The introduction of the General Certificate of Education examination program from England's University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) might be an alternative path for young people to start a good career and in their pursuit of higher education.

The TMC Educational Group, a Singaporean company established in 1981, was named in May by the Cambridge syndicate as the first training provider in China for the GCE Ordinary-level program.

TMC entered the Chinese market in 1998 and has set up offices in Beijing, Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province, and Xiamen and Fuzhou in east China's Fujian Province. The group works with local schools and education administrations to promote the program.

The Beijing office of TMC started to cooperate with the privately run Wangfu School last month to introduce the GCE program.

This two-year full-time program, to be conducted in English, is designed for students of around 16 years of age who are at the end of their compulsory schooling.

The teaching will be delivered through schools and teaching centers hand-picked by TMC for their experience and professionalism.

Students with poor English will undergo supportive linguistic courses of up to six months before they begin their regular studies.

It would be an important qualification for students who want to communicate effectively with the rest of the world, Ken Murray -- chief executive of Cambridge International Examinations -- said in May at the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the GCE ordinary program.

The TMC Educational Group's mission is to tap this potentially vast group by offering comprehensive, effective and relevant quality education in English, starting initially with O-level subjects, said Chin Kon Yuen, the group's chairman and chief executive.

With a history of over 100 years, the Cambridge syndicate is the world's second-largest examining body.

It has worked with the education ministries of Singapore, Brunei, Mauritius, Namibia, the Maldives and different Caribbean countries.

Each year, over 2 million students around the world sit an examination for a UCLES qualification. The number of students taking the examination has been growing by an average of 10 percent a year.

UCLES examinations are offered in 1,040 international schools around the world, including 10 international schools in Hong Kong and six on the Chinese mainland.

Li Deli, director of the TMC Beijing office, stressed that the program's success in the world's largest education market would depend on a number of issues, such as the curriculum of the two-year program.

It should be designed to help students enter further education both in China and abroad, Li explained.

"On the one hand, we have to consider the requirements of the Chinese education system. On the other, we should take into consideration the Western system of education," Li said.

(China Daily July 4, 2003)