title: Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia

text: However, there existed several variations of the internally used version of the flag, with some variants using an unofficial type of crown or simply omitting the crown instead of using the officially prescribed Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen. There were also variations in the design of the shield. The unofficial Coat of Arms was the preferred design and its widespread use was the reason that the Ban issued a Decree on 21 November 1914, stating that it had become ""a custom in the Kingdoms of Croatia and Slavonia to use flags that are not adequate either in state-juridical or in political sense"" and which strengthened flag related laws. It reiterated the aforementioned definitions of Croatian flags from 1867 and further stated that ""Police authorities shall punish violations of this Decree with a fine of 2 to 200 K or with arrest from 6 hours to 14 days and confiscate the unauthorized flag or emblem.""


title: Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia

text: According to the 1910 census, illiteracy rate in Kingdom of Croatia–Slavonia was 45.9%. The lowest illiteracy was in Zagreb, Osijek and Zemun.


title: Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia

text: The Croatian Home Guard was the military of the Kingdom. Additionally, Croats made up 5 percent of members in the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, a higher proportion than the percentage of the general population of the empire they composed. Notable Croatians in the Austro-Hungarian Army included Field Marshal Svetozar Boroević, commander of the Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops Emil Uzelac, commander of the Austro-Hungarian Navy Maximilian Njegovan and Josip Broz Tito who later became Marshal and President of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.


title: Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia

text: The modern University of Zagreb was founded in 1874. The Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts and Matica hrvatska were the main cultural institutions in the kingdom. In 1911 the main cultural institution in the Kingdom of Dalmatia, Matica dalmatinska, merged with Matica hrvatska. Vijenac was one of the most important cultural magazines in the kingdom. The building of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb was opened in 1895. The Croatian National Theatre in Osijek was established in 1907. The Sisters of Charity Hospital in Zagreb was the first established in the kingdom.


title: Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia

text: Roughly 75% of the population were Roman Catholic, with the remaining 25% Orthodox. The Catholic Church had the following hierarchy within the kingdom:


title: Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia

text: The first railway line opened in the kingdom was the Zidani Most–Zagreb–Sisak route which began operations in 1862. The Zaprešić–Varaždin–Čakovec line was opened in 1886 and the Vinkovci–Osijek line was opened in 1910.


title: Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia

text: The Croatian Sports Association was formed in 1909 with Franjo Bučar as its president. While Austria-Hungary had competed in the modern Olympics since the inaugural games in 1896, the Austrian Olympic Committee and Hungarian Olympic Committee held the exclusive right to send their athletes to the games. The association organized a national football league in 1912.


title: Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia

text: In 1918, during the last days of World War I, the Croatian parliament abolished the Hungarian–Croatian personal union, and both parts of the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia and the Kingdom of Dalmatia (excluding Zadar and Lastovo), became part of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, which together with the Kingdom of Serbia, formed the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later known as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia). The new Serb–Croat–Slovene Kingdom was divided into counties between 1918 and 1922 and into oblasts between 1922 and 1929. With the formation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929, most of the territory of the former Kingdom of Croatia–Slavonia became a part of the Sava Banovina, and most of the former Kingdom of Dalmatia became part of the Littoral Banovina.


title: Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia

text: On the basis of the political agreement between Dragiša Cvetković and Vlatko Maček (Cvetković-Maček Agreement)


title: Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia

text: and the "Decree on the Banovina of Croatia" ("Uredba o Banovini Hrvatskoj") dated 24 August 1939, the autonomous Banovina of Croatia (Banate of Croatia) was created by uniting the Sava Banovina, the Littoral Banovina, and districts Brčko, Derventa, Dubrovnik, Fojnica, Gradačac, Ilok, Šid and Travnik.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Education in Singapore is managed by the Ministry of Education (MOE). It controls the development and administration of state schools receiving taxpayers' funding, but also has an advisory and supervisory role in respect of private schools. For both private and state schools, there are variations in the extent of autonomy in their curriculum, scope of taxpayers' aid and funding, tuition burden on the students, and admission policy.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Education spending usually makes up about 20 per cent of the annual national budget, which subsidises state education and government-assisted private education for Singaporean citizens and funds the Edusave programme. Non-citizens bear significantly higher costs of educating their children in Singapore government and government-aided schools. In 2000, the Compulsory Education Act codified compulsory education for children of primary school age (excepting those with disabilities), and made it a criminal offence for parents to fail to enroll their children in school and ensure their regular attendance. Exemptions are allowed for homeschooling or full-time religious institutions, but parents must apply for exemption from the Ministry of Education and meet a minimum benchmark.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The main language of instruction in Singapore is English, which was officially designated the first language within the local education system in 1987. English is the first language learned by half the children by the time they reach preschool age and becomes the primary medium of instruction by the time they reach primary school. Although Malay, Mandarin and Tamil are also official languages, English is the language of instruction for nearly all subjects except the official Mother Tongue languages and the literatures of those languages; these are generally not taught in English, although there is provision for the use of English at the initial stages. Certain schools, such as secondary schools under the Special Assistance Plan (SAP), encourage a richer use of the mother tongue and may occasionally teach subjects in Mandarin Chinese.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Singapore's education system has been consistently ranked as one of the highest in the world by the OECD. It is believed that this comes from the style of teaching that is implemented in Singapore. Teachers focus on making sure that each of their students thoroughly move through the syllabus before moving on. By doing this teachers in Singapore teach a much more narrow but deeper type of instruction. Furthermore, it has been described as "world-leading" and in 2010 was among those picked out for commendation by the Conservative former UK Education Secretary Michael Gove. According to PISA, an influential worldwide study on educational systems, Singapore has the highest performance in international education and tops in global rankings. In 2020, Singaporean students made up half of the perfect scorers in the International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations worldwide.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founded the Singapore Institution (now known as Raffles Institution) in 1823, thereby starting education in Singapore under the British rule. Later, three main types of schools appeared in Singapore: Malay schools, Chinese and Tamil (together) schools, and English schools. Malay schools were provided free for all students by the British, while English schools, which used English as the main medium of instruction, were set up by missionaries and charged school fees. Chinese and Tamil schools largely taught their respective mother tongues. Students from Chinese schools in particular were extremely attuned to developments in China, especially in the rise of Chinese nationalism.


title: Education in Singapore

text: During World War II, many students in Singapore dropped out of school, causing a huge backlog of students after the war. In 1947, the Ten Years Programme for Education Policy in the Colony of Singapore was formulated. This called for a universal education system that would prepare for self-governance. During the 1950s and 1960s, when Singapore started to develop its own economy, Singapore adapted a "survival-driven education" system to provide a skilled workforce for Singapore's industrialisation programme as well to as to lower unemployment. Apart from being an economic necessity, education also helped to integrate the new nation together. The bilingualism policy in schools was officially introduced in 1960, making English the official language for both national integration and utilitarian purposes. Universal education for children of all races and background started to take shape, and more children started to attend schools. However, the quality of schools set up during this time varied considerably. The first Junior College was opened in 1969.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Education has always represented an area of focus for Singapore since its independence in 1965. Its emphasis on education partly reflects Singapore's virtual lack of natural resources and Singapore's need to develop its human resource and manpower capability in its continuing quest to build a knowledge-based economy.


title: Education in Singapore

text: In the 1980s, Singapore's economy started to prosper, and the focus of Singapore's education system shifted from quantity to quality. More differentiation for pupils with different academic abilities were implemented, such as revamping vocational education under the new Institute of Technology and splitting of the Normal stream in secondary schools into Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) streams. The Gifted Education Programme was also set up to cater to more academically inclined students.


title: Education in Singapore

text: In 1997, the Singapore education system started to change into an ability-driven one after then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong outlined his "Thinking Schools, Learning Nations" vision. Under this policy, more emphasis was given to national education, creative thinking, collaborative learning as well as ICT literacy. Schools became more diverse and were given greater autonomy in deciding their own curriculum and developing their own niche areas. Differences between the various academic streams became blurred. The Ministry of Education also officially acknowledged that "excellence" will not be measured solely in terms of academics; a mountain range of excellence – with many peaks".


