An enrichment programme designed to nurture intellectually gifted students to their fullest potential, the Gifted Education Programme (GEP) was initiated by the Ministry of Education (MOE) as part of reforms to create an education system that catered for diverse talents and learning abilities.[1] The GEP was piloted in January 1984 in two primary schools – Raffles Girls' Primary and Rosyth School – and two secondary schools – Raffles Institution and Raffles Girls' School (Secondary).[2]
In October 1981, then Minister of State for Education Tay Eng Soon led a mission to study the programmes for gifted students in the Soviet Union, Israel and West Germany.[3] The government decided that the Israeli model, which featured special classes for the gifted in normal schools, was most suitable for Singapore.[4] A proposed programme was then drawn up in the ‘Gifted Project’ concept paper in 1983.[5] The paper defined the objectives of the GEP, which were to cultivate higher level thinking skills and capabilities for self-directed learning, as well as social responsibility and civic awareness in gifted students.[6]
A Special Project Unit (now known as the Gifted Education Branch) was formed soon after in May 1983 to select teachers and pupils for the GEP, conduct teacher training sessions, prepare the new curriculum, as well as implement the programme and monitor its progress.[7] TheMOEstaffof the unit were trained by Irving Sato, a Japanese-American expert on education for gifted children.[8]
Following selection examinations for some 3,600 Primary 3 and 6 pupils in October and November 1983, a hundred pupils in total were eventually picked for the Primary 4 GEP in Raffles Girls' Primary School and Rosyth School. An equal number was also selected to join the Secondary 1 GEP in Raffles Institution and Raffles' Girls School (Secondary).[9] Fourteen primary and 16 secondary teachers were specially recruited and trained to teach the pilot batch of GEP pupils.[10]
References
1. Singapore. Gifted Education Branch. (1994). Gifted education in Singapore: The first ten years (p. 12). Singapore: Gifted Education Unit, Ministry of Education. Call no.: RSING 371.95095957 GIF.
2. Singapore. Gifted Education Branch, 1994, p. 16.
3. Education team studying Russia's system. (1981, October 23). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
4. Tan, J. (1983, September 10). The gifted: Israel's experience… The Straits Times, p. 18. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Singapore. Gifted Education Branch, 1994, p. 12.
5. Singapore. Gifted Education Branch, 1994, p. 14.
6. Tan, B. S. (1989, September). The gifted education programme. Commentary, 20(6), 104. Call no.: RSING 300.5 C.
7. Singapore. Gifted Education Branch, 1994, p. 14.
8. Tan, J. (1983, August 9). Gifted education project to get expert advice. The Straits Times, p. 18. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
9. Singapore. Gifted Education Branch, 1994, p. 14.
10. Singapore. Gifted Education Branch, 1994, p. 15.
The information in this article is valid as at 2014 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.