Primary 1 registration: 12 schools in areas with less public housing to get new 2-track scheme from 2027

The Ministry of Education (MOE) will introduce a new two-track scheme for Phase 2C Primary 1 (P1) registration at 12 primary schools from the 2027 P1 Registration Exercise.

The changes will apply to children starting P1 in 2028, said the ministry on Thursday (Sept 10).

Under the new scheme, Phase 2C places at these 12 schools will be equally distributed across two tracks — children living within 2km of the school and those living more than 2km from the school.

This is part of wider changes to the P1 Registration Framework aimed at improving access for children without prior connections to a school and encouraging greater mixing among students from different backgrounds.

There will be no further home-school distance priority within either track.

Said MOE: "For schools located in neighbourhoods with significantly less public housing than the national average, applying the current home-school distance priority may not substantially broaden access for children from different socio-economic backgrounds."

Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)

Anglo-Chinese School (Primary)

CHIJ (Katong) Primary

Methodist Girls' School (Primary)

Nanyang Primary School

Ngee Ann Primary School

Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School

Raffles Girls' Primary School

Singapore Chinese Girls' Primary School

St. Margaret's School (Primary)

Tanjong Katong Primary School

If the number of Singapore Citizen (SC) applicants exceeds the number of places available in either track, balloting will be conducted.

If there are remaining places in one track after all SC applicants in that track have been admitted, the remaining places will flow to SC applicants in the other track.

SCs will continue to have priority over Permanent Residents (PR).

The scheme will apply to 12 schools where public housing accounts for less than 40 per cent of dwelling units within 2km of the school.

MOE said it will periodically review the list of schools under the scheme, taking into account changes in their surrounding housing profiles and the experience of implementing the new arrangement.

Reserved Phase 2C spots up from 40 to 60

Separately, MOE will increase the number of reserved places in Phase 2C from 40 to 60 in all schools, except for schools with a smaller intake.

Schools with fewer than 180 P1 places will continue to have 40 places reserved for Phase 2C.

Phase 2C is open to all children regardless of whether they have prior connections to the school.

The additional 20 reserved places will come from the earlier registration phases.

However, those eligible for the earlier Phases 2A and 2B will continue to have priority admission ahead of Phase 2C applicants.

The number of reserved places in Phase 2B will remain at 20.

Aiming for more diverse student profiles

Education Minister Desmond Lee said on Thursday that MOE had spoken with parents, school leaders and alumni associations as part of its review of the framework.

There was "broad agreement" that primary schools should remain open and accessible to families from different backgrounds, he said.

However, there were different views on how this could be achieved, with some suggesting more places be reserved for families without prior connections, while others proposed reducing or removing home-school distance priority.

"Parents value a school near home, particularly for their young children, and it's more convenient for siblings to attend the same school together," he said.

Lee added that simply increasing Phase 2C places may not substantially broaden access to children from different socio-economic backgrounds at schools in neighbourhoods with significantly less public housing, as priority is currently based on home-school distance.

"Whether these schools will in fact see greater diversity will, of course, depend on other factors as well, including parents' preferences and their choices," the minister stated.

"We will also continue to invest in every school, so that they are well resourced to provide good quality education for all our children."

asyiqin.nadzri@asiaone.com

教育部将从 2027 年小学一年级入学登记开始，在 12 所小学推行第二阶段 C 小学一年级入学登记的双轨制方案。

教育部周四（9月10日）表示，这些变化将适用于2028年开始上小学一年级的儿童。

根据新方案，这 12 所学校的 2C 期学位将平均分配给两个群体——居住在学校 2 公里范围内的儿童和居住在学校 2 公里以外的儿童。

这是小学一年级注册框架更广泛改革的一部分，旨在改善此前与学校没有联系的儿童的入学机会，并鼓励不同背景的学生之间进行更多交流。

两条路线中均不再区分家庭和学校之间的距离。

教育部表示：“对于位于公共住房数量远低于全国平均水平的社区的学校，采用目前的家校距离优先原则可能无法大幅扩大不同社会经济背景儿童的入学机会。”

英华中学（初级）

英华小学

圣婴女校（加东）小学

卫理公会女子小学

南洋小学

义安小学

培华长老会小学

莱佛士女子小学

新加坡女子小学

圣玛格丽特小学

丹戎加东小学

如果新加坡公民（SC）申请人数超过任一途径的可用名额，则将进行抽签。

如果一个方向的所有SC申请人都被录取后，该方向还有剩余名额，则剩余名额将分配给另一个方向的SC申请人。

公民身份持有者将继续优先于永久居民（PR）享有优先权。

该计划将适用于 12 所学校，这些学校所在 2 公里范围内的公共住房占住宅单元的比例不到 40%。

教育部表示，将定期检讨该计划下的学校名单，并考虑学校周边住房情况的变化以及新安排的实施经验。

二期C阶段预留名额从40个增加到60个

另外，教育部将把第二阶段C期所有学校的预留名额从40个增加到60个，但招生人数较少的学校除外。

一年级学位少于 180 个的学校将继续保留 40 个学位用于第二阶段 C。

第二阶段C面向所有儿童开放，无论他们之前是否与该校有任何联系。

新增的 20 个预留名额将来自之前的报名阶段。

但是，符合较早阶段 2A 和 2B 资格的人将继续享有优先录取权，优先于阶段 2C 的申请人。

第二阶段B部分的预留名额仍为20个。

旨在培养更多元化的学生群体

教育部长李智陞周四表示，作为对教育框架审查的一部分，教育部已与家长、学校领导和校友会进行了沟通。

他说，人们“普遍同意”小学应该保持开放，并向不同背景的家庭开放。

然而，对于如何实现这一目标，人们的看法不一。一些人建议为没有先前联系的家庭保留更多名额，而另一些人则建议减少或取消家庭学校距离优先权。

他说：“家长们重视离家近的学校，尤其是对于年幼的孩子来说，而且兄弟姐妹一起上同一所学校也更方便。”

李补充说，仅仅增加 2C 期学位可能无法实质性地扩大来自不同社会经济背景的儿童在公共住房较少的社区学校的入学机会，因为目前的优先顺序是根据家庭到学校的距离来确定的。

“这些学校是否真的会出现更大的多样性，当然还取决于其他因素，包括家长的偏好和选择，”部长表示。

“我们还将继续投资每一所学校，确保它们拥有充足的资源，为我们所有的孩子提供优质教育。”

asyiqin.nadzri@asiaone.com