title: Education in Singapore

text: In recent years, the goal of the education sector, and in particular tertiary education has moved beyond simply building local manpower capabilities, and is actively being developed by the Singapore government as a source of revenue. The government's plan, which was initiated in 2002, is to make Singapore a "Global Schoolhouse", attracting revenue-generating international students. In 2002, the education sector accounted for 3.6% of Singapore's economy. The government's aim was to grow this sector to 5% of Singapore's economy over the subsequent decade.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The school year is divided into two semesters. The first begins at the beginning of January and ends in May; the second begins in July and ends in November.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Kindergartens in Singapore provide up to three years of pre-school for children ages three to six. The three years are commonly called "Nursery", "Kindergarten 1" (K1) and "Kindergarten 2" (K2), respectively.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Kindergartens provide an environment for children to learn how to interact with others, and to prepare them for formal education at Primary school. Activities include learning language – written and oral – and numbers, development of personal and social skills, games, music, and outdoor play. Children learn two languages, English and their official Mother Tongue (Mandarin, Malay, or Tamil). Many private or church-based kindergartens might not offer Malay and/or Tamil, so non-Chinese pupils might also learn some Standard Mandarin in these kindergartens.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The kindergartens are run by the private sector, including community foundations, religious bodies, and civic or business groups. There are more than 200 kindergartens registered with Early Childhood Development Agency. Kindergartens are also run by child care centres as well as international schools.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The People's Action Party, which has governed Singapore since 1957, runs over 370 kindergartens through its charitable arm, the PAP Community Foundation.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Primary education, normally starting at age seven, is a four-year "foundation stage" (Primary 1 to 4) and a two-year "orientation stage" (Primary 5 to 6). Primary education is compulsory under the Compulsory Education Act since 2003. Exemptions are made for pupils who are homeschooling, attending a full-time religious institution or those with special needs who are unable to attend mainstream schools. However, parents have to meet the requirements set out by the Ministry of Education before these exemptions are granted. Students have to take a test at Primary 4 to determine whether they could remain homeschooled. Primary education is free for all Singapore citizens in schools under the purview of the Ministry of Education, though there is a monthly miscellaneous fee of up to SGD 13 per student. From 2020 it was announced that there would be a cap of 25–30% for Permanent Resident children entering into 10 primary schools which had PR admissions close to 25 to 30 per cent. This was to keep the concentration of PR children low and allow more interaction between citizens and PRs.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The "foundation stage" is the first stage of formal schooling. The four years, from primary 1 to 4, provide a foundation in English, mother tongue (which includes Standard Mandarin, Malay, Tamil or a Non-Tamil Indian Language (NTIL), such as Hindi, Punjabi and Bengali), Mathematics and Science. Other subjects include Civics and Moral Education, arts and crafts, music, health education, social studies, and physical education, which are taught throughout Primary 1 to 6. Science is taught from Primary 3 (age 9) onwards.


title: Education in Singapore

text: English is taught as a first language in primary school, with the Ministry of Education choosing to do so as English is the lingua franca of international business, science and technology. Therefore, a strong foundation in the English Language is considered an essential skill to develop. Bilingualism is considered a cornerstone of Singapore's education system, and all students are required to choose a second, Mother Tongue Language (Chinese Language, Malay Language or Tamil Language) on enrolment into Primary school, to ensure that students can in future, tap the opportunities that can be found in the global environment. Exemptions are available for students whose native language is not an available Mother Tongue language (such as Nepali). With more Primary 1 students coming from households where English is the dominant language spoken at home, the Ministry of Education has continued to refine the teaching of Mother Tongue Languages, with greater emphasis on listening and speaking skills.


title: Education in Singapore

text: All pupils advance to the orientation stage after Primary 4, where they are streamed according to the pupil's ability. The streaming system has been adjusted: previously, pupils were divided at Primary 5 to the EM1, EM2 and EM3 (English and Mother Tongue at 1st, 2nd and 3rd language respectively) streams, but since 2008 they are streamed according to subject under a scheme known as "Subject-based banding". Students take subjects at different levels based on their scores in the respective subjects at the end of Primary 4. The Mother Tongue subjects are offered at the higher, standard or foundation levels; Science and Maths can be taken at the standard or foundation levels.


title: Education in Singapore

text: After six years of Primary education, students will have to sit for the national Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). Students will then choose the secondary school of their choice based on their results at this examination; they will then be assigned to a secondary school based on merit and their choice. Students are also admitted into a secondary school under a separate "Direct School Admission" scheme, whereby secondary schools are able to choose a certain number of students based on their special talents before these students take the PSLE. Students admitted under this scheme cannot select their schools based on their PSLE results.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The Gifted Education Programme (GEP) was set up by the Ministry of Education in 1984 to cater to the intellectually gifted students. This programme aims to develop gifted children to their top potential and it places a special emphasis on higher-order thinking and creative thought. There are currently 9 primary schools offering the Gifted Education Programme: Anglo-Chinese School, Catholic High School, Henry Park Primary School, Nan Hua Primary School, Nanyang Primary School, Rosyth School, Tao Nan School, St. Hilda's Primary School and Raffles Girls' Primary School. The Secondary School Gifted Education Programme was discontinued at the end of 2008 as more students take the Integrated Programme (IP); this has been replaced by a "School-Based Gifted Education" programme.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Pupils enter the programme through a series of tests at Primary 3, which will identify the top 1% of the student population. In the programme, pupils are offered special enrichment programmes to cater for their needs. However, GEP students are still required to take the national Primary School Leaving Examination like other mainstream students.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Based on results of the PSLE, students are placed into three different secondary education tracks or streams: "Express", "Normal (Academic)", or "Normal (Technical)" till 2023. From 2024, students will be divided into G1, G2 and G3, according to the Subject-Based Banding scheme. Singaporean citizens are forbidden to attend international schools on the island without Ministry of Education permission.


title: Education in Singapore

text: "Express" is a four-year course leading up to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE O Level examination. The difference between these two courses is that in the "Special" stream, students take 'Higher Mother Tongue' (available for Standard Mandarin, Malay and Tamil only) instead of 'Mother Tongue'. A pass (D7 or higher) in the Higher Mother Tongue 'O' Level Examination constitutes the fulfilment of the Mother Tongue requirement in Singapore, whereas Normal Mother Tongue Students will have to go through one more year of study in their Mother Tongue after their 'O' Levels to take the 'A' Level H1 Mother Tongue Examinations and fulfil the MOE's requirement. A foreign language, either French, German, Japanese or Spanish can be taken in addition to the mother tongue or can replace it. This is especially popular with students who are struggling with their mother tongues, expatriates, or students returning from abroad. Non-Chinese students may also study Standard Mandarin and non-Malay students Malay as a third language. This programme is known as CSP (Chinese Special Programme) and MSP (Malay Special Programme). Mother Tongue teachers conduct these lessons in school after usual hours. Students of Higher Mother Tongue languages are allowed to have up to two points taken off their O-level scoring, even if the student's Higher Mother Tongue is used as their L1 in computation of L1R5, a scoring system discussed below where a lower value is considered better, if they meet set benchmarks. The Ministry of Education Language Centre (MOELC) provides free language education for most additional languages that other schools may not cover, and provides the bulk of such education, admitting several thousand students each year.


title: Education in Singapore

text: "Normal (Academic)" is a four-year course leading up to the Normal (Academic) level (N(A)-level) exam, with the possibility of a fifth year leading up to the GCE O-level exam. The Normal (Academic) course is geared towards preparing students for the O-level exam in the fifth year, subject to good performance in the N(A)-level exam in the fourth year, and students take academic subjects such as Principles of Accounting. In 2004, the Ministry of Education announced that selected students in the Normal (Academic) course would have an opportunity to sit for the O-level exam directly without first taking the N(A)-level exam.


title: Education in Singapore

text: "Normal (Technical)" is a four-year course leading up to the Normal (Technical) level (N(T)-level) exam. In Normal (Technical), students take subjects of a more technical nature, such as Design and Technology, and they generally proceed to the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) after the N(T)-level exam in the fourth year.


title: Education in Singapore

text: With the exception of schools offering the Integrated Programme, which leads to either an International Baccalaureate Diploma or to an A-level exam, most students are streamed into a wide range of course combinations at the end of their second year, bringing the total number of subjects they have to sit at O-level to between six and ten, with English, Mother Tongue or Higher Mother Tongue Language, Mathematics, one Science and one Humanities Elective being compulsory. Several new subjects such as Computing and Theatre Studies and Drama are being introduced in tandem with the Ministry of Education's revised curriculum.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Unlike in primary or post-secondary levels, participating in a Co-Curricular Activity (CCA) is required in secondary school, meaning that all pupils participate in at least one CCA. CCAs offered at the secondary level are usually categorised as Uniformed Groups, Performing Arts, Clubs & Societies and Sports & Games Competitions. There are many CCAs offered at the secondary school level; however, different schools may choose to offer different CCAs. Students may choose to participate in more than 1 CCA.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Participation in CCAs is graded together with other non-academic achievements throughout a student's secondary school education in a scoring system known as LEAPS 2.0. (LEAPS 1.0 was abolished and the cohort of 2016 taking the 'O' level examination would be last to use this system). Points accumulated in the areas of leadership, achievement, participation and service (under LEAPS 2.0) will determine a student's CCA grade. Students may get up to a maximum of two bonus points for entry into a junior college depending on their CCA grades.


