1.

Education system in Singapore

Singapore's education system is superior compared to other Southeast Asian

countries [ CITATION RES12 \l 1033 ]. This success has made Singapore a center of education
or study destination for 86 thousand students from 120 countries, for all levels of education
from Elementary to Postgraduate, in private, public and international schools / colleges.
And then, the Singapore education curriculum does not differ much from the education
curriculum in Indonesia. They also hold a national exam or what is often called the UN for
all students every time they continue their education to the next level. The difference is, the
level of education in Singapore is rather complicated. Children in Singapore enter the world
of formal education starting from Kindergarter School (Kindergarter School) to SD
(primary school) for 6 years. After that they enter high schools (secondary school) for 5
years, then go to the preparatory level for 3 years (centralized institute or junior colleges),
then enter a university (university).

However, the length of time a person completes education at each level after SD is
different. Because each child is assigned to a class according to their respective abilities,
there are 3 classes at the secondary school level, including Express, Normal Academic and
Normal Technical. Express class is a place for smart students. Express class children can
complete secondary school for 4 years. This is also if they pass the Singapore "O" Level
Test. Normal Academic Class, before they enter grade 5, in the 4th year have to take the
national "N" level test in order to advance to the grade. After they pass grade 5, there is
another national exam called "O" Level Test.

Class Normal Technical, can be likened to a Vocational High School. So, after they
graduate from secondary school, they can continue to the Institute of Technical Education
for two years, or high school for those who want to continue to higher education,
Polytechnic (to get a diploma), immediately work. The lessons they get are not much
different in Indonesia, for example English, Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences, Arts, as
well as lessons called Mother Tongue Language or language lessons according to their
"mother" language. For example, those who are Malay will learn Malay, for those who are
Chinese can learn Mandarin, those from India will learn Tamil. Almost all of these subjects
were tested in the Singapore version of the "O" Level Test or National Examination
[ CITATION Cha19 \l 1033 ].

For more than 40 years, Singapore has gone through several stages of development,
namely the survival period. During that time, Singapore paid great attention to its
geopolitical uniqueness and lack of natural resources. These stages are also a response to
the times, where Singapore always tries to adapt the country's vision to the demands of the
times (Ng, 2017). In preparing for a new era, the Singapore government has openly stated
the importance of educational reform in order to prepare its citizens to be more competitive
and competent in the global era. The idea of “Thinking schools, learning nation” (TSLN)
which was first introduced by Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in July 1997
has become a central theme for mainstream education reform in Singapore. The concept of
"thinking schools" is related to school education to instill independence and critical
thinking skills of students, while "learning nation" aims to foster sustainable learning
habits, so that it is in line with the challenges of change in the era of globalization and
information [ CITATION Cha19 \l 1033 ].

The TLLM concept focuses on classroom pedagogy which strives for teachers to
reflect on how to teach in class and what is taught in order to improve the quality of student
learning in an environment that supports a culture of open sharing while emphasizing the
importance of reducing the amount of material provided to provide space for activities. The
TSLN and TLLM policies are expected to strengthen the development of values-based
professionalism in the teaching community in schools, which is based on a strong teacher
identity, a shared professional ethos, and a student-centered learning process, so it is hoped
that a culture of collaboration and sharing of responsibility among teachers will be
strengthened. , where the teachers can organize and develop themselves in a community
that maintains the excellence of a professional culture of teachers [ CITATION RES12 \l 1033 ].

2. Entrepreneurship education analysis, major players and stakeholders in

Singapore’s education system
 Economic transformation in Singapore started from 1960 - 1970 in the form of basic
skills, from 1980 to 1990 in the form of deepening technological expertise, after 1990 -
2000 in the form of innovation, creative and entrepreneurial technology covering
aerospace, energy, chemistry, electronics, environment and water, health, information
technology, logistics and chair supply, media and entertainment, health technology,
pharmaceuticals and biotech, digital and engineering and communication. The steps to
innovate start with the existence of ideas and knowledge and then look for solutions in the
form of products. The product must be superior and competitive [ CITATION Wor18 \l 1033 ].
The approach used is a holistic approach, the integration of knowledge and concepts from
3 disciplines. Therefore, Singapore applies the Teaching Factory concept to its
entrepreneurial education, where this concept is used to:

1. Learning and training to imitate and integrate industrial culture with real life.
2. Collaboration and collaboration with industry to encourage innovation and teamwork,
and problem solving skills
3. Capacity building for investment in labor and technology that is relevant and up to
date.

