24 Nov 2005

MOE provides assistance to returning Singaporean children

1. Mdm Serena Foo related her experience in trying to enrol her children in Singapore schools after returning from living abroad (“Homecoming blues: Finding schools for sons”, ST Forum, 17/11).
2. The Ministry of Education (MOE) provides advice and help to returning Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PR) who wish to apply to register their children in a Singapore school. They can call MOE or make an online application, indicating the schools of their choice. MOE will try to match their choices with schools which have available vacancies.
3. Currently, most schools administer their own school placement tests to determine the appropriate level of entry for the child. Where there are more applicants than vacancies in a school, the school placement test also serves to determine which applicants will be admitted.
4. We recognise that the current system can be further improved. We are exploring various ideas to make it more convenient for returning Singaporeans and PRs, including studying the feasibility of introducing a centralised placement test for the convenience of returning students.
5. Some 50 schools have decided to make use of the test administered by the Academy of Principals. Applicants who sit for this test can therefore use the results to apply to any of these schools. We understand that Mdm Foo has registered for her elder son to sit for this test, although she would still have to check with each of her preferred schools on availability of places. As for her younger son, she has applied to MOE for assistance to place him into Primary Six next year. MOE is assisting her.
6. Contrary to the impression that Mdm Foo might have been given, MOE does not count returning Singaporeans under any quota set aside for 2 foreigners. There will be a place for every Singaporean child, though it is not possible to guarantee a place in a first choice school, especially if the school is a popular school.
7. While we seek to improve our services, we would like to encourage Singaporeans who are planning to live overseas to make use of MOE’s Leave of Absence Scheme. This scheme, started in 1999, allows parents to reserve school places for their children in their current schools. Families who are overseas with children who are eligible to register for Primary One can also register their children during the Primary One Registration Exercise and place their children on the scheme. This will enable the child to be re-admitted into the registered school when they return to Singapore. MOE provides assistance to such parents to register at the school of their choice from abroad.

Lim Huay Chih (Ms)
Director, Corporate Services