MOE Relooking P1 registration - Too much priority to alumni
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limlim:
:goodpost: , must find time to copy all the gd pts fr both sides and present it as a petition. No Justice Bao then go to Minister Heng.
By giving priority to alumni whose reason is \"strong belief/tradition\" etc.. aren't you hindering integration?gvyong:
Personally I prefer We Are Singapore
Group of the same type stick together. (pardon the poor English). We are religious A, we are clan B, we are this and that more than we are Singapore.
Why don't we promote integration and let different groups understand the culture of each other better.
Whatever it is, to want one's kid to follow a certain tradition is one's personal choice.
To have a policy that promotes integration and minimize the culture and religious differentiation is the govt's job.
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Hopefully Minister Heng dont just give lip service
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limlim:
I'm trying to envision the concept of \"integration\"....trying hard... :imconstipated: ...still cannot...
By giving priority to alumni whose reason is \"strong belief/tradition\" etc.. aren't you hindering integration?
Group of the same type stick together. (pardon the poor English). We are religious A, we are clan B, we are this and that more than we are Singapore.
Why don't we promote integration and let different groups understand the culture of each other better.
Whatever it is, to want one's kid to follow a certain tradition is one's personal choice.
To have a policy that promotes integration and minimize the culture and religious differentiation is the govt's job.
Actually, my post is to propose that all of us examine our beliefs/culture vs the focus of the religion-affliated/clan/SAP schools, before trying to get our children into these schools, because the alumni & their children going to these schools are very aligned with the core beliefs/culture of their alma maters.
So, for example (example only hor..pls dun flame me..
)
- an aetheist should not attend church and try to get a letter from the pastor for 2B registration;
- a mostly English-speaking family should not try to get their kids into a SAP school and force HCL upon their kids.
Such efforts are fake and the sufferers may likely be the kids who may become ostracized in these schools because they do not share the same religion or speak Chinese MT fluently enough, for example
I have no issue with practicing Catholic families wanting their kids to attend CHS or CHIJ, for example.
For past alumni of these schools who are not of the religion/culture (but managed to get in), if their experience there haven't been enough for them to join the religion or think/speak in Chinese instinctively (which will influence their children), they should seriously consider whether to maintain their legacies. It well may be this category of alumni who are causing the shortage of space in these schools.
Perhaps stricter controls on alumni priority may be the key, e.g. requirement for active church/temple membership &/or Chinese MT proficiency tests for ALL alumni who wish to claim 2A priority. -
I read with interest the views on this topic and would just like to share my thoughts. I note that the subject is on alumni but i’m just writing on phase 2A in general.
Whether we were lucky that our parents sent us to an existing popular or non popular school, we did spend 6 years of our childhood in our primary school, benefitting, participating and contributing. I said contributing as I believe a school does not become what it is (good or bad) without its students. In addition, there is the heritage and spirit that have been cultivated and felt strongly about. To me, these 6 years spent means more, for example, than the PV hours clocked before P1 registration or religious affiliation. Perhaps that is why the policy is such that old boys/girls are in category A of phase 2. An uncap (subject to total vacancies) phase 2A supports this distinction. An old boy/girl remains an old boy/girl regardless of where they stay. I hesitate to judge which old boy/girl is more worthy or deserving of a priority than another, but a distinction can be made between someone who joined the alumni and someone who don’t.
Or perhaps the policy thinking could be because of the historical set up of the schools as someone has suggested.
As the policy is set, it then boils down to personal choices assuming parents are sensible on what is best for their child. This is not a policy matter. The consequences of the choices and resulting ground sentiments provide feedback to review or fine tune the policy. This does not necessarily mean the policy thinking is "wrong" as no permutation can please everyone.
It is true that not everyone has an existing alma mater. There is indeed the distinction of having another choice versus none. However, it is what it is, and given that the school ceased to exist, the consideration for giving old boys/girls priority ceased to be relevant too. Given that most schools were merged or closed due to low enrollment, perhaps the impact is immaterial going by the preference for "popular" school view, which I support. If the schools still exist, it is highly likely that they are not favored by the old boys/girls in any case. -
When we discuss about policies related to P1 registration.. usually a few factor are considered. (Did I miss out any?)
