by Liew Hanqing

WITH his stellar O-level results (L1R4 of 3 points), 16-year-old Lim Yuan Jie could have had his pick of any junior college.

On the other hand, Kenneth Ham, 18, had 38 points for his preliminary examinations and just about managed 14 points for his O levels.

They entered a polytechnic under the direct admission scheme last year.

The scheme allows polytechnics to select students on criteria other than examination results. Application for this year's batch of students begins tomorrow.

Yuan Jie, who studied at North Vista Secondary School, had his heart set on getting a diploma in information technology at Temasek Polytechnic (TP).

A multimedia design enthusiast, Yuan Jie said his interest in a polytechnic education was piqued after he attended an elective module at TP when he was in Secondary 3.

He said: 'It gave me a first-hand taste of what poly life would be like and I enjoyed it.'

He also wanted to start school as soon as possible, in January instead of April, and the direct admission scheme gave him that early start.

Apart from his good grades, Yuan Jie also showed his interest in IT by being the administrator of his secondary school's website. He still works on it occasionally even now.

After having spent more than half a year in TP, Yuan Jie said that he enjoyed project work in school because of the 'sense of accomplishment' that came from solving problems.

This year, Yuan Jie won both the MS Word and MS Excel categories of the 2008 Microsoft Office Academic Skills Challenge Competition in Singapore and will represent Singapore in the international version of the contest in Hawaii next month.

Classes aside, he is also a member of a mentorship programme, where poly students tutor underprivileged primary school students.

UNCERTAIN

As for Kenneth, a former Dunman Secondary School student, the chance to qualify for a diploma course at Temasek Polytechnic looked uncertain.

But he decided to apply for admission under the direct polytechnic admission scheme because of his passion for information technology.

He said: 'I enjoy programming because it allows you to do something for other people.'

He has written several software applications, including a simple notepad program and an application that allows users to organise file directories.

But an impressive portfolio aside, poor grades stood in the way of his admission.

He said: 'It was frustrating because every time I got my report card, my parents would be upset and I would wonder how I would ever make it to poly.'

However, Mr Lim Kok Hwee, information technology course manager at TP's informatics and IT school, issued him a challenge: Score 15 points or below and get admitted.

Kenneth recalled: 'I worked very hard - I'd go home every day and start studying right away.'

The hard work paid off - he scored 14 points for his O levels and was became one of TP's pioneer batch of direct polytechnic admission students.

An avid musician, Kenneth has a grade 8 in piano and was a member of the school band in Dunman Secondary. He also started TP's 25-strong Judo club.

This year, he came in third in the MS Word category of the 2008 Microsoft Office Academic Skills Challenge Competition.

He hopes to pursue a career in banking, specialising in transaction security.

'Eventually I hope to start my own IT company - it's always been my dream,' he said.

This article was first published in The New Paper on July 8, 2008.