Singapore

                                               
 Area :
Singapore consists of one main island and 60 small islands about 137 km north of the Equator (latitude 1° 09’N and longitude 103° 38’E). It has a total land area of 647.5 square kilometres, of which almost half has been set aside as forest reserves, marsh and other non-built-up areas. Three reservoirs occupy the centre of the island. Almost half of the land (49.67 per cent) is for residential, commercial and industrial use. A mere 1.7 per cent, about 10.8 sq km, is for agriculture.

Climate:
Depending on whom you ask, Singapore either has four seasons or no seasons. The four seasons are: hot, hotter, wet and wetter.
And no seasons because Singapore has a warm tropical climate with sunshine all year round--making it a good place to develop a perpetual tan. With the sea to further moderate fluctuations in temperature, Singapore's weather is almost boringly consistent--between 32°C (90°F) for a high and 24°C (75°F) for a low. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Singapore was 20.5°C (69°F).

Humidity is high. It hits you like a wall the second you step out of the airport. The daily average relative humidity is 84.4 per cent. That means it gets past 90 per cent just before dawn and perhaps 60 to 70 per cent in dry afternoons. Folklore has it that a certain European car make was rusting fast, but the manufacturers could not believe that such a place as humid as Singapore existed. So they flew down some engineers who verified that indeed on planet Earth, a humid little place that tests their cars existed. Folklore goes that they returned to tighten their manufacturing standards against bodyrust. Allow anything from one week to a month to adjust to the humidity.

Rainfall is abundant (annual rainfall 2,333 mm). It's wise to carry an umbrella to avoid getting drenched. As anyone who has left an umbrella in the office or home knows, the second you do that, the rain is going to pour down in sheets.

The rainy season falls during the Northeast Monsoon from December to January. December is usually the wettest month while February is the sunniest. July and August are the hottest months, with average temperatures hitting their peaks.

            
Currency:
The local currency is the Singapore dollar, SGD or S$ for short. One dollar is divided into 100 cents. All notes and coins are issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore (BCCS). The Singapore dollar and the Brunei dollar are accepted at par in each country under an Interchangeability Agreement, so don't be surprised if you do get a note with a picture of the Sultan of Brunei.

Education:
The government frequently referred to Singapore's population as its only natural resource and described education in the vocabulary of resource development. The goal of the education system was to develop the talents of every individual so that each could contribute to the economy and to the ongoing struggle to make Singapore productive and competitive in the international marketplace. The result was an education system that stressed the assessment, tracking, and sorting of students into appropriate programs. Educators forthrightly described some students and some categories of students as better "material" and of more value to the country than others. In the 1960s and 1970s the education system, burdened with large numbers of children resulting from the high birth rates of the previous decades and reflecting the customary practices of the British colonial period, produced a small number of highly trained university graduates and a much larger number of young people who had been selected out of the education systems following secondary schooling by the rigorous application of standards. The latter entered the work force with no particular skills. Major reforms in 1979 produced an elaborate tracking system, intended to reduce the dropout rate and to see that those with low academic performance left school with some marketable skills. During the 1980s, more resources were put into vocational education and efforts were made to match the "products" of the school system with the manpower needs of industry and commerce. The combination of a school system emphasizing testing and tracking with the popular perception of education as the key to social mobility and to the source of the certifications needed for desirable jobs led to high levels of competition, parental pressure for achievement, and public attention and concern.
In 1987 some 4 percent of the gross domestic product was devoted to education. The government's goal for the 1990s was to increase spending to 6 percent of GDP, which would match the levels of Japan and the United States. Education was not compulsory, but attendance was nearly universal. Primary education was free, and Malays received free education through university. Students' families had to purchase textbooks and school uniforms, but special funds were available to ensure that no student dropped out because of financial need. Secondary schools charged nominal fees of S$9.50 per month. Tuition at the National University of Singapore for the 1989-90 academic year ranged from S$2,600 per year for students in the undergraduate arts and social sciences, business administration, and law courses to S$7,200 per year for the medical course. The university-level tuitions were intended to induce prosperous families to bear a share of the cost of training that would lead to a well-paying job, but a system of loans, needbased awards (bursaries), and scholarships for superior academic performance meant that no able students were denied higher education because of inability to pay.

The schools operated a modified British-style system in which the main qualifications were the Cambridge University-administered General Common Entrance (GCE) Ordinary level (O level) and Advanced level (A level) examinations. Singapore secondary students took the same examinations as their counterparts in Britain or in British system schools throughout the world. All instruction was in English, with supplementary teaching of the students' appropriate "mother tongue"--Malay, Tamil, or Mandarin. The basic structure was a six-year primary school, a four-year secondary school, and a twoyear junior college for those preparing to enter higher education. As part of the effort to reduce the dropout rate, some students progressed through the system more slowly than others, spending more time in primary and secondary school but achieving similar standards. The goal was that every student achieve some success and leave school with some certification. Both primary and secondary schools operated on double sessions. Plans for the 1990s called for converting secondary schools to single-session, all-day schools, a measure that would require construction of fifty new schools.

