Impact of Reduced Primary 1 Intake on Home-School Distance Balloting at Oversubscribed Schools

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik, Sengkang GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) what assessment has been made on how the reduction in Primary 1 intake will affect Home-School Distance balloting at oversubscribed schools; (b) whether the Ministry tracks which estates, including new BTO estates, do not have a primary school within 1km; and (c) whether the number of Phase 2C reserved places will be reviewed, given the reduced intake.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim, Sengkang GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education what was the basis for the decision to reduce available vacancies across almost all primary schools in Sengkang, despite a number of them still facing oversubscription in Phase 2C of the Primary 1 Registration Exercise.

Response

1. Mr Speaker, my response will address Parliamentary Question 58 raised by Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik on the reduction of Primary 1 places set down for today, as well as a related question raised by Assoc Prof Jamus Lim for a subsequent Sitting.

2. MOE regularly reviews the provision of Primary 1 places, taking into account factors including demographic trends and upcoming housing developments. While demand varies across schools depending on parents' preferences, MOE ensures that there are sufficient Primary 1 places for our children at both the national and regional levels.

3. The adjustment to the Primary 1 intake for the upcoming Primary 1 Registration Exercise reflects the smaller cohort entering Primary 1 in 2027 and in the years ahead. This is also part of MOE's broader effort to manage the impact of falling school enrolment, minimising the need for school mergers, while maintaining a geