8 April 2006, Straits Times

Encouraged by the demand for the Singapore brand of education, a third popular local school is going international.

St Joseph’s Institution (SJI), which celebrated its 154th year yesterday, said the Economic Development Board (EDB) had invited it to set up an international school.

If the Ministry of Education (MOE) gives the green light, the school will open its door next year to 150 students in Secondary 1 and 2 for a start, building up to a 1,000 strong enrolment over the next few years.

SJI declined to confirm it, but sources said the school will be sited along Thomson Road, not too far from the SJI campus in Malcolm Road.

The one difference between the international and the all-boys Independent school is that the new school will take in girls as well.

Half the places are expected to be taken up by students from overseas – mostly Asian countries – with the remaining half going to Singaporeans. As is the case with the other two local institutions that have set up international schools – Anglo-Chinese School and Hwa Chong Institution – SJI (International) will be able to take in Singaporeans without first seeking permission from MOE.

But it must follow Singapore’s bilingual education policy and observe practices like singing the National Anthem.

The school plans to offer similar programmes to ACS (International): Its students will sit for the International General Certificate for Secondary Education exams – similar to the O levels – at age 16 before moving on to a two-year course culminating in the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma. SJI’s deputy principal, Brother Michael Broughton, said the school plans to allow its Independent school boys to transfer into the IB diploma programme at the international school after completing their O levels. Those who find it hard to meet the international school’s higher fees will be given scholarships.

As the school will be privately funded, its fees are five times those at the Independent school – at $1,200 a month per student. But even so, the school’s officials are confident of filling up the places.

Brother Michael has a good idea of the demand for the SJI brand of education. He said that about 500 students from 30 Catholic schools in Indonesia sat for a test to win an SJI scholarship last year. The school could take in only the top 24.

Every year, those who do not make the cut ask if they can enrol as full-fee paying students, said Brother Michael, “but we just do not have the places for them”.

An old boy of the school, Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo, who spoke at the Founder’s Day dinner last night, said the international school would provide its Singapore students with an “alternative education pathway within a Catholic-Lasallian school environment”.

He added that the school would also serve other groups now not catered to by SJI, such as girls from its affiliated primary schools and other talented students who, for one reason or another, do not thrive in the mainstream school system.

The Government’s aim is to pull in 150,000 foreign students by 2012, raising the education sector’s contribution to gross domestic product from 1.9 per cent or $3 billion to 5 per cent.

Demand for places by foreign students is so bullish that ACS (International) and Hwa Chong International have advanced their expansion plans.

The ACS campus near Holland Village now has 400 students, while Hwa Chong International has an enrolment of 300.

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