Académique Documents
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Culture Documents
february 2013
When a Little Goes a Long Way Dads Come Out to Play Back to School, with Reason to Celebrate!
contents
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01
CEOs Note
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Scramble-O-Mania
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SINDAs First President Honoured STEP in the Spotlight Appreciating Our Tutors Double Celebration, Triple Joy
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COVER STORY Mohamed Hanurdeen bin Hamid: True Grit and Fighting Spirit
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How Have We Performed: Charting the Performance of Indian Students in 2011
publisher Singapore Indian Development Association editorial team corporate & marketing communications division, sinda advisor T Raja Segar, CEO, SINDA Chief editor Ravindran Nagalingam produCtion editor Dhana Narayan design & layout Green House Design + Communications Pte Ltd printer Stamford Press Pte Ltd License No: L022/04/2012 to subscribe SINDA CONNECTIONS To receive SINDA connections, send your home or office address to connections@sinda.org.sg To inform us of a change in mailing address, send your new address to connections@sinda.org.sg SINDA E-NEWSLETTER Send your email address to e-news@sinda.org.sg to contribute
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From Low to GO! Teaching Good Eye Care Habits to Your Child
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Feathered Fun Sculpt & Snap A Quacking Good Time Animation with Alice3 Super Saturday
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Cheerful Year-End Giving to Boost Education
Youths Speak Up to Build Our Future Game 2.1 Quick Wits and Verbal Jousts Inspired to Aspire! Minding Manners Sharing a Smile Scoring the Chance of a Lifetime Beyond O Party with a Difference! Engineering a Forumla One Car Moving On with Confidence Juniors STEP up to Challenge Naam Ras When I Grow Up... Daddy Revolution Dads Come Out to Play Bend It Like Sundram! Good Goes Around Celebrating Long-Standing Partners
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When a Little Goes a Long Way
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SINDAs Secretary Honoured
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Back to School, with Reason to Celebrate!
towards the SINDA CPF Fund: (to start contributing or increase contributions) Tel: 1800 295 4554 www.sinda.org.sg
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ceos note
Service Centre managed 420 family cases, ensuring they receive the help they need for stable living. Among them were single mothers and their children, who were guided through courses and skill-based programmes to increase their independence and self-reliance. As we begin to see the immediate and sustained impact of the programmes rolled out throughout the year, we know that we need to carry on for the next few years. There is renewed belief that the Indian community will show greater achievement by being diligent students, better parents and contributing adults, leading to a more enabled community. However, this success is achieved only with the assistance of our network of partners. I would like to thank all of the community partners who have been with us on our journey. Our sincere appreciation also goes to the SINDA Liaison Officers and Tamil Language teachers who encouraged more students who needed help to take part in our programmes; and most importantly, to parents who responded admirably to our call to play a more active role in the lives of their children. We start again in 2013 with clearly spelt-out plans and objectives that will carry us closer towards achieving our mission. I trust that you will continue to support us in our efforts. t raja segar ceo
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at a glance
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Ensure that your childs reading environment is well-lit. Ensure that your child sits at least 50 centimetres away from the computer screen and more than 2 metres away from the television set. Check that your child is able to read a book without holding it too close to the face and that your child is able to read from the board in class. Remember to take your child for regular eye checks. Your childrens eyes are their windows to the world. Help them appreciate the world with greater clarity by encouraging good eye care habits from young. Your child will also enjoy a better quality of life with good vision.
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with well-wishers from the Jamiyah Childrens Home, slogged 7 1/2 hours to wash 65 cars, cheered on by Ms Indranee Rajah and Mr Sarjit Singh, Secretary of the Executive Committee. Elsewhere on the same day, our knights in shining armour, Riders Aid, once again rode into action with their fourth Deepavali Project Give Charity Ride. 400 motorbikes from more than 30 motorcycle chapters took part in this years parade from Hougang to Victoria Street. In the culmination, Project Give reached into every home on 17 November with the one-hour variety show Kaikoduppom on Mediacorps Vasantham channel. In a wonderful show of support, viewers called in to donate to the project via tele-poll lines. All proceeds raised will be distributed to students from lowincome families through bursaries. SINDA thanks all who have contributed, in any way, as every effort goes a long way to help our children!
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Multi-ethnic members of various bike chapters from Riders Aid 2012, posing with Ms Indranee.
Ms Sim Ann, MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC visits the Project Give booth with her constituency.