As of June 1987, there were 229 government and government-aided primary schools enrolling 266,501 students. Government-aided schools originally were private schools that, in return for government subsidies, taught the standard curriculum and employed teachers assigned by the Ministry of Education. There were 157 secondary schools and junior colleges, enrolling 201,125 students, and 18 vocational training schools, enrolling 27,000 students. The 15 junior colleges operating by late 1989 enrolled the "most promising" 25 percent of their age cohort and were equipped with computers, laboratories and well-stocked libraries. Some represented the elite private schools of the colonial period, with their ancient names, traditions, and networks of active alumni, and others were founded only in the 1980s, often in the centers of the housing estates. In 1989 the government was discussing the possibility of permitting some of the junior colleges to revert to private status, in the interest of encouraging educational excellence and diversity.

Singapore had six institutions of higher education: National University of Singapore (the result of the 1980 merger of Singapore University and Nanyang University); Nanyang Technological Institute; Singapore Polytechnic Institute; Ngee Ann Polytechnic; the Institute of Education; and the College of Physical Education. In 1987 these six institutions enrolled 44,746 students, 62 percent male and 38 percent female. Enrollment in universities and colleges increased from 15,000 in 1972 to nearly 45,000 in 1987, tripling in fifteen years. The largest and most prestigious institution was the National University of Singapore, enrolling 13,238 undergraduates in 1987. Only half of those who applied to the National University were admitted, a degree of selectivity that in 1986 brought parliamentary complaints that the admission rate was inconsistent with the government's objective of developing every citizen to the fullest potential.

The Ministry of Education tried to coordinate enrollments in universities and polytechnic institutes and specific degree and diploma courses with estimates of national manpower requirements. At the university level, the majority of the students were enrolled in engineering, science, and vocationally oriented courses. The Ministry of Education and the government clearly preferred an education system that turned out people with vocational qualifications to one producing large numbers of general liberal arts graduates. The ministry attempted to persuade students and their parents that enrollment in the three polytechnic institutes, which offered diplomas rather than the more prestigious degrees (a common distinction in the British system of higher education), was not necessarily a second choice. In promoting this choice, the ministry pointed to the good salaries and excellent career prospects of polytechnic graduates who were employed by large multinational corporations. Similar arguments were used to persuade those who left secondary school with respectable O level level scores to enroll in short courses at vocational and technical training institutes and to qualify for such positions as electronics technicians or word processors that were beyond the capabilities of those who had been directed into vocational schools after the primary grades. Almost all of the graduates of the demanding four-year Honors Degree Liberal Arts and Social Science program at the National University of Singapore were recruited into the upper levels of the civil service. Many graduates of the ordinary three-year arts, social science, and science programs were steered into teaching in secondary schools.

Although education is not compulsory in Singapore, primary school is free for six years, and attendance is nearly universal. Some 73 percent of children also attend secondary school. Since 1987 English has been the language of instruction, but a policy of bilingualism requires that children also be taught Chinese, Malay, or Tamil. Institutions of higher education include the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University. Of Singaporeans aged 15 and older, 100 percent can read and write.


Languages :
Because of its multiracial makeup, Singapore recognises four official languages: English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. English is the language of administration. Malay is the language in which the National Anthem in sung. In schools, children usually take English as the first language and one of the other 3 as a second language. For all intents and purposes, most conversations and business in Singapore are conducted in either English or Mandarin.
Singlish
Singaporeans also speak a peculiar brand of English called "Singlish". This local concoction mixes English with common phrases in the Chinese dialects (mostly Hokkien) and some Malay. The use of Singlish continues to be a popular topic of public debate. Purists and Anglophiles bemoan the loss of Queen's English as they know it. Proponents of local culture say Singlish is one of the elements that gives Singaporeans their distinctive identity.


Culture:
The Chinese celebrate the Lunar New Year with gusto sometime in January or February, depending on the Lunar Calendar. This is the equivalent of the American Christmas and Thanksgiving combined. There is a big reunion dinner on the eve of the New Year. Expatriates frequently skip town during this period because most shops are closed. Some Chinese businesses close shop for up to two weeks--the only break they have in the year. Other Chinese festivals include Qing Ming (a time for the remembrance of ancestors), the Feast of the Hungry Ghosts, and the Mid-Autumn Festival (also known as the Mooncake or Lantern Festival).
Muslims in Singapore celebrate two main festivals.Hari Raya Puasa is a joyous celebration to mark the end of a month of fasting. Muslims decked in finery visit each other. Hari Raya Haji is a time of prayer and remembrance. Smaller-scale festivals are: the first day of the Muslim calendar month of Muharram (a New Year celebration), and Maulud (Prophet Muhammad's birthday).

Hindus celebrate the Tamil New Year sometime in mid-April, while other Indian groups observe New Year at different times.Thaipusam is a penitential Hindu festival popular with Tamils. This is the festival where Indians walk several miles carrying kavadis that pierce their bodies, to thank their gods for answering their prayers. Deepavali, the Festival of Lights, is celebrated by Hindus and Sikhs. Other festivals include Thimithi (fire-walking ceremony) and Navarathiri (nine nights' prayer).

Christian festivals have a fairly strong following in Singapore. Christmas in particular is heavily commercialised. The entire stretch of the Orchard Road shopping belt is lit up with decorative lights from November to early January. The multiracial mix is such that most Singaporeans celebrate more than just the festivals of their own ethnic group. So a Chinese Christian might go to church, but also partake in the cultural rites in some Chinese festivals. Even when they don't actually celebrate certain festivals, many will visit their friends and neighbours from other ethnic communities to join in the fun. Of course (Singaporeans being the foodies that they are) it helps when you have Chinese noodles, Malay "satay"and Indian curry thrown in.