Sharing some great news for ITE students who perform well.
You may soon be guaranteed entry into polytechnic if your grade point average (GPA) is 3.5 or higher.
This new scheme will be introduced in 2027.
Here is what you need to know.
ITE Students Will Be Given More Opportunities to Enter Polytechnic
At some point in the past, people used to say that those who study at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) are studying at a place which says “it’s the end” for them.
However, that has long faded into the past and cannot be taken with seriousness now.
The government is looking at extending support to ITE students to ensure they can continue pursuing the education they need to succeed in life.
This comes as giving high-performing students a space in a polytechnic.
Starting in 2027, students who achieve a raw GPA of at least 3.5 on their Higher National ITE Certificate (Nitec) exams will be guaranteed entry into a polytechnic.
This is “expected to benefit the top 10% of Higher Nitec graduates”, according to the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) press release about this change.
About 1,000 students in each batch of Higher Nitec students are expected to benefit from this change.
However, there was no indication if the students could choose which polytechnic they study at or whether they would be allowed to rank that choice of educational institutes.
With the introduction of this new scheme, the Direct-Entry Scheme to Polytechnic Programme (DPP) will cease in 2028 for that batch of ITE students. There will also be a full removal of “stream labels under Full Subject-Based Banding (Full SBB)”.
The number of students affected will likely be around 900, as MOE shared that currently, “around 900 DPP graduates per year across all 18 DPP courses qualify for the polytechnic progression guarantee”.
Alongside the change to polytechnic entrance requirements for ITE students, there will also be a change to the minimum entry standards for these to enter polytechnic after taking the Higher Nitec exams.
Come 2027, the minimum GPA for entry will be raised from a net GPA of 2.0 to a net GPA of 2.5.
This change reflected the current status of how “most Higher Nitec students who progress to polytechnics attain a net GPA of 2.5 and above”.
The MOE also shared that the change was to ensure that the “students can better cope with the academic rigour of a polytechnic education”.
Are you excited about these changes?