Hwa Chong Institution

From SgWiki
Revision as of 20:42, 19 April 2017 by Starborgling (talk | contribs) (Further information)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Hwa Chong Institution (simplified Chinese: 华侨中学; traditional Chinese: 華僑中學; pinyin: Húaqíao Zhōngxúe) (HCI) is an independent school in Singapore for students aged 12 to 18 covering both secondary and pre-university levels. A Ministry of Education-designated FutureSchool, it operates under the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) for bilingualism, and offers the Integrated Programme (IP) and also the School Based Gifted Education Programme (SBGEP), after the Secondary School Gifted Education Programme was phased out. The main campus, in Bukit Timah, covers 72 acres (29 ha) shared between Hwa Chong Institution, Hwa Chong International School, the institution's boarding school, and the Bukit Timah campus of SIM University. The campus is markedly larger than most schools in Singapore and the region.

Previously two separate but affiliated schools, The Chinese High School and Hwa Chong Junior College, HCI was the result of a merger on 1 January 2005. The change was in line with the Ministry of Education's introduction of the IP, whereby students undertake a six-year "through-train" education and bypass the traditional GCE 'O' levels. In spite of the merger, the secondary school section remains boys-only, while the pre-university section is co-educational. Approximately 4000 students are enrolled in the school, which has a student-teacher ratio of 13:1. HCI has produced 53 President's Scholars, and it has been cited as a leading Oxford and Cambridge entry centre outside of the United Kingdom. The school has produced championship-winning sports teams, while some of its research and leadership development programmes have gained international accolades.

Discipline

Students earn demerit points for poor behaviour. Accumulated demerit points can affect final grades and eligibility for certain awards, scholarships and overseas trips. The student handbook states that, for serious offences, male students at Hwa Chong Institution may be punished with detention, suspension, caning or expulsion. Only the Principal or Discipline Master may administer corporal punishment, which consists of a maximum of five strokes of the cane. Students found smoking are immediately caned or suspended or both.] Caning may also be given for integrity-related offences (e.g. cheating), uncivilized behaviour (e.g. defiance), and criminal offences (e.g. fighting).

The student to be caned assumes a bending-over position and the strokes are inflicted across the seat of the shorts or trousers. In many cases the punishment is carried out in front of the boy's classmates.

External links