The Singapore Department of Statistics is responsible for developing national statistical standards and promoting the adoption of these standards. The Singapore Standard Educational Classification (SSEC) is the national standard for classifying educational programmes and qualifications. It is used for censuses of population, household surveys and administrative databases. The adoption and use of a common standard in the collection, analyses and dissemination of statistics ensure consistency and comparability of data, facilitating relevant and meaningful analyses as well as data sharing.

The SSEC 2010 is revised and updated from the first version to take into account new developments and changes in the education system in Singapore as well as recent initiatives in workforce education and upgrading. It consists of three components – level of education attending, level of educational qualification attained and field of study.

More details on the classification are available in the publication, Singapore Standard Educational Classification 2010. This publication describes the scope, structure and practical considerations in the design and use of the SSEC 2010. Comparison tables of SSEC 2000 and SSEC 2010 for the three components are included to facilitate better understanding of the changes.