title: Education in Singapore

text: LEAPS 2.0 is about leadership, achievement, participation and service. The method of calculating the 2 bonus points are very different, with LEAPS 2.0 making it harder to achieve the 2 bonus points.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The Special Assistance Plan (SAP) () is a special programme established in 1979 that caters to academically strong students who excel in both their mother tongue as well as English. It allows students to undertake English language and Chinese language at first language standard with a widened exposure to the Chinese culture and values. The programme is offered in designated schools that are recognised for its preservation of strong Chinese cultural heritage and academic excellence. Currently, there are a total of 15 primary schools and 11 high schools being accorded SAP status.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Before the educational reforms in the 2000s, students had to achieve a PSLE aggregate score in the top 10% of their cohort, with an A grade for both mother tongue and English, to be entitled to enter an SAP school under the Special academic stream. Currently, students are entitled up to 3 additional bonus points when applying for SAP secondary schools with their Higher Chinese Paper Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) results. Since its founding, there have only been SAP schools for students studying the Chinese language.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The Integrated Programme, also known as the "Through-Train Programme" (), is a scheme which allows secondary students in Singapore to bypass "O" levels (except for those taking Higher Mother Tongue) and take A levels, International Baccalaureate Diploma or an equivalent examination directly at the age of 18 after six years of secondary education.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The programme allows for more time to be allocated to enrichment activities. By bypassing the GCE O level examinations, students are given more time and flexibility to immerse themselves in a more broadly-based education. In addition, students enjoy more freedom in the combination of subjects between Year 1 – 4 as compared to their non-IP counterparts. Generally, only the top performers from Express stream are eligible to be part of the IP programme. This will ensure that the main body of the students pursue their secondary education at their own pace by first completing a 4-year O level course before going on to a 2-year A level education.


title: Education in Singapore

text: As a result, Integrated Programme schools allow their students to skip the O levels at Secondary 4 and go straight into junior colleges (JCs) in Year 5/JC1. The Integrated Programme with the revised Singapore-Cambridge GCE A levels or the IB Diploma as a terminal qualification has become an increasingly popular alternative to the standard secondary education pathway. This is because it is perceived as having moved away from the usually heavy emphasis on the sciences, a phenomenon resulting from the post-independence need for quick and basic technical and industrial education; to subjects in the arts and humanities. Such programmes are more project-based and students are expected to be independent learners.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The first batch of IP students sat for the revised GCE A Level or International Baccalaureate Diploma examinations in 2007.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Specialised Independent Schools offer specialised education with different focuses. There are currently four specialised schools in Singapore.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Upon completion of the 4- or 5-year secondary school education, students (excluding IP students) will participate in the annual O level exam, the results of which determine which post-secondary institutions they may apply for. The O Level subject grades range from A1 (best) to F9 (worst).


title: Education in Singapore

text: Pre-university centres include junior colleges for a two-year course leading up to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE A Level or the International Baccalaureate Diploma, or the Millennia Institute for a three-year course leading up to the A Level. Pre-university centres accept students on merit, with a greater emphasis on academics than applied education.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Admission to a two-year pre-university course at junior colleges after graduating from secondary school is determined by the L1R5 (English + 5 relevant subjects) scoring system. The candidate adds the numerical grades for six different subjects: English (or another language taken at the 'first language' level), a Humanities subject, a Science/Mathematics subject, a Humanities/Science/Mathematics subject, and two other subjects of any kind. Students scoring 20 points and below may be admitted for either a Science or Arts course.


title: Education in Singapore

text: For admission to a three-year pre-university course at the Millennia Institute, the L1R4 (English + 4 relevant subjects) scoring system is used, and students are required to score below 20 points to be admitted. Students may opt for any of the science, arts or commerce streams when pursuing the three-year pre-university course.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Students who wish to pursue specialised education go on to polytechnics or arts institutions where they receive a diploma upon successful completion of their courses. Polytechnics accept students on merit, with a greater emphasis on applied education than academics.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Admission to a three-year polytechnic course after graduating from secondary school is determined by the ELR2B2 (English language + 2 relevant subjects + 2 best subjects) scoring system. The candidate adds the numerical grades for five different subjects: English language, two relevant subjects related to the course of choice in polytechnic, and two other subjects of any kind. Students scoring 26 points and below may be admitted for a polytechnic course.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Deaf students who must use sign language to communicate may enrol in any mainstream primary school, effective 2018. Previously they were required to enrol at two special schools. Secondary deaf students who do not need to use sign language to communicate may enrol at Saint Anthony's Canossian Secondary School and Outram Secondary School, while Beatty Secondary School enrols secondary students who must use sign language to communicate.


title: Education in Singapore

text: A British woman established the Oral School for the Deaf in 1953, and in 1954 the Chinese Sign School for the Deaf was established by a married couple. The Canossian School for the Deaf was established by Italian women afterward. The Canossian school later changed its name to Canossian School for the Hearing Impaired. Historically the sole secondary school for deaf and partially deaf children was Mount Vernon Secondary School (MVSS). Singapore School for the Deaf opened in 1963.


title: Education in Singapore

text: In 1991 the deaf students were enrolled at Upper Serangoon Secondary School (USSS) as Mount Vernon closed. In 1996 Boon Lay Secondary School began taking deaf students. In 2016/2017 responsibility for the must use sign language students moved from Balestier Hill Secondary School and Boon Lay to Beatty. The Government of Singapore decided that it was best to concentrate deaf students who must sign to communicate at one school as only about 15 secondary students were in that category. SSD closed in 2017.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Before 2014, Singapore was one of only two countries in ASEAN that was not a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which mandates that persons with disabilities should be guaranteed the right to inclusive education.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Previously, "any child who is unable to attend any national primary school due to any physical or intellectual disability" was exempted from compulsory education, a policy changed in 2016 to make education compulsory for those with special needs from 2019. Another option is the special education schools built largely by the Ministry of Education and run by social service agencies. These schools receive more than 80% of their funding from the Ministry of Education, but have long waiting lists, according to Member of Parliament Sylvia Lim. The Singapore government has asserted that only "a very small number of children do not attend school each year", giving a figure of 8 students as compared to a primary school intake of roughly 43,000, and that requiring all special needs children to attend school would "impose unduly harsh requirements on their parents." This practice has been described as a "form of discrimination" by Sylvia Lim.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The pre-university centres of Singapore such as Junior Colleges and Centralized institute are designed for students who wish to pursue a local university degree after two to three years of pre-university education.


title: Education in Singapore

text: There are 19 Junior Colleges (JCs) and a Centralised Institute (CI), the Millennia Institute (MI, established 2004), with the National Junior College (NJC, established 1969) being the oldest and Eunoia Junior College (EJC, established 2017) the newest.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Junior colleges (JCs) in Singapore were initially designed to offer an accelerated alternative to the traditional three-year programme, but the two-year programme has since become the norm for students pursuing university education.


title: Education in Singapore

text: JCs accept students based on their GCE "O" Level results; an L1R5 score of 20 points or less must be attained for a student to gain admission. JCs provide a 2-year course leading up to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level (A level) examination or the International Baccalaureate Diploma.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The Centralised Institutes accept students based on their GCE O level results. Their L1R4 score must be 20 points or below in order to be admitted. A Centralised Institute provides a three-year course leading up to the GCE A level examination. There were originally four Centralized Institutes: Outram Institute, Townsville Institute, Jurong Institute and Seletar Institute. Townsville Institute and Seletar Institute stopped accepting new students after the 1995 school year and closed down after the last batch of students graduated in 1997.


title: Education in Singapore

text: There currently remains only one Centralised Institute in Singapore, the Millennia Institute, which was formed following the merger of Jurong and Outram Institutes. Additionally, only Centralised Institutes offer the Commerce Stream offering subjects such as Principles of Accounting and Management of Business. The standard of teaching and curriculum is identical to that of the Junior Colleges.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The first polytechnic in Singapore, Singapore Polytechnic, was established in 1954. Ngee Ann Polytechnic, has roots that go back to 1963. Two other polytechnics, Temasek Polytechnic and Nanyang Polytechnic were established in the 1990s. The most recent, Republic Polytechnic was established in 2003.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Polytechnics in Singapore provide 3-year diploma courses. They accept students based on their GCE O Level, GCE N(A) Level, Institute of Technical Education (ITE) or GCE A level results.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Polytechnics offer a wide range of courses in various fields, including engineering, business studies, accountancy, tourism and hospitality management, mass communications, digital media and biotechnology. There are also specialised courses such as marine engineering, nautical studies, nursing, and optometry. They provide a more industry-oriented education as an alternative to junior colleges for post-secondary studies. About 40% of each Secondary 4 cohort would enroll in Polytechnics. Notable alumni from Polytechnics in Singapore include former NUS President Dr Shih Choon Fong and CEO of Creative Technology Sim Wong Hoo.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Most graduates of polytechnics continue to pursue further tertiary education at overseas and local universities. Those with good grades are given exemptions for university modules completed in Polytechnic, notably universities in Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Initially, vocational education in Singapore carried a negative stigma and was looked down upon as a dead-end option for underachieving students. In the 1960s, it was considered less than socially desirable educational option as vocational education was perceived that these schools were for low achieving students. Societal prejudice against less academically inclined students and vocational education was regarded low quality and typically out of step with the changing needs of employers. The perception of technical and vocational education in Singapore are slowly changing as parents are starting to realise that there are alternative choices for decent employment outcomes as the greater Singaporean society values vocational and technical skills highly and sees them as crucial to the country's economic development. Vocational education has been an important part of Singapore's unique economic planning since 1992, where it began to transform and change the perception of vocational education and decided to transform and preposition it so that it was not seen as a place of last resort for underachieving pupils. Vocational schools such as the Institute of Technical Education were intended to revolutionise vocational education and portray the institution as a world-class example of the importance of vocational skills being translated to a 21st-century knowledge-based economy.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) is a vocational school that accepts students based on their GCE "O" level or GCE "N" level results and they provide two-year courses leading to a locally recognised "National ITE Certificate". There are three ITE colleges in Singapore. Only a few ITE graduates will be able to continue their education at polytechnics and arts institutions which then, if possible goes on to a university. ITE colleges offer apprenticeships for the skilled trades and diplomas in vocational education for skilled technicians and workers in support roles in professions such as engineering, accountancy, business administration, nursing, medicine, architecture, and law. The ITE is highly recognised vocational institution in producing highly skilled graduates that are in demand by employers. Salaries for ITE graduates, who receive a National ITE Certificate (NITEC) or a diploma have also become quite high. ITE provides apprenticeships, professional certificates, licences and diplomas in business administration, accountancy, woodworking, metalworking, carpentry, drafting, shipbuilding and repairing, transportation and engineering science. As of 2014, 87% of ITE graduates are hired in their fields within six months of graduation, leading more students to see vocational education as a strong alternative besides the traditional route of going to university.


