Education Routes in Singapore: Polytechnic, ITE, Junior College
After students complete their O’s or N Levels after their secondary school, students will be offered 3 different tertiary routes to choose from depending on their L1R4 or 5. L1R4 for ITE and Polytechnic, L1R5 for Junior College. Continue reading to find out more about the education route of a polytechnic student.
Find out more about the different types of Education routes in Singapore here!
The three Routes Offered
1. Institute of Technical Education
The ITE is a public education institution in Singapore that provides secondary school graduates pre-employment training. The ITE offers Nitec and Higher Nitec, both of which are 2 years courses to complete.
Upon completion of their ITE education, the students will move on to polytechnic education (or a private university) if they wish to continue pursuing their course of interest.
2. Polytechnic
Polytechnic is a 3 years course route that awards students with a certificate of Diploma at the end of their course of study.
Students can move on to university upon the completion of their course in polytechnic, where their GPA and achievements in polytechnic will be an indication to their admission to a local or private university.
3. Junior College
JC is a 2-year study that awards students an A-Level certificate at the end of their study. Students will proceed to further their studies in any university.
Let us dive deeper into knowing more about the 5 polytechnics in Singapore!
Polytechnic Education in Singapore
What is a Polytechnic?
Polytechnics in Singapore provides students with the opportunity to choose the course they desire. The courses will take 3 years to complete over the course of 6 semesters.
Polytechnic’s semester commences in April and ends their first semester around August, September depending on which school they go to.
Each semester consists of about 26 to 27 weeks (approximately 4 to 5 months).
Polytechnics Grading System
Poly grading system is as follows:
| Grade | % Range Marks | Grade Point |
| DIST | > 80 (Awarded by Examinations Board) | 4.0 |
| A+ | >= 80 | 4.0 |
| B+ | 75 to < 80 | 3.5 |
| B | 70 to < 75 | 3.0 |
| C+ | 65 to < 70 | 2.5 |
| C | 60 to < 65 | 2.0 |
| D+ | 55 to < 60 | 1.5 |
| D | 50 to < 55 | 1.0 |
| D- | – | 0.5 |
| P | – | 0.5 |
| F | – | 0.0 |
| ABS | Absent | 0.0 |
Courses offered
There are many different courses offered by all the polytechnics in Singapore and they are mainly classified into different faculty. There are courses offered related to Applied Sciences, Built Environment, Business Management, Engineering, Health Sciences, Information and Digital Technologies, Maritime Studies as well as Media and Design.
Under these faculties, there are specific courses offered accordingly.
Admission Criteria
Polytechnics admission requires students to get the required cut off for their ELR2B2 which means the English Language, Relevant 2 and Best 2. The cut off points varies from polys to polys but hovers around the same range.
Monetary factors
Poly fees are more expensive than going to ITE or JC, costing around $3,000 per year.
List of Polytechnics in Singapore
1. Singapore Polytechnic
Singapore Polytechnic also commonly known as SP, is the first and oldest polytechnic to be established in Singapore.
Singapore Polytechnic is ranked 1st amongst all the polytechnics in Singapore with the cut off points to be as low as 8 and highest as 22.
SP is also well-known for the facilities they offer on their campus. Some of the facilities offered by the school include 6 foodcourts, 3 outdoor basketball courts, 12 badminton courts, 4 squash courts and many more.
Visit their official website to find out more!
Address: 500 Dover Road Singapore 139651
Nearest MRT: Dover MRT
2. Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Established in 1963, Ngee Ann Polytechnic also known as NP is the second oldest polytechnic in Singapore.
NP has a total of 9 academic schools offering 39 full-time courses.
Address: 535 Clementi Rd, Singapore 599489
Nearest MRT: Clementi
Visit their official website here!
3. Nanyang Polytechnic
Nanyang Polytechnic, also known as NYP, is relatively small in campus size as compared to SP and NP. Students that are passionate about IT will find themselves enrolling into NYP as NYP is well known for their IT courses.
Address: 180 Ang Mo Kio Ave 8, Singapore 569830
Nearest MRT: Yio Chu Kang
Visit their official website to find out more!
4. Temasek Polytechnic
Temasek Polytechnic, also known as TP, is well known for its niche courses such as design and law which is uncommon to find other polytechnics.
The cut-off point for the courses that TP offers are as low as 8 points and the highest being 21 points. Most of the courses accept students with cut off points 18 and better.
Address: 21 Tampines Ave 1, Singapore 529757
Nearest MRT: Tampines
Visit their official website!
5. Republic Polytechnic
Republic Polytechnic, also known as RP offers courses as low as 13 points and the highest being 26 points. RP is the newest polytechnic founded in 2002.
The school is fully air-conditioned and RP goes by a paperless policy. For students that find themselves interested to study Sports, RP is the place for you!
Address: 9 Woodlands Ave 9, Singapore 738964
Nearest MRT: Woodlands
Find out more by visiting their official website here.
Is Polytechnic or Junior College better?
There is no definite answer to this, as it boils down to the preference of the student. Neither is more superior to the other.
Polytechnic offers a rounded education by offering a specific course with hands-on experience for students.
Whereas Junior College offers students a different route where they continue to sit for school subjects to take the A’s at the end of their 2 years of education.
However, there is some difference between the certificates offered by these two routes, the diploma awarded by polytechnics allows students to go straight into the workforce.
Polytechnic offers more hands-on learning and specific learning opportunities as well as sending students to internship attachments to experience the workforce.
Whereas the more natural path of a JC student is to enter universities after their A’s.
All in all, it is up to the learning individual, what their passions are, their learning style and their future plans.