People from all walks of life and ages, donating towards Project Give.
Staff from Our Bros Workshop diligently washing the steady stream of cars.
Mr Iswaran and members of the Singapore Kadayanallur Muslim League at the booth.
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Mr Seetharaman Thangaraju, Tamil Co-ordinator at CHIJ St. Josephs Convent and a STEP Centre principal, notes that Edusave has already been tapped fully by school programmes. Convincing parents to pay cash for enrichment programmes is a real challenge. And this is where the CDA has found its niche. He explains: Added funds are always a great help in organising more programmes for students. Besides, some, like drama workshops, are costly, so the CDA makes it more affordable. At his school, the Tamil Language department used the account to conduct a Tamil Drama Workshop for the Secondary 2 pupils. The workshop succeeded in enhancing the students confidence, creative thinking, and ability to express themselves. For many kids, the simple experiences of watching a play or recital remains out of reach. Over at Anderson Primary School, Subject Head for Tamil Mrs Mohan tapped the CDA
Students get a first-hand opportunity to observe nature at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.
for more information, please contact the below: for Cda funding for iaeCs, please contact vijendran @ 6393 6292 / vijendran@sinda.org.sg for Cda funding for schools, please contact venugopal @ 6393 6203 / venu@sinda.org.sg
STEPup
To Register, please bring along copies of the following documents:
- Parents NRIC - Students NRIC/BC - 2012 Final year results - Bank passbook - Last 3 months CPF Statements or Payslip (for fee subsidy)
R REGISTE NOW!!
to success
Students who attend STEP tuition perform better in English, Mathematics and Science. With over 20 convenient locations all over Singapore, STEP tuition complements the school curriculum and prepares students for school and landmark examinations.
Small class size for maximum learning MOE-trained teachers and qualied tutors Flexible choice of subjects Option of 2 Mathematics classes a week Intensive revision in June Customised Mathematics curriculum for lower primary levels E-Learning portal
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INDAs Executive Committee Secretary, Mr Sarjit Singh (BBM) recently received the Nanyang Alumni Achievement Award 2012. The Nanyang Alumni Achievement Award Conferred by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the award recognises both Mr Singhs professional achievements as Chief Financial Officer as well as his exceptional contributions to the community and the University. Mr Singh graduated in the Class of 1991 from the Nanyang Business School. An Outstanding Son of NTU Mr Singhs commitment to his alma mater is evident. Not only has he held the Presidency of the Nanyang Business School Alumni Association since 2006, but he also sits on the NTU Investment Interactive Clubs Board of Advisors. His passion for advancing NTUs causes has seen him as guest speaker at various NTU MBA and EMBA programmes and Distinguished Alumni Forums, even mentoring graduating NTU students. He was also Chairman of the NTU Reunion Giving Committee 2011. Mr Singhs contributions go further recently, the alumnus and his wife created a $50,000 endowment fund at the university. This book prize is their legacy for final-year students in the Nanyang Business
School, to inspire and bring them that one step closer to their dreams. This is his way of giving back, having grown up in a humble household in Singapore before finding success as a Chartered Accountant in the finance industry. In 2007, Mr Singh became a member of the government-appointed National Longevity Insurance Committee to strengthen the Central Provident Fund (CPF) system. That same year, he was also appointed the Tax Convener and Chairman of the Tax Committee of the Life Insurance Association, Singapore. Mr Singh has held senior leadership positions in Aviva, AIA Singapore, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (FCA) and a Fellow of the Institute of Certified public Accountants of Singapore (FCPA). The accolades for his significant service are steadily building up. Mr Singh has previously been honoured with the Public Service Star (BBM) in 2011, the Public Service Medal (PBM) in 2007, and the Nanyang Alumni Service Award in 2006. Truly an inspirational leader were proud to have on board! information courtesy of the nanyang technological university
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and the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI). Together, they were proud to present 1,200 students with bursaries worth $932,000 and school kits each worth $120 for the new academic year. In a further boost for the community, three prominent academic providers signed Memorandums of Understanding with SINDA to provide a total of 24 scholarships at tertiary level annually for the next three years. With the help from Kaplan Singapore, the Management Development Institution of Singapore (MDIS) and PSB Academy Pte Ltd, Indian students can now look forward to more opportunities to further their studies for a brighter future.
Dr Mohamed Maliki Bin Osman, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Defence & Ministry of National Development and Mayor for South East District delivering his address at ICBAC.