title: Education in Singapore

text: In March 2021, Minister for Education Lawrence Wong announced that Singapore’s first arts university will be established in an alliance between the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and LASALLE College of the Arts, in a system akin to the University of the Arts, London. The formation of the University of the Arts Singapore (UAS) will see both colleges under the umbrella university be given degree-awarding powers independent of their current foreign partners, where the current long-distance degrees are issued through foreign universities. Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs) enrolled in the approved degree programmes at the university of the arts will pay subsidised fees, comparable to those at autonomous universities here.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The seventh local university of Singapore will be the only publicly-funded private university other than the now defunct and restructured UniSIM in Singapore, and also the only university of the arts with its own degree-conferring power in Singapore slated to open in 2024.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Singapore has six autonomous universities, namely the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University, Singapore University of Technology & Design, Singapore Institute of Technology and Singapore University of Social Sciences.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University each have more than 30,000 students and provide a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes including doctoral degrees. Both are also established research universities with thousands of research staff and graduate students. As of 2022, both universities are ranked among the Top 20 in the world by QS World University Rankings and Top 40 globally by THE World University Rankings.


title: Education in Singapore

text: A third university, Singapore Management University (SMU), opened in 2000, is home to more than 7,000 students and comprises six Schools offering undergraduate, graduate, and PhD programmes in Business Management, Accountancy, Economics, Information Systems Management, Law and the Social Sciences. The University has an Office of Research, a number of institutes and centres of excellence, and provides public and customised programmes for working professionals through its Office of Executive and Professional Education.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The government has planned the fourth autonomous university, Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), to meet the rising demand for university education. It started its operations in April 2012. Its permanent campus at Changi was opened in early 2015.


title: Education in Singapore

text: A fifth autonomous university Singapore Institute of Technology was announced in 2009. The institution started in 2010 and is intended to provide an upgrading pathway for polytechnic and arts institution graduates.


title: Education in Singapore

text: In 2017, Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) was declared as the country's sixth autonomous public university. The university was previously established in 2005 as SIM University by the SIM Group. Thereafter it undergone restructuring and is currently under the ambit of the Ministry of Education.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Foreign universities that have set up campuses or centres of excellence in Singapore include INSEAD, ESSEC, S P Jain School of Global Management, DigiPen Institute of Technology, Technische Universität München, Sorbonne-Assas International Law School, Curtin Singapore and James Cook University Singapore.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Other foreign universities offer external degree programmes (EDPs) through private education institutions such as Singapore Institute of Management, Management Development Institute of Singapore and PSB Academy. Universities such as the University of London, RMIT University, Southern Cross University, Queen Margaret University & Cardiff Metropolitan University have established such external degree programmes in Singapore to provide local and foreign (in particular, Asian) students the opportunity to obtain a Western university education at a fraction of the cost it would take to study in Canada, the UK, the USA or Australia.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Because of its large expatriate community, Singapore is host to many international schools, currently numbering 80, across predominantly four main curricula groups: British, IB, American and Indian. Over half of these (44) are either UK curriculum based (specifically the curriculum of England and Wales), or a blend of UK (until 16 with the I/GCSE) and the International Baccalaureate (for post-16 study). The IB Diploma programme has gained global popularity in recent years, and Singapore has been susceptible to its charms. There are now 26 schools in Singapore offering the IB Diploma, and 10 schools offering what is seen by many as its alternative, the A Level.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Singapore has not seen the international school growth as some of its city rivals, like Dubai, although 2020 sees the spark of competition with the arrival of Brighton College, The Perse School, One World International School (Mountbatten), Invictus International Centrium, and North London Collegiate School. Covid-19 issues aside, this will be welcome relief to parents (although not necessarily schools) where waiting lists for the top schools have, historically, been long - often measured in years. This has especially been the case in the country's "top" international schools, although given there are no independent inspections, being seen to be a top-tier school has been driven largely by reputation and word of mouth, that is what parents think are the "best" international schools, become the best schools as these are able to take on the best students - even if the majority of schools claim to be non-selective.


title: Education in Singapore

text: International schools serve a largely expatriate audience, as much by necessity as choice given international and private schools in Singapore generally are not allowed to admit Singapore students without permission from the Ministry of Education.


title: Education in Singapore

text: However, on 29 April 2004 the Ministry of Education permitted three new international schools to be set up without permission being needed to admit Singapore students. These schools must follow the compulsory policies set by the Ministry such as playing the national anthem and taking the pledge every morning, as well as following the nation's policies on bilingualism. These schools – Anglo-Chinese School (International), Hwa Chong International School and SJI International School – are private schools run by the boards of other locally renowned institutions. The school fees are 15 to 20 per cent lower than those of foreign international schools. Their intake includes students from countries such as Malaysia, India, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Established under the Private Education Act, the Committee for Private Education (CPE, also formerly the Council for Private Education) is a statutory board empowered with the legislative power to regulate the private education sector. In addition to its role as the sectoral regulator of private education institutions, the CPE facilitates capability development efforts to uplift standards in the local private education industry.


title: Education in Singapore

text: On 20 May 2010, the CPE has registered the first batch of private education institutions (PEIs) under the Enhanced Registration Framework (ERF). Following the launch of the new private education regulatory regime on 21 December 2009, all PEIs within the regulatory scope of the Private Education Act are required to register with the CPE under the ERF. Under the Enhanced Registration Framework, private institutions must meet requirements relating to their managers, teachers, courses and examination boards. Out of 308 which applied, less than a third were given the stamp of approval and students are relieved that their school has made the mark. Only 63 ERF applications have been evaluated by the CPE, of which 36 PEIs like MDIS, EASB, SDH Institute, SAA Global Education, Coleman College, STEi Institute etc. have been registered for a period of four years ERF, and 26 PEIs have been registered for one year. The registration period awarded to a PEI is dependent on its degree of compliance with the Private Education Regulations.


title: Education in Singapore

text: In addition to the international day school, Singapore's Japanese population is served by a weekend education programme, the Japanese Supplementary School Singapore (JSS; シンガポール日本語補習授業校 "Shingapōru Nihongo Hoshū Jugyō Kō").


title: Education in Singapore

text: In Singapore, madrasahs are full-time, religious institutions that offer a pedagogical mix of Islamic religious education and secular education in their curricula. There are currently six madrasahs in Singapore offering primary to tertiary education, namely, Aljunied Al-Islamiah, Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah, Al-Maarif Al-Islamiah, Alsagoff Al-Arabiah, Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah, and Wak Tanjong Al-Islamiah. Four of them are co-educational, while the other two offer madrasah education exclusively to girls.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Madrasah students take a range of Islamic religious subjects in addition to mainstream curriculum subjects and sit for the PSLE and GCE 'O' Levels like their peers. They can often be easily identified by their distinctive traditional Malay uniform, including the "songkok" for boys and "tudung" for girls, in stark contrast to national schools that prohibit such religious headgear. Madrasahs are deeply rooted in Singapore's history, and prior to Singapore's independence, had enjoyed a "golden period" in becoming the centre of Islamic education in the region by producing and attracting many of the prominent Islamic religious scholars. But by the turn of the 21st century, madrasahs were subjected to numerous discussions on the national platform as to their purpose and relevance in contemporary society. There was also a new expectation from the Malay-Muslim community that madrasahs should provide not only religious education, but also academic skills like mathematics, science and English. Madrasahs were forced to adapt and implement sweeping reforms, especially in response to government policies such as the Compulsory Education Act. Today, madrasahs have improved significantly—but challenges pertaining to their funding, curricula and teaching methodologies remain largely unsolved till today.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Private tuition is a lucrative industry in Singapore, since many parents send their children for private tuition after school. A straw poll by "The Straits Times" newspaper in 2008 found that out of 100 students interviewed, only 3 students did not have any form of tuition. In 2010, the "Shin Min Daily News" estimated that there were around 540 tuition centres offering private tuition in Singapore. Due to their high demand, tuition centres are able to charge high fees for their services; they have an annual turnover of SGD$110.6 million in 2005. However, this industry is largely unregulated, though tuition centres are required to be registered with the Ministry of Education. There is no such requirement for individual private tutors.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Despite its pervasiveness, private tuition remains a controversial subject in Singapore. Students generally attend tuition classes to improve their weak academic performance. Some parents send their children to such tuition because they are worried that their child would lag behind in class because their classmates have individual tuition themselves, or because they are worried that the teacher does not completely cover the syllabus required for national examinations. Teachers and schools allegedly encouraged weaker students to receive private tuition as well, though the Ministry of Education's official stance is that "Teachers should not recommend tuition to students or parents as a form of learning support". Some students who are doing well academically have had requested to have private tuition to further improve on their grades.