The results of technology learning are used:

1. for industry aims as a guide for staff and students to apply their knowledge and skills to
real-life projects,
2. to serve the industry with comprehensive Research and Development services and
technology solutions,
3. to adopt the practice and application of a learning approach which combines learning
and work culture to better prepare students for work in industry.

In addition to the scope of stakeholders, Singapore in its education system has a

model of The School Excellence Model (SEM). SEM is a school self-assessment model
adapted from various quality models used by business organizations, namely The
European Foundation of Quality Management (EFQM), The Singapore Quality Award
(SQA) and The American Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award model (MBNQA).
Various attempts were made to align SEM with SQA, so that schools are expected to
position themselves according to the national guidelines for superior organizational
formats. SEM aims to provide a tool that can objectively identify and measure the
strengths of schools and areas for further development. SEM also enables benchmarking of
similar schools, stimulating development activities that can positively affect school quality
improvement which ultimately contributes to the quality of the education system in
general. SEM core values emphasize the importance of school leadership with character
with clear objectives, placing the interests of students as top priority, and positioning
teachers as the main key to the realization of quality education. SEM recognizes the
importance of a student-focused learning process in order to achieve superior results. SEM
also assumes that learning outcomes are not only measured and seen in academic
achievement alone. School academic performance is indeed important and needs to be
continued, but superior schools must continue to provide holistic and quality education
[ CITATION Ste12 \l 1033 ]. SEM includes nine criteria for assessing school quality, namely:

1. Leadership, namely how school leaders and their leadership systems accommodate
values and focus on student learning processes and school performance excellence; and
how the school carries out its social responsibility to the community;
2. Strategic planning, namely how schools clearly design strategic directions that focus on
stakeholders; develop activity plans to support the implementation of the strategic plan,
distribute the design and monitor its performance;
3. Staff management, namely how schools develop and utilize all the potential of their
staff to create superior schools;
4. Resources, namely how schools manage internal resources and external partnerships
effectively and efficiently to support strategic planning and implementation;
5. Process that focuses on students, namely how schools design, implement, manage and
improve the main process of learning to provide holistic education and work to
improve students' self-welfare (wellbeing);
6. Administration and operational achievements, namely what is being attempted to
achieve related to school efficiency and effectiveness;
7. Staff achievements, namely what is being strived to achieve in relation to staff training,
development and morale;
8. Partnerships and social achievements, namely what is being attempted to achieve in
relation to partnerships and the community at large;
9. Achievement of main performance, namely what is being strived to achieve in terms of
the holistic development of students and specifically in terms of the extent to which the
school achieves the expected educational outcomes.

Thus, SEM basically describes a superior school where leaders direct staff, plan
strategies and distribute resources in a systematic and clearly identified manner aimed at
student-focused learning by designing targets, monitoring and managing their performance.
These enablers can then generate staff and stakeholder satisfaction as well as have an
influence on society, all of which contribute to the achievement of school goals and the
quality of education [ CITATION Wor18 \l 1033 ].

3. Key organizations/institutions for strategic partnership

The key to organizations or institutions in the strategy of cooperation in educational

institutions in Singapore emphasizes on four main institutions, namely government-funded
and independent schools for primary and secondary school levels, then both Local
Universities, Polytechnic Education and Technical Institutions - for post secondary
education . Third, private schools for primary and secondary education, then finally schools
with systems from abroad and foreign / international schools. Over the years, Singapore has
evolved from a traditional British education system to an education system that aims to
meet individual needs and develop talents.

