Give citizens priority in Primary 1 registration

[tankee]

why question primary school only? and not secondary and tetiary as well?

[oneheart]

mum03:

I second that, I fully agree with you ti tank. I have come across PR's who only wants the good things which singapore provide. When it comes to national service (their sons), they prefer to go back to their roots. They do not want to stay any longer, after the kids turn 18 yrs.
So where is the logic, they have somewhere to fall back, whereas us, there is no way of escaping, we have to share our pies. Its not fair. :x

I fully agree with you. I heard some of my frens dd PV in some schs where the housewife PR are hogging the assignments. Add on the woes of FTWM SGporean mom doing trying to juggle work, family & pv for P1.

[Busymom]

I have the exact same thought few weeks ago during the \"heat\" of the P1 registration in July. Made this comment to some friends including DH after seeing so many parents in this forum getting stressed over their children P1 registration. All of them said cannot lah, discrimination, etc. etc. I know my comment would be politically incorrect and I don't think the government or MOE will ever implement it, but I really think in Phase 2C, there should be a distinction made between Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans. Many PRs could choose to pack their bags and migrate to another country (afterall, there are some not-too-far-away countries offering good tiertary education, right?) before their sons are required to serve NS, and I have seen this happening. It is really unfair if you think about it, some citizens are derived of a place in the good primary schools (even though they may stay within 1km) while the PRs may just have a short term view of staying in this country. :x


Maybe there should be a quota for non-citizen PVs in each school.

Or since our country particularly likes to welcome foreign talents, maybe these children should go through some entry exams while citizens can be exempted? :evil:

Oops, another politically incorrect statement. :lol:

For secondary schools and tiertary, that should be based on merit lah.

[titank]

\"Foreign Talent\"?? Can anyone tell me how to define Foreign Talent?

I search disctionary also cannot find this word. :?

[cafelatte]

I look at it from government’s point of view. We accept that we need the PRs so their children’s education is one "carrot" that government has to dangle infront of the PRs. Secondly, if the children are educated here, there’s higher chance they will be more rooted and likely to take up citizenship. To be honest, many citizens also uprooted and left Singapore, right ? If it is difficult to get into a reasonably-ok school here, Singapore will be less attractive to potential PRs.


I’ll vote for the exclude PRs from phase 2B option - that way, both sides give & take a little.

[titank]

cafelatte:

I look at it from government's point of view. We accept that we need the PRs so their children's education is one \"carrot\" that government has to dangle infront of the PRs. Secondly, if the children are educated here, there's higher chance they will be more rooted and likely to take up citizenship. To be honest, many citizens also uprooted and left Singapore, right ? If it is difficult to get into a reasonably-ok school here, Singapore will be less attractive to potential PRs.


I'll vote for the exclude PRs from phase 2B option - that way, both sides give & take a little.

Oh like that can ask CKS to have a KSP Parliament to debate on it. How many seats available?

[qms]

cafelatte:

...We accept that we need the PRs so their children's education is one \"carrot\" that government has to dangle infront of the PRs.

So, while PRs have the right to believe that some schools are better than the others, Singaporeans have no choice but to accept that \"all schools are the same\", especially when their children have been balloted out? :?

cafelatte:

Secondly, if the children are educated here, there's higher chance they will be more rooted and likely to take up citizenship.

....only if the children need not go through NS?

[3Boys]

IMO, the real issues are;


1) How we use home-school distnace in allocating priority (the bigger problem, IMO), and

2) How are the incentives/disincentives for PRs to commit to become Singaporeans pitched.

Perhaps the question of whether PRs should have equal priority at Phase 2C is a tactic to be employed in point 2) is a pertinent one, but this Phase 2C priority issue is frankly otherwise a sideshow. Of course all families desire to locate their child in a school that is reputable and close to home, PR or not.

P.S. I have done my NS and am contributing 3 XYs to the future defence of the nation

[cafelatte]

2nd generation PRs need to serve NS so their kids and our kids are sort of on equal stand on this point. We do have families who give up citizenship and move to another country because of NS too. Yes, the PRs may not stay…the citizens may not stay too. If you are the government, you just got to try your best to make your citizens happy(tough challenge) and yet not penalise the PRs too much


Let say we don’t have many ‘foreign talents’…our birth rates are impressive…and our children are balloted out of our ‘choice’ school. No PRs to blame then…we’ll accept that it is due to competition ? It is exactly the same situation now…competition. So do we penalise the PR parents in this mad race to get to a "good school" ? Would you consider moving to Australia if the Australian government has a policy that your children will only go to schools that has vacancies after Australian citizens had their pick ?

I’ll say our government can tip the scale a little - maybe in phase 2B. However, even then, I am sure there’ll be Singapore parents who’ll question why as citizens they need to put in PV hours in order to have better chance to get into a ‘choice’ school.

[KS_me]

titank:

\"Foreign Talent\"?? Can anyone tell me how to define Foreign Talent?

I search disctionary also cannot find this word. :?

one good example would be Jet Li 李连杰.. who knows \"Kung Fu\" and obtained Citizenship easily.

have you wonder which school will his kids ended up at? I bet all will be placed in the Top school..