title: Education in Singapore

text: On the other hand, some have criticised the over-reliance on private tuition, saying that students may not pay attention during lessons as they are able to fall back on their tuition classes later. Students may also be unable to find answers on their own, having relied on their tutors for answers during their school years. Some tuition centres reportedly do schoolwork on their students' behalf. Others have also criticised private tuition for taking up too much of students' free time. Due to the high cost of tuition, there are concerns that low-income families were unable to send their children for such classes. However, the government have partially subsidised private tuition at certain community bodies for children from low-income families.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The official government stance on private tuition is that "it understands parents want the best for their children and that it is their decision whether to engage tutors".


title: Education in Singapore

text: Meritocracy is a fundamental ideology in Singapore and a fundamental principle in the education system which aims to identify and groom bright young students for positions of leadership. The system places a great emphasis on academic performance in grading students and granting their admission to special programmes and universities, though this has raised concerns about breeding elitism. Academic grades are considered as objective measures of the students' ability and effort, irrespective of their social background. Having good academic credentials is seen as the most important factor for the students' career prospects in the job market, and their future economic status.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Curricula are therefore closely tied to examinable topics, and the competitiveness of the system led to a proliferation of "ten-year series", which are compilation books of past examination papers that students use to prepare for examinations.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Bilingualism, or "mother tongue policy", is a cornerstone of the Singapore education system. While English is the first language and the medium of instruction in schools, most students are required to take a "Mother Tongue" subject, which could be one of the three official languages: Standard Mandarin, Malay or Tamil. A non-Tamil Indian may choose to offer Tamil or a non-official language such as Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi or Urdu. However, Chinese students from a non-Mandarin background, such as Cantonese speakers, must learn Mandarin, and students with Indonesian background must learn Malay. Non-Chinese, Malay or Indian students may choose to learn either one of these languages (Usually the Japanese, Koreans and Southeast Asians who are not from Malay or Indonesian origin will choose Chinese). Mother Tongue is a compulsory examinable subject at the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and the GCE "N", "O" and "A" level examinations. Students are required to achieve a certain level of proficiency in what the government considers their mother tongue as a pre-requisite for admission to local universities. Students returning from overseas may be exempted from this policy.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The bilingual policy was first adopted in 1966. One of its primary objectives is to promote English as the common (and neutral) language among the diverse ethnic groups in Singapore. The designation of English as the "first language" is also intended to facilitate Singapore's integration into the world economy.


title: Education in Singapore

text: In recognition of Singapore's linguistic and cultural pluralism, another stated objective of the bilingual policy is to educate students with their "mother tongues" so that they can learn about their culture, identify with their ethnic roots, and to preserve cultural traits and Asian values. Within the Chinese population, Mandarin is promoted as a common language and other Chinese dialects are discouraged, to better integrate the community. In 1979, the Speak Mandarin Campaign was launched to further advance this goal.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Education policy in Singapore is designed to ensure that no child is disadvantaged because of their financial background. Therefore, school fees in public schools are heavily subsidised. There is no school fee for 6 years of compulsory education in primary school although students still need to pay standard miscellaneous fees of $6.50 per month. Moreover, schools may optionally charge second-tier miscellaneous fees of up to the maximum of $6.50 per month.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The Ministry of Education established the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) to provide financial assistance for education to low income families with gross household income of SGD$2,500 or a per capita income of less than SGD$625.00. Students eligible for FAS receive a full waiver of miscellaneous fees, and partial subsidy on national examination fees. They may also enjoy full or partial fee subsidy if they are in Independent Schools.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Each year, the Edusave Merit Bursary (EMB) is given out to about 40,000 students, who are from lower-middle and low-income families and have good academic performance in their schools. Individual schools also have an "Opportunity Fund" to provide for their own needy students. In addition to these, there are many other assistance schemes from either the government or welfare organisations to help students cope with finances during their studies.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Heavy subsidies are given to full-time tertiary students in the form of tuition grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 per year, depending on their nationality and course of study. For Singapore citizens, the grant is given unconditionally and automatically. Foreign applicants, including permanent residents, are required to work in a Singapore firm for three years upon graduation.


title: Education in Singapore

text: The SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme allows vocational graduates to be placed in jobs that allow them to receive a salary while engaging in structured on-the-job training. As of 2016, there were a total of 40 Earn and Learn Programmes in Singapore.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Singapore students took first place in the 1995, 1999 and 2003 TIMSS Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. They used Singapore Math Primary Mathematics series. The national textbooks have been adapted into a series which has been successfully marketed in North America as a rival to Saxon math and an alternative to controversial reform mathematics curricula, which many parents complained moved too far away from the sort of traditional basic skills instruction exemplified by Singapore's national curriculum.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Critics of the education system argue that the education in Singapore is too specialised, rigid, and elitist. Often, these criticisms state that there is little emphasis on creative thinking. Those defending the current education system point out that Singaporean students have regularly ranked near the top when competing in international science and mathematics competitions and assessments. Detractors, however, argue this is more an indication of the institution's use of rote learning to prepare for competition or examination than of students' critical thinking skills.


title: Education in Singapore

text: In response to such concerns the Ministry of Education has recently discussed a greater focus on creative and critical thinking, and on learning for lifelong skills rather than simply teaching students to excel in examinations. Although some efforts of these sorts have been made, many Singaporean children continue to face high pressure by parents and teachers to do well in studies.


title: Education in Singapore

text: Supporters of the system assert that the provision of differentiated curricula according to streams since the late 1970s has allowed students with different abilities and learning styles to develop and sustain an interest in their studies. This ability-driven education has since been a key feature behind Singapore's success in education, and was responsible for bringing drop-out rates down sharply.


title: Education in Singapore

text: In recent years, while streaming still exists, various refinements to the policy have been made. There is now greater flexibility for students to cross over different streams or take subjects in other streams, which alleviates somewhat the stigma attached to being in any single stream. Furthermore, the government is now starting to experiment with ability-banding in other ways – such as subject-based banding in Secondary Schools instead of banding by overall academic performance.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: Legislative elections in France were held on 11 and 18 June 2017 (with different dates for voters overseas) to elect the 577 members of the 15th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. They followed the two-round presidential election won by Emmanuel Macron. The centrist party he founded in 2016, La République En Marche! (LREM), led an alliance with the centrist Democratic Movement (MoDem); together, the two parties won 350 of the 577 seats—a substantial majority—in the National Assembly, including an outright majority of 308 seats for LREM. The Socialist Party (PS) was reduced to 30 seats and the Republicans (LR) reduced to 112 seats, and both parties' allies also suffered from a marked drop in support; these were the lowest-ever scores for the centre-left and centre-right in the legislative elections. The movement founded by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, la France Insoumise (FI), secured 17 seats, enough for a group in the National Assembly. Among other major parties, the French Communist Party (PCF) secured ten and the National Front (FN) obtained eight seats. Both rounds of the legislative election were marked by record low turnout.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: In total, 206 MPs lost reelection, and 424 (75%) elected MPs were new members. There was a record number of women elected. The average age of parliamentarians decreased from 54 to 48. Ludovic Pajot from the National Rally became the new Baby of the House, being elected at the age of 23. Édouard Philippe, appointed as Prime Minister by Macron following his victory in the presidential election, was reappointed following the second round of the legislative elections and presented his second government by 21 June. The 15th legislature of the French Fifth Republic commenced on 27 June.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: In France, the legislative election takes place about a month after the second round of the presidential election, held on 7 May. Prior to 2002, the presidential and legislative elections were not always held in the same year; following the victory of the UMP in the 2002 legislative elections, the two were synchronized to minimize the risk of cohabitation.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: In the first round of the presidential election, on 23 April, Emmanuel Macron of En Marche! and Marine Le Pen of the National Front (FN) advanced to the runoff after placing first and second, respectively, and were followed closely by François Fillon of the Republicans (LR) and Jean-Luc Mélenchon of la France Insoumise (FI). In the first round, Macron led in 240 constituencies, against 216 for Le Pen, 67 for Mélenchon, and 54 for Fillon.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: Upon the close of nominations for the legislative election, the Ministry of the Interior published a final list on 23 May containing a total of 7,882 candidates, with an average of 14 candidates within each constituency.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: The 2017 legislative election was the first held after the legal abolition of the dual mandate in France in 2014; deputies will no longer be allowed to concurrently serve in local government, frequently as mayors, upon election to the National Assembly.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: The 577 members of the National Assembly are elected using a two-round system with single-member constituencies. Candidates for the legislative elections had five days, from Monday 15 May to 18:00 on Friday 19 May, to declare and register their candidacy. The official campaign ran from 22 May to 10 June at midnight, while the campaign for the second round runs from 12 June at midnight to 17 June at midnight, with eligible candidates required to declare their presence by 18:00 CEST on 13 June.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: To be elected in the first round, a candidate was required to secure an absolute majority of votes cast, and also to secure votes equal to at least 25% of eligible voters in their constituency. Should none of the candidates satisfy these conditions, a second round of voting ensues. Only first-round candidates with the support of at least 12.5% of "eligible" voters are allowed to participate, but if only 1 candidate meets that standard the two candidates with the highest number of votes in the first round may continue to the second round. In the 2017 election, four deputies were elected in the first round. In the second round, the candidate with a plurality is elected. Of the 577 constituencies, 539 are in metropolitan France, 27 are in overseas departments and territories and 11 are for French citizens living abroad.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: Voting in the first round took place from 08:00 to 18:00 (local time) on Saturday 3 June in French Polynesia and at French diplomatic missions in the Americas, and on Sunday 4 June at French diplomatic missions outside the Americas. Voting in the French overseas departments and territories in the Americas (i.e. French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon) took place from 08:00 to 18:00 (local time) on Saturday 10 June. Voting in metropolitan France (as well as the French overseas departments and territories of Mayotte, New Caledonia, Réunion and Wallis and Futuna) took place from 08:00 to 18:00 or 20:00 (local time) on Sunday 11 June.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: Voting in the second round took place on Saturday 17 June from 08:00 to 18:00 (local time) in the French overseas departments and territories situated east of the International Date Line and west of metropolitan France (i.e. French Guiana, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin and Saint Pierre and Miquelon), as well as at French diplomatic missions in the Americas. Voting in metropolitan France (as well as the French overseas departments and territories of Mayotte, New Caledonia, Réunion and Wallis and Futuna, and French diplomatic missions outside the Americas) takes place from 08:00 to 18:00 or 20:00 (local time) on Sunday 18 June.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: En Marche!, the movement founded by Emmanuel Macron, who won the presidential election under its banner, planned to run candidates in all 577 constituencies under the banner of "La République En Marche!", of which at least half were planned to be from civil society – the other half having previously held political office – and half women. No "double investiture" was permitted, though the original requirement of prospective candidates to leave their previous political party was waived by Macron on 5 May. In addition to those parameters, he specified in his initial press conference on 19 January that he would require that candidates demonstrate "probity" (disqualifying any prospective candidates with a criminal record), "political plurality" (representing the threads of the movement), and "efficacy". Those wishing to seek the investiture of En Marche! were required to sign up online, and the movement received nearly 15,000 applications by late April. For nominations sought by those in the political world, the popularity, establishment, and ability to appear in the media of applicants are also considered, with the most difficult cases adjudicated by Macron himself. To represent themselves under the label of La République En Marche!, however, outgoing deputies must decide to leave the Socialist Party (PS) or the Republicans (LR).


