DSA Appeal 2011

[oliveminx]

carebear:

Her friends told her that they will be stucked in that school for the next 6 years. Really sad..... especially when there are other hopefuls for that school.......

True, all parents want the best for their child. What I don't get is this feeling of entitlement that they deserve a place in the dream school simply because their T-score is above the COP. If they had opted for S1 posting, then they would have got in but the fact of the matter is they did not. All appeal cases are subject to approval. There is no guarantee they can get in. And the suggestion to wait for PSLE results to be out before accepting a CO defeats the whole purpose of having DSA in the first place.

Does MOE have a responsibility to make sure everyone gets to their dream school? Places in the top schools are limited. What MOE can do is provide a system that's as fair as possible for people to compete for the places.

Parents/students who accepted the CO from a second choice school basically had no confidence of being able to get in to the second choice school on the strength of their PSLE score. If they want to compete on equal footing with the rest of the cohort, then don't DSA. Even if they can't get into their dream school, they may still be able to qualify for the second choice school with their PSLE score without DSA. If they want to play safe and accept the CO, then not being able to go to their dream school (should their T-score be better than expected) is the trade-off they have to accept.

Last but not least, not getting to the dream school is hardly the end of the world. If the second choice school is such a hardship, why waste the second choice school's time by applying for DSA? The second choice school is still one of the top schools and can provide an equally good if not better education. Who's to say that the student will definitely do better in the dream school? I know people who went to RI but were not happy there. The grass will always seem greener on the other side.

[carebear]

I agree with you PiggyLalala.

Previously the rule was bent, but now it is firm and unyielding.
So yes, before CO was being accepted, there should have been a re-emphasis that this year, the rule is to be strictly implemented.

[MummySTay]

carebear:

I agree with you PiggyLalala.

Previously the rule was bent, but now it is firm and unyielding.
So yes, before CO was being accepted, there should have been a re-emphasis that this year, the rule is to be strictly implemented.

Can't speak for other schools, but DD's primary school did communicate to the students that there would be no appeal for DSA COs.

And DD's form teacher re-emphasized the ruling before we exercised the CO in October.

[PiggyLalala]

MummySTay:

carebear:

I agree with you PiggyLalala.

Previously the rule was bent, but now it is firm and unyielding.
So yes, before CO was being accepted, there should have been a re-emphasis that this year, the rule is to be strictly implemented.

Can't speak for other schools, but DD's school did communicate to the students that there would be no appeal for DSA COs.

And DD's form teacher re-emphasized the ruling before we exercised the CO in October.

Not too sure of that too since I have no P6 child this year. From the posts in the DSA thread, it seemed only RGS and HCI have indicated the new directive from MOE. Maybe parents who had been through DSA this year can comment on this so that we can have a better picture.

[samontheway]

I double checked the moe website on dsa: http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/dsa-sec/

no info like \"unallowed appeal\" at all. It just mentioned that the dsaer cannot participate S1.

Since some friends here talks alot about \"immoral, disloyal or unfair\", what about S1 appeal? any difference between them in terms of immoral or disloyalty or unfairness? sorry, no offence to the S1 appealers who are already successful. congrat! I wish i was one of you.

As to the unallowed appeal to DSA, no school released this info during my visits to any of their open-houses; even for NYGH,(1 English auditorium and 1 Chinese auditorium), i took the first session of Chinese one but i was not informed. but somebody said both HCI and NYGH did so, i am wondering \"is his or her kid girl or boy\"? why did this guy took part in the said two school?

[jtoh]

PiggyLalala:

MummySTay:

[quote=\"carebear\"]I agree with you PiggyLalala.

Previously the rule was bent, but now it is firm and unyielding.
So yes, before CO was being accepted, there should have been a re-emphasis that this year, the rule is to be strictly implemented.

Can't speak for other schools, but DD's school did communicate to the students that there would be no appeal for DSA COs.

And DD's form teacher re-emphasized the ruling before we exercised the CO in October.

Not too sure of that too since I have no P6 child this year. From the posts in the DSA thread, it seemed only RGS and HCI have indicated the new directive from MOE. Maybe parents who had been through DSA this year can comment on this so that we can have a better picture.[/quote]I believe MummySTay is referring to her primary school telling students and parents about the no appeal ruling. In postings about 2 months or so ago several parents also mentioned having been told by their primary schools about this clampdown.

As for DSA schools, NYGH also told students of the no-appeal rule.

[MummySTay]

jtoh:

I believe MummySTay is referring to her primary school telling students and parents about the no appeal ruling. In postings about 2 months or so ago several parents also mentioned having been told by their primary schools about this clampdown.

As for DSA schools, NYGH also told students of the no-appeal rule.

Thanks, jtoh, for clarifying.

Added \"primary\" to my earlier post so that there would be no further confusion.

[samontheway]

"Thanks, jtoh, for clarifying."


sry, i’m not referring to you.

I just read another post:"The P from NYGH and HCI have also informed parents abt MOE’s direction. "

[micko07]

samontheway:

Since some friends here talks alot about \"immoral, disloyal or unfair\", what about S1 appeal? any difference between them in terms of immoral or disloyalty or unfairness?

The difference is that in taking up a DSA CO, you have essentially committed yourself to attending that particular school in advance, possibly depriving other deserving applicants of a DSA CO at the same time. S1 appeal cases have not.

Bottomline is, if you've made a promise, you ought to honour it. This is a question of fundamental ethics and morality - can you imagine a world where everyone broke their promises whenever it was advantageous to themselves? What sort of message does this send to young kids - it's perfectly okay not to honour prior commitments? If you aren't sure that you want to honour it, then don't make the promise in the first place. No one forces you to.

If schools and MOE are this unhappy with people gaming the DSA system, a simple solution is to make all DSA CO offers legally binding once signed, subject to extenuating circumstances. That way, everyone will take their decisions seriously and not use schools as back up.

I think the problem is that many people were unaware that the directive would be strictly enforced this year, leading them to cry foul. Perhaps MOE should look into making sure all who participate in DSA next year are fully aware of this so if people still choose to proceed, they know what they're in for and have no excuse.

[PiggyLalala]

samontheway:

\"Thanks, jtoh, for clarifying.\"


sry, i'm not referring to you.

I just read another post:\"The P from NYGH and HCI have also informed parents abt MOE's direction. \"

I hoped you are not referring in my earlier post, I mentioned that 'From the posts in the DSA thread, it seemed only RGS and HCI have indicated the new directive from MOE'. This is what I remembered reading in the DSA thread months ago but I maybe wrong.