| |
▪
About Singapore
◎
Legend of Singapore
Lion City should be Tiger City ! ?
Why was Singapore known as Lion
City? Legend has it that a Prince from Sumatra
was here on a hunting trip. He mistaken a tiger
to be a lion. Hence, that was how Singapura
(Lion City) got its name. Later, it was renamed
as Singapore. In other words, if the Prince did
not make a mistake, Singapore may be named as
Tiger City.
◎
Transformation of Singapore
In the early days,
Singapore was a fishing village. War caused
this place to be deserted. Later, she becomes
part of Johor. As the British wanted to vie
this lucrative sea trade route with the Dutch,
Raffles was sent to look for a new harbour.
After much negotiation, Singapore was given to
the British and became its settlement.
Raffles made several improvements
to the infrastructure of Singapore. In a short
spate of 110 years, Singapore rapidly develops
into a trading hub. During World War II, Japan
invaded Singapore and the British Empire lost
this precious harbour. After the war, Singapore
decided to separate from Britain and seek
independence. In 1963, Singapore, Malaysia
Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak formed Malaya.
Two years later, Singapore became independent.
Republic of Singapore was thus
officially formed with Mr Lee Kuan Yew as her
first Prime Minister and later became a
sparkling star.
◎
Information about Singapore
(i)
Geographical Location, Gross Area, Population,
Weather
1) Geographical Location
Republic of Singapore is situated 137 km to the
north
of
Equator
along the
Straits of Malacca. To her North-East lies
Malaysia, South-East lies Indonesia, around
49.7% o f
her land
is developed, this include residential,
commercial, industrial, port and 1.6% belongs to
agricultural.
2) Gross Area
Singapore
mainland has a length of around 42 km spanning
from East to West, 23 km spanning from North to
South, with gross area of 691.7 km2.
3) Population
The population of Singapore stands at 4.2
million in 2003. Permanent resident makes up an
additional 3.4 million. The population growth
is around 1.7%. Under 15 makes up 17, 15 to 64
years makes up 58.76% while 65 years and above
makes up 6.30% of the population. 64.2% of the
population contributes to the labour market.
The mean life expectancy of male is 77 years old
and female is 81 years old.
4) Weather
Singapore has a warm climate without much
changes in temperature throughout the whole
year. In 2003, the highest temperature reached
was 31.40C and the lowest temperature was
25.10C. Annual rainfall averages at 2,391 mm,
with the heavier downpour from November to
January.
(i) Races and Languages
Singapore is a multi-racial country. Chinese
forms the majority at 76.25%, Malays at 13.78%,
Indians at 8.26%, Others 1.71%. As the
population shows a decline since 1960s, the
government adopts the policy of encouraging
foreign immigrants to boost the economy.
Main language of
communication is English. Others includes
Mandarin, Bahasa Melayu, Tamil, etc.
(ii) Government Policy
The jurisdiction system models after the Common
Law. The highest command of state is the
President. The President role is more of
ceremonial purposes. The decision makers come
from the Parliament. The party which wins
during the general election sits in the
Parliament. Besides, there are 9 nominated
MPs. Other than the ruling party PAP, there are
5 other opposition parties.
◎
Economy, Livelihood
(i) Main Economic
Indicator (Year 2003)
1) GDP: 94.3
million
2) Economic Growth: 4.5%
3) Per capital: US$21,556 (Rank number 6 in Year
2005)
4) Unemployment: 4.7%
5) Foreign Reserves: US$ 93.7 billion
6) Competitiveness: World Number 1 (Number 3
inYear 2005)
7) Asia best City to do business (Fortune
Magazine)
8) Exchange Rate: 1 USD$ : 1.654 SG (2005,
May)
1SG : 19.032NT (2005, May)
(ii) Corruption
free, safe and secure society
1) Singapore inherited Common Law and states her
rules and policies very clearly.Civil servants
have to follow the
regulations to carry out the procedures. Hence,
this prevents
them from abusing their authorities.
2) Singapore still maintains her internal
security department to handle social stability.
Businessmen in Singapore do not have to be
fearful of triad society or terrorist.
(iii)
Convenient transport system
With a network of roads around 3,100 km long and
8 expressways of around 150 km.
(1) Pubic transport: 3 local bus companies
provide over 3,633 bus services spanning 268
different routes with numerous MRT stations
having their own feeder bus services.
(2) MRT transport system: Around 1990,
Singapore government planned to have a Mass
Rapid Transit 83 km long plying from East to
West with 48 stations. Average daily passenger
volume is around 9.8 million. Besides, there is
a North-East line of around 20 km with 16
stations commencing in June 2003. There is LRT
plying in Bukit Panjang and Sengkang of 7.8 km
and 10.7 km respectively. Singapore is
currently in the process of building a Circle
Line.
(iv) Singapore
food, shopping, tourist attraction
1) Singapore Food
Singapore is a multi-racial country with all
kinds of Asian cuisine available. There is
Indian, Korean, Thai, African, Indonesian,
Vietnamese as well as Chinese cuisine.
Singapore is not only a food paradise but also a
mini United Nation!
You can choose reasonable priced food at hawker
centre. These buildings have the
characteristics of a market with a wide variety
of food to be savoured at open air area. If the
hot weather of Singapore affects your mood to
dine in open area, you can choose to dine in
food courts, which is situated in most shopping
mall, to consume a sumptuous meal in a
comfortable surrounding.
2) Shopping
One can shop everywhere in Singapore as there
are numerous shopping malls, retail shops and
supermarkets in the neighbourbood and central
business district. Most of these shops operate
7 days a week from morning till night.
Central Shopping Area: Stretching from Orchard
Road all the way till Suntec City, there are
several unique retail shops and café along the
road.
Neighbourhood shopping malls: These are located
all over Singapore. A great variety of goods
are displayed with discounts every now and
then. You will discover that Singapore offers
one of the most
attractive prices in the world.
Specialised retail areas: If you are looking
for some unique or rare items, specialized
retail mall will give you the ideal experience.
For instances, there is Funan Centre where
you can find electronic items, Heeren or Far
East Plaza where you
can find modern clothings and disc. Other
unique ethnic retailers are found in Chinatown,
Little India and Malay Village. You can
discover Singapore heritage and culture in these
rich cultural assets.
3) Tourist attractions
In Singapore, no matter it is daytime or
nighttime, the vibrant little island will offer
many different experiences.
You can tour around Singapore be it day or
night. Singapore Zoological Garden, Night
Safari or Jurong Bird Park have won accolades
from tourists all over the world. You can take
the cable car to Sentosa to enjoy the sun and
beach, visit wax museum, musical fountain,
underwater world or go to ESCAPE theme park to
experience the thrill and excitement. Taking a
cruise down Singapore river will let you enjoy
the beautiful scenes around the Clarke Quay.
For the aesthetic,
Marina Bay or Singapore Arts Museum.
Down the Merlion Park, you will love the
refreshing sea. You can tour the Singapore
Botanic
Garden
to look
at the National Flower – orchid,
the world’s largest orchid garden, … with so
many different tourist attractions, you will
enjoy Singapore to the fullest.
Singapore, a special, unique modern city is full
of life and vibrancy. Religious harmony,
first class architecture and ever changing
landscape. Singapore awaits you to pay her a
visit.
▪
Singapore Education System
Singapore is labelled as having the most
percentage of
English-speaking
country.
Almost all the citizens use English as the main
form of communication. Singapore government
even makes English as the official language.
From Primary all the way to Tertiary schools,
besides Mother Tongue lesson,
English is used in all teaching materials. This
gives students an edge in learning English as
there is the environment for them to master the
language. Besides, Singapore emphasis on
holistic education.
Education is about nurturing the whole child.
Indeed, this is the traditional Asian
understanding of the term. Education means
developing the child morally, intellectually,
physically, socially and aesthetically.
Clean and green streets, good infrastructure and
transport system, many different activities and
culture due to its multi-racial society, stable
government and low crime rate all contribute to
why foreign students choose Singapore as their
destination to further their education.
Singapore Education – achieve at one’s own pace
Ministry of Education makes an effort to
cultivate every child to the fullest. Students
are allowed to explore and develop at their own
paces and capabilities. Singapore has a
complete educational system with great teachers
and infrastructure. The government also gives
students more leeway in their selection of
subjects. This will equip students with
relevant skills which they can apply in
future.
The foundation of a person is his values. From
these spring his outlook on life and his goals
in life. Together with the home, our schools
have to work carefully and painstakingly to
shape the morals of our children. Our children
also have to learn to relate to other people -
their elders and their peers, people who are
like us and people who are different. Education
also develops each child’s unique talents and
abilities to the full. Education teaches him to
keep fit and healthy for life. And education
teaches him to appreciate the finer things in
life and the beauty of the world around him.