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: After his victory in the presidential election, Macron resigned his post as president of En Marche!, with Catherine Barbaroux appointed as interim president. The movement, renamed, presented candidates under the label of "La République En Marche!"; though the full list of 577 investitures was to be published on 11 May, Jean-Paul Delevoye, president of the investiture commission, later indicated that the total published that day would be "about 450". The delay was attributed to an influx of applications following Macron's victory in the presidential election – more than a thousand, bringing the total to over 16,000 – with additional complexity arising from the interest of former Prime Minister Manuel Valls in standing as a La République En Marche! candidate without either submitting an application or leaving the Socialist Party. Since the announcement that "La République En Marche!" would be transformed into a formal political party, however, the conditions of securing an investiture tightened considerably, with candidates expected to be "administratively" attached to the party to prevent public funding (distributed on the basis of electoral results) from being received by the PS or the Republicans.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: The initial list of 428 investitures was revealed on 11 May, with exact gender parity (214 men and 214 women), with 94% of candidates not outgoing deputies; 93% employed, 2% looking for work, 4% retired, 1% students; 52% from civil society; an average age of 46 (the youngest being 24 and oldest being 62), compared to 60 for outgoing deputies; and 24 current deputies, mostly Socialists, invested under the label of La République En Marche! The total number of remaining investitures to be concluded is 148. No candidate was invested against Valls. Numerous candidates were invested in error, including Mourad Boudjellal, François Pupponi, and Augustin Augier, who did not apply; Stéphane Saint-André, an outgoing PRG deputy who renounced his investiture and raised concerns about the potential appointment of Édouard Philippe as prime minister; and Thierry Robert, an outgoing deputy who contravened the requirement of not having a criminal history.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: The list was further updated on 15 May with an additional 83 candidates, of which half were proposed by the MoDem, bringing the overall total to 511, and leaving 66 constituencies to be decided, of which about 30 are reserved for figures on the right and left who expressed support for Macron's project and most of the rest constituencies for overseas departments; ultimately, 51 constituencies with outgoing deputies on both the left and right considered "Macron-compatible" were not contested; Delevoye stated that some twenty constituencies for overseas France were frozen due to local party financing peculiarities, with other vacated constituencies for other political personalities apparently interested in joining in the presidential majority.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: On 15 May, Édouard Philippe, a deputy of the Republicans, was appointed as Prime Minister. After the selection of ministers to the newly formed government on 17 May, the movement announced that it would not invest candidates in 56 constituencies, hoping to protect a number of those on the left and right who had expressed support but not rallied, with the possibility of adjustments before the deadline on 19 May. Appointed ministers contesting the legislative elections were obligated to resign if not elected: namely, Christophe Castaner, Marielle de Sarnez, Richard Ferrand, Annick Girardin, Bruno Le Maire, and Mounir Mahjoubi; all six were eventually elected.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: After François Bayrou endorsed Macron in February, the Democratic Movement (MoDem), which he leads, was reportedly to receive 90 constituencies, of which 50 were considered winnable, for its candidates. However, hours of the publication of the initial list, Bayrou indicated that it did not have the "approval" of the MoDem, unsatisfied with the number of constituencies for MoDem candidates, and appealed to Macron to permit joint investitures and planned to convene the political bureau of his party on 12 May. He was also unhappy with what he called a "recycling operation of the PS"; according to a tally by MoDem officials, among the 428 investitures announced, 153 were granted to PS/ex-PS/PRG, 38 to the MoDem, 25 to LR or miscellaneous right, 15 to UDI/ex-UDI, and 197 to civil society figures. On 12 May, Bayrou announced that he had secured a "solid and balanced" draft agreement, claiming that his party would ultimately obtain a bit more than a hundred investitures. A MoDem candidate replaced Gaspard Gantzer, former communications advisor to Hollande, in Ille-et-Vilaine's 2nd constituency after fierce objections by local activists and his renunciation of the investiture, which he claimed he did not apply for, and mayor of Mont-de-Marsan Geneviève Darrieussecq and Senator Leila Aïchi, both members of the MoDem executive bureau, received investitures.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: Bayrou's party hopes to elect at least 15 deputies, necessary for the formation of a parliamentary group in the National Assembly; additionally, to be reimbursed for expenses, the party must receive at least 1% of the vote in at least 50 constituencies where it is present. Public financing is also allocated as a function of the number of elected officials, hence the ambitions of the MoDem.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: On 2 May, François Baroin was appointed by the political bureau of the Republicans (LR) to head the campaign for the legislative elections. A week before, he said that he would be available to serve as Prime Minister in a cohabitation government under Emmanuel Macron and considered it impossible not to run on the same program as its defeated presidential candidate François Fillon, who was eliminated in the first round of the presidential election, in the legislative elections. Baroin has indicated pessimism with regard to the prospects of the Republicans in the legislative elections, saying "At 150 [seats] is good. From 100 to 150 is not bad. Below 100 is a failure." The platform of the Republicans for the legislative election, published on 10 May, breaks with that of its defeated Fillon, who was eliminated in the first round, on several points. Though it preserved the plans to eliminate the 35-hour workweek and reform to the solidarity tax on wealth (ISF) on which he campaigned, it differed on terrorism, immigration, family, and European policy. The party ran in alliance with the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI), whose executive bureau on 7 March approved an accord with the Republicans reserving them 96 constituencies, including the 28 seats currently held by outgoing deputies, and preparing primaries in 42 constituencies between UDI and LR candidates.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: On 15 May, some 173 LR and UDI elected officials and personalities, including Jean-Louis Borloo, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, Christian Estrosi, and Thierry Solère, appealed to their fellows to "respond to the hand extended by the president", after which the Republicans published a counter-appeal, insisting that "France needs more than ever a majority of the right and centre in the National Assembly".


