All primary schools have teachers trained to teach high-ability learners: MOE

All 180 schools have rigorous programmes that allow pupils to stretch their potential

- Ng Wei Kai

All 180 primary schools in Singapore offer more challenging programmes for high-ability learners and are set to provide for more of such pupils in future, with the changes recently announced to the Gifted Education Programme (GEP).

The school-based programmes for higher-ability learners, which now cater to 7 per cent of each cohort, will expand to take in 10 per cent, or 3,000 pupils a year, Prime anMinister Lawrence Wong nounced in his maiden National Day Rally speech on Aug 19.

Pupils will no longer have to transfer to nine designated schools conducting the GEP, but will remain in their schools and participate in programmes for high-ability learners there.

This is part of a series of changes to the 40-year-old GEP, which in its present form caters to the top 1 per cent of pupils in each cohort.

All primary schools have teachers specially trained to teach highability pupils, and programmes catering to them, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said in response to queries on how widespread and resourced these programmes are.

High-ability learners can learn at faster rates and find, solve and act on problems more readily, as well as grasp and manipulate abstract ideas more easily, MOE said.

These pupils have access to programmes at their schools that are supported by the MOE headquarters in both academic and non-academic domains. The programmes enable high-ability learners to stretch their potential and develop their strengths and interests, the ministry added.

It said: "Many schools have also developed their own school-based programmes in other areas, such as coding and design thinking.

"All primary schools have teachers specially trained to teach these students." High-ability learner, or HAL, programmes, are provided in schools for pupils from Primary 4 to 6.