Together with receiving school kits, kids received an opportunity to have fun at various carnival booths.
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you have received many awards and accolades, including the sinda excellence award for your achievements. how do you feel about all this recognition? I am humbled by it. All these awards motivate me. They push me even harder to succeed. As for all the competitions Ive participated in, though I have won some and lost some, it is rewarding to even have been selected to take part in them.
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What/who are the inspirations in your life? My biggest inspiration is and always will be my mum. She has long been the sole bread winner of the family. She works in a food stall, and often has to get up as early as 4am for work. It is definitely not easy to support three growing-up boys, yet she keeps at it with dogged determination. Every time I feel like giving up, I will think of her support and strength. My coach Bala is famous for his humour and motivational speeches. He always encourages me when Im down. In the early stages when so many things were demoralising, he taught me not to give up and always believe in myself. My coach, my former secondary school teacher and most importantly my mum they all supported me and taught me so many different things about life. I do not know where I would be, if not for them. I just feel blessed and lucky to have all these people in my life.
have there been challenging moments? Juggling my studies and boxing is tough as it means I have no time for social activities, but I understand that great things come with sacrifice, so I just keep going. Some people have tried to bring me down by demoralising me; that has been mentally very challenging. I try to ignore them, believe in myself and believe that someday something great will happen. I have a fire within me to perform at my best and will let nothing bring me down.
What values guide you? One must always stay positive, no matter what people say. Also, it is important to work hard and stay humble.
do you believe that youth should pursue their dreams, no matter how difficult it may be to achieve them? Definitely. Nothing comes easy, constant hard work and patience is the key to success. We should work hard and never stop pursuing our dreams. This is my belief.
if you could sum up your life and experiences in a phrase? Never quit!
Hamurdeen with his trainers, who have been the bedrock of his success.
Hamurdeen with his younger brother, Ajmil. The brothers build a cohesive bond by training together.
once i started boxing, i knew in my heart that this was the sport for me.
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Feathered Fun
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ancy handling wriggly worms? More than 20 Secondary 1 to 3 students got the chance to feed the squirmy creatures to starlings at the African Waterfall Aviary this holiday. Over 12 and 13 December, the pupils camped out at the Jurong Bird Park for its Birds of a Feather programme. They not only got a peek behind the scenes at the avian hospital and breeding centre, but also had the rare opportunity of a nocturnal exploration with penguins after learning to build their confidence in unfamiliar environments.
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Super Saturday
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ore than 80 10- to 12-year olds turned into superheroes when they descended upon Resorts World Sentosa on 24 November. Their groups, Justice League, Avengers, X-Men and Incredibles were facilitated by volunteers from the National Institute of Education, who led them in hilarious team-building games.
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GAME 2.1
it isnt easy navigating teen years, especially if you dont have someone guiding you. thats where sindas guidance and mentorship programme, game 2.1 comes into play. offering friendship, support and guidance to 15-year-olds in the indian community, it aims to empower the youths to make meaningful life choices and improve their performance in school.
he programme line-up, over several months from 27 October 2012, comprised hot topics pertinent to teens, with sessions on making new friends, building self-esteem and improving communication, among others. The youths had ample opportunity to bond with the volunteer mentors and SINDA Youth Development officers over bowling, movies, rock-climbing, kayaking and laser tag. In addition, they completed a Short Film project using all the skills they picked up. The mentorship continues this year with three booster sessions and regular contact for at least six months after the structured programme ended in February. Given the positive outlook, SINDA looks forward to seeing some of the mentees coming back to GAME to contribute as peer leaders and mentors!
60 youths aged between 19 and 35 engaged in an energetic dialogue, building a home with hope and heart: the role of young change agents, on 18 october.
he dialogue was a collaborative effort between SINDAs Youth Club, Mendaki Club, Young Sikh Association, Eurasian Association and the Chinese Development Assistance Council, and supported by the National Youth Council. Their voices were heard by then Senior Minister of State for Education and Information, Communications and the Arts Lawrence Wong, who is now Singapores first Youth Minister, and is also a member of the Our Singapore Conversation Committee. He said, Our young people want to make a difference, and if we can unleash that energy and passion, I think they will be able to make a difference in our society.
he first-ever SYC Debate Experience, an English debating workshop for Indian students, was held on 20 October for 79 students from 19 secondary schools. At the helm was Ms Geetha Creffield, Head of Arts at the Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC), and coach for the Singapore National Debate Team. Besides honing their oratorical and analysis skills, this was a good opportunity for the students to network and make friends. The workshop culminated in a friendly competition.
