By Veena Bharwani

WITHOUT the benefit of a formal education, they have become the top engineering students in Singapore Polytechnic (SP).

Meet Mr Tan Jing Yuan and his cousin, Mr Lee Xun Yong, probably Singapore's first home-schooled students to have topped a poly.

The duo, who have just completed their Diploma in Electrical and Electronic Engineering course, are also the first two home-schooled students admitted into SP.

And they repaid the poly's faith in them by scoring stellar grade-point averages of 3.987 (Mr Tan) and 3.980. Still, they don't think their achievements are anything out of the ordinary.

Said Mr Lee, 20: 'We are like most students. We study hard and we have done well as a result.'

Primary school

Describing his early experience, Mr Tan, 21, said: 'I actually started studying in a primary school.

'But when I was in Primary 5, I started having some issues in school and became rebellious.

'I was going through some serious adjustment problems and I wrote some rather violent essays that worried my teacher and mother.

'So my mother thought it would be best if I were home-schooled so she could keep a closer eye on me,' he said.

The plan worked, but it wasn't easy at first, Mr Tan said. 'You have to be very disciplined. You have to wake up, dress up and then watch the DVDs assigned for the day.'

He added that his mother, Madam Lee Chor Hoon, 49, a housewife, was the home supervisor. 'She ran the daily classes and marked some of the minor quizzes,' he said.

His younger brother, who was also home-schooled, is now doing national service and already has been offered a place in the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Singapore Management University.

Mr Tan and Mr Lee underwent the home-schooling system by ABeca Academy, a Christian-based home-schooling system from the US .

The papers for all major exams were sent to the US for marking, said Mr Tan.

He said home-schooling has the biggest advantage of training the person from young to be an independent operator.

'When you don't understand something, you have to try and figure it out on your own.

'Of course, if you really can't figure it out, then you could send an e-mail to the school to find out the solution.

'Many kids my age only learn to be independent when they get to secondary school or polytechnic. I was trained to do this from a very young age.'

As the fifth of eight kids in his family to be home-schooled, Mr Lee had more help.

He said that when he ran into problems, he could always ask his older siblings for help. 'It was almost a proper school environment, only smaller,' he said.

All his older siblings went to university and are working now.

Added Mr Lee: 'It was a great experience for me as I really got to bond with my siblings.'

At the end of Grade 12 or the equivalent of the second year in junior college, Mr Tan and Mr Lee took the American-based Scholastic Assessment Test (now known as SAT Reasoning Test), which they used to enter the polytechnic.

They said they had no problems adjusting to polytechnic life and had many friends.

He said: 'In polytechnic, I really appreciate having a teacher in front of us. It is a very different experience.'

They have also done well outside the classroom, competing in World Skills 2008, a biennial nationwide competition for Singaporean youths who excel in technical skills.

Represent Singapore

Mr Tan will represent Singapore at the World Skills International Finals 2009 in Calgary, Canada, in September. His mother said she was proud of his achievements.

'Home-schooling provided him with a very broad education - he could do both humanities and science subjects throughout and eventually he could choose what he wanted to focus on when he was older,' said Madam Lee.

As she was Chinese-educated, she said she also gained from the experience.

'I improved my vocabulary and learnt European history, since I was right there with my sons,' she said.

Mr Tan and Mr Lee have also qualified for university, with the latter applying to NUS and Nanyang Technological University.

Mr Tan is waiting to find out if his application for a Public Service Commission scholarship is successful.

This article was first published in The New Paper.