level: Project Work, General Paper (for those who do not take KI)
Offered only at H2 Level: Knowledge & Inquiry

Previously, students take two subjects at "Alternative Ordinary" level ("AO" level), namely their General Paper (GP) and Mother Tongue, and three or four subjects at "A" level. "A" level subjects include Economics, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English Literature, History, Geography, Art, Art with Higher Art ("A" level) taken by students in the Art Elective Programme, Theatre Studies and Drama, Computing, Higher Chinese, Chinese ("A" level) Language Elective Programme, Music ("A" level), Music with Higher Music ("A" Level) taken by students in the Music Elective Programme, General Studies in Chinese, French, German, Japanese ("A" level), Malay ("A' level), Tamil ("A" level). Project Work was also made compulsory from 2003.

To gain admittance to local universities, students must pass the General Paper (GP) or Knowledge & Inquiry (KI) and obtain a minimum grade of S for the "AO" or "H1" level Mother Tongue Language paper. The grade obtained for the Higher Mother Tongue paper taken at "O" level may be used in lieu of an "AO" or "H1" level Mother Tongue Language grade. From 2008 onwards, the scores of a student's three H2 and one H1 subject will be computed inclusive of Project Work (PW) and either GP or KI for admittance into local universities (namely NUS, NTU, SMU and UniSIM).

Elective Programmes offered in Junior Colleges

Art, Music & Language Elective Programmes. Humanities Programme.

Centralised Institutes

The Centralised Institutes accept students based on their GCE "O" level results and their L1R4 score (which must be 20 points or below). A Centralised Institute provides a three-year course leading up to a GCE "A" level examination. There were originally four Centralized Institutes: Outram Institute, Townsville Institute, Jurong Institute and Seletar Institute. Townsville Institute and Seletar Institute stopped accepting new students after the 1995 school year and closed down after the last batch of students graduated in 1997.

There currently remains only one Centralised Institute in Singapore, the Millennia Institute, which was formed following the merger of Jurong and Outram Institutes. Additionally, only Centralised Institutes offer the Commerce Stream offering subjects such as Principles of Accounting and Management of Business. The standard of teaching and curriculum is identical to that of the Junior Colleges.

Diploma and vocational education

Ngee Ann Polytechnic is one of the five polytechnics in Singapore.
Ngee Ann Polytechnic is one of the five polytechnics in Singapore.

Polytechnics

Polytechnics in Singapore provide 3-year diploma courses and, they accept students based on their GCE "O" level, GCE "A" level or Institute of Technical Education (ITE) results.

Polytechnics offer a wide range of courses in various fields, including engineering, business studies, accountancy, tourism and hospitality management, mass communications, digital media and biotechnology. There are also specialised courses such as marine engineering, nautical studies, nursing, and optometry. They provide a more industry-oriented education as an alternative to junior colleges for post-secondary studies. About 40% of each Primary 1 cohort would enrol in Polytechnics.[7]

There are five polytechnics in Singapore, namely:

    * Nanyang Polytechnic
    * Ngee Ann Polytechnic
    * Republic Polytechnic
    * Singapore Polytechnic
    * Temasek Polytechnic

Graduates of polytechnics with good grades can continue to pursue further tertiary education at the universities, and many overseas universities, notably those in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, give exemptions for modules completed in Polytechnic.

Polytechnics have also been actively working with many foreign universities to provide their graduates a chance to study niche University Courses locally. For example, Ngee Ann Polytechnic has engaged with Chapman University in the U.S. to provide a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Producing for graduates of the School's Film and Media Studies department. Nanyang Polytechnic too, has tied-up with the University of Stirling in Scotland to provide a course in Retail Marketing.

Institute of Technical Education

The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) accepts students based on their GCE "O" level or GCE "N" level results and they provide 2-year courses leading to a locally recognised "National ITE Certificate." There are 10 ITE Colleges in Singapore. A number of ITE graduates are doing considerably well in the workforce as they are equipped with essential skills in their various fields of study and are proficient at their jobs. Some ITE graduates continue their education at polytechnics and universities. However, this makes up only a minuscule proportion. There is in fact a social stigmatisation of ITE students as being less capable and possibly less successful. In recent years there have been speeches made by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister of Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam acknowledging the different definitions and types of success, in a bid to work towards a more inclusive society. However, this has mostly been lip service, with little concrete action being taken to give ITE students greater recognition or address the stigmatisation that exists. This is admittedly a difficult job as such views have been ingrained in society for many years.

ITE provides three main levels of certification:

    * Master National ITE Certificate (Master Nitec)
    * Higher National ITE Certificate (Higher Nitec)
    * National ITE Certificate (Nitec)

There are also other skills certification through part-time apprenticeship course conducted jointly by ITE and industrial companies.

Universities

Singapore currently has two fully fledged public universities (National University of Singapore & Nanyang Technological University), two fully fledged private universities (SMU & UniSIM), several foreign university offshore campuses and more than ten other private tertiary institutions offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

The Nanyang Technological University and National University of Singapore each has more than 20,000 students and they provide a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes including doctoral degrees. Both are also established research universities with thousands of research staff and graduate students.

A third university Singapore Management University (SMU) opened in 2000 focusing on business and management courses. Although it is a private university, it is funded by the government. The forth university, privately-run SIM University (UniSIM), opened in 2006.

The University of New Brunswick, Queen Margaret University, New York University, University of Nevada, Las Vegas , Curtin University of Technology & University of Wales Institute, Cardiff have established off-shore campuses in Singapore to provide local and foreign (in particular, Asian) students the opportunity to obtain a Western university education at a fraction of the cost it would take to study in Canada, the UK, the U.S.A and Australia. University of New Brunswick College, Singapore, Queen Margaret University, Asia Campus, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Asia have already begun operations in Singapore between 2007 and 2008, with the Curtin University of Technology Singapore Campus & University of Wales Institute, Cardiff: Asia Campus due to join them in December 2008.

The government has announced plans to set up a fourth public university to cater to rising demand for university education. This is expected to commence operations in Changi by 2011.[8]

    See also: List of universities in Singapore

International and private schools

Building of ACS (International), one of the newest international schools.
Building of ACS (International), one of the newest international schools.

Due to its large expatriate community Singapore is host to many international schools, one of which, the Singapore American School has one of the largest intakes of international students in the world. Most employers in Singapore pay part or all of their employees children's school fees. International and private schools in Singapore generally do not admit Singapore students without the permission from the Ministry of Education.

However, on 29 April 2004, The Ministry of Education permitted two new international schools to be set up and no permission is required of admitting Singapore students. These school must follow the compulsory policies set by the Ministry such as playing the national anthem every morning, take the pledge and follow the nation's bilingual policies. Both of these schools are private school arms of two renowned schools, they are Anglo-Chinese School (International) and Hwa Chong International. The school fees are around 15 to 20 percent lower than foreign international schools. Their intake is mainly Singaporeans, with nationalities from various countries including Malaysia,India, People's Republic of China, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Netherlands, Indonesia and the United Kingdom.

Education policies

Meritocracy

Meritocracy is a central political concept in Singapore and a fundamental principle in the education system[citation needed] which aims to identify and groom bright young students for positions of leadership. The system places a great emphasis on academic performance in grading students and granting their admission to special programmes and universities, though this has raised concerns of breeding elitism.[9] Academic grades are considered as objective measures of the students' ability and effort, irrespective of their social background.[10] Having good academic credentials is seen as the most important factor for the students' career prospects in the local job market, and their future economic status.[11]

Curricula are therefore closely tied to examinable topics, and the competitiveness of the system led to a proliferation of ten year series, which are compilation books of past examination papers that students use to prepare for examinations.

