THE Ministry of Education's latest decision to reject Victoria Junior College's proposal for a six-year integrated programme (IP) could prove to be a blessing in the long run for both Victoria School and VJC.

Both schools have sterling academic reputations, with VS ranked among the Band 1 schools by MOE this year, while VJC is often mentioned as one of the top five junior colleges in Singapore.

Since VJC is eager to have an IP programme, it makes perfect sense to work closely with VS as it can supply the college with top-quality male students for its IP programme to succeed.

VJC should look into either setting up an affiliated Victoria Girls' School or bring a top girls' school into the Victorian fold.

This is the model that is currently employed successfully by the Raffles and Hwa Chong Institution IP programmes.

A Victoria IP programme will add to the quality and variety of eastern Singapore's educational landscape as there are no schools in the area currently offering it.

This letter is written in my personal capacity. It does not represent any organisations linked with VS or the majority of the Victorian alumni.

Hong Chou Hui

This article was first published in The Straits Times.