MOE Relooking P1 registration - Too much priority to alumni

[limlim]

vicki:

Going by the logic that if u have moved, therefore the kid should be in another school near the new hse theory, should it also mean that 'u should also get a job near your hse theory?'

BTW, we're not talking about whether parents \"should\" choose a school near their Home..

We are talking about who should be given priority......

I feel.. for the purpose of the discussion on P1 admission..

It is very important to distinguish between the two.. One is a personal choice, the other is a policy/system.

[dorisp]

limlim:

laughingcat:

Aiyoh. When kids are selected for GEP, the tune will be sung differently. Distance is not concern anymore, rather the reputation of the school. Look into the GEP threads and you will see parents asking around for car pool and taxi pool. :evil:

If you are talking about self-interest and whether parents are willing to travel, well, nothing wrong with your comments.

And yes, if the kid has to go to certain school for GEP, the parents are willing to accept the long distance.. that is their personal choice.

But now, we're discussing on what is the fairest system and on a national level for Primary 1 admission and what factors the policy makers need to consider when coming out with a priority system that is deemed to be in the best interest of the child and at the same time fair enough to the community as a WHOLE.

So, the debate is on whether distance should be given greater priority then connections.

Whether parents are willing to travel is not relevant.. the priority system have to be engineered to be in the best interest of the masses.

The desire to travel is their Personal choice. What is the best priority system to the general community is what we're discussing now.

:goodpost: :goodpost: :goodpost:

[limlim]

LOLMum:

huh, you mean we have been talking about something else :?

i thought we have been throwing out ideas all along. some a bit off topic but no harm done.

it is just which \"masses\" each belongs to and to each the best priority system that suits oneself most that people are unable to agree upon.

She is talking about some parents willing to travel.. that is personal choice.. I just point that out only.

btw,

1. Not all parents are willing to travel.

2. Not all parents are keen to put their child which they are alumni to.

Hence, alumni priority shd be below distance priority, for the greater good.

[dorisp]

BlueBells:

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.

\t\t
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 on Wednesday, 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 phases in 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, on Wednesday 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 on Wednesday 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.

[email protected]

[sunbeamz]

dorisp:

sunbeamz:

[quote=\"Nebbermindtopic is about priority for P1 registration.




Sorry did not make myself clear earlier.

My point is that if u r an alumni of a top-popular school, I seriously doubt that distance will be a concern, just like people have no qualms about switching to GEP schools even though it could be very far away from home.

OK, I can't speak for all but I believe there's a good % of parents who donch mind the distance.

Yes! I'm one of those that wouldn't mind the distance!
:rahrah:

Thanks for sharing! :salute:

Now we know it may not be too wrong to deduce that there are indeed many many >2km registration within Phase 2A. [/quote]

hmmmm so I can deduce too that you are probably one of those that dosen't qualify for the 2A phase? :salute:

I believe all of us have our own alumni. It's just whether you want to go back there or not for whatsoever reasons. I really feel that this unahppiness against alumni priority is because it is percieved by others that there are better schools than their own.

[dorisp]

Let's continue the discussion on our views and opinions on the topic. It would be better and well respected that way. :evil:

[LOLMum]

:offtopic:


yes, thank goodness everyone on this thread has been pretty nice to each other. dont think i have seen any mod's warning. but then so many pages........

so who's next to contribute.

[mum_sugoku]

sunbeamz:

hmmmm so I can deduce too that you are probably one of those that dosen't qualify for the 2A phase? :salute:

I believe all of us have our own alumni. It's just whether you want to go back there or not for whatsoever reasons. I really feel that this unahppiness against alumni priority is because it is percieved by others that there are better schools than their own.

Not true lah. Take myself for instance, I could have joined NY schools alumni group and gotten my kids into NYPS via phase 2A. Instead, we had chosen to enrol them in the nearest primary school to minimise travelling time.

In fact all my ex-classmates (with whom I'm still in contact with) had also done the same thing, ie chosen \"proximity\" over \"connection\"..

[LOLMum]

mum_sugoku:

sunbeamz:

hmmmm so I can deduce too that you are probably one of those that dosen't qualify for the 2A phase? :salute:

I believe all of us have our own alumni. It's just whether you want to go back there or not for whatsoever reasons. I really feel that this unahppiness against alumni priority is because it is percieved by others that there are better schools than their own.

Not true lah. Take myself for instance, I could have joined NY schools alumni group and gotten my kids into NYPS via phase 2A. Instead, we had chosen to enrol them in the nearest primary school to minimise travelling time.

In fact all my ex-classmates (with whom I'm still in contact with) had also done the same thing, ie chosen \"proximity\" over \"connection\"..

so you and your friends are one group which the parents in phase 2b and 2c love and hate dearly. :evil: :evil:

parents who want to enrol in nyps love you guys because you guys gave up the places in phase 2a thus increase the no. of vacancies for phase 2b and 2c.

parents in your neighbourhood hate you because you guys are now competing with them in phase 2b and 2c. in their mind, you ought to have chosen nyps (far away).

[Lyddon]

dorisp:

BlueBells:

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.

[email protected]

Here's a good example of someone buying a property near a desired \"popular\" school to gain \"higher\" chance of enroling his child in.

For simplicity of illustration, imagine:

1) The school in question is the No.1 Top performing school in singapore. (top PSLE, Top GEP, top in everything)
2) there are only 100 properties within the 1km radius of the school, and,
3) there are 100 Pri.1 vacancies in that school, and
4) Priority based solely on distance only.

Will these 100 properties be in high demand by parents who want their children to be in that school?
What happens when there is high demand and limited supply (property)?
Who will be able to afford to buy and/or staying in those 100 properties?
Whose children will eventually be enrolled into this school?
Now that the current cohort of children have enroled into Pri.1, next year the same thing happens.... with a new group of parents wanting their children to be in that school. Existing parent reluctant to sell property due to convenience... except at a more \"attractive\" price.
The financially more well-off parents paids that \"attractive\" price\" and get their child enroled in Pri.1. ...
The cycle continues....

If priority is based solely on distance, and nothing else... the above is likely to happen ... to a lesser extremem, of course.

You arrive at your own conclusion based on the above.