--The Straits Time, 31 Jan 2012--
School building up niche programmes, and getting tougher to gain admission

By Amelia Tan


RP alumnus Derek Ong (above), 24, who started OSavory, a business making fish bak kwa. -- ST PHOTOS: CAROLINE CHIA


RP alumnus Derek Ong, 24, who started OSavory, a business making fish bak kwa (above). -- ST PHOTOS: CAROLINE CHIA

REPUBLIC Polytechnic (RP), the baby among the polytechnics here, turns 10 this year, and is still some way from being a top choice among students and their parents, its principal has said.

But a confident Mr Yeo Li Pheow said: 'We need time to establish our name, but I think we will get there soon.'

In an interview with The Straits Times ahead of the launch of its 10th anniversary celebrations, he noted that in its first decade, RP grew its enrolment from about 800 to 14,000, and developed its niche in sports science and sports management.

It will be the first polytechnic to offer a three-year diploma programme in sports coaching. The course, starting this year, will be among the 38 offered by RP, an increase from the five back in 2003.

RP took in its first students that year, operating out of a temporary campus at the former Ministry of Education headquarters at Kay Siang Road. It moved to its current Woodlands site in 2006.

The tussle for a place among students who have completed their O levels is getting keener by the year. Mr Yeo noted that the cut-off point for admission last year was at least a point lower than 2010's for half the courses.

Students use their aggregate score from their grades in O-level English, mathematics and three subjects relevant to the diploma they wish to pursue - the lower the cut-off point for a course, the harder it is to win a place on it.

But Mr Yeo said RP is still less competitive than the other four polytechnics here - Temasek, Ngee Ann, Nanyang and Singapore (SP).

For example, RP's cut-off for its biotechnology diploma programme was 23 last year; at SP, it was 10. RP's cut-off for aerospace engineering last year was 21. An applicant with this aggregate would have stood no chance of getting a place in the SP equivalent, which had a cut-off of 12.

Mr Yeo is not disheartened, because he believes the relative ease of entry into RP comes from it still not having made its name, rather than because its courses lack quality.

He said: 'Cut-off points are determined by supply and demand. Frankly, if you ask me what I think parents will say when they think about RP, they will say, 'It is in Woodlands, (which is) so far.''

RP will become more accessible when the Thomson MRT line is ready by 2018. The nearest train now is at Woodlands MRT station on the North-South line, which is a 10-minute walk away.

Mr Yeo said he expects that the growing confidence in RP will continue to push down the cut-off scores for entry - already, the cut-off points for its biomedical sciences and biotechnology programmes fell three points to 19 and 23 respectively between 2010 and last year.

He is also banking on RP's alumni to burnish its reputation as they make their names in their fields.

Biotechnology graduate Derek Ong, 24, for example, started O Savory, which makes fish bak kwa, last year. It is not breaking even yet, but he hopes it will soon as it expands from being sold online into shops.

The young entrepreneur said: 'I learnt to be independent and to think on my feet through RP's problem-based learning approach. The entrepreneurship modules and food-science projects also helped me to see the business opportunity in fish bak kwa - it is healthier and can be sold in the halal food market.'

RP's 10th anniversary celebrations will be capped by a musical starring students and staff in October.

ameltan@sph.com.sg