Education（教育） 　　StudentshavingassemblyinthehallofaSingaporesecondaryschool. 　　StudentshavingassemblyinthehallofaSingaporesecondaryschool. 　　Englishisthefirstlanguagelearnedbyhalfthechildrenbythetimetheyreachpreschoolageandistheprimarymediumofinstructioninprimaryschool;howevermothertonguesaretaughtintherespectivelanguages. 　　Manychildrenattendprivatekindergartensuntiltheystartatprimaryschoolattheageofsix.Singapore'srulingpoliticalparty,thePAP,isabigproviderofpreschooleducationthroughitscommunityarm. 　　Englishisthelanguageofinstructionformathematicsandthenaturalsciences.FortheChinesecommunity,thereareSpecialAssistancePlanschoolswhichreceiveextrafundingtoteachinMandarin.Someschoolsalsointegratelanguagesubjectswithmathematicsandthesciences,usingbothEnglishandasecondlanguage. 　　CurricularstandardsaresetbytheMinistryofEducationwithamixofprivateschoolsandpublicschools.Thereisnostrictpublic-privatedichotomy:thedegreeofautonomy,regardingcurriculumandstudentadmission,governmentfundingreceived,andtuitionburdenonthestudentsisfurtherclassifiedinto"government-run","government-aided","autonomous","independent",and"privately-funded".Inaddition,internationalschoolscatertoexpatriatestudents,andtoafewlocalstudentsgivenpermissionbytheeducationministry. 　　TherearefourstateuniversitiesinSingapore;theNationalUniversityofSingapore,NanyangTechnologicalUniversity,SingaporeManagementUniversityandSIMUniversity.Afurtherpublicuniversityisunderconsiderationasthegovernmentlookstoprovidehighereducationfor30percentofeachcohort.Therearealsofivepolytechnics(TemasekPolytechnic,SingaporePolytechnic,NgeeAnnPolytechnic,NanyangPolytechnicandRepublicPolytechnic).Unlikesimilarlynamedinstitutionsinmanyothercountries,Singaporepolytechnicsdonotteachtodegreelevel. 　　Theeducationalsystemfeaturesnon-compulsorykindergartenforthreeyears,followedbysixyearsofprimaryeducationconcludingwiththePrimarySchoolLeavingExamination(PSLE).Fourtofiveyearsofsecondaryeducationfollow,leadingtoNlevelorSingaporeanGCE'O'Levelexaminationsthatassesstheirindividualsubjectmasteryanddeterminewhichkindoftertiaryeducationtheycanpursue. 　　JuniorcollegeslikeTampinesJuniorCollegeandMillenniaInstituteprovideatwoorthree-yearpre-universityeducationroutetouniversity.Analternative,theIntegratedProgramme,letsthemoreacademically-inclinedskip'O'levelstoproceedstraightto'A'levels.Polytechnicsoffercoursesleadingtoadiplomaforstudentsasasubstitutefor'A'levelswhiletertiaryinstitutionsoffervariousbachelor's,master's,doctoraldegrees,otherhigherdiplomas,andassociatedegreecourses. 　　OtherinstitutesincludetheNationalInstituteofEducation(NIE),ateachingcollegetotrainteachers,variousmanagementinstitutes,andvocationaleducationinstitutessuchastheInstituteofTechnicalEducation(ITE). 　　TheEconomicDevelopmentBoard(EDB)hasbeenactivelyrecruitingforeignschoolstosetupcampusesinSingaporeunderthe"GlobalSchoolhouse"programmewhichaimstoattract150000foreignstudentsby2015.INSEAD,al