Students from the Institute of Technical Education will be offered greater flexibility in terms of choosing their areas of study from next year, as related courses will be grouped into clusters.

Currently, students apply for a specific course when they enter the school, such as, hairdressing or aerospace avionics. They will then go on to complete a two-year programme under their chosen course.

Under the new system, related courses will be grouped into clusters. For example, courses such as hairdressing, beauty and wellness, and fitness and sports, will be grouped into a cluster under the Lifestyle theme. First-year students will take a range of foundation models which will prepare them for all the courses under a specific cluster of their choice. In their second year, the students will then choose to specialise in a specific course under the broad cluster.

This new framework was announced by Senior Minister of State for Education and Law, Ms Indranee Rajah, at the Institute's graduation ceremony on Tuesday afternoon. This year, some 12,447 students will graduate from ITE programmes.