[Serangoon] Primary Schools

[choz_cai]

just received the confirmation letter from ATS…

[phtthp]

how is the situation right now for Rosyth, Yangzheng, CHIJ (Lady Good Counsel), St Gabriel, Zhonghua ? did school say what time ballot, which day ?


appreciate ‘live’ update keep coming in from P2B parents out there now. Thank you very much.

[mantaray]

Just went to rosyth first thing in morning. Lots of people. Already confirmed balloting and more applicants coming in the pm and tomo. Looking for alternative schools.


Balloting this fri 2.30pm.

[mantaray]

I heard rosyth has 39 today. Half one km.

[phtthp]

P2B day 1 (18 July 2011)


school,\tvacancy for P2B,\tno. of children registered

1\tRosyth\t25\t39

2\tCHIJ (Lady Counsel)\t45\t27


3\tSt. Gabriel\t50\t11

4\tYangzheng\t39\t10


5\tZhonghua\t80\t0

[Dreamygal]

Hi,


Anyone went to register at Rosyth today?

[phtthp]

P2B day 2 (19 July 2011)


vacancy for P2B, no. of children registered.

1\tRosyth\t25\t41

2\tCHIJ (Lady Counsel)\t45\t35


3\tSt. Gabriel\t50\t26

4\tYangzheng\t39\t10

[SmartDad]

Dear All,


I went to the Phase 2B balloting on Friday. 13 applicants for 3 seats. The principal mentioned that in Phase 2C, historically chances are slim for folks live between 1 to 2km. Thus, I’m stuck if I should register in Phase 2C as I live between 1 and 2km.

Any comments?

[Dreamygal]

SmartDad,


You talking about Rosyth? For the past few years, balloting in phrase 2C were only for those <1km.

[mantaray]

I think we need to review the P1 PV approach in some schools. Here is my email to the new consultative govt and PM regarding the experience at rosyth. Contrary to the expressed consultative approach, there was no reply at all.


The letter is as follows :


Dear Sir,

I would like to share with you a sad situation on the ground with regards to primary school admission.  Sorry, I know mail is misplaced to you but my family is really distressed and we are so affected by the process that we don’t even know if we will be traced and victimised.

Anyway - More than two years ago, I signed up with a group of about 30 parent volunteers to qualify ourselves to P2B admission into Rosyth Primary School.

Now, two years later, and having taken almost all my annual leave to perform whatever tasks that the school has allocated to us (we have well more than 100 hours of duty to the school), we are none the closer to qualifying into the school.

Athough I am not as affected as to my prospects of entering Rosyth, I am more concerned with the seemingly flawed process and hoops parents have to go through to enter a primary school of choice :

1.  Issue with transparent information to facilitate forward planning by parents.  At the time of application to the parent volunteer programme, we are unaware of :

-  the significant reduction by MOE of the intake size to Rosyth school.  MOE should have made us aware.

-  the change in political boundaries for Rosyth to be transferred from Aljunied to AMK GRC heard that there is significnt increases in grassroot applications.  MOE should have made us aware.

2.  Whilst the P2B exercise is not over, the volunteers have been made aware that those outside of 1km are not likely to get in with slim ballot chances.  Shouldn’t MOE have planned for the right number of cohort intake and volunteer/eligible grassroot numbers.  These are all possible planning parameters that was seemingly uncatered for.  Or they could be made clear to parents that there was significant intake decreases and political boundary and thus grassroot leader numbers.

3.  High volunteer requirements.  My duties allocated were about two to three hours per week and we were told that we needed more than the MOE minimum of 40hrs.  We were told its about 80hrs.  Towards the P1 registration, we were told demand from grassroot leaders etc seems high and we may need to clock more hours.  Most of the parent volunteers have well over a hundred hours.  If we do a simple mathematics, we could see that many grown men have been doing various tasks (no matter how simple), taking leave from economically important jobs, time away fromm kids and family to fight for a chance into a school.  Now this is just going to be a bad gamble as the chances in spite of all these trial by ordeal does at best give a slim chance in a ballot.  Perhaps this gambling and economically taxing system should be scrapped (esp since the labour market is so tight).  Are the schools resourced sufficiently for most of these manual tasks or do they require 120hrs
x 25 PV to obtain 3125 free manhours?  On the positive end, I have grown attached to the school and its staff having "worked" there for the past two years.  But all these is useless if I do not get not get into the school (esp since I heard that those >2km wont even get to ballot in site of the high volunteer hours).

4.  I also discovered durng this process that whilst it is stipulated that citizens have priority over PRs, this is not true in reality. Normal incomed local citizens are likely to have homes and have attachment to them (financially or emotionally). The PRs that we see in the programme, have changed their rental flats to rental flats closer to the schools to have a near perfect chance to entering the school.  They can thus clock minimum PV hours as they will be closer by distance.  I know of a few Singaporeans who shifted homes to get closer but they are rich in an uncommon way.  That leaves the rest/bulk of Singaporeans who are attached to SG and their homes and are thus more inflexible and disadvantaged.  Its really sad.


I think trying to enter a primary school is painful, stressful due to lack of information, sad and makes you believe its better to be a PR.  The lack of places and strange reduction in intake for many popular schools (not made known to public) also makes the education system similar to the bad state the public housing market is in.  

Sir, I hope you can change the situation.  Be it transport, cost of living, education and housing - we are squeezed.  I am a loyal Singaporean and I am feeling really betrayed now.

Regards