Institute of Technical Education
The Institute of Technical Education (Abbreviation: ITE; Chinese: 工艺教育学院) is a post-secondary institution in Singapore that provides pre-employment training to secondary school leavers and continuing education and training to working adults. Established by Ministry of Education, it was formerly known as Vocational and Industrial Training Board (VITB). ITE has three colleges that offer the National ITE Certificate (NITEC), Higher NITEC, Master NITEC and diploma programmes.
Description
The Institute was established as a post-secondary education institution in April 1992 under the Ministry of Education, succeeding the Vocational and Industrial Training Board (VITB).
Stigmatisation
The Institute is commonly seen as a destination for students who fare poorly in the national examinations (the N Levels or O Levels). It is also commonly perceived that students of the Institute "have no future". Because of the deep stigma attached to it, the initials 'ITE' are said to stand for "It's the End", in popular culture. Efforts have been made to address this view, although the perception remains.
In popular culture
- Jack Neo's 2012 film We Not Naughty dealt with the negative perception of ITE students.
Notable Alumni
Arts
- Esther Tay: designer
Entertainment
- Ridhwan Ismail: Actor and singer
- Steven Lim: Entertainer
- Vincent Ng: Former actor and martial artist
Sports
- Fandi Ahmad: Former National soccer team player, currently coach of Young Lions FC