Indians told to set sights higher (THE STRAITS TIMES: Thursday, August 27, 1998) Setting new targets, minister tells students to enter the better streams and get post-secondary education -reported by Braema Mathi Aiming Higher  Previoius Targets set in 1996 (%) Results achieved in 1996 (%) PSLE Passes (Mathematics) 67  73 O-level Passes (Mathematics) 71  76.2 5 O-level Passes (Mathematics)  62  62.1 Eligible for Junior College  31  31.2  *New Results achieved in 1997 (%) Targets set in 2002 (%) EM1/ Em2 stream 90  92 Special /Express Stream 42 51 Getting into Secondary School  95  97 Students going on to Post-Secondary Education  57  67 * Based on Primary 1 cohort of Indian students INDIAN students have done well over the past five years, and the community must now aim higher to ensure that more of them enter the better streams and acquire post-secondary education. Setting new targets for the Indian community last night, Foreign Affairs and Law Minister S. Jayakumar commended Indian students for hitting and even surpassing targets set by the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) education committee in 1993. He cited how more of them are passing Mathematics at PSLE and O Levels, as well as qualifying for junior college. "Clearly Indian students' performance has been commendable in some areas. but we need to do much more," he said, citing two areas which needed improving: More must enter the Special and Express streams, so that they have a higher chance of having a post-secondary and university education. Based on the current rate of performance, he said, only one in 10 Indian students from a Primary One cohort will make it to the university, as against the national average of two out of 10. The number of Indian students who drop out of the education system without a marketable skill must be reduced. Four out of 10 Indian students now leave the system with just a secondary education. Rather than continue studying in the technical institutes and polytechnics, they find the idea of getting an immediate job more attractive. Prof Jayakumar was specking at the Indian Community National Day Celebrations held at the WTC Harbour Pavilion last night. It was the first time 17 Indian organisations had orgainsed such as an event. The new targets for the next five years were based on the recommendations of a committee set up last September to see how the community can move on the next level. Among them, a 10 percentage point jump in the proportion of Indian students of Primary 1 cohort going on to post-secondary education by the year 2002. Other broad strategies were also defined, including the need to prepare children for school at an early age by arming them with basic reading skills. Sinda will start a programme in which volunteers will go to homes to read to children. It needs 300 volunteers for this. He ended his speech by calling all Indian groups to work together, adding that Sinda will launch a forum to seek views on how to move the community on.