In 2017, Singapore announced a $3 million plan, dubbed the Digital Maker Programme, that aims to distribute 100,000 micro:bits to schoolgoing children and adults over the next two years to teach basic coding.

Coding is an enrichment programme in schools, like music and ballet. Computing is now offered as an O-level subject at Secondary 3, starting in 19 schools. If digital literacy could be as important as reading and writing, should coding be part of the school curriculum in Singapore?

There are practical difficulties to such an approach includes a lack of qualified teachers. The bottom line? If coding is the language of the future, the answer to whether it should be taught in all schools is obvious. As with all things, the devil is in the details. When will MOE be ready for it?

Australia: In 2017, Australian schools introduced the new Digital Technologies curriculum. Every child from the first year of school to Year 10 will be working on the curriculum.

Japan: Starting with the primary schools in 2020, computer programming will be made a compulsory subject in Japanese primary schools. It will be followed by the implementation in middle schools in 2021 and high schools in 2022.

UK: Since 2014, UK is the first country in the G20 to ensure that every child is schooled in coding from Primary until G.C.S.E.

China: Many Chinese children are now getting exposed to coding by the time they reach preschool, as private coding classes for preschoolers open up. Normally, youths of this age are working on mastering math and Chinese, but they are soon possess new skills in technology to go alongside these others.

US: Though Obama’s initiative of Hour of Code, 28 million Americans has been exposed to Coding. One quarter of K-12 schools have integrated Computer Science into their curriculum.

References:

1. https:// fossbytes.com/ japan-computer-programming-compulsory-subject-schools/
2. https:// bigthink.com/ ideafeed/ china-is-already-teaching-coding-to-the-next-generation
3. https:// pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/ articles/ coding-in-the-classroom
4. https:// edtechnology.co.uk/ Article/ digital-learning-day-coding-in-schools
5. https:// www.straitstimes.com/ opinion/ add-coding-to-basic-skills-taught-in-schools