Bilingualism (Mother Tongue)

Bilingualism, or mother tongue policy, is a cornerstone of Singapore education system. While English is the first language and the medium of instruction in schools, most students are required to take a "Mother Tongue" subject, which could be one of the three official languages: Chinese, Malay or Tamil. A non-Tamil Indian may choose to offer Tamil or a non-official language such as Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi or Urdu. This Mother Tongue is a compulsory examinable subject at the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and the GCE "N", "O" and "A" level examinations. Students are required to achieve a certain level of proficiency in their mother tongue as a pre-requisite for admission to local universities. Students returning from overseas may be exempted from this policy.[12]

The bilingual policy was first adopted in 1966.[13] One of its primary objectives is to promote English as the common (and neutral) language among the diverse ethnic groups in Singapore. The designation of English as the first language also serves to expedite Singapore's integration into the world economy.[14]

In recognition of the linguistic and cultural pluralism in the country, another stated objective of the bilingual policy is to educate students with their "mother tongues" so that they can learn about their culture, identify with their ethnic roots, and to preserve the culture traits and Asian values.[13] Within the Chinese population, Mandarin is promoted as a common language in favour of other Chinese dialects, to better integrate the community. In 1979, the Speak Mandarin Campaign was launched to further advance this goal.[15]

Financial assistance

The education policies in Singapore ensure that no child is left behind in education even if they do not have the financial capabilities to attend schools. As such, school fees in public schools are heavily subsidized such that students pay as low as $13 for fees.[16] Even with such low fees, there are many possible assistance schemes from either the government, or welfare organisations to help students cope with finances during their studies. Some of these are listed below.

Financial Assistance Scheme

The Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) is an MOE programme to provide financial assistance for education to low income families with monthly household income of less than S$1,500 or S$1,800 depending on the number of children in the household.[17]

Students eligible for FAS receive full waiver of miscellaneous fees and partial subsidy on national examination fees. They may also enjoy full or partial fee subsidy if they are in Independent Schools. In 2005, there were 15,000 recipients of FAS; MOE is expecting this number to increase to 33,500 following an enhancement of the FAS in 2006.[17]

Edusave Merit Bursary

    Main article: Edusave

Each year, the Edusave Merit Bursary (EMB) is given out to about 40,000 students, who are from lower-middle and low-income families and have good academic performance in their schools.[17]

Development and future plans

Student exchange programmes

About 120 of the 353 primary and secondary schools in Singapore have some form of exchange programmes which allow students to visit overseas schools. In 2005, the Ministry of Education set up a SGD$4.5 million School Twinning Fund to facilitate 9,000 primary and secondary school students to participate in these exchange programmes, particularly in ASEAN countries, China and India.[18]
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Re: Singapore سنگاپور
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Singapore Travel Guide and Travel Information also in Urdu
« Reply #3 on: October 12, 2008, 11:42:30 PM »
Singapore Travel Guide and Travel Information also in Urdu

Singapore
Demonym    Singaporean
Government    Parliamentary republic
 -     President    Sellapan Ramanathan
 -     Prime Minister    Lee Hsien Loong
 -     Speaker of Parliament    Abdullah Tarmugi
 -     Chief Justice    Chan Sek Keong
Independence
 -     City status    24 July 1951
 -     Self-government
under the United Kingdom    3 June 1959[1]
 -     Declaration of independence    31 August 1963
 -     Merger with Malaysia    16 September 1963
 -     Separation from Malaysia    9 August 1965
Area
 -     Total    707.1 km² (190th) 270 sq mi
 -     Water (%)    1.444
Population
 -     2007 estimate    4,588,600[2] (117th)
 -     2000 census    4,117,700
 -     Density    6,489/km² (3rd)
16,392/sq mi
GDP (PPP)    2007 estimate
 -     Total    US$228.116 billion (44th)
 -     Per capita    US$49,714 (6th)
GDP (nominal)    2007 estimate
 -     Total    US$171.95 billion[3]
 -     Per capita    US$39,952.44
HDI (2007)    ▬ 0.922 (high) (25th)
Currency    Singapore dollar (SGD)
Time zone    SST (UTC+8)
Internet TLD    .sg
Calling code    +65²
1    Singapore is a city-state.
2    02 from Malaysia.

Singapore (Chinese: 新加坡, Xīnjiāpō; Malay: Singapura; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர், Cingkappūr), officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At 707.1 km2 (273.0 sq mi), Singapore is one of four remaining true city-states in the world. It is the smallest nation in Southeast Asia.

Prior to European settlement, the island now known as Singapore was the site of a Malay fishing village at the mouth of the Singapore River. Several hundred indigenous Orang Laut people also lived along the nearby coast, rivers and on smaller islands. In 1819 the British East India Company established a trading post on the island, which was used thereafter as a strategic trading post along the spice route.[4] Singapore would become one of the most important commercial and military centres of the British Empire, and the hub of British power in Southeast Asia. The city was occupied by the Japanese during World War II, which Winston Churchill called "Britain's greatest defeat".[5] Singapore reverted to British rule immediately postwar, in 1945. Eighteen years later the city, having achieved independence from Britain, merged with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia. However, less than two years later it seceded from the federation and became an independent republic on 9 August 1965. Singapore joined the United Nations on 21 September that same year.

Since independence, Singapore's standard of living has been on the rise. Foreign direct investment and a state-led drive to industrialisation based on plans drawn up by the Dutch economist Albert Winsemius have created a modern economy focused on electronics manufacturing, petrochemicals, tourism and financial services alongside traditional entrepôt trade. Singapore is the 6th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita.[6] This small nation has foreign exchange reserves of more than US$177 billion.[7]

The population of Singapore is approximately 4.59 million.[2] Though Singapore is highly cosmopolitan and diverse, ethnic Chinese form the majority of the population. English is the administrative language of the country.

The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore established the nation's political system as a representative democracy, while the country is recognised as a parliamentary republic.[8] The People's Action Party (PAP) dominates the political process and has won control of Parliament in every election since self-government in 1959.[9]

History

    Main article: History of Singapore


Etymology

The name Singapore comes from the Malay words Singa and Pura,[10] which in turn comes from the Sanskrit words singa सिंह siṃha ("lion") and पुर pura ("city"). According to the Malay Annals, this name was given by a 14th century Sumatran prince named Sang Nila Utama, who, landing on the island after a thunderstorm, spotted an auspicious beast on the shore, which his chief minister erroneously identified as a 'singha' or lion.[11] Recent studies of Singapore, however, indicate that lions have never lived there, not even Asiatic lions; the beast seen by Sang Nila Utama was most likely a tiger, probably the Malayan Tiger.[12][13]

First settlement

    Main article: Early history of Singapore

The first records of settlement in Singapore are from the 2nd century AD.[14] The island was an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire and originally had the Javanese name Temasek ('sea town'). Temasek (Tumasek) rapidly became a significant trading settlement, but declined in the late 14th century. There are few remnants of old Temasek in Singapore, but archaeologists in Singapore have uncovered artefacts of that and other settlements. Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, Singapore island was part of the Sultanate of Johor. During the Malay-Portugal wars in 1613, the settlement was set ablaze by Portuguese troops.[15] The Portuguese subsequently held control in that century and the Dutch in the 17th, but throughout most of this time the island's population consisted mainly of fishermen.

