Give citizens priority in Primary 1 registration

[buds]

Guess this serves as a good lesson

for us all that it’s best not to let MOE
handle the posting for us, especially
if it’s the distance factor we’re looking
into… have to thank fallen for sharing…

It was impossible for me to do PV back
then when it was time for DD to be
registered for P1, with another infant
to care for and for hubs who then had
to run some shift duties and also the
as the sole breadwinner, i’d rather he
kept his job than having to take frequent
leaves just to do PV.

As we know today, there are also PVs
who have been unsuccessful with the
school of their choice…

Having to register a first-born child under
Phase 2C can be quite a challenge if there
are few schools within vicinity of residence,
or higher intake in earlier Phases (meaning
less places available at 2C)… (etc).

I can empathize with fallen’s predicament…
and fallen… i suppose titank has shared gd
advise. Waitlist or swap when child is older.
If you wish for the convenience of distance
for your child. All my best…

In my opinion, your sharing is not a petty
complaint… different families would have
to go through different measures in
different circumstances of their lives.

[qms]

titank:

Presuming those who were not successful in balloting of Radin Mas (2C) & Gan Eng Seng (2C Supp).Would all of them be posted to Blangah Rise Primary?

Hi Titank!

My understanding is as follows:

Those staying in Bt Merah, if they are not successful in RMPS, GESPS, Zhangde or CHIJ Kellock, and distance IS a top concern for them, they would have chosen Blangah Rise Primary as one of their 3 choices. In fact, should be first choice because the other schools (e.g. New Town, Queenstown, Stamford, etc.) should be further in terms of distance. If they had chosen Blangah Rise, why should MOE not post them to this school since it fulfils the requirements - have vacancy and near?

Unless the parent did not opt for Blangah Rise, and instead, chose 3 other schools which are further away. If that is the case, should we blame MOE for posting the child to a school that is far away from the house?

Or, unless the parent chose Blangah Rise, yet the MOE didn't post the child to the school. Then, this should be an issue of contention.

Perhaps my understanding is wrong all along.

[jedamum]

what if the no. of parents choosing blangah rish exceeds the school’s vacancies? then maybe MOE tikam tikam allocate or they allocate based on distance ie if applicant A is 3km from BRPS and 5 km from XYZPS compared with applicant B who is 3.5km from BRPS but 7km from next available school, maybe MOE will let applicant B into BRPS instead applicant A? just my wild thoughts…

in any case, there is no course of appeal when MOE does the allocation. best bet is to go on waiting list for a transfer as someone mentioned earlier.

[qms]

jedamum:

in any case, there is no course of appeal when MOE does the allocation.

Actually, I am quite curious. If I had registered my child in Phase 2B, and I want to change to another school in Phase 2C, I need to withdraw my child's registration with the first school before I am allowed to register in the second school.

So, if MOE posts my child to a school that I don't want my child to be in after Phase 2CS, can I not withdraw his name from the school, and apply at another school in Phase 3? :?

[titank]

Hi QMS,


So that mean there is a choice for those who had failed in the Phase 2CS. I guess by looking at Central, Bukit Merah & Queenstown, these are the following schools should have places in Phase 3.

Blangah Rise Primary
New Town Primary
Queenstown Primary
Stanford Primary

[qms]

titank:

So that mean there is a choice for those who had failed in the Phase 2CS.

Hi Titank!

That's right. Those who were unsuccessful at P2C had to choose 3 schools for MOE to post their children to. Those who didn't choose the 3 schools, MOE would post the children to nearest schools that still had vacancies.

These were done before Phase 3 started. That was why if we were to check the MOE website before Phase 3, the number of vacancies available to the schools were shown as \"Not Available\".

As for parents who had indicated 3 schools, but their children were not posted to one of the three schools, I have no idea how MOE arrived at the allocation of places.

[schellen]

qms:

Actually, I am quite curious. If I had registered my child in Phase 2B, and I want to change to another school in Phase 2C, I need to withdraw my child's registration with the first school before I am allowed to register in the second school.


So, if MOE posts my child to a school that I don't want my child to be in after Phase 2CS, can I not withdraw his name from the school, and apply at another school in Phase 3? :?

You can't. You have to withdraw first. And Phase 3 is first-come-first-served so you can't wait-and-see like for the previous Phases.

[3Boys]

I hope no one is thinking that I am trivialising the concerns of parents with regards to getting a place at a good school and within a close distance. Its important to me so why would it not be important to someone else? The point I am making is that we should not be making the PRs the bogeyman in this exercise. At one level, if the rules are drawn up as such, they fully have the rights to play within them. Next, if one wishes to debate the merits of such a policy, then one needs to consider the whole picture and philosophy of PRs vs citizens rights, and not merely drill in on school admissions. If one, just because of an acute (and because of its immediacy, looms large and threatening) need, then tweaks a micro-policy without considering the macro, then it is a really lousy way of developing policy and strategy. This is what I mean by the big picture. Also, they are by no means the only people (and hardly the majority) who drive the perversion of the system. Think all the people who rent apartments and pay over the odds for houses just to get within range of schools. What about the folk who have been living there for years? Fair?

[cafelatte]

I completedly, wholeheartedly agree with 3boys. You worded it so well! My sentiments exactly!

[pinkie]

Penza:

BTW I wrote ths to ST but it never got posted:


In her letter, Mrs Agawal have hit the gist of why PR students should not be given equal chance for Primary 1 registration. She says that if her children were unable to secure a place in a good public school, why would her family to stay? A Singpore citizen will never be able to say that. We are here to stay and as such deserve the right to choose before a permanent resident.

Think about it, if her husband or herself cant get a job here ,do you think she can or will stay? For these ppl, jobs & money are the main priorities before education. I dont believe that they will go for a lower paying job or less prospective jobs so that their children can have better education in a foreign country. They will go to where there are greener grass & if it packages with good education, why not. And at the same time get to enjoy same priviledge as citizens like us.

For one thing, maybe you singaporeans will be happy to know that this citizen has got a place through balloting but my neighbour(PR) did not :celebrate:.