Give citizens priority in Primary 1 registration

[FMz]

ChiefKiasu:

FMz:

cheer up bro.... I have also written countless times to ST without getting published. at this rate..... i can forsee wats the topics for next year rally liao....haha

Hmm? The ST has never failed to publish anything I've posted to them so far... guess I've been lucky.

me not going into in depth discussion here, so generally you are lucky.

the way for improvement is the technique to thread the line between danger zone & destruction zone.... only those who have thread this line & come out alive will be able to resolve issues & improve.

[tankee]

shaynamommy:

In summary, why is foreign talent = PRs and not citizens? Because there is no incentive for them to convert.


Incentives aside, I think it also boils down to the values system. I have a PR fren who converted to s'pore citizenship when his son was 9 yo. I respect this father a lot. He was away from S'pore most of the time on expat assignmts but he decides to let his son pursue his edn here cos like what the PRs have said ' he wants the best for his child'. But he converted to SC! Why? He told me that he needs his son to understand the imptce of responsibility, that the son and his family needs to payback to Singapore by becoming a SC and serving in the army.

For those PRs who lacks such values, we'd really need to have distinct incentives for them to ' enable' them to tweak their values system.

:celebrate: tell your SC fren, beers on me ! :celebrate:

[Luanee]

Busymom:

qms:

[quote=\"Luanee\"]Actually I think citizens here do not have any advantage over PRs here at all, be it housing, education etc...

In terms of housing, only Singaporeans are eligible to purchase HDB flats DIRECTLY from HDB. PRs can only purchase HDB flats from the resale market.

Well, this benefit of buying a flat from HDB diret is not absolute, it only applies to Singaporeans whose monthly household salary is below a cap.[/quote]Exactly! They cap that only households with COMBINED monthly income of less than 8k a month are eligible to buy directly from HDB. Come on, a family with a working couple who have worked a few years would easily reach that limit. And the new flats are all either at Punngol/ Sengkang/ JurongWest areas. That push most Singaporeans to the resale market as well.

[jedamum]

Luanee:

Exactly! They cap that only households with COMBINED monthly income of less than 8k a month are eligible to buy directly from HDB.

don't get me started on HDB and policies which they can't explain the rationale. :roll:

[buzybuzz]

jedamum:

Luanee:

Exactly! They cap that only households with COMBINED monthly income of less than 8k a month are eligible to buy directly from HDB.

don't get me started on HDB and policies which they can't explain the rationale. :roll:

So cham, too rich to buy from HDB direct, too poor to buy private. Buy resale flat at a premium near school of choice (complete with PRs), then ballot at phase 2C (complete with PRs). Finally have to choose another school further away from home. . . :stupid:

[ptx2ptx]

qms:

If this is the case, then all PRs will rush to perform volunteer work.

This happened to SVPS, met lotsa PRs in PV for 2B and there's balloting for this. I'm in 1-2km and was automatically booted out!

[radiantmum]

Sharing with you the below blog entry from http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/ on the same topic.


Education, and Even More Discrimination Against Citizens

ST Aug 20, 2009
Thanks, being a PR is good enough

IN RESPONSE to letters by Mr Jimmy Loke ('The PR difference', last Saturday) and Mr Chia Kok Leong ('No school, no Singapore', last Saturday), I would only ask them to refer to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's speech reported last Friday ('MM: Foreign talent is vital'), where he gave an idea of the benefits citizens have over permanent residents (PRs).

I am happy to be a PR and although we do not get equal benefits in housing and other respects, that is understandable. We understand the difference between a citizen and a PR.

But where our children are concerned, we just want them to have the best education possible and I think we are not asking much. Citizens have the upper hand in buying homes and other respects, which is justified, but where schooling is concerned, 'every child has the right to get the best education possible'.

About living here for six years and not taking citizenship, I think this is a very personal choice. I would just like to end this topic by saying we are not here to compete with citizens but there are certain things on which one cannot compromise and children's education is one of them. I think we are not asking much and we are grateful to the Government for understanding that for every parent, his child's welfare comes first.

I would like to thank Mr Loke and Mr Chia for inviting us to become citizens but for now, I am proud to be a citizen of my country and have PR status in Singapore.

Sweta Agarwal (Mrs)
The context of this letter is admission to primary schools. The process is highly competitive, for the top schools. PRs and Singaporeans are treated the same way in the admissions process (which leads some Singaporeans to complain).

Actually, that's incorrect. The deeper truth is that Singaporeans do not enjoy the same rights as PRs, as far as primary school admissions are concerned. Singaporeans are disadvantaged, vis a viz the PRs. Let me explain.

Some years ago, I went to a friend's home for a party. Mark is Australian by birth, and has since become a PR. He also had two sons, who were then of primary school age.

