Securing Children’s Future With Solid Education Foundation
Providing their children with a world class education foundation is one of the primary reasons why PR applicants chose to commit permanently to Singapore. With only 1 out of 4 Singapore PR Applications being approved annually, this dream however remains pretty elusive for some.
Additionally, public education opportunities comes with extremely high competition among existing PRs and Citizens – making the availability of slots for non-PRs almost close to zero. With this, expats are forced to enroll their children in private or International schools, which could be too costly for some families.
Undeterred by the difficulty in attaining Singapore PR, expats plying their trade in Singapore are generally still relentless in their pursuit to attain PR statuses. The reason is simple – by securing PR statuses, not only do expats enjoy educational priority for their children, but it also brings about the flexibility for them to switch employment, and having access to more jobs.
Hence, although attaining approval for PR in Singapore is extremely difficult, it still remains a coveted endeavour that expats should not give up easily on.
Education in Singapore
Lauded for having one of the leading education systems in the world, Singapore has always prioritized education as a key in nurturing talent from a young age. This has led to the creation of an education system based on meritocracy, allowing those from less fortunate backgrounds to be given an equal chance to succeed.
This does not mean that adult learners looking to further their education and upgrade their skill set are neglected. Of late, there has been a rise in the provision of skills training for more specialized jobs, giving a perfect opportunity for those looking to upgrade their skill set and progress their career. There are multiple schemes put in place by the government specifically for this. An example of this is SkillsFuture, which aims to equip individuals with the skills required to benefit from quality jobs created by the Singapore economy.
Singapore has ranked as one of the leading countries in education. This brings forth numerous education opportunities for education mobility. According to this article , Singapore ranks among the highest in the world when it comes to upward mobility in education, with nearly 6 in 10 adults attaining higher qualifications than their parents. The gap between those with more educated parents and those who don’t has fallen considerably over the years thanks to tremendous efforts by the Ministry.
Also unmatched in nurturing potential in the young, Singapore topped the inaugural World Bank Human Capital Index (HCI) which measures the human capital that a child born today can expect to attain by the age of 18. According to the World Bank, the HCI “reflects the productivity as a future worker of a child born today, compared with what it could be if he or she had full health and complete, high-quality education”, which is measured on a scale of zero to one — one being the best possible score. Singapore’s score of 0.88 is the highest among the 157 countries that took part, beating out several other countries in the Asian region such as South Korea and Japan.
More schools in Singapore are also switching over to taking the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. This is prevalent especially in top schools and in a recent article, the pass rate for the cohort who took the exam in November 2018 was 30% higher than the average global pass rate of 69.73%. There were also numerous students who achieved a perfect score of 45, with 50.18% scoring more than 40 points out of the maximum of 45.
Presently, all of Singapore’s top ranking universities provide part time courses that allow for flexible learning. There has also been an increase in the variety of courses with Universities actually partnering up with large firms to offer highly niche specialized technical courses.
The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) also allows graduates to take up a new Diploma that allows them to work and study at the same time. Dubbed Work-Learn Technical Diplomas, students are given the chance to spend 70% of curriculum time training on the job, which can range from port automation technology to restaurant management. This course is meant to provide a skills-based avenue for graduates to upgrade themselves and build viable careers beyond a diploma programme.
What does this mean for potential PR/Citizenship Applicants?
Many clients we have consulted and helped, especially those with families or those planning on starting a family after they have attained PR statues, often cite Singapore’s education system as a reason to move to Singapore permanently. This is no surprise, with Singapore having one of the world’s best education systems in the world. For applicants with children, Singapore’s top rank in the inaugural World Bank Human Capital Index would reassure them of the quality of education that Singapore has long dedicated herself to. This would provide the best possible start to their lives and they would be able to rest assured that they are doing all that they can to help their children attain a brighter future.
Those who chooses to enroll their children in an international school rather than a public school in Singapore also have nothing to worry about. Most international schools in Singapore follow the IB curriculum and with the recent trend of excellent results that far surpass the global average, they can be rest assured that their children’s education is in good hands.
For those looking to further their skill set and education, Singapore provides a variety of courses suited for either specialized training for a particular field of work or Masters and PhD programmes designed to help progress in their career. The best part is, many of these courses have very attractive subsidies for Singapore Citizens and PRs, making education one of the most compelling reason in moving to Singapore permanently.