Colonial rule

Founding of modern Singapore

Statue of Thomas Stamford Raffles by Thomas Woolner, erected at the location where he first landed at Singapore. He is recognised as the founder of modern Singapore.
Statue of Thomas Stamford Raffles by Thomas Woolner, erected at the location where he first landed at Singapore. He is recognised as the founder of modern Singapore.

On 29 January 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles landed on the main island. Spotting its potential as a strategic geographical trading post in Southeast Asia, Raffles signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah on behalf of the British East India Company on 6 February 1819 to develop the southern part of Singapore as a British trading post and settlement. Until August 1824, Singapore was still a territory controlled by a Malay Ruler. Singapore only officially became a British colony in August 1824 when the British extended control over the whole island. John Crawfurd, the second resident of Singapore, was the one who made Singapore a British possession. He signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah on 2 August 1824 in which the Sultan and the Temmenggong handed over the whole island to the British East India Company thus marking the start of the island's modern era. Raffles's deputy, William Farquhar, oversaw a period of growth and ethnic migration, which was largely spurred by a no-restriction immigration policy. The British India office governed the island from 1858, but Singapore was made a British crown colony in 1867, answerable directly to the Crown. By 1869, 100,000 lived on the island.[16]

The early onset of town planning in colonial Singapore came largely through a "divide and rule" framework where the different ethnic groups were settled in different parts of the South of the island. The Singapore River was largely a commercial area that was dominated by traders and bankers of various ethnic groups with mostly Chinese and Indian coolies working to load and unload goods from barge boats known locally as "bumboats". The Malays, consisting of the local "Orang Lauts" who worked mostly as fishermen and seafarers, and Arab traders and scholars were mostly found in the South-east part of the river mouth, where Kampong Glam stands today. The European settlers, who were few then, settled around Fort Canning Hill and further upstream from the Singapore River. Like the Europeans, the early Indian migrants also settled more inland of the Singapore River, where Little India stands today. Very little is known about the rural private settlements in those times (known as kampongs), other than the major move by the post-independent Singapore government to re-settle these residents in the late 1960s.

World War II

    Main article: Japanese occupation of Singapore



Years before the rise of the Japanese, the British noted that Japan was building its forces rapidly. Wanting to protect its assets in SouthEast Asia, the British decided to build a naval base on the Northern end of Singapore. However, due to the German war in Europe, all warship and war equipment was brought over to Europe.

During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Malaya, culminating in the Battle of Singapore. The ill-prepared British, with most of their forces in Europe, were defeated in six days, and surrendered the supposedly impregnable fortress to General Tomoyuki Yamashita on 15 February 1942. The surrender was described by British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill as "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history."[17] The British naval base(see above) was destroyed before the Japanese could take over the base and make use of it. The Japanese renamed Singapore Shōnantō (昭南島, Shōnantō?), from Japanese "Shōwa no jidai ni eta minami no shima" ("昭和の時代に得た南の島", "Shōwa no jidai ni eta minami no shima"?), or "southern island obtained in the age of Shōwa", and occupied it until the British repossessed the island on 12 September 1945, a month after the Japanese surrender.[18]

The name Shōnantō was, at the time, romanised as "Syonan-to" or "Syonan", which means "Light of the South".

Independence

    Main article: History of the Republic of Singapore


Shenton Way circa 1970, the period of time where Singapore underwent immense economic development under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew.
Shenton Way circa 1970, the period of time where Singapore underwent immense economic development under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew.
The Downtown Core at dusk, the civic and business district of Singapore.
The Downtown Core at dusk, the civic and business district of Singapore.

Singapore became a self-governing state within the British Empire in 1959 with Yusof bin Ishak its first Yang di-Pertuan Negara and Lee Kuan Yew its first Prime Minister. It declared independence from Britain unilaterally in August 1963, before joining the Federation of Malaysia in September along with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak as the result of the 1962 Merger Referendum of Singapore. Singapore left the federation two years later after heated ideological conflict between the state's PAP government and the federal Kuala Lumpur government. Singapore officially gained sovereignty on 9 August 1965.[19] Yusof bin Ishak was sworn in as the first President of Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew remained prime minister.

While trying to be self-sufficient, the fledging nation faced problems like mass unemployment, housing shortages, and a dearth of land and natural resources. During Lee Kuan Yew's term as prime minister from 1959 to 1990, his administration tackled the problem of widespread unemployment, raised the standard of living, and implemented a large-scale public housing programme. It was during this time that the foundation of the country's economic infrastructure was developed; the threat of racial tension was curbed; and an independent national defence system centring around compulsory male military service was created.

In 1990, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee as Prime Minister. During his tenure, the country tackled the impacts of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the 2003 SARS outbreak, and terrorist threats posed by Jemaah Islamiyah after the September 11 attacks. In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the third prime minister.[20] Amongst his more notable decisions is the plan to open casinos to attract more foreign tourists.

Government and politics
Parliament House
Main article: Politics of Singapore
Law of Singapore


Singapore is a parliamentary democracy with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government representing different constituencies. The bulk of the executive powers rests with the Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister, currently Lee Hsien Loong. The office of President of Singapore, historically a ceremonial one, was granted some veto powers as of 1991 for a few key decisions such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of judiciary positions. Although the position is to be elected by popular vote, only the 1993 election has been contested to date. The legislative branch of government is the Parliament.

Parliamentary elections in Singapore are plurality-based for group representation constituencies since the Parliamentary Elections Act was modified in 1991.[21]

The Members of Parliament (MPs) consist of either elected, non-constituency or nominated Members. The majority of the Members of Parliament are elected into Parliament at a General Election on a first-past-the-post basis and represent either Single Member or Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs).

The elected Members of Parliament act as a bridge between the community and the Government by ensuring that the concerns of their constituents are heard in the Parliament. The present Parliament has 94 Members of Parliament consisting of 84 elected Members of Parliament, one NCMP and nine Nominated members of Parliament.

    * Elected Members, In Group Representation Constituencies, political parties field a team of between three to six candidates. At least one candidate in the team must belong to a minority race. This requirement ensures that parties contesting the elections in Group Representation Constituencies are multi-racial so that minority races will be represented in Parliament. Presently there are 14 Group Representation Constituencies and 9 Single Member constituencies.
    * Non-Constituency Members,This is to ensure that there will be a minimum number of opposition representatives in Parliament and that views other than the Government's can be expressed in Parliament.
    * Nominated Members, up to nine Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) was made in 1990 to ensure a wide representation of community views in Parliament. Nominated Members of Parliament are appointed by the President of Singapore for a term of two and a half years on the recommendation of a Special Select Committee of Parliament chaired by the Speaker. Nominated Members of Parliament are not connected to any political parties.

The Istana, the official residence and office of the President of Singapore.
The Istana, the official residence and office of the President of Singapore.

