Establishment of Institutes The centralised institutes education pathway was first introduced in Singapore in the late 1980s with an education reform involving the pre-university education system. The establishment of centralised institutes as specialised centres for Commerce pre-university streams was in line with the creation of commerce and technical streams at junior colleges. Technical streams are reformed as diplomas in polytechnics.
Establishment of Outram Institute Outram Institute (
Chinese: 欧南高级中学) was one of four original
centralised institutes in
Singapore, and one of the two that was merged to establish the current only centralised institute,
Millennia Institute. Outram Institute was the first centre in Singapore specialising in commercial studies. Students in Outram Institute take the A Levels in three years, unlike other pre-university course students in
Junior Colleges. In the 1980s, three-year pre-university courses were conducted in several secondary schools. In 1987 the Ministry of Education set up the first institute, Outram Institute, to offer three-year pre-university courses on a centralised basis. Outram Institute prepared students for the GCE 'A' Level Examinations. Initially, it concentrated on commerce subjects and had only the commerce stream. The arts stream was later introduced to the school. Outram Institute functioned on a full-day basis and teaching modes included lectures and classroom instruction. Admission is based on the aggregate point of first language and four relevant subjects. Mrs Lim Han Soon, Principal of Outram Secondary School, was appointed the first principal of Outram Institute. The institute was temporarily accommodated in premises at Bartley Road which were vacated by Chung Hwa High School when that school moved to new premises in December 1987. The Bartley Road premises were then renovated to provide the necessary facilities. In 1989, Outram Institute was the first pre-university centre in Singapore to offer the
London Chamber of Commerce and Industry examination, on top of the
Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examination. The first batch of students achieved an 80 percent pass rate. to offer a three-year
curriculum leading to the Singapore Cambridge
General Certificate of Education Advanced Level examination. It was located at Margaret Drive in
Queenstown.
Merger of Outram and Jurong Institutes and establishment of Millennia Institute On 26 July 2003, decision was made public by the Ministry of Education on the merger of Outram Institute and Jurong Institute to conglomerate the sparsely organised three-year pre-university institutions into a single entity. This move was to allow consolidation of expertise and teaching resources of the two institutes, and provide students with more customised programmes and facilities, thereby enhancing the delivery of the three-year pre-university education programme. As a result, Millennia Institute was established on 3 January 2004. A new campus was announced on 2 December 2003 to be ready in 2007. Millennia Institute functioned in two campuses of the former Jurong Institute and Outram Institute, before relocating to its permanent campus at 60 Bukit Batok West Avenue 8. == References ==