The Provisional Admission Exercise (PAE), colloquially known as the first three months among Singapore students, was an interim exercise in which graduating Secondary 4 students in Singapore could choose to join a

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

or centralised institute for Term 1 in the following academic year, before the official release of the GCE 'O' level results. Students used the score of their respective secondary schools' internal preliminary

examinations An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verba ...

to apply under the programme.

Programme

Most pre-university centres'

orientation Orientation may refer to: Positioning in physical space * Map orientation, the relationship between directions on a map and compass directions * Orientation (housing), the position of a building with respect to the sun, a concept in building des ...

programmes during the PAE were longer than those held at the start of the actual pre-university academic year. Students usually made use of this period of time to socialise and enjoy themselves; their workload was greatly reduced, and cases of skipping classes were common. This is in stark contrast to the pressure-cooker stress that students usually undergo during a normal school term. Junior colleges in Singapore also made use of this period to organise many activities, with

fun Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment". Etymology and usage The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...

as an emphasis, in order to entice students to stay in their respective institutions after the PAE. This is particularly true if the junior college is not prominent for its academic-orientated performance. During the PAE, students were permitted to wear

uniforms A uniform is a variety of costume worn by members of an organization while usually participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency ser ...

of their

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

s instead of those of the pre-university centre. The phenomenon of

gate-crashing Gate crashing, gatecrashing, or party crashing is the act of entering, attending, or participating in an event without an invitation or ticket. The term has also come to be used to refer to intrusions on videographed sessions, such as interv ...

, or colloquially called crashing, arose from this loophole; in an act amounting to trespassing, students not affiliated to a school enter without prior consent from the school administration. Some students gatecrashed to enjoy the prestige of crashing a "good" pre-university centre; others did so to join their former schoolmates. It was also common to see students from different secondary schools exchanging their school uniforms with those from schools considered more recognised, mostly for the fun of it or in some cases, to escape the "neighbourhood school" stigma presented by their uniforms. Critics claim that some secondary schools give an unfair advantage over their students, by either inflating grades for the internal preliminary examinations or making them easier. Students who choose to remain in the JCs after the PAE are awarded bonus '

loyalty Loyalty is a Fixation (psychology), devotion to a country, philosophy, group, or person. Philosophers disagree on what can be an object of loyalty, as some argue that loyalty is strictly interpersonal and only another human being can be the obj ...

' scores, which cuts off 2 points in their GCE 'O' Level grade, giving them a greater chance of remaining in the pre-university centre. However, the option to reduce one's score by 2 points is only applicable if the student scores an L1R5 of 20 points or less. School administrations struggled to cope with the admission procedures of two student batches in an academic year. It is also argued that in many cases, lessons had to be retaught as many students did not remain in the same pre-university centre after the PAE because some left for other JCs or polytechnics.

End of PAE

The

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

had originally announced the consolidation of a single admission batch for pre-university centres from 2006 onwards, but due to administrative problems, the abolishment was delayed until 2009, making 2008 the last year with PAE. This coincides with the arrangement between SEAB and

UCLES The University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), branded as Cambridge Assessment, was a non-teaching department of the University of Cambridge. It merged with Cambridge University Press to form Cambridge University Press and As ...

to cut short the marking period of papers.

References

External links

Ministry of Education press release: Single Intake for Junior Colleges and Millennia Institute from 2009
{{Education in Singapore Education in Singapore Culture of Singapore

Programme

End of PAE

See also

References

External links