Nanyang Junior College

Nanyang Junior College (NYJC) is a junior college in Singapore next to Lorong Chuan MRT station, offering two-year pre-university courses leading up to the GCE Advanced Level examinations.

In recent years, Nanyang Junior College has witnessed a rise in its admission standards. For the past decade, the college has nurtured six Public Service Commission (PSC) Scholarship holders.

Foundation years
Nanyang Junior College was founded in 1977 as Lorong Chuan Junior College. It was among the first government-aided junior colleges to be established in Singapore. The building committee led by Mr. Goh Tjoei Kok was formed in 1972. Construction of the college began in 1976 with funding and support from the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI), which concurrently oversees the establishment of Hwa Chong Junior College, Singapore's second junior college and first government-aided junior college.

The college was renamed Nanyang Junior College in December 1977. The name "Nanyang" refers to the "Southern Seas" in Mandarin Chinese. The term was widely used by mainland Chinese people to refer to the region encompassed by Singapore, Malaysia, and the Southeast Asian region. The name is a reflection of the origins of Singapore having been built by immigrants predominantly from China, India, Malaysia, as well as other parts of the world.

The first cohort of about 600 Arts and Science students was enrolled in January 1978. Academic lessons were temporarily conducted at the former Westlake Secondary School campus. Construction of the major buildings and facilities at the permanent site along Serangoon Avenue 3 was completed in November 1978 and started administrative and academic operations the following month. Commerce stream and computer science were introduced into the college in 1979 and 1981 respectively. In 1981, Nanyang Junior College organised the 11th Pre-university Seminar in conjunction with the Ministry of Education.

As the campus of Nanyang Junior College was built on a small ridge, fog often covered part of the college in the 1980s and 1990s. Thus, the College was well known affectionately as "白云岗" (Chinese: Literal meaning "White Cloud Ridge"). This is also the inspiration for the brand name of the college's Chinese Cultural Society's annual drama production, "我们的白云岗" (Chinese: Literal meaning "Our White Cloud Ridge").

Transformation into a modern institution
On May 21,1995, the College Resource Centre was opened. The three-story building housed the Resource Library, the Computer Centre, the AVA Room, and seminar rooms. In 1997, Nanyang Junior College was selected to be the second college in Singapore to offer the Art Elective Programme (AEP). From January 15, 1999, Nanyang Junior College joined Hwa Chong Junior College and Temasek Junior College as the third pre-university center in Singapore to offer the Chinese Language Elective Programme (C-LEP). Nanyang Junior College was selected by the Ministry of Education in 2000 for an on-site re-development of its campus under the PRIME project. in which the Ministry of Education bored 95 percent of the re-development costs. The three-phrase re-development work included the construction of a new main building, which features new science and computer laboratories, a new library, and four new lecture theatres. Lessons and administrative operations continued in the old building and subsequently in temporary tutorial rooms and offices as the works were carried out between 2001 and 2004. The reconstruction works were briefly halted in 2003 due to the bankruptcy of the main contractor, which also affected a number of residential developments in Marine Terrace. The college moved into the newly re-developed campus building in January 2004, and officially declared the completion of the redevelopment works in June 2005. A stone feature, on which wrote "饮水思源" was donated by Mdm Ho Won Ho on her retirement as the principal of Nanyang Junior College in 2005.

In 2006, the school's executive committee proposed a change to the school's name to: "Chung Cheng Junior College", to signify the affiliation of Nanyang Junior College with Chung Cheng High (Main) and Chung Cheng High (Yishun). This proposition is overwhelmingly rejected by the alumni and staff, as well as prominent academics, stating the strong college heritage, as well as the political sensitivity of the name "Chung Cheng (中正)". In an academic article featured in Lianhe Zaobao in 2002, it was stated that the adoption of the name "Nanyang" in 1978 resulted of the strong objection by the society, due to the strong historical association of the name "Chung Cheng" to Kuomintang's founding leader Chiang Kai-shek, even with the clarifications made in a historical statement in 1940.

Campus
Nanyang Junior College's campus was built on a hilly ridge off Lorong Chuan and underwent a redevelopment in the 2000s to keep up with the changes to the academic and non-academic curriculum.

Academic information
Nanyang Junior College offers Arts and Science courses that lead up to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examinations.

As a student-centered junior college, NYJC is quoted locally as the most flexible college in terms of its availability of subject combinations, and allowing deserving students to undertake elective programmes even without relevant backgrounds. The college consistently performed well above national standards for the GCE A Level examination since the 1980s. The college was consistently ranked as the top-performing mid-tier junior college and the seventh in national ranking throughout the 1990s.

Starting in the 2000s, NYJC has come into prominence for its steady rise among colleges with the most competitive academic achievements, faring well above the national average for most subjects at the annual GCE A Level examination.

Language Elective Programme
As a ministry-designated Cluster Centre of Excellence for Chinese Language, Nanyang Junior College offers the Chinese Language Elective Programme (C-LEP, or 语特) since 1999. To date, it has produced many outstanding graduates across various fields of work.

The ministry head programmes encompass many inter-school enrichment activities and initiatives among the five participating institutions, aimed to enhance students’ learning and cultivate a deeper interest in the Chinese language and culture. These include dedicated lecture series, camps, oversea immersion trips, editing and publishing of literary works, as well as internships. In NYJC, this inter-school programme is complemented by the NYJC LEP Programme, which include school-based enrichments such as production of the annual play "我们的白云岗" (Chinese: Literal meaning "Our White Cloud Ridge"), as well as organising the annual National Translation Competition. The college also award the NYJC Bicultural Award and the NYJC Award for Excellence-in-Chinese (or 传薪奖) to graduating students with outstanding performance and contribution.

Students are required to undertake H2 Chinese Language and Literature and a Chinese Language-related subject to be eligible for the program. As with other institutions offering the C-LEP, students under the programme enjoys two bonus points in their admission to Nanyang Junior College. Singaporean students are eligible for the two-year Chinese Language Elective Scholarship offered by the Ministry of Education.

Art Elective Programme
Nanyang Junior College offers the Art Elective Programme since 1997. The college is also one of the ministries designated Cluster Centre of Excellence for the Arts. The college is known for its strength in the teaching of arts and its egalitarian stance, accepting students that have a passion for arts but deprived of a considerable background.

Co-curricular activities
Nanyang Junior College is well known for its forte in Volleyball, Dragonboat, Table tennis, Performing Arts and Robotics. In 2017, the Volleyball Boys' and Girls' teams created history by becoming the first college to obtain both championship titles in the same year. Both teams repeated this feat in 2018 and 2019.

Transport

 * Neo Kian Hong: CEO, SMRT Corporation

Medicine

 * Lim Kah Leong: senior research scientist (adjunct), National Neuroscience Institute; associate professor, department of physiology, National University of Singapore; associate professor, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School

Politics

 * Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Health & Ministry of Transport; Member of Parliament, Nee Soon GRC
 * Teo Ser Luck: Former Member of Parliament, Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC
 * Chia Kiah Hong, Steve: Former secretary-general, National Solidarity Party
 * Yeo Guat Kwang: Former Member of Parliament, Ang Mo Kio GRC
 * Ng Phek Hoong Irene: Former Member of Parliament, Tampines GRC
 * James Gomez: Former Member, Singapore Democratic Party
 * Low Thia Khiang: Former Member of Parliament, Aljunied GRC

Arts

 * Sarah Choo Jing: Multidisciplinary fine artist