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: On 20 May, Baroin launched the campaign of the Republicans at the Bois de Vincennes, determined to impose cohabitation upon Macron and provide him with the "majority needed by France", a goal complicated by the inclusion of LR personalities in the formation the cabinet, and principally by the selection of Édouard Philippe as Prime Minister. In his speech, Baroin made his case for a "majority without ambiguity, without pretense. A real majority and not a majority of circumstances, meetings, and personal ambitions", describing the legislative elections before an audience of nearly 2,000 as "the mother of battles". Meanwhile, the appointment of three LR personalities as ministers in the government – Édouard Philippe, Bruno Le Maire, and Gérald Darmanin – in its attempt at a recomposition of politics infringed upon the space occupied by the party. Emphasizing that many mobilized merely against Le Pen and not for Macron, he wielded the party's program, borrowing elements from that of Fillon's.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: The National Front (FN), led by Marine Le Pen, ended its pre-investitures for the legislative elections in December 2016. The average age of the candidates is 47 years, with near-gender parity and almost 80% of candidates already having a local mandate (i.e., within a municipal, departmental, or regional council), compared to a rate of barely 10% in 2012. Some 50 constituencies were planned to be possibly contested by joint candidacies with Debout la France (DLF) following the rallying of Nicolas Dupont-Aignan to Le Pen after the second round of the presidential election, but on 14 May the FN announced the suspension of the agreement, intending to invest candidates in all 577 constituencies as a result, reversing the "principle of accord" on joint investitures that had been agreed upon earlier. The FN ran a candidate against Dupont-Aignan, the sitting deputy for Essonne's 8th constituency. Outgoing deputy Marion Maréchal-Le Pen announced her intention to leave politics on 9 May, and as such did not run in the legislative elections.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: Among the list of 553 candidates already invested by the FN include Florian Philippot in Moselle's 6th, Gilbert Collard in Gard's 2nd, Stéphane Ravier in Bouches-du-Rhône's 3rd, Wallerand de Saint-Just in Paris's 13th, and Sophie Montel in Doubs's 4th. Of the 553 candidates in the initial list, 86% are candidates not previously invested in 2012, with nearly 70% holding at least one elected office. The expulsion of Jean-Marie Le Pen from the party in August 2015 was followed by the departure of a number of his companions, who as a result were not invested as candidates. A number of mayors elected in the 2014 municipal elections chose not to stand in order to retain their local mandates, including Julien Sanchez in Beaucaire, Franck Briffaut in Villers-Cotterêts, and David Rachline in Fréjus. The alliance with the small party of Paul-Marie Coûteaux, Souveraineté, identité et libertés (SIEL), was broken in 2016; the party in 2012 provided 34 of the candidates invested by the FN.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: Le Pen herself was reluctant to introduce herself as a candidate after her defeat in the presidential election, with initial hopes of 80 to 100 deputies within the FN revised sharply downwards to 15 target constituencies. On 18 May, she confirmed that she would once again run in Pas-de-Calais's 11th constituency (where she lost by a hundred votes to Philippe Kemel in 2012), which includes Hénin-Beaumont (whose mayor is Steeve Briois of the FN) and where she received 58.2% of votes in the second round of the presidential election. Following the announcement, her father Jean-Marie Le Pen decided not to present a candidate under the banner of the "Union of Patriots", an alliance of far-right movements presenting 200 candidates across France, in the constituency.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: Following the victory of Macron in the presidential election, Le Pen stated that she did not deem the proposed reform of the labour code as a priority, criticizing the planned usage of ordonnances as a coup de force and believing that amending it to allow greater flexibility was nothing more than a demand of large employers. She also further critiqued the plans as the El Khomri law "times a thousand", but calling not for demonstrations on the streets but a vote for the FN.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: La France Insoumise, the political movement launched by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, former co-president of the Left Party (PG) who ran as a presidential candidate in both 2012 and 2017, intended to run candidates in all 577 constituencies. In a list of 410 investitures published in mid-February, gender parity was maintained, 60% of candidates came from civil society, and the average age was only 43 years, with the youngest at 19 years old. Candidates were selected after the national committee reviewed online applications of prospects.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: The constituencies contested by the movement included some held or contested by members of the French Communist Party (PCF). Relations deteriorated between the two, and in early May la France Insoumise proposed that the groupings withdraw competing candidacies in 26 constituencies. However, on 9 May, campaign spokesman Manuel Bompard said that there would be no accord between the two parties in the legislative elections and blamed the PCF for the failure to reach an agreement.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: On 11 May, Mélenchon announced that he would stand as a candidate in Bouches-du-Rhône's 4th constituency in a letter addressed to the adherents of his movement in Marseille, where the riding is located; he came first in the city during the first round of the presidential election, with almost 25% of the vote, and in the constituency he received 39.09%, far ahead of both Macron and Le Pen and one of his best scores nationally. The constituency was then held by Socialist deputy Patrick Mennucci, considered a "friend" by Mélenchon himself.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: The first wave of 395 Socialist candidates for the legislative elections was invested on 17 December 2016, including a number who supported of the candidacy of Emmanuel Macron in the presidential election, such as Alain Calmette in Cantal's 1st, Olivier Véran in Isère's 1st, Jean-Louis Touraine in Rhône's 3rd, Corinne Erhel in Côtes-d'Armor's 5th, Richard Ferrand in Finistère's 6th, Jean-Jacques Bridey in Val-de-Marne's 7th, Stéphane Travert in Manche's 3rd, and Christophe Castaner in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence's 2nd constituency. Of the outgoing deputies invested by La République En Marche!, Frédéric Barbier, deputy for Doubs's 4th constituency, was the only one to also remain invested by the PS; Christophe Borgel, national secretary of elections for the Socialist Party, stated that Barbier would retain his investiture as he was the "best to fight the National Front".


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: The party presented its own candidates in more than 400 constituencies, with the rest reserved for its allies Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV), the Union of Democrats and Ecologists (UDE), and the Radical Party of the Left (PRG). First Secretary Jean-Christophe Cambadélis also indicated that the PS hoped to open discussions with la France Insoumise and En Marche! for agreements in constituencies where Le Pen obtained more than 60 percent of the vote in the second round of the presidential election, as well as in ridings in which the second round of the legislative elections could foreseeably be fought between the right and the FN.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: On 9 May, the national bureau of the Socialist Party approved its three-page platform for the legislative elections entitled "a clear contract for France, a constructive and solidary left". It abandoned many of the proposals of its defeated presidential candidate Benoît Hamon and drew a number of red lines with regard to the program of Emmanuel Macron, refusing to allow the reform of the labour code by ordonnance and abolition of the solidarity tax on wealth (ISF) on non-property assets. Former Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve led the campaign for the legislative elections.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: Hamon himself chose to support candidates running against prominent reformists invested by the Socialist Party, backing Michel Nouaille of the French Communist Party (PCF) against former Prime Minister Manuel Valls, whom he defeated in the presidential primary; the feminist Caroline de Haas of EELV/PCF against Myriam El Khomri, namesake of her labour law; Philippe Rio of the PCF against Malek Boutih, a Socialist running under the banner of the presidential majority (having been denied an investiture) who violently denounced Hamon as a candidate who would "resonate with a fringe Islamic-leftist"; and Salah Amokrane of the EELV against Gérard Bapt, who made a controversial trip to Syria with three other parliamentarians in 2015.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: In an interview on 22 May, Cambadélis envisaged a potential renaming of the PS, stating that the party should "refound, reformulate, and restructure" to respond to the demand for the "renewal, social justice and ecology", after previously resisting the idea in 2014 when the possibility was mentioned by Valls while Prime Minister.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: In exchange for the withdrawal of ecologist candidate Yannick Jadot in the presidential election in favor of Socialist candidate Benoît Hamon in February, the PS agreed to reserve 42 constituencies for the EELV (including all those of its outgoing deputies), and the accord was formally approved by EELV on 19 April. The agreement also provided that the EELV did not present candidates in 53 constituencies. The investiture of former housing minister Cécile Duflot was maintained despite the opposition of mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, as was that of Sergio Coronado, who supported Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the presidential election; however, he nevertheless faced a Socialist candidate in the legislative elections. Many of the remaining constituencies are those of Socialist deputies who backed Emmanuel Macron in the presidential election.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: On 15 May, the EELV revealed its list of candidates for the legislative elections, investing 459 candidates (228 men and 231 women) and supporting 52 Socialists, 16 Communists, and François Ruffin under the banner of la France Insoumise. From the ranks of the party's leaders, national secretary David Cormand presented himself in Seine-Maritime's 4th, deputy national secretary Sandrine Rousseau in Pas-de-Calais's 9th, and spokesperson Julien Bayou in Paris's 5th.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: Though the French Communist Party (PCF) formally supported the candidacy of Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the presidential election, it still ran its own candidates in the legislative elections. After Mélenchon's defeat in the first round of the presidential election, Pierre Laurent once again called for an alliance with la France Insoumise. Negotiations between the two failed to produce an agreement, and on 9 May la France Insoumise announced that it would continue on in the legislative elections without allying with the PCF. PCF candidates who sponsored the candidacy of Mélenchon in the presidential election did not face any opposing candidate from la France Insoumise. The PCF and FI were face-to-face in almost all constituencies, with the PCF planning to invest 535 candidates and FI almost as many, though the possibility of a withdrawal from 20 or so constituencies remained. On 16 May, the PCF published a list of 484 candidates invested in the legislative elections, refraining from appearing in a number of constituencies in favor of candidates from la France Insoumise, EELV, PS, or Ensemble! (Clémentine Autain). According to the PCF, 40% of its candidates were younger than 50, and 20% younger than 40, with an average age of 51; a quarter were retired, 26% employees, 20% civil servants, and 7% manual workers. PCF candidates campaigned under the label of "PCF–Front de Gauche".


