Student Transfer Exercise for Primary Schools (STEPS) - Ministry of Education press release (8 Nov 2001)

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As part of our continuing efforts to improve service to the public, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will be conducting an annual STUDENT TRANSFER EXERCISE FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS, or STEPS, beginning in November 2001, for parents seeking school transfers for their children due to changes in their residential address. STEPS provides an additional option to assist parents who have not been successful in locating vacancies for their children in schools that are within the vicinity of their new homes.

2 STEPS is open to all pupils who are Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents presently attending levels between Primary One to Primary Five in 2001 and who are seeking admission to the next level in 2002. In order to be eligible for STEPS, parents/guardians of the child must have changed their residential address within the last two years; ie. since January 2000.

3 Under STEPS, MOE will attempt to post a pupil to a school nearer to his/her new home, subject to available vacancies. Unsuccessful pupils will be posted back to their existing schools if there are no schools with available vacancies within 3 km of their new addresses.

4 Participation in STEPS is optional. Parents/guardians who choose to apply for transfer of their children to a new school however will first have to give up their child's place in the current school and accept the school to which their child has been posted under the exercise.

5 Parents/guardians who wish to participate in STEPS can approach their child's present school from 26 to 28 November 2001 for an application form and submit it there.

6 Outcome of the STEPS applications will be announced on 14 December 2001. Parents will receive a letter by 14 December 2001 to inform them of their children's posted schools. They may also check the results with their children's current school or on the Internet at http://www1.moe.edu.sg/using their children's Birth Certificate number.

7 All pupils who are successful in obtaining places under STEPS will be required to report to their existing schools on 18 December 2001 with their report books, if they have them. They should then report to their posted schools by 20 December 2001 to complete the transfer formalities.

8 For any queries, members of the public may call MOE's Customer Service Centre (CSC) at Tel: 872 2220, or email MOE at MOE_PPS@MOE.GOV.SG.