Apart from that, in improving Singapore's economy There are also special foreign
institutions in Singapore, which have established campuses here or in collaboration with
local polytechnics. This program enables polytechnic students to obtain degrees related to
the subjects they have taken after they have completed their diploma at the polytechnic. 4.
Private Arts Institutions Currently there are 2 private arts institutions in Singapore. Both
schools are managed by the private sector and are publicly financed bodies; The two arts
institutions are non-profit, private educational institutions and managed independently with
funding from the Singapore Ministry of Education in the form of funding at the polytechnic
level for certain Diploma programs. In addition, the institution also offers offshore
undergraduate or externally accredited undergraduate programs which are not funded by
the government. As is the case with other public educational institutions in Singapore, they
are exempt from the Case Trust for Education program. There are also other private
educational institutions that provide programs related to art and design.

In addition, the NUS and NTU have collaborative programs with more than 16 other
institutions around the world. There are also specialized foreign institutions in Singapore,
which have established campuses or collaborated with local polytechnics. This program
enables polytechnic students to obtain degrees related to the subjects they have taken after
they have completed their diploma at the polytechnic. For example, in Indonesia, Singapore
has offered cooperation with the Ministry of Industry for upskilling, especially from
industrial Human Resources under the guidance of the Ministry of Industry, through
vocational high schools, polytechnics, and community academies. The most important
thing is how educational institutions in the Ministry of Industry can design a curriculum in
their respective educational places that can answer challenge 4.0. This is evidenced by this
year, the Temasek Foundation again supports the collaboration program between the
Indonesian Ministry of Industry's BPSDMI and the Singapore Polytechnic in an HR
training program related to industry 4.0 with an MoU signed by both parties. The President
of Singapore Halimah said that the development of human resources and industry 4.0 is a
top priority for Indonesia and Singapore [ CITATION Pra16 \l 1033 ]

This is what makes education in this country advanced. The progress of education in
Singapore itself is supported by many factors. Singapore spends around 25% of its
government budget on managing the education sector in the island nation which covers
only 692km2. The education sector accounts for 25% of total government spending. Of this
amount, as much as 40 percent is for the tertiary education level (university level). In
addition, the Singapore government also provides 75 percent of operational subsidies and
encourages more donations or assistance from the private sector to assist educational
institutions. Meanwhile, in order for education to encourage sustainable innovation,
Singapore emphasizes an approach between the government and business people [ CITATION
Wor18 \l 1033 ].

Over the years, Singapore has evolved from a traditional British education system to
an education system that aims to meet individual needs and develop talents. In Singapore,
the education system is generally oriented towards developing human resources in
accordance with the needs, in an effort to meet the world of skilled and educated work. In
addition, it is also oriented so that there is a balance from a moral and cultural perspective
in facing the changes and progress that occur. In Singapore there is such a thing as the
Internal Security Act (ISA) or the Homeland Security Act which can detain people without
trial. The existence of this law is one of the reasons why political activity against the
government tends to be few or even rare. Opposition parties have less than three seats in
parliament. Not to mention the very well-established economic conditions of the country
that make Singaporeans, and also students, tend to be satisfied with the current government
[ CITATION Pra16 \l 1033 ].
DAFTAR PUSTAKA
Chan, D. (2019). Problem Based Learning to Promote STEM Education. Singapore: NYPi.
Jayapragas, P. (2016). Leaders in Education Program: The Singapore Model for
Developing Effective Principal-ship Capability. Current Issues in Comparative
Education (CICE) Vol 9 (1).
Slavin, R. E. (2012). Evidence-based eduation policies: Transforming educational practice
and research. ducational researcher 31(7), 15-21.
Stewart. (2012). A World-class education: Learning from international models of
excellence and innovation. ASCD.
World Bank. (2018). World Bank East Asia and Pacific Regional Report. Retrieved from
World Bank Documents:
http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/313331524827682600/pdf/Growing-
smarter-learning-and-equitable-development-in-East-Asia-and-Pacific.pdf