Politics in Singapore have been controlled by the People's Action Party (PAP) since self-government was attained.[22] In consequence, foreign political analysts and several opposition parties like the Workers' Party of Singapore, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) have argued that Singapore is essentially a one-party state. Many analysts consider Singapore to be an illiberal or procedural democracy rather than a true democracy[citation needed]. The Economist Intelligence Unit describes Singapore as a "hybrid regime" of democratic and authoritarian elements.[23] Freedom House ranks the country as "partly free".[24] Though general elections are free from irregularities and vote rigging, the PAP has been criticized for manipulating the political system through its use of censorship, gerrymandering, and civil libel suits against opposition politicians.[citation needed] Francis Seow, the exiled former Solicitor-General of Singapore, is a prominent critic.[citation needed] Seow and opposition politicians such as J.B. Jeyaretnam and Chee Soon Juan claim that Singapore courts favour the PAP government, and there is no separation of powers.[25]

Singapore has a successful and transparent market economy. Government-linked companies are dominant in various sectors of the local economy, such as media, utilities, and public transport. Singapore has consistently been rated as the least corrupt country in Asia and among the world's ten most free from corruption by Transparency International.[26]

Although Singapore's laws are inherited from British and British Indian laws, including many elements of English common law, the PAP has also consistently rejected liberal democratic values, which it typifies as Western and states there should not be a 'one-size-fits-all' solution to a democracy. There are no jury trials. Laws restricting the freedom of speech are justified by claims that they are intended to prohibit speech that may breed ill will or cause disharmony within Singapore's multiracial, multi-religious society. For example, in September 2005, three bloggers were convicted of sedition for posting racist remarks targeting minorities.[27] Some offences can lead to heavy fines or caning and there are laws which allow capital punishment in Singapore for first-degree murder and drug trafficking. Amnesty International has criticised Singapore for having "possibly the highest execution rate in the world" per capita.[28] The Singapore government argues that there is no international consensus on the appropriateness of the death penalty and that Singapore has the sovereign right to determine its own judicial system and impose capital punishment for the most serious crimes.[29]

Geography and climate
 Geography and climate of Singapore


Singapore consists of 63 islands, including mainland Singapore. There are two man-made connections to Johor, Malaysia — Johor-Singapore Causeway in the north, and Tuas Second Link in the west. Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of Singapore's many smaller islands. The highest natural point of Singapore is Bukit Timah Hill at 166 m (545 ft).

The south of Singapore, around the mouth of the Singapore River and what is now the Downtown Core, used to be the only concentrated urban area, while the rest of the land was either undeveloped tropical rainforest or used for agriculture. Since the 1960s, the government has constructed new residential towns in outlying areas, resulting in an entirely built-up urban landscape. The Urban Redevelopment Authority was established on 1 April 1974, responsible for urban planning.
Singapore Botanic Gardens, a 67.3-hectare (166 acre) Botanic Gardens in Singapore that includes the National Orchid Garden, which has a collection of more than 3,000 species of orchids.
Singapore Botanic Gardens, a 67.3-hectare (166 acre) Botanic Gardens in Singapore that includes the National Orchid Garden, which has a collection of more than 3,000 species of orchids.

Singapore has on-going land reclamation projects with earth obtained from its own hills, the seabed, and neighbouring countries. As a result, Singapore's land area grew from 581.5 km2 (224.5 sq mi) in the 1960s to 704 km2 (271.8 sq mi) today, and may grow by another 100 km² (38.6 sq mi) by 2030.[30] The projects sometimes involve some of the smaller islands being merged together through land reclamation in order to form larger, more functional islands, such as in the case of Jurong Island.

Under the Köppen climate classification system, Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate with no distinctive seasons. Its climate is characterized by uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity, and abundant rainfall. Temperatures range from 22 °C to 34 °C (72° to 93 °F). On average, the relative humidity is around 90% in the morning and 60% in the afternoon. During prolonged heavy rain, relative humidity often reaches 100%.[31] The lowest and highest temperatures recorded in its maritime history are 18.4 °C (65.1 °F) and 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) respectively. June and July are the hottest months, while November and December make up the wetter monsoon season. From August to October, there is often haze, sometimes severe enough to prompt public health warnings, due to bushfires in neighbouring Indonesia. Singapore does not observe daylight saving time or a summer time zone change. The length of the day is nearly constant year round due to the country's location near the equator.

About 23% of Singapore's land area consists of forest and nature reserves.[32] Urbanisation has eliminated many areas of former primary rainforest, with the only remaining area of primary rainforest being Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. A variety of parks are maintained with human intervention, such as the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Economy

 Economy of Singapore and Tourism in Singapore


Singapore has a highly developed market-based economy, which historically revolves around extended entrepot trade. Along with Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan, Singapore is one of the Four Asian Tigers. The economy depends heavily on exports refining imported goods, especially in manufacturing. Manufacturing constituted 26% of Singapore's GDP in 2005.[33] The manufacturing industry is well-diversified into electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, mechanical engineering and biomedical sciences manufacturing. In 2006, Singapore produced about 10% of the world's foundry wafer output.[34] Singapore is the busiest port in the world in terms of tonnage shipped.[35] Singapore is the world's fourth largest foreign exchange trading centre after London, New York City and Tokyo.[36]

Singapore has been rated as the most business-friendly economy in the world,[37][38] with thousands of foreign expatriates working in multi-national corporations. The city-state also employs tens of thousands of foreign blue-collared workers around the world.
Singapore's Central Business District (CBD)

As a result of global recession and a slump in the technology sector, the country's GDP contracted 2.2% in 2001. The Economic Review Committee (ERC) was set up in December 2001, and recommended several policy changes with a view to revitalising the economy. Singapore has since recovered from the recession, largely due to improvements in the world economy; the Singaporean economy itself grew by 8.3% in 2004, 6.4% in 2005[39] and 7.9% in 2006.[40] In the first half of Year 2007, the economy grew by 7.6%. The growth forecast for the whole year is expected to be between 7% to 8%, up from the original estimation of 5% to 7%.[41] On 19 August 2007, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in his National Day Rally Speech that Singapore's economy is expected to grow by at least 4-6% annually over the next 5-10 years.

The per capita GDP in 2006 was US$29,474.[42] As of September 2007, the unemployment rate is 1.7%, which is the lowest in a decade, having improved to around pre-Asian crisis level.[43] Employment continued to grow strongly as the economy maintained its rapid expansion. In the first three quarters of 2007, 171,500 new jobs were created, which is close to the 176,000 for the whole of 2006.[43] For the whole of 2007, Singapore's economy has grown 7.5% and drew in a record S$16 billion of fixed asset investments in manufacturing and projects generating S$3 billion of total business spending in services.[44] The government expects the Singapore economy to grow by 4.5% to 6.5% in 2008.[44]
Orchard Road is decorated for Christmas, 2005.
Orchard Road is decorated for Christmas, 2005.

Singapore introduced a Goods and Services Tax (GST) with an initial rate of 3% on 1 April 1994 substantially increasing government revenue by S$1.6 billion and stabilizing government finances.[45] The taxable GST was increased to 4% in 2003, to 5% in 2004, and to 7% on 1 July 2007.[46]

Singapore is a popular travel destination, making tourism one of its largest industries. About 9.7 million tourists visited Singapore in 2006.[47] The Orchard Road shopping district is one of Singapore's most well-known and popular tourist draws. To attract more tourists, the government decided to legalise gambling and to allow two casino resorts (euphemistically called Integrated Resorts) to be developed at Marina South and Sentosa in 2005.[48] To compete with regional rivals like Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai, the government has announced that the city area would be transformed into a more exciting place by lighting up the civic and commercial buildings.[49] Cuisine has also been heavily promoted as an attraction for tourists, with the Singapore Food Festival in July organized annually to celebrate Singapore's cuisine.