The two boys were not attending a local primary school. Instead they were attending an international school in Singapore. I can't remember exactly which one now - it could have been the Singapore American School, or perhaps it was the Australian International School.

Mark started to tell me about what his sons did in school, the kind of curriculum they had etc. His two sons also showed me their school projects, and photos of their school activities.

It struck me that in some ways, this international school was much better than the average local school. There was less emphasis on rote learning, memory work and exams. The children had more time for sports, cultural activities and field trips. It was a happier, more creative kind of learning environment.

I began to think that if I could, maybe I should also send my son to an international school, when he was old enough.

But I learned later that I could not.

PRs in Singapore can send their young children to a local primary school, or to an international school. The PRs have the right to choose. If they choose a local primary school, then they enjoy the same priority as Singaporean citizens, in the admissions process. Alternatively, PRs can send their children to an international school in Singapore, such as one of these:

Singapore American School
Australian International School
Canadian International School
Stamford American International School
Avondale Grammar School
Emaar International School
One World International School
EtonHouse International School
Overseas Family School
Tanglin Trust School
The Swiss School Singapore
However, Singaporean citizens do not have that option. They are not allowed to send their young children to international schools. Whether they like it or not, they must send their children to a local primary school. Not because the international schools reject Singaporeans. But because the Singapore government says so.

The Compulsory Education Act states that Singaporean parents must send their child, at age six, to attend a \"national primary school\". The rule is compulsory, and excludes international schools, and does not apply to PRs, but only to Singaporeans.

Therefore unlike PRs, Singaporeans do not have the option of sending their little children to an international school (instead of a local school). In fact, that would be a criminal offence. You could be sent to prison for up to one year.

Isn't it fun to be Singaporean? It's like being one of the heroes in Mission Impossible. There are booby traps everywhere you turn.

Time for another poem, from my book Two Baby Hands (which is available at Kinokuniya). This poem explains what I find disturbing, about the local education system. Sandra Davie, the ST journalist who writes about education, likes this particular poem a lot. Sandra told me so herself, when she came to my book launch and I was autographing her copy.

In Our Schools

Some are Special,
or Express. A few are
Gifted. The others
are merely Normal
(a polite lie).

All are classifiable,
like chemical compounds,
lists of Chinese
proverbs,
or lab specimens of
dead insects -

preserved, labelled,
pinned by a cold
needle
through the
unfeeling thorax.

[buzybuzz]

A rebutal.. ..


http://www.straitstimes.com/ST+Forum/Online+Story/STIStory_419729.html

Priority in education for citizens and non-citizens is an either-or option

MRS Sweta Agarwal, in her letter on Thursday ('Thanks, being a PR is good enough), has rightly pointed out that taking citizenship is a personal choice. Again, she is right that 'every child has the right to get the best education possible'.

However, she is plainly misguided in believing that while in Singapore, a non-Singaporean child should have an equal right as a Singaporean child to the best education possible. The division of educational resources, a limited commodity, becomes a zero-sum game. Priority can be given only to either citizen children or non-citizen children, but not both.

What Mrs Agarwal demands is tantamount to political suicide for any government, not just ours. Let us consider - would an Indian government ever give priority to Pakistani children in admission to Indian schools and universities?

In this case, Mrs Agarwal should bear the consequences of her personal choice in not becoming a citizen - that her child will be discriminated against in terms of educational resource allocation.

While most Singaporeans are pragmatic enough to acknowledge the need for foreign talent, this does not mean foreign talent should outstay its welcome and denigrate the spirit of citizenship.

To foreign friends in Singapore, just stick by the old adage, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do', and I am sure you will have a pleasant time here.

Hoon Tze Ming

[blueblue]

caroline3sg:

Totally agree. The benefits must not be negligible, but must be distinct.

That is what I have been telling my hubby. No incentives at all. Even the medical benefits between PR and citizens doesn't differ much. It is only recently the government tweak it a bit.

I do find it is a bit ridiculous that some PR hv priority over citizens esp in the phrase 2B.

I read somwhere that being a PR is akin to getting a permanent work permit. I think a lot Singaporeans are actually sore abt these things.

Maybe someone should remind our dear gahmen tat who votes for them?????

[raysusan]

blueblue:

That is what I have been telling my hubby. No incentives at all. Even the medical benefits between PR and citizens doesn't differ much. It is only recently the government tweak it a bit.


I do find it is a bit ridiculous that some PR hv priority over citizens esp in the phrase 2B.

I read somwhere that being a PR is akin to getting a permanent work permit. I think a lot Singaporeans are actually sore abt these things.

Maybe someone should remind our dear gahmen tat who votes for them?????

or we can vote wisely in the next GE