REFORM of the school system in the past few years has been a blur for many students who strained to acclimatise themselves to the rapid chop-and-change. But few could dispute that the changes have been progressive ones in that they are aimed at accomplishing two goals crucial in education: offering variety of choice to suit aptitudes and interests, and steering talent to the appropriate disciplines so that no waste results. The fast-track approach to the A-levels and International Baccalaureate, by skipping the O-levels, has been the most revolutionary. The process is exciting, but only time will tell if a more intellectually versatile crop of students will emerge. The same applies to the NUS mathematics and science school. The arts- and sports-inclined also have found their niches in those two specialist schools. These are a daring departure from the traditional six-and-four of the primary-secondary school route before junior college. As with the integrated programme, it will be many years before a judgment could be made on how effective the learning differentiation can be in seeding a creative class of people.

The latest changes just announced bring these wide-ranging reforms to Normal stream students. Parents, not only the students themselves, need reassuring on two counts. One is the unspoken demand that these youngsters, saddled as they are early in their school life with a label, are offered new learning opportunities no less advantageous than what top students are receiving. The other is more fundamental: the students' ability to cope with change. On both counts the MOE should be commended for redesigning realistic admission routes to the polytechnics and the much-praised Institute of Technical Education (ITE). Qualifying criteria for Normal (Academic) students headed for the O-levels and then the polytechnic will be toughened to better prepare them for poly studies. This should result in more of this group making it than the present 60 per cent mark. Some students will see the tightening of standards as punitive. They should regard it as an enabler. But for the ITE, the concession of direct entry without taking the O-levels is welcome.

These two pillars of the technical education system have been Singapore's proudest achievements in transforming young lives. The polytechnics have been likened to universities by visiting educationists for the quality of teaching, the resources provided and the market value of their graduates. The ITE is nipping at the poly's heels in international recognition. And why shouldn't Normal stream students have a crack at the sports and arts schools? The days of straightjacketing are over.