Singapore is fast positioning itself as a medical tourism hub — about 200,000 foreigners seek medical care in the country each year and Singapore medical services aim to serve one million foreign patients annually by 2012 and generate USD 3 billion in revenue.[50] The government expects that the initiative could create an estimated 13,000 new jobs within the health industries.

Under the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), Wireless@SG is a government initiative to build Singapore's infocomm infrastructure. Working through IDA's Call-for-Collaboration, SingTel, iCell and QMax deploy a municipal wireless network throughout Singapore. Since late 2006, users have enjoyed free wireless access through Wi-Fi under the "basic-tier" package offered by all three operators for 3 years.

Free Trade Agreements

Singapore has 14 bilateral and multilateral trade agreements:[51]
Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and President of the United States George W. Bush signing the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement in the White House, 6 May 2003.
Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and President of the United States George W. Bush signing the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement in the White House, 6 May 2003.

    * ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)
    * ASEAN-China (ACFTA)
    * ASEAN-Korea (AKFTA)
    * Australia (SAFTA)
    * EFTA (European Free Trade Association: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland)
    * Jordan (SJFTA)
    * India (CECA)
    * Japan (JSEPA)
    * New Zealand (ANZSCEP)
    * Panama (PSFTA)
    * Peru
    * South Korea (KSFTA)
    * Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (Trans-Pacific SEP): Brunei, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore
    * United States of America USSFTA

Currency

    Main article: Singapore Dollar


The currency of Singapore is the Singapore dollar, represented by the symbol S$ or the abbreviation SGD. The central bank of Singapore is the Monetary Authority of Singapore, responsible for issuing currency. Singapore established the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore, on 7 April 1967[52] and issued its first coins and notes.[53] The Singapore dollar was exchangeable at par with the Malaysian ringgit until 1973.[53] Interchangeability with the Brunei dollar is still maintained.[53][54]

On 27 June 2007, to commemorate 40 years of currency agreement with Brunei, a commemorative S$20 note was launched; the back is identical to the Bruneian $20 note launched concurrently.[54][55]

Military
RSS Formidable during Exercise Malabar 2007.

    Main article: Ministry of Defence (Singapore)


The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), currently headed by Minister Teo Chee Hean, oversees the Singapore Army, the Republic of Singapore Navy, and the Republic of Singapore Air Force, collectively known as the Singapore Armed Forces, along with volunteer private companies involved in supporting roles. The Chief of Defence Forces is Lieutenant-General Desmond Kuek Bak Chye.

The armed forces serve primarily as a deterrent against potential aggressors and also provide humanitarian assistance to other countries. Singapore has mutual defence pacts with several countries, most notably the Five Power Defence Arrangements. There is an extensive overseas network of training grounds in the United States, Australia, Republic of China (Taiwan), New Zealand, France, Thailand, Brunei, India and South Africa. Since 1980, the concept and strategy of "Total Defence" has been adopted in all aspects of security; an approach aimed at strengthening Singapore against all kinds of threats.

The recent rise in unconventional warfare and terrorism has cast increasing emphasis on non-military aspects of defence. The Gurkha Contingent, part of the Singapore Police Force, is also a counter-terrorist force. In 1991, the hijacking of Singapore Airlines Flight 117 ended in the storming of the aircraft by Singapore Special Operations Force and the subsequent deaths of all four hijackers without injury to either passengers or SOF personnel. A concern is Jemaah Islamiyah, a militant Islamic group whose plan to attack the Australian High Commission was ultimately foiled in 2001.

Singapore's defence resources have been used in international humanitarian aid missions, including United Nations peacekeeping assignments involved in 11 different countries.[56] In September 2005, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) sent three CH-47 Chinook helicopters to Louisiana to assist in relief operations for Hurricane Katrina. In the aftermath of the 2004 Asian Tsunami (or Boxing Day Tsunami), the SAF deployed 3 tank landing ships, 12 Super Puma and 8 Chinook helicopters to aid in relief operations to the countries that were affected by the tsunami.

Singapore Armed Forces
An RSAF CH-47SD lands aboard USS Rushmore during Exercise CARAT 2001
An RSAF CH-47SD lands aboard USS Rushmore during Exercise CARAT 2001

 Singapore Armed Forces


The Singapore Armed Forces, the military forces of Singapore, takes charge of the overall defence of the country. It comprises three branches: the Singapore Army, Republic of Singapore Air Force, and the Republic of Singapore Navy.

The Singapore Army is one of the three services of the Singapore Armed Forces. It is headed by the Chief of Army (COA), currently Major General Neo Kian Hong. The Army focuses on leveraging technology and weapon systems as "force-multipliers". It is currently undergoing the transformation into, what it calls a 3rd Generation fighting force.[57]

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), the air force branch, guards the airspace of Singapore. The RSAF was established in 1968 as the Singapore Air Defence Command. It operates from four air bases. It also operates its aircraft in several overseas locations in order to provide greater exposure to its pilots. The main aircraft found in its fleet include F-16 Fighting Falcons, CH-47 Chinook and C-130 Hercules.

The final branch, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), is the navy of the Singapore Armed Forces, responsible for the defence of Singapore against seaborne threats and protection of its sea lines of communications. Operating within the crowded littoral waters of the Singapore Strait, the RSN is regarded as one of the best in the region.[58] The RSN operates from two bases, Tuas Naval Base and Changi Naval Base, and has a large number of vessels, including 4 submarines, 6 frigates, and 4 amphibious transport docks. All commissioned ships of the RSN have a prefix RSS, which means Republic of Singapore Ship.

Singapore Police Force

 Singapore Police Force


The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the main agency tasked with maintaining law and order in the country.[59] Formerly known as the Republic of Singapore Police, it has grown from an 11-man organisation to a 38,587 strong force. It enjoys a relatively positive public image,[60] and is credited for helping to arrest Singapore's civic unrests and lawlessness in its early years, and maintaining the low crime rate today.[61] The organisation structure of the SPF is split between the staff and line functions, roughly modelled after the military. There are currently 15 staff departments and 13 line units. The SPF is headquartered in a block at New Phoenix Park in Novena, adjacent to a twin block occupied by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Police officers typically respond to calls in rapid-deployment vehicles known as the Fast Response Car. They have been staunch users of Japanese-made saloon cars since the 1980s for patrol duties, with the mainstay models in use being the various generations of the Mitsubishi Lancers, Mazda 323s, Toyota Corollas & Subaru Impreza.
An SCDF Combined Platform Ladder (CPL) Vehicle
An SCDF Combined Platform Ladder (CPL) Vehicle

Singapore Civil Defence Force

    Main article: Singapore Civil Defence Force


The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is the main agency in charge of the provision of emergency services in Singapore during peacetime and emergencies. A uniformed organisation under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the SCDF provides ambulance, fire fighting and emergency response services to the Republic of Singapore. It also plays a major role in the Republic's disaster relief operations. It is branched into 6 Operational and Training Divisions beneath the Headquarters Element. Of these six, four are known as Operational Divisions, also known as Territorial Divisions, and each cover vast sections of Singapore corresponding roughly to the four cardinal points of the compass.

The SCDF maintains a large fleet of custom vehicles, called appliances, to provide an emergency response force capable of mitigating any and all kinds of fires and disasters. Ranging from the generic fire truck and ambulance to more sophisticated mobile command structures and disaster mitigation vehicles of all kinds, many of the appliances were designed and commissioned by the Force itself rather than obtaining ready-made designs from industries.