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Inspired to Aspire!
We all know the drill do your work, study hard, and youll be all set for your career. it then comes as a shock to many of us when we find there are still letters and rsums to write and interviews to attend. are we really prepared?
roject Aspire is an initiative by youth leaders across several universities and disciplines, which aims to equip post-secondary and tertiary students with the soft skills that will stand them in good stead as they pursue their careers. On 8 December, nearly 100 participants attended the one-day workshop at SINDA to pick up key interview, portfolio assembly and goal-setting skills. This was no run-of-the-mill seminar. Instead, the highly interactive format allowed the students to learn as much as possible from the Project Aspire team, which also included an engineer, a doctor, lawyers and even a diplomat. The diversity of experience on the table ensured participants left with new confidence for the working world.
Minding Manners
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irst impressions count so youd better make a good one! 100 students who attended Camp Arise in June signed up for the camps 2nd booster session held at Swensons ION Orchard on 5 November. There, they learnt the art of communication through positive body language, and picked up the finer points of personal grooming and dining etiquette. A definite boost for confidence and self-esteem!
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Sharing a Smile
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ive students from SINDAs Senior Victory (SV) school-based motivational programme put their positive developmental skills learnt through SV to good use in October. The girls from St Margarets Secondary co-ordinated a half-day motivational workshop, Project Smile, for 13 young beneficiaries. It wasnt just the pre-schoolers who benefitted from the reading, music & movement and art activities. The SV students, too, in organising the programme, got to learn more about responsibility and service to the community.
he SINDA-organised party, aptly dubbed Beyond O, was led by youth volunteers from the South East Youth-to-Youth (Y2Y) Network. They, alongside educators and representatives from higher education institutions engaged the graduating students on issues they face in deciding their next steps after the O-Levels. The forum explored available options, including information on scholarship opportunities. With the encouragement and market knowledge from their peers and the experts, the O-Level graduates felt empowered to take the right course of action for them, with the eventual aim of obtaining a degree. After that, it was no problem to party on with confidence!
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he 78 Primary 46 students collaborated on actual engineering processes to design, analyse, manufacture and test their own miniature gas-powered balsa wood F1 cars. Race Day at Henderson Secondary School was the climax all were waiting for, and were they thrilled when they saw the track! The excitement was palpable as the kids anxiously awaited their turn, and everyone was awed by the exhilarating speeds the cars reached. If anything, it must surely have helped take the Pri 6 students minds off their PSLE results being released that same day!
ts Your Move, a workshop on 8 December at Republic Polytechnic for children starting Secondary 1 and their parents, sought to ease the change. The pre-teens picked up tips on coping not just with an advanced syllabus but also the biological and emotional changes many would be experiencing at this age. Parents, separately, were offered strategies for helping their children manage Secondary School life better. It was a fun and interactive morning for all, who left equipped for success at their next stage of life.
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Naam Ras
Juniors STEP up to Challenge
one morning, 11 step centres, three challenges. a total of 110 primary 14 students stepped up to the 2012 sinda Junior challenge at sinda on 3 september to vie for honours in english, maths and science. four days of music and culture beckoned the largest gathering of sikhs in singapore last year, in a festive end to 2012.
ailing from as far away as Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, the visitors joined almost the entire Sikh and North Indian community of Singapore at the Singapore Expo. The cultural celebration offered the audience of almost 20,000 a smorgasbord of events, including historical exhibitions and discourses, as well as classical and contemporary music performed by leading Sikh artistes. SINDAs own Sikh tutors and volunteers supported the event, which was held from 27 to 30 December, manning a SINDA booth carrying our programmes and services for the community.
he Pri 1s and 2s showed their mettle in a Spelling Bee, while the Pri 3s cracked Maths problems and the Pri 4s competed in Science. With 10 students and one tutor from each Centre represented, competition was keen, and many parents came to support their children. All participants received well-deserved medals while the winners walked away with trophies.
When I Grow Up
doctor, lawyer, teacher, chefwhat do children dream theyll be? to inspire them, several booths each featuring a specific occupation allowed our primary school-goers to imagine what they could be in the future.
he uniquely-themed SINDA Childrens Day Carnival found this learning experience, meant to nurture aspirations, fitted right in the fun-filled atmosphere at Woodlands Secondary School on 6 October. About 500 children and parents bonded over the carnival games and rides in a wonderful celebration of childhood.
