Singapore is facing a shortage of manpower in technology and that is the reason more foreigners are needed in this area (Trade pacts haven't jeopardised jobs for S'poreans: Heng, Aug 24).
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat's statement about the shortage does not surprise me as secondary school students in Singapore do not learn computer science as a compulsory subject. The Singapore education system is highly deterministic and compartmentalised. A number of Integrated Programme schools offer computer science as a compulsory subject from Secondary 1 onwards. But that is not the case for Express/Normal Academic/ Normal Technical stream students.
At my son's secondary school, the O-level course on computing is capped at 20 students, and it is only open - as far as I am aware - to Express stream students. Students must also first take and pass a computer aptitude test based - in part - on programming knowledge that was taught earlier this year.
I looked at a number of schools in my home town in the United Kingdom. All have computing as a compulsory subject from the start of secondary school onwards, regardless of the status of the school or ability of the child.
At my son's school, students must choose between triple science (that is, separate O levels in biology, chemistry and physics) and computer science. I find this surprising because a course in computer science is surely just as relevant to students' future employment prospects as taking all three science O levels, especially given that Singapore is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world.
There are, of course, many tuition centres that teach computing skills and coding. But they are very expensive. The alternative is for students to watch YouTube videos on the subject and learn it themselves.
In my view, it is the job of the Government to ensure that Singaporeans have the necessary skills when they go out into the workplace. The failure to teach computing skills to the entire secondary school cohort needs to be addressed.
Peter Wadeley
