The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) will introduce a new curriculum that allows its students to achieve a Higher Nitec (Higher National ITE Certificate) in three years instead of four.
The new curricular structure will start with selected courses from Academic Year (AY) 2022, the Ministry of Education (MOE) and ITE said in a press release on Friday (Apr 30). All courses are expected to transition to the new structure by the 2026 intake.
Under the new structure, the Nitec and Higher Nitec curricula will be streamlined into a three-year programme by removing “overlapping competencies” between related Nitec and Higher Nitec courses, MOE and ITE said.
In Year 1, students will take broad-based foundation courses on fundamental skills needed for the relevant industry sector. In Years 2 and 3, they will take more specialised modules, leading to a Higher Nitec.
Students will also do two industry attachments in the three years – a three-month attachment in Year 2 and a six-month attachment in Year 3. The latter attachment is designed to build on the competencies of the former.
“Industry attachments will remain a key component in the enhanced curricular structure so that students continue to be equipped with industry exposure and relevant work-ready skills,” MOE and ITE said.