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Daddy Revolution
the success of the father-child bonding experience camp in may 2012 inspired a tamil segment, the conference for indian fathers (cif), on 29 september.
t was at the former event that auxiliary police officer Rajkumar Raman, 32, realised that fathers had to get more involved in their childrens lives. As he said then, Its not a job, its a long-term relationship; and you have to learn how to build it, how to care for and bring up your kid. This latest CIF continued to stress the importance and evoke the emotional aspect of fatherhood. An open platform on the challenges and pressures fathers face, the CIF brought home to the 88 participants how paternal involvement positively affects their children. Sharing their personal experiences were keynote speakers Mr S Manogaran, Executive Director of the Academy of Singapore Teachers (MOE) and previous CEO of SINDA, and Mr T Padmanathan, Morale Welfare Recreation Marketing Specialist for the Navy Region Center of Singapore. Panellists for the discussion included retired military officer and grassroots leader Mr M Govindaraju and senior consultant in Indian arts, healthcare and social services Dr Uma Rajan. The participating fathers were inspired to record their thoughts in a letter to themselves, to be posted to them after two months. It was a good end to the Conference, and the fathers can look forward to being key figures in their childrens successes.
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Scramble-O-Mania
This contest is only open to children in Primary Schools in Singapore. Three images are provided below and their names are scrambled. Guess the names correctly to win! 3 correct entries will each win a $50 voucher. The winning correct entries would be picked from a lucky draw. Judges decision is final. Winners would be contacted by SINDA to collect their prize and winners names would be published in the next SINDA connections.
Please submit your entries together with your particulars to SINDA Children Division, No 1 Beatty Road. Singapore 209943 by 10 april 2013.
BC No: Address:
School:
IZCIHNATCHE
MESUCOSOL
CUAHCCPUMIH
ABOUT US
vision To build a strong and vibrant Singaporean Indian community together mission To build a well-educated, resilient and confident community of Indians that stands together with the other communities in contributing to the progress of multi-racial Singapore values Respect, our culture Integrity, our foundation Service, our promise Excellence, our pursuit
board of trustees patron Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong chairman, board of trustees Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam life trustees Prof S Jayakumar Mr S Dhanabalan Mr S Chandra Das Mr J Y Pillay Mr Sat Pal Khattar Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam Mr K Shanmugam Dr N Varaprasad term trustees Mr Inderjit Singh Ms Indranee Rajah Mr Haider M Sithawalla Mr Bobby Chin Yoke Choong Mr M Rajaram
Mr V Shankar Mr Ravi Menon Mr R Jayachandran Mr Hsieh Fu Hua Mr Girija Pande Mr Gautam Banerjee MG Ravinder Singh Justice Judith Prakash Mr K Kesavapany advisors Dr Vivian Balakrishnan Mr S Iswaran Mr Hri Kumar Nair eXecutive committee president Ms Indranee Rajah vice presidents Mr Viswa Sadasivan Mr Shabbir Hassanbhai, PBM
secretary Mr Sarjit Singh, BBM treasurer Mr Subramaniam Iyer members Mr V P Jothi Mr R Rajaram Mr Aaron Maniam Mr Naseer Ghani Mr Puvan Ariaratnam Mr P Thirunal Karasu, BBM Dr Joshua V M Kuma resource panel members Mr K V Rao Ms M Nirmala Mr P B Desai Dr Sivasankaran Subramaniam Mr Mohamed Abdul Jaleel, PBM Ms Sabanitha Shanmugasundram Mr Sajen G Aswani
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Overall
84.2 77.2 90.5 86.3
Indian
97.7 97.3
97.4
Overall
96.1
Indian
40 20 0
English Language
Mathematics
Science
% whO PAsseD...
100 80 60
Overall
91.1 89 79.1
Indian
87.6
81.6
Overall
73.8
Indian
40 20 0
English Language
Mathematics
A-Levels
% whO PAsseD GenerAL PAPer Or knOwLeDGe AnD inquiry
Post-Secondary
% ADmitteD tO POst-seCOnDAry institutiOns
Overall
94.1 90.8
Indian
100 80
95.1
Overall
96.8
Indian
60 40 20 0
SINGAPORE