4/ ITE alumni who went on to diploma education found they were more advanced than their coursemates who graduated with O-Levels, challenging the belief that ITE education puts one at a disadvantage.
“Many people, especially job recruiters who look at my resume, did not expect someone from ITE could be where I am now,” said the 38-year-old.
Such negative perceptions about ITE — viewed as the last option for academically weakest students, typically those from Normal stream in secondary school — continue to exist, despite the many success stories of its graduates and the vast amount of resources that have been pumped into developing the 31-year-old institute.
Dr Teng Siao See, Assistant Dean and co-programme director of the schools, leadership and system studies programme at the National Institute of Education , said that this preference is reflected in the salary gap between ITE graduates and polytechnic or university graduates.The Ministry of Education announced in July 2023 that ITE students who achieved a Grade Point Average of at least 3.
In view of these challenges, TODAY looks at how far ITE has developed since its inception and what more can be done to improve general perceptions of technical education in Singapore.ITE has come a long way in developing technical education since taking over from its predecessor, the Vocational and Industrial Training Board in 1992.
One significant development was to burnish its credentials, from a “lowly-regarded institution to one that is well-received by the public, parents, students and employers”, according to former chairman of ITE from 1994 to 2007, Mr Eric Gwee, in its 30th commemorative book. “Students are offered various opportunities such as participating in international competitions not depending on their grades but on their levels of interest and willingness to work hard,” added Mr Tan, who was ITE chairman from 2007 to 2019 and is currently chairman of several companies.
On whether the recent move to secure polytechnic spots for top Higher Nitec scorers would undermine these efforts to promote technical education to the same level as academic skills, Mr Tan said that the move is laudable and should not be seen as promoting a grades-centric mindset.“It is not the end if ITE students don’t go to polytechnic. They can pursue their diploma education in ITE or gain work experience and then apply to polytechnic again,” he added.
This is the highest amount of government funding that the institute has received to date, compared to the last highest amount of about S$489 million it received in 2018. Such protocol ensures that the curriculum remains up-to-date and increases students’ employability in the future, said the 35-year-old ITE alumnus who had just graduated from a Master’s programme in electrical engineering from National University of Singapore.
Besides having strong industry partners where students can go for attachments, ITE also collaborates with these partners to develop a holistic curriculum. “Some of my secondary school friends also used to joke that ITE stood for ‘It’s the end’. But my teacher told us that we are the ones who decide whether it’s the end or ‘it’s towards excellence’,” he said.
“My family warned me not to mix around with the ‘wrong’ friend groups in ITE who would influence me to behave badly,” said the 17-year-old who did not want to reveal her full name. “Even in my current line of work, the technical skills that I gained have helped me to develop and progress.”Another common assumption — that an ITE education will put one at a disadvantage when moving to the next level — has also been challenged by several ITE alumni who progressed to diploma education and found that they were more advanced than their coursemates who graduated with O-Levels.
“I felt relieved that my education in ITE had given me a strong fundamental grasp in my course that I could keep up with my studies relatively easier than my other coursemates,” Mr Woon said. The practical skills taught in ITE also came in handy for Mr Ko when he enrolled for a course in digital manufacturing and engineering at Nanyang Polytechnic.
“I already learnt some of the basic terminology and processes typically used in the industry while I was in ITE, so some of my lessons in polytechnic were more of a recap of what I had studied before. This made it easier for me to understand what was taught in polytechnic,” said the 21-year-old. Citing the same reason for enrolling into ITE, Mr Ee Shen Yap said: “I’m glad that I made the decision to enter ITE because the technical and coding skills I learnt in school have really helped me in my current internship at an engineering company.”
However, his fears proved to be misplaced when he found that his ITE education had given him an edge in polytechnic. One of the experts interviewed in the article, Assoc Prof Irene Ng from the National University of Singapore's Department of Social Work, suggested shifting to an apprenticeship-based model to increase pay for skills-based work.Speaking to TODAY this week, Associate Professor Walter Theseira, an economics lecturer from the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said that the salary gap between ITE graduates and graduates from other educational institutes needs to be addressed.
“The depth and even the length of study in ITE, which is at least one year, is less than the years of study in polytechnic or university.
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