Singapore education – assist you to soar!
Education not only imparts knowledge to
students, it also inculcates values to mould
their character which they can apply in their
daily lives. Just like a caterpillar
transforming into a butterfly, it represents a
long knowledge-seeking journey. After exposing
oneself to the different culture, human
relationship, living experience and learning
environment in Singapore, one can understand the
world issue better.
◎
Primary Education
◎
Singapore’s Primary education emphasises on
developing every individual child holistically.
Singapore has around 190 primary schools and
every child has to undergo 6 years of primary
education. These 6 years of studies consists of
a 4-year Foundation Stage from Primary One to
Primary Four and a 2-year Orientation Stage from
Primary Five to Primary Six. The overall aim of
Primary education is to let students have a good
grasp of English Language, Mother Tongue and
Mathematics.
◎
◎
During the Foundation Stage, schools offer
mainly English Language, Mother Tongue and
Mathematics. Other non-examinable subjects
include music, art and craft, physical education
and civics and moral education. From Primary
Three onwards, students have to begin learning
science as a new subject. While social studies
begin from Primary Four onwards. In order to
let students develop their talents, the school
will stream them in Primary Four according to
their academic abilities.
◎
In the Orientation Stage, students will be
divided into EM1, 2 and 3 so that they can learn
at their own pace. After completing their
Primary Six level, they have to sit for PSLE
before they can finish their Primary education.
◎Secondary
Education
◎
All students sitting for the PSLE (other than
those selected for discretionary admission)
choose their secondary schools after the release
of the PSLE results. The PSLE results are
released soon after the last day of the school
year. Posting is based on merit and choice. The
students are placed in special (4 years),express
(4 years), normal academic (5 years) or normal
technical (4 years) course according to how they
fared in PSLE. The different curricular
emphases are designed to match their learning
abilities and interests. Secondary school
students have to learn subjects like English
Language, Mother Tongue/ Higher Mother Tongue,
Mathematics, Science, History, Geography,
Literature in English, Visual Arts, Design &
Technology, Home Economics, Civics & Moral
Education, Music, and Physical Education in
Secondary One and Two. From secondary three
onwards, they will learn core sunjects like
English Language, Mother Tongue/ Higher Mother
Tongue, Mathematics, Combined Humanities, a
Science subject, Civics & Moral Education,
Music, Physical Education as well as two to four
electives subjects like Additional Mathematics,
Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Combined Science
options, Geography, History, Literature in
English, Chinese Literature, Malay Literature,
Tamil Literature, additional language options
[French/Japanese/German/Malay (Special Programme)/Chinese
(Special Programme)], Art & Design, Music, Food
& Nutrition, Principles of Accounts,
Design&Technology.
◎
Special and Express course students can take the University
of Cambridge GCE ‘O’ Level examination after
completing secondary four. After which, they
can choose either Junior College (2 years),
Polytechnic (3 years) or ITE (2 years) to
further their studies. As for Normal Academic
course students, they will take GCE ‘N’ Level
examination after secondary four followed by GCE
‘O’ Level examination after secondary five.
Students with good grades can be admitted to
local universities after finishing their junior
college or polytechnic courses. Alternatively,
they can apply for overseas universities in
America, Canada, Britain, etc.
◎
University Education
Students who achieve good grades in GCE ‘A’level
examination can choose either local universities
like National University of Singapore (NUS) or
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to pursue
their degree. They can also use their results
to apply prestigious universities in America,
Britain, Canada, Austrailia or New Zealand
universities. The 3 local universities in
Singapore have produced numerous outstanding
graduates whose degrees are recognized
worldwide.
(1) National University of Singapore (NUS):
Ever since she was established in 1905, numerous
professionals in engineering, technological,
law, arts, sociology and medical field have been
groomed.
(2) Nanyang Technological University (NTU):
Established in 1981. Initial motive is to
produce a lot of engineering graduates to meet
demand of the industry. NIE which trains
teachers is also part of NTU now. At the same
campus also houses accountancy, business and
mass media faculties.
(3) Singapore Management University (SMU):
This is a new established (2000) tertiary
institution. This is also the first private
university that obtained government subsidy.
The main courses offered are business and
management related.
|
