Editorial, The Straits Times, 28 Feb 2012
FEW things bring young parents as much stress as the perceived 'lottery' aspect of the Primary 1 school registration. This has been so despite the process being widely praised as having met two important tests: transparency and the unambiguous application phases of descending priority, from citizen siblings at the top to foreign applicants at the bottom. The unhappiness is about weightage given to certain categories of applicants, like those whose parents had connections of a varied nature with the school, or who were of certain religious or clan affiliations. Ideally, only children whose parents had attended a school of choice or who are currently on its staff should get preference. That is as far as affiliations should go. There are also parents who think residential proximity should be the sole criterion, and that everybody else should be subject to balloting. But the Education Ministry has a proximity classification of up to 2km; what is not well understood is why some who qualified failed to gain admission even after a ballot. Clarity shed here would be helpful.
If the ministry is undertaking another criteria review, it should be mindful that no changes, however well considered, will satisfy all parents fully. It is in the nature of a driven society to be perpetually fretful about finding the golden mean. The day may never come when Singaporean parents believe wholeheartedly that the primary school years that children go through are not as life-determining as secondary school and the tertiary choices it shapes. The fact that places will always be available, if a little distant from home, and that school standards and discipline levels are fairly even (save for a small band of notable schools), does not always hold sway.
How might the ministry reassure habitual worriers? One thing it ought not do is to go for a full-blown school zone system where applicants living within defined geographic precincts of a school are guaranteed places. Countries that tried the approach were overwhelmed by anomalies like 'creative' applications through short-term rental addresses and soaring property prices which disadvantaged families of limited means.
Any allocation system seen as inadvertently favouring those who are better off will bring a backlash in Singapore, where property ownership is in itself a delicate issue. But the strongest argument against any type of zoning scheme is that choice schools bursting at the seams will inevitably turn away eligible applicants. That will create angst and could even invite unnecessary legal challenges. Any review must uphold the principle of allocating places on the basis of fair and transparent criteria - not because of privilege or connections as that can otherwise undermine efforts to build a more inclusive society here.
Ministry relooking Primary 1 registration
Some parents say too much priority given to kids with links to school
By Sandra Davie, The Straits Times, 23 Feb 2012
THE Ministry of Education is understood to be studying how to improve the Primary 1 registration scheme, which has been criticised for giving too much priority to children with connections to the school.
It revealed the move in a letter to a school administration manager, who wrote to it late last year suggesting changes to the scheme.
In the ministry's letter, made public in an online teachers' forum, an official said the ministry was 'studying various options to improve the P1 registration framework'.
She also said any changes may take some time to be studied and implemented, as suggestions from various groups would have to be considered carefully.
She added that the scheme aims to allocate school places according to a set of fair and transparent criteria that are in the child's educational interests.
Asked about this yesterday, the ministry said it reviews the P1 registration framework regularly, taking into consideration public feedback.
A spokesman added that the system was last changed in 2010 to give Singaporean citizens priority over permanent residents. The Primary 1 registration scheme underwent a major revamp in 1999 to give greater priority to parents who are active in schools.
Former students who joined their schools' alumni associations were given priority over other old boys and girls when it came to getting their children into the school. Parent volunteers had to serve a minimum of 40 hours to qualify.
There are six phasesin the registration process, with siblings of children already in a school getting top priority. Next come the children of alumni, parent volunteers or those with church or clan connections.
They are followed by all Singaporeans and permanent residents, with non-citizens last in the pecking order. If any phase is oversubscribed, priority is given to those who live nearby.
Parents have complained that the later stages often end up with more applicants than available places.
Last year, close to half of Singapore's 173 primary schools had to hold ballots and there were children who could not get into schools near their homes.
Others have complained that the scheme is unfairly weighted in favour of alumni - some of whom may not play an active role in the school - and those with church or clan connections.
Some parents want more places allocated to Phase 2C, for those without any ties to the school. Others want the ministry to stop giving priority to any group, and open all places to a ballot.
But the loudest calls have been to give priority to children living closest to the school of their choice.
Two years ago, two MPs raised this suggestion in Parliament, saying that they knew of children who could not get into schools very near their homes.
At the time, the ministry said it would not change the rule as those who live within 1km of the school are already given priority. It said guaranteeing places to those who live very close by would place unnecessary constraints on the system.
Mountbatten MP Lim Biow Chuan, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education, yesterday agreed that the phase prioritising alumni does not distinguish between parents who contribute to the school and those who are 'sleeping members' who merely joined the alumni association.
'That's something that the ministry should look at to make it a fairer system,' he said.
Six out of eight parents interviewed yesterday supported any move to review the scheme.
Business executive Zachary Teo, 40, said he moved to Serangoon North to be close to popular Rosyth School, but he was not sure that his two children would get in.
'It will be ridiculous if I can't get a place at Rosyth and have to send my son by school bus to a school in Ang Mo Kio or Hougang,' he said.
How it currently works
Phase 1: For a child who has a sibling currently in the school. All children registered under this phase will be given places in the schools of their choice.
Phase 2A(1): For a child whose parent is a former pupil of the school and has joined the alumni association, or is a member of the school's advisory committee.
Phase 2A(2): For a child whose parent is a staff member of the school, or whose parent or sibling has studied there. At the end of Phase 2A(2), half of the remaining places in schools will be allocated for Phase 2B and the other half for Phase 2C.
Phase 2B: For a child whose parent is a volunteer and has put in at least 40 hours of voluntary service to the school or who is a member of the church or clan association connected with it. This phase also applies to a child whose parent is an active community leader.
Phase 2C: For a child who is ineligible for or unsuccessful in earlier phases.
Phase 3: For a child who is not a Singapore citizen or a permanent resident.
If there are excess applications during each phase, admissions are then made based on how close the child lives to the school. Children living within a 1km radius of the school are given priority, followed by those within 2km.
If there is balloting in any of the phases, Singaporeans will get two ballot slips while permanent residents get one.
Don't be anxious about securing P1 spots, education minister tells parents
By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia, 24 Feb 2012
Education Minister Heng Swee Keat has called on parents not to be "anxious" about getting their children into primary schools.
He was responding to queries on the ministry's review of the Primary One registration framework.
The current framework is a tiered system comprising six phases.
Priority is given to children who have siblings in the same school, followed by those whose parents are alumni, volunteers, or who have church or clan affiliations.
The same rules apply to Singaporeans and Permanent Residents. Foreigners apply during the final stage.
The ministry recently indicated that it is "studying various options to improve" the scheme.
Mr Heng declined to go into details, saying more will be announced at a later time.
But he stressed that parents must realise there are more than just one or two good schools in the system.
He said: "What we need to do is make sure that we have many more good schools and that we send this message out loud and clear to all parents.
"The key thing is to understand what the schools are doing, then the parents will be in a better position to choose the school, and importantly, to support their children in their educational journey.
"It's important to realise that it's not that one place, but there are many good places that we can go to, and any change that we make must take that into account."
No comments:
Post a Comment