National Junior College
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| National Junior College 国家 初级 学院 (Chinese) Maktab Rendah Kebangsaan (Malay) |
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| Founding year: | 1969 |
| Place: | Singapore , Bukit Timah |
| Motto: | Service with Honor |
| School colors: | Red, white, gray |
| enrolled students: | about 1,500 students |
| Headmistress: | Virginia Cheng (Mrs.) |
| Address of the rectorate: | 37 Hillcrest Road Singapore 288913 |
| Website: | www.njc.edu.sg |
The National Junior College (abbreviation: NJC) is a renowned junior college (JC) in Singapore. It is the first JC in Singapore and was founded in 1969 in the Bukit Timah district to shorten and centralize pre-university education, whereby students can take the Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'Advanced' Level Exam (Abitur) in 2 instead of 3 years (i.e. after 12 . instead of 13th grade). The establishment of the NJC also marked a turning point in the development of Singaporean school pedagogy - both with its lecture-tutorial system as in the universities, and through the amalgamation of the various language courses (Chinese, Malay and Tamil) within the framework of the social context by the science and humanities courses. English is the main language.
In Singapore, JC students are in the top 20 to 25 percent of each grade. Many NJC students are in the top 10 percent of their JC year.
Academic program
Classes
Traditionally, the NJC offers 11th and 12th grades (JC1 and JC2), so students take their high school diploma at the end of 12th grade. However, in January 2004 the NJC was the first Singapore school to introduce a new 4-year Integrated Program (IP) for particularly gifted students. In this program, the NJC offered grades 9 to 12. Other JCs such as Victoria JC and Temasek JC later adopted this curriculum. In 2008, the NJC received approval from the Ministry of Education to launch both a boarding school program and a 6-year IP program - the first for a JC in Singapore. The NJC will thus offer the 7th to 12th grades from 2009. Students must live in the school's boarding building for at least 1 to 2 semesters.
In NJC there are approximately 5 classes per IP year (four science and one humanities oriented) after 10th grade, as well as 23 science course classes and 2 humanities course classes for each regular "mainstream" JC year.
Courses
For the 11th and 12th grades, the NJC offers two courses: the science stream and the arts stream. As in other JC in Singapore, the majority of students take the science train. In the science focus, students must take at least two main subjects (Higher 2, abbreviated H2) in the natural sciences or mathematics, and usually two main subjects (H2) in the humanities. The students with a focus on the humanities usually take a major (H2) and a minor (Higher 1, abbreviated H1) in the natural sciences. There are also general compulsory subjects (H1) such as “Project Work” and mother tongue in 11th grade, although there are occasional exceptions for subjects such as mother tongue.
Application and matriculation
For the four-year IP, students in the 8th grade must apply directly to the school from May onwards. Typically, applicants must demonstrate good academic performance and extracurricular activities such as AGs (which are called "CCAs" in Singaporean schools) to be accepted. Applicants with excellent primary school leaving certificate (PSLE) grades (i.e. at least 250 points out of a possible 300) will be assessed positively.
International students, especially those without Singaporean academic credentials, must apply directly to the school for the four-year IP or two-year JC program. To date, the NJC has accepted international students from countries such as Germany, India, China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam and various ASEAN countries. These students can either only attend the NJC for a few semesters or complete the “Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'A' Level” (Abitur) after the 12th grade. The individual performance of the student depends, as the idea of a performance society - as in other Singaporean schools - plays a major role.
Special programs of the NJC
Art Elective Program (AEP)
The NJC was the first Singapore school to introduce AEP (Special Arts Program) for gifted students (1985). Many students in this special program receive grants from the Department of Education to fund their studies in the NJC's AEP. In general, AEP students are very successful in NJC as can be seen from their success in various art exhibitions and competitions. Some of the AEP's graduates also receive prestigious government grants to study art in famous universities around the world.
Language Elective Program (German)
The NJC is the only JC in Singapore that offers a Language Elective Program (German) (LEP German). The NJC's LEP German program is aimed at students with excellent language skills who received a good grade in German during the Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'O' level exams and who want to take German as their Abitur major. This is why a majority of these LEP students are grants from the Ministry of Education or "LEP Scholars". These scholarship holders are financially supported in order to finance their compulsory four-week language trip to Germany.
In this program, students not only learn the language, but also the history and culture of Germany and the Germans. The teacher is a native speaker from Germany and also plans various activities for LEP German students such as exchange programs to Germany or with the German European School Singapore and the United World College of Southeast Asia.
Well-known former students of the NJC
Politics and Law
- Lee Hsien Loong (student from 1969 to 1970), current and third Prime Minister of Singapore, and at the same time Minister of Finance
- Dr Vivian Balakrishnan (1979–1980), Singapore's Minister for Social Development, Youth and Sport, and second Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts (MICA).
- Davinder Singh , CEO of the Singaporean law firm Drew & Napier, Former MP (MP) (since 2006)
- Lim Swee Say (1971–1972), Minister for the Office of the Prime Minister of Singapore, Secretary General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).
economy and trade
- Lee Hsien Yang , President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SingTel
- Ho Ching , Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Temasek Holdings , wife of the current and third Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong
Cultural and creative industries
- Sushila Krishnan , chief speaker and presenter for Channel NewsAsia news channel