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: Debout la France (Arise France; abbreviated as DLF), led by former presidential candidate Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, intended to present candidates in all 577 constituencies; despite Dupont-Aignan's support of Le Pen in the second round, he reiterated that DLF candidates would face those of the FN, and the national council of Debout la France stated on 13 May that it would invest candidates in almost all constituencies, negotiations with the FN having failed upon the issue of joint investitures.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: Lutte Ouvrière (Workers' Struggle; abbreviated as LO) presented candidates in 553 constituencies, with 539 in metropolitan France, six in Réunion, four in Martinique, and four in Guadeloupe; presidential candidate Nathalie Arthaud contested Seine-Saint-Denis's 6th constituency, where she received 3% in the 2012 legislative elections. In terms of financing, the party accumulated some €2 million to cover costs. The New Anticapitalist Party (NPA) was unlikely to present candidates in the legislative elections due to the potentially high cost for the party, as campaign expenses are reimbursed only if a party's candidates attain 1% in at least 50 constituencies. Mouvement 100%, a coalition of 28 parties, including the Independent Ecological Alliance (AEI), planned to present candidates in all 577 constituencies. The Popular Republican Union (UPR) of François Asselineau planned to present candidates in all 577 constituencies, with 574 ultimately invested.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: Four deputies were elected in the first round: Sylvain Maillard (LREM) in Paris's 1st, Paul Molac (LREM) in Morbihan's 4th, Napole Polutele (DVG) in Wallis and Futuna's 1st, and Stéphane Demilly of the UDI in Somme's 5th constituencies.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: In the remaining 573 constituencies, it was determined that there would be 572 two-way contests in the second round, and only one three-way contest ("triangulaire"), in Aube's 1st constituency, involving LREM, LR, and the FN.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: In Aveyron's 2nd constituency, the candidate of the Republicans later withdrew and backed that of LREM.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: Because the Ministry of the Interior did not report results separately for EELV, the "total vote" percentage listed below is for all ecologist candidates.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: In the aftermath of the legislative elections, the split between Macron-compatible "constructives" within the Republicans (LR) and the rest of the party re-emerged. On 21 June, Thierry Solère announced the creation of a new common group in the National Assembly with the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) likely to contain the 18 UDI deputies and about 15 LR. The formation of two parliamentary groups on the right represented a symbolic divorce to the two threads on the right (the moderates and the hardliners) and the end of the old Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) which had been created in 2002 to unite the right and centre. The French Communist Party (PCF), la France Insoumise (FI), Socialist Party (PS), La République En Marche! (LREM), and Democratic Movement (MoDem) also sought to form separate parliamentary groups.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: The legislative elections were followed on 19 June by the conclusion of the Philippe I government by courtesy and reappointment of Édouard Philippe as Prime Minister; though usually a formality, the formation of the Philippe II government was complicated by the ongoing affair regarding alleged improprieties in the employment practices of MoDem officials in the European Parliament and elsewhere. The request of Minister of the Armed Forces Sylvie Goulard to leave the government on 20 June was soon followed by the announcement on 21 June that both Minister of Justice François Bayrou and Minister in charge of European Affairs Marielle de Sarnez would depart the government, the two being the remaining MoDem officials within the government. In the reshuffle, Richard Ferrand, implicated in allegations of nepotism regarding a property sale, was transferred from his post in government as Minister of Territorial Cohesion as planned president of the LREM group in the National Assembly, and likewise for de Sarnez with the newly created MoDem group. Despite these changes, the MoDem remained within the government, with the announcement of the Philippe II government on 21 June. The Socialist group was ultimately refounded as the "New Left" (NG), and Marc Fesneau was elected president of the MoDem group.


title: 2017 French legislative election

text: In the vote of confidence in the new government on 4 July 2017, 370 voted in favor, 67 opposed, and 129 abstained, representing a record level of abstention and the lowest level of opposition since 1959.


title: Blaze Media

text: Blaze Media is an American conservative media company. It was founded in 2018 as a result of a merger between TheBlaze and CRTV LLC. The company's leadership consists of CEO Tyler Cardon and president Gaston Mooney. It is based in Irving, Texas, where it has studios and offices, as well as in Washington, D.C.


title: Blaze Media

text: TheBlaze was a pay television network founded by Glenn Beck. Originally, it was called Glenn Beck TV, created after Beck's departure from Fox in 2011. In 2012, the network took the name of Beck's popular website, TheBlaze. From 2014 to 2017, the company had four different CEOs, followed by Beck himself. Months after Beck took the position, the company laid off over a fourth of its staff. CRTV LLC, which operated the "Conservative Review" and CRTV (Conservative Review Television), was an online subscription network.


title: Blaze Media

text: On August 31, 2010, three days after his Restoring Honor rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., conservative political commentator Glenn Beck launched the "TheBlaze" website, describing it as an alternative to "mainstream media outlets". TheBlaze headquarters are located in Irving, Texas, at the Mercury Studios (formerly the Studios at Las Colinas).


title: Blaze Media

text: Beck announced the creation of an online-only network replacing Insider Extreme as a result of his Fox News departure on June 7, 2011. On September 12, 2011, Beck launched GBTV (Glenn Beck TV) as an exclusive internet streaming network, produced and operated by Mercury Radio Arts. GBTV would air a television adaptation of his radio show, his television show, and other original programming, including "Real News from TheBlaze", a nightly news program hosted by former CNN personality Amy Holmes. On June 18, 2012, Mercury Radio Arts announced the consolidation of all of its outlets under the "TheBlaze" brand, thus renaming the internet television station from GBTV to TheBlaze.


title: Blaze Media

text: In 2012, Dish Network placed TheBlaze on its channel lineup. As a result of the "Get TheBlaze" campaign (a movement led by supporters to have other supporters call their cable or satellite television provider and ask them to carry the channel), several smaller, regional cable operators also have recently picked up TheBlaze—including Cablevision (also known as Optimum TV – Channel 828), a major cable provider in the New York metropolitan area.


title: Blaze Media

text: Betsy Morgan was named CEO of "TheBlaze" on December 9, 2014, replacing Chris Balfe, who had been CEO since the beginning. Morgan left the company in June 2015. Chief Revenue Officer Kraig Kitchin replaced Morgan until he resigned in January 2016, taking the position of Interim Head of Sales and being replaced by Stewart Padveen, a digital startup entrepreneur, who resigned in February 2017. Beck took over as CEO of the company in May 2017.


title: Blaze Media

text: In November 2015, Beck sent an open letter to the Republican National Committee, requesting permission for TheBlaze to host a Republican presidential debate; this offer was not accepted.


title: Blaze Media

text: On December 3, 2018, TheBlaze Inc. television arm merged with CRTV LLC, combining resources, personalities, personnel, subscribers, and programming. The merged entity, named Blaze Media, retained TheBlaze's channel slot and incorporated two of CRTV's programs into the channel's schedule ("Steve Deace Show" and "Wilkow!").


title: Blaze Media

text: Gavin McInnes, the co-founder of Vice Media and "Vice" magazine, founder of the Proud Boys, was expected to host his programs "Get Off My Lawn" and "CRTV Tonight" for the new company, whose co-president, Gaston Mooney, called McInnes "a comedian and provocateur, one of the many varied voices and viewpoints on Blaze Media platforms." Less than a week after the merger, however, it was announced that McInnes was no longer associated with Blaze Media, with no details given as to why. Former contributor Michelle Malkin likewise followed McInnes out the door after "CRTV" merger with "TheBlaze" in December 2018.


title: Blaze Media

text: In July 2018, CRTV published a satirical video that featured footage of then-Democratic candidate in New York's 14th congressional district midterm election, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, from a previous interview with PBS. The previous interview was edited to appear as if Ocasio-Cortez was giving nonsensical answers to questions read by CRTV commentator Allie Stuckey, a comedy routine more famously done by "Weird Al" Yankovic on his "Al TV" series. The video was accompanied by a caption reading "Allie *grills* congressional hopeful and progressive it girl 'Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez' on her socialist agenda and knowledge of government... or lack thereof." Following outcry from various media outlets, the outlet updated the caption to indicate that the video was satirical and included a link to the original PBS interview.


title: Blaze Media

text: On February 9, 2020, "White House Brief" host Jon Miller posted a tweet in response to South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho, director of "Parasite", and his acceptance speech at the 92nd Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay. Miller wrote: "A man named Bong Joon Ho wins #Oscar for best original screenplay over "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" and "1917". Acceptance speech was: 'GREAT HONOR. THANK YOU.' Then he proceeds to give the rest of his speech in Korean. These people are the destruction of America."


title: Blaze Media

text: The tweet immediately caused controversy, with numerous Twitter users and celebrities accusing Miller of racism and xenophobia. Miller clarified on his show that his tweet was not directed at Koreans, but rather those "woke" people in Hollywood who ignored social conventions.


title: Blaze Media

text: TheBlaze Radio Network was launched on September 5, 2012 and is available for free online via the company's website, iOS and Android apps, and the iHeartRadio app. TheBlaze Radio Network is the only host airing conservative talk-show host Pat Gray.