National Service

    Main article: National Service in Singapore


Singapore legislation requires every able-bodied male Singapore citizen and second-generation permanent resident to undertake National Service for a minimum of 2 years upon reaching 18 years of age or completion of his studies (whichever comes first), with exemption on medical or other grounds. After serving for two years, every male is considered operationally ready, and is liable for reservist national service to the age of 40 (50 for commissioned officers). More than 350,000 men serve as operationally-ready servicemen assigned to reservist combat units, and another 72,500 men form the full-time national service and regular corps.

Demographics

    Main article: Demographics of Singapore


Population
Built in 1843, the Sri Mariamman Temple is the largest Hindu temple in Singapore. It is also one of the many religious buildings marked as national monuments for their historical value.
Built in 1843, the Sri Mariamman Temple is the largest Hindu temple in Singapore. It is also one of the many religious buildings marked as national monuments for their historical value.

According to government statistics, the population of Singapore as of 2007 was 4.59 million, of whom 3.58 million were Singaporean citizens and permanent residents (termed "Singapore Residents").[62] Various Chinese ethnic groups formed 75.2% of Singapore's residents, Malays 13.6%, Indians 8.8%, while Eurasians and other groups formed 2.4%.

In 2006 the crude birth rate stood at 10.1 per 1000, a very low level attributed to birth control policies, and the crude death rate was also one of the lowest in the world at 4.3 per 1000. The total population growth was 4.4% with Singapore residents growth at 1.8%. The higher percentage growth rate is largely from net immigration, but also increasing life expectancy. Singapore is the second-most densely populated independent country in the world after Monaco, excluding Macau and Hong Kong, which are special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China. In 1957, Singapore's population was approximately 1.45 million, and there was a relatively high birth rate. Aware of the country's extremely limited natural resources and small territory, the government introduced birth control policies in the late 1960s. In the late 1990s, the population was ageing, with fewer people entering the labour market and a shortage of skilled workers. In a dramatic reversal of policy, the Singapore government introduced a "baby bonus" scheme in 2001 (enhanced in August 2004) that encouraged couples to have more children.[63]

In 2006, the total fertility rate was only 1.26 children per woman, the 3rd lowest in the world and well below the 2.10 needed to replace the population.[64] In 2006, 38,317 babies were born, compared to around 37,600 in 2005. This number, however, is not sufficient to maintain the population's growth. To overcome this problem, the government is encouraging foreigners to immigrate to Singapore. These large numbers of immigrants have kept Singapore's population from declining.[65]

Religion

    Main article: Religion in Singapore


Religion in Singapore
religion          percent    
Buddhism       42.5%
No religion   14.8%
Christianity   14.6%
Islam       13.9%
Taoism       8.5%
Hinduism       4%
Others       1.6%

Saint Andrew's Cathedral
Saint Andrew's Cathedral

Singapore is a multi-religious country. According to Statistics Singapore, around 51% of resident Singaporeans (excluding significant numbers of visitors and migrant workers) practice Buddhism and Taoism. About 15%, mostly Chinese, Eurasians, and Indians, practice Christianity - a broad classification including Catholicism, Protestantism and other denominations. Muslims constitute 14%, of whom Malays account for the majority with a substantial number of Indian Muslims and Chinese Muslims. Smaller minorities practice Sikhism, Hinduism, the Bahá'í Faith and others, according to the 2000 census.[66]

Some religious materials and practices are banned in Singapore. The Jehovah's Witnesses, for example, are prohibited from distributing religious materials[67] and are sometimes jailed for their conscientious refusals to serve in the Singaporean military.[68]

About 15% of the population declared no religious affiliation.

Education

English is the first language learned by half the children by the time they reach preschool age and is the primary medium of instruction in primary school; however mother tongues are taught in the respective languages.

Many children attend private kindergartens until they start at primary school at the age of six. Singapore's ruling political party, the PAP, is a big provider of preschool education through its community arm.

English is the language of instruction for mathematics and the natural sciences. For the Chinese community, there are Special Assistance Plan schools which receive extra funding to teach in Mandarin. Some schools also integrate language subjects with mathematics and the sciences, using both English and a second language.

Curricular standards are set by the Ministry of Education with a mix of private schools and public schools. There is no strict public-private dichotomy: the degree of autonomy, regarding curriculum and student admission, government funding received, and tuition burden on the students is further classified into "government-run", "government-aided", "autonomous", "independent", and "privately-funded".[69] In addition, international schools cater to expatriate students, and to a few local students given permission by the education ministry.

There are four state universities in Singapore; the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University and SIM University. A further public university is under consideration as the government looks to provide higher education for 30% of each cohort.[70] There are also five polytechnics (Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic and Republic Polytechnic). Unlike similarly named institutions in many other countries, Singapore polytechnics do not teach to degree level.

The educational system features non-compulsory kindergarten for three years, followed by six years of primary education concluding with the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). Four to five years of secondary education follow, leading to N level or Singaporean GCE 'O' Level examinations that assess their individual subject mastery and determine which kind of tertiary education they can pursue.

Junior colleges like Tampines Junior College and Millennia Institute provide a two or three-year pre-university education route to university. An alternative, the Integrated Programme, lets the more academically-inclined skip 'O' levels to proceed straight to 'A' levels. Polytechnics offer courses leading to a diploma for students as a substitute for 'A' levels while tertiary institutions offer various bachelor's, master's, doctoral degrees, other higher diplomas, and associate degree courses.

Other institutes include the National Institute of Education (NIE), a teaching college to train teachers, various management institutes, and vocational education institutes such as the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).

The Economic Development Board (EDB) has been actively recruiting foreign schools to set up campuses in Singapore under the "Global Schoolhouse" programme which aims to attract 150000 foreign students by 2015.[71] INSEAD, a leading business school, opened its first overseas campus here in 2001, while ESSEC Business School, a century-old Parisian business school, provide courses specific to Asia. University of Chicago Graduate School of Business has a campus here as well. Tisch School of the Arts was the latest to set up a branch campus here in 2007.

However, the EDB failed to attract and retain the University of Warwick and University of New South Wales, respectively, citing lack of academic freedom[72] and financial concerns.[73]

In 1999, the Ministry of Education started the Programme for Rebuilding and Improving Existing schools (PRIME) to upgrade school buildings, many of which were built over 20 to 30 years ago, in phases at a cost of S$4.5 billion.[74] This programme achieves to provide a better school environment for the students by upgrading school buildings to latest standards. In 2005, the Flexible School Infrastructure (FlexSI) framework was implemented through the building of modular classrooms which can be opened up for larger lectures, and allowing a school's staff members to mould their school's designs to suit the school's unique identity and culture. At the same time, an indoor sports hall will be provided to every school so that schools can carry out physical education lessons in inclement weather.[75]

Foreign relations

    Main article: Foreign relations of Singapore


Singapore maintains diplomatic relations with 175 countries[76] although it does not maintain a high commission or embassy in many of those countries. It is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth, ASEAN and the Non-Aligned Movement. Due to obvious geographical reasons, relations with Malaysia and Indonesia are most important but the domestic politics of the three countries often threatens their relations. On the other hand, Singapore enjoys good relations with many European nations, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom, the latter sharing ties via the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) along with Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. Good relations are also maintained with the United States, a country perceived as a stabilizing force in the region to counterbalance the regional powers.

Singapore supports the concept of Southeast Asian regionalism and plays an active role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Singapore is a founding member. Singapore is also a member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which has its Secretariat in Singapore. Singapore also has close relations with fellow ASEAN nation Brunei and maintains Army training facilities in the Sultanate.

Disputes

Singapore has several long-standing disputes with Malaysia over a number of issues:

    * Water deliveries to Singapore[77][78]
    * Mutual maritime boundaries
    * Air routes between Singapore Changi Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport

The dispute over the ownership of Pedra Branca, an outcrop of rocks, was resolved on 24 May 2008 (Singapore time) by the International Court of Justice between Singapore and Malaysia (see text).
The dispute over the ownership of Pedra Branca, an outcrop of rocks, was resolved on 24 May 2008 (Singapore time) by the International Court of Justice between Singapore and Malaysia (see text).

    * The Singapore island known as Pedra Branca in Singapore and as Pulau Batu Puteh in Malaysia (names mean "White Rock" in Portuguese and "White Rock Island" in Malay respectively), is located 24 nautical miles (44 km) off the east coast of Singapore with a land area of 2,000 m2 (2,392 sq yd). The island also comprises Middle Rocks owned by Malaysia which are two clusters of rocks situated 0.6 nmi (1.1 km) south of the main island. Both countries have staked a claim on the island and have been unable to settle the dispute between themselves. The case was heard at the International Court of Justice in 2007, with both parties presenting their case. The court had delivered its judgment on 23 May 2008 with Singapore having ownership of Pedra Branca and Malaysia owning Middle Rocks. Ownership of South Ledge, a nearby rock formation which can be seen only at low tide is still disputed [1].
    * Relocating the Singapore station of Malaysia's Keretapi Tanah Melayu from Tanjong Pagar to Bukit Timah (see Malaysia-Singapore Points of Agreement of 1990) and moving Malaysia's immigration checkpoint from the railway station to the Causeway.
    * Not allowing laid off workers, employed in Singapore shipyards in 1998, to receive their Central Provident Funds (CPF) contributions, which are estimated to be RM2.4 billion.

Languages
Construction site sign showing Singapore's four official languages: English, Chinese (in Traditional Script), Tamil, and Malay.
Construction site sign showing Singapore's four official languages: English, Chinese (in Traditional Script), Tamil, and Malay.

    Main article: Languages of Singapore

The national language of Singapore is Malay for historical reasons, and it is used in the national anthem, "Majulah Singapura". The official languages are English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. English has been promoted as the country's language of administration since its independence. The English used is primarily based on British English, with some American English influences. The use of English became widespread in Singapore after it was implemented as a first language medium in the education system, and English is the most common language in Singaporean literature. In school, children are required to learn English and one of the three other official languages. Public signs and official publications are in English, although there are usually translated versions in other official languages. However, most Singaporeans speak a localised hybrid form of English known as Singlish ("Singapore English"), which has many creole-like characteristics, incorporating vocabulary and grammar from Standard English, various Chinese dialects, Malay, and Indian languages. The second-most common language in Singapore is Mandarin with over seventy percent of the population having it as a second language.

Culture

    Main article: Culture of Singapore


Singapore is a mixture of an indigenous Malay population with a third generation Chinese majority, as well as Indian and Arab immigrants with some intermarriages.[79] There also exist significant Eurasian and Peranakan (known also as 'Straits Chinese') communities.

Cuisine
Enjoying Singaporean cuisine. Hawker centres and kopi tiams are evenly distributed.
Enjoying Singaporean cuisine. Hawker centres and kopi tiams are evenly distributed.

    Main article: Cuisine of Singapore

Singaporean cuisine is an example of diversity and cultural diffusion in Singapore, with a fusion of Chinese, Indian, Malay and Tamil influences. In Singapore's hawker centres, traditionally Malay hawker stalls selling halal food may serve halal versions of traditionally Tamil food. Chinese food stalls may introduce indigenous Malay ingredients or cooking techniques. This continues to make the cuisine of Singapore a significant cultural attraction.

Local foods are diverse, ranging from Hainanese chicken rice to satay. Singaporeans also enjoy a wide variety of seafood including crabs, clams, squid, and oysters. One such dish is stingray barbecued and served on banana leaf and with sambal or chili.

Amongst locals, popular dishes include bak chor mee, mee poh, sambal stingray, laksa, nasi lemak, chili crab and satay. All of which, can be found at local hawker centres around Singapore.

Music of Singapore

Since the 1990s, the government has been striving to promote Singapore as a centre for arts and culture, and to transform the country into a cosmopolitan 'gateway between the East and West'.[80] The highlight of these efforts was the construction of Esplanade, a centre for performing arts that opened on 12 October 2002.[81]

An annual arts festival is also organised by the National Arts Council that incorporates theatre arts, dance, music and visual arts, among other possibilities.

A first Singapore Biennale took place in 2006 to showcase contemporary art from around the world. The next one will be in 2008 which will feature Southeast Asian works.

Media

    Main article: Media of Singapore


Around 38,000 people work in the media in Singapore, including publishing, print, broadcasting, film, music, digital and IT media sectors. The industry contributed 1.56% to Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2001 with an annual turnover of S$10 billion. The industry grew at an average rate of 7.7% annually from 1990 to 2000, and the government seeks to increase its GDP contribution to 3% by 2012.

The Singapore government says the media play an important role in the country, and describes the city as one of the key strategic media centres in the Asia-Pacific region.[82] The goal of the government's Media 21 plan, launched in 2002,[83] is to establish Singapore as a global media hub.

In its Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index for 2004, Reporters Without Borders ranked Singapore 147 out of 167. Most of the local media are directly or indirectly controlled by the government through shareholdings of these media entities by the state's investment arm Temasek Holdings, and are often perceived as pro-government.

Broadcasting

    Main article: Broadcasting in Singapore


State-owned MediaCorp operates all seven free-to-air terrestrial local television channels licensed to broadcast in Singapore, as well as 14 radio channels. Radio and television stations are all government-owned entities. All seven television channels are owned by MediaCorp. The radio stations are mainly operated by MediaCorp with the exception of four stations, which are operated by SAFRA Radio and SPH UnionWorks respectively. Private ownership of satellite dish receivers capable of viewing uncensored televised content from abroad is illegal.

Print

    Main article: List of newspapers in Singapore


The Straits Times, the most circulated newspaper in the country
The Straits Times, the most circulated newspaper in the country

There are a total of 16 newspapers in active circulation. Daily newspapers are published in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.

Print is dominated by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), the government-linked publisher of the flagship English-language daily, The Straits Times. SPH publishes all other daily newspapers with the exception of Today, a free English-language tabloid published by the state-owned broadcaster MediaCorp.

There are also several popular magazines circulating in Singapore, like i-weekly, 8 days, Maxim Singapore and FHM Singapore.

Sport and recreation

 Sports in Singapore


Singaporeans participate in a wide variety of sports and recreational activities. Favorite sports include football, cricket, swimming, badminton, basketball, rugby union, volleyball and table tennis. Most people live in public residential areas that often provide amenities such as swimming pools, outdoor basketball courts and indoor sport complexes. As might be expected on an island, water sports are popular, including sailing, kayaking and water skiing. Scuba diving is another recreation, particularly around the southern island of Pulau Hantu which is known for its rich coral reefs.
Closing ceremony for the use of the National Stadium
Closing ceremony for the use of the National Stadium

The 55,000 seat National Stadium, Singapore, located in Kallang was opened in July 1973 and was used for sporting, cultural, entertainment and national events until its official closure on 30 June 2007 to make way for the Singapore Sports Hub on the same site. This sports complex is expected to be ready by 2011 and will comprise a new 55,000-capacity National Stadium with a retractable roof, a 6,000-capacity indoor aquatic centre, a 400-metre warm-up athletic track and a 3,000-seater multi-purpose arena. 36,000 square metres of space have also been reserved for commercial development.

Golf is gaining popularity among Singaporeans. There are 15 golf clubs in Singapore. Some golfers prefer travelling to regional golf courses especially in Johor, Malaysia, due to relatively cheaper club membership.

Singaporean sportsmen have performed in regional as well as international competitions in sports such as table tennis, badminton, bowling, sailing, silat, swimming and water polo. Athletes such as Fandi Ahmad, Ang Peng Siong, Li Jiawei and Ronald Susilo have become household names in the country.

The Singapore Slingers joined the Australian National Basketball League in 2006 and have three Singaporeans in their squad. Despite being the team with the largest support pool in the NBL, they generally get the smallest crowds in the NBL.

Beginning in 2008, Singapore will be hosting a round of the Formula One World Championship. The race will be staged at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in the Marina Bay area and will become the first night race on the F1 circuit[84] and the first street circuit in Asia.[85]

On 21 February 2008, the International Olympic Committee announced[86] that Singapore won the bid to host the inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. Singapore beat Moscow in the final by 53 votes to 44.[87]

Architecture
The three tallest buildings in Singapore are located at Raffles Place, namely, from left to right, Republic Plaza, UOB Plaza One and OUB Centre. All three buildings are 280 metres in height.
The three tallest buildings in Singapore are located at Raffles Place, namely, from left to right, Republic Plaza, UOB Plaza One and OUB Centre. All three buildings are 280 metres in height.

    Main article: Architecture of Singapore

The architecture of Singapore is varied, reflecting the ethnic build-up of the country. Singapore has several ethnic neighbourhoods, including Chinatown and Little India. These were formed under the Raffles Plan to segregate the immigrants. Many places of worship were also constructed during the colonial era. Sri Mariamman Temple, the Masjid Jamae mosque and the Church of Gregory the Illuminator are among those that were built during the colonial period. Work is now underway to preserve these religious sites as National Monuments of Singapore.

Due to the lack of space and lack of preservation policies during the 1960s, 70s and 80s, few historical buildings remain in the Central Business District (CBD) - the Fullerton Hotel and the previously-moved Lau Pa Sat being some exceptions. However, just outside of Raffles Place, and throughout the rest of the downtown core, there is a large scattering of pre-WWII buildings - some going back nearly as far as Raffles, as with the Empress Place Building, built in 1827. Many classical buildings were destroyed during the post-war decades, up until the 1990s, when the government started strict programmes to conserve the buildings and areas of historic value.

Past the shopping malls are streets lined with shophouses. Many other such areas have been gazetted as historic districts. Information can be found at the URA Centre in Maxwell Road, where there are exhibits and several models of the island and its architecture. Singapore has also become a centre for postmodern architecture. Historically, the demand for high-end buildings has been in and around the Central Business District (CBD). After decades of development, the CBD has become an area with many tall office buildings. These buildings comprise the skyline along the coast of Marina Bay and Raffles Place, a tourist attraction in Singapore. Plans for tall buildings must be reviewed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.[88] No building in Singapore may be taller than 280 metres.[89] The three tallest buildings in Singapore, namely Republic Plaza, UOB Plaza One and OUB Centre, are all 280 metres in height.

Resources

Water resource

    Main article: Water resources of Singapore


Without natural freshwater rivers and lakes, rainfall is the primary domestic source of water supply in Singapore. About half of Singapore's water comes from rain collected in reservoirs and catchment areas while the rest comes from Malaysia. The two countries have long argued of the legality of agreements to supply water that were signed in colonial times.

Singapore has a network of reservoirs and water catchment areas. In 2001, there were 19 raw water reservoirs, 9 treatment works and 14 storage or service reservoirs locally to serve domestic needs. Marina Barrage is a dam being constructed around the estuary of three Singapore rivers, creating a huge freshwater reservoir by 2009, the Marina Bay reservoir.[90] This will increase the rainfall catchment to two-thirds of the country's surface area.

Historically, Singapore relied on imports from Malaysia to supply half of its water consumption. However, two water agreements that supply water to Singapore are due to expire by 2011 and 2061 respectively. The two countries are engaged in a dispute on the price of water. Without a resolution in sight, the government of Singapore decided to increase self-sufficiency in its water supply.[91] Presently, more catchment areas, facilities to recycle water (producing NEWater) and desalination plants are being built. This "four tap" strategy aims to reduce reliance on foreign supply and to diversify its water sources.[91]

Transport

    Main article: Transport in Singapore


International
The Port of Singapore with Sentosa island in the background.
The Port of Singapore with Sentosa island in the background.

Singapore is a major Asian transportation hub, positioned on many sea and air trade routes.

The Port of Singapore, managed by port operators PSA International and Jurong Port, was the world's busiest port in 2005 in terms of shipping tonnage handled, at 1.15 billion gross tons, and in terms of containerised traffic, at 23.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). It was also the world's second busiest in terms of cargo tonnage, coming behind Shanghai with 423 million tons handled. In addition, the Port is the world's busiest for transshipment traffic and the world's biggest ship refuelling centre.[92]
PSA Keppel
PSA Keppel

Singapore is an aviation hub for the Southeast Asian region and a stopover on the Kangaroo route between Australasia and Europe. Singapore Changi Airport has a network of 81 airlines connecting Singapore to 185 cities in 58 countries. It has been rated as one of the best international airports by international travel magazines, including being rated as the world's best airport for the first time in 2006 by Skytrax.[93] The airport currently has three passenger terminals. There is also a budget terminal, which serves budget carrier Tiger Airways and Cebu Pacific. The national carrier is Singapore Airlines (SIA). The government is moving towards privatising Changi airport.

Singapore is linked to Johor, Malaysia via the Johor-Singapore Causeway and the Tuas Second Link, as well as a railway operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu of Malaysia, with its southern terminus at Tanjong Pagar railway station. Frequent ferry service to several nearby Indonesian ports also exists.
A C751B train at Eunos MRT Station on the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, one of three heavy rail passenger transport lines in Singapore.
A C751B train at Eunos MRT Station on the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, one of three heavy rail passenger transport lines in Singapore.

Domestic

The domestic transport infrastructure has a well-connected island-wide road transport system which includes a network of expressways. The public road system is served by the nation's bus service and a number of licensed taxi-operating companies. The public bus transport has been the subject of criticism by Singaporeans, the majority of whom are dependent on it for their daily commuting. Since 1987, the heavy rail passenger Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) metro system has been in operation. The MRT has been further augmented by the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) light rail system, adds accessibility to housing estates. Established in 2001, EZ-Link system allows contactless smartcards to serve as stored value tickets for use in the public transport systems in Singapore.

More than 2.85 million people use the bus network daily, while more than 1.5 million people use either the LRT or MRT as part of their daily routine.[94] Approximately 945,000 people use the taxi services daily.[94] Private vehicle use in the Central Area is discouraged by tolls implemented during hours of heavy road traffic, through an Electronic Road Pricing system. Private vehicle ownership is discouraged by high vehicle taxes and imposing quotas on vehicle purchase.