1. Meritocracy.
2. Best Interest of the students. Majority of the students.
For (1), clearly, is demonstrated by P2B.
For Alumni who made notable contributions, clearly they deserve to fall under (1) also, and these pple would fall under P2A.
Now, the big debate here, I believes, stems from whether sleeping alumni deserve any merit, to be accorded priority for admission. And, whether the magnitude of \"merit\"(if any) goes above that of consideration for best interest of the students. Hence, it is debatable whether they deserve a place in P2A.
Perhaps tweak the phase criteria such that
P2A = <1km
P2B = 1~2km
P2C = >2km
And within each phase, Alumni and PVs, GRLs, clans etc have priority over public or the un-related.
This way, alumni still get priority, but not above that of kids who stay near to the school. That is what some of us feel is a \"fairer\" system.
For (2), obviously, is demonstrated by distance priority. (% of student in popular schools is fixed. But % of students in nearby school can be improved by tweaking the policy)
I believe these 2 are the basis for the formulation of the priority system. Once we identify the basic principles, it is easier to see which priority system have more merit over the others
It would be good if we can add in 1 more factor,
3. Impact and Benefit to general community.
We can expect to see less cars moving on the road across the island, less pollution, less congestion, less carbon footprint etc.. If distance is the first priority. -
My alma mater - Nan Chiau Pri wasn’t a popular school during the 80’s. It was located at Kim Yam Road, you have to walk quite a far bit from the main road to the school. But the students there at that time produced stellar PSLE results , 100% pass almost every year (but funny, don’t know why not popular), however, if i am not wrong, had to shift to SengKang in order to ‘survive’ due to low enrollment during late 80’s.
Most of my sister’s classmates and my classmates went to good secondary schools. My sister went to SCGS and i went to MGS. Most of my classmates went to either RVH, Chinese High (now known as HCI), RGS, NYGH , Cresent Girls and so on…
Now, 30 years down the road, Nan Chiau Pri school has become one of the most sought-after pri schools. Is it my luck to have studied in Nan Chiau Pri School? My Home then was more than 2km from Nan Chiau, in fact, i had classmates who lived in Holland, Ghim Moh and Farrer Road, more than don’t know how many Kms away from school. Who would predict Nan Chiau to become a popular school now?
Who knows those ‘now not popular pri schools’ in near future will become popular due to the good results produced by the students and by then, you will be proud to be the alumni of the pri school.
To me, just let the current P1 registration phases stay as it is coz it’s impossible for MOE to please everyone. i think MOE had done a good job by giving all Singapore Citizens the priority to enrol first. The ‘Singaporean First’ policy serves the P1 registration well imo. -
Any clarifications from MOE on this alumni matter? Hope they can give a stand soon. Many of us are just waiting to see if there are any changes before we plan our next move.
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Khamullotr:
Any clarifications from MOE on this alumni matter? Hope they can give a stand soon. Many of us are just waiting to see if there are any changes before we plan our next move.
Even if MOE makes any changes, I doubt it will take effect immediately. That would raise a huge hue and cry from parents who are negatively affected by its decision, which I doubt the ministry is prepared to address. A number of schools also fear the dilution of their culture if old boys/girls find it difficult to send their children to their alma mater.
My advice would be to plan within the current framework instead of waiting for something to happen. -
I agree - I think making any widespread change to the 2013 registration process at this stage would be political suicide on the part of the government. They got away with a very late change last year which only impacted PRs which I felt was very unfair, if they did the same to citizens - watch out!
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nms1:
I agree - I think making any widespread change to the 2013 registration process at this stage would be political suicide on the part of the government. They got away with a very late change last year which only impacted PRs which I felt was very unfair, if they did the same to citizens - watch out!
The immediate effect change to give SCs priority last year was unexpected.
But it was to show that Singaporeans come first. However, to make a change regarding Phase 2A would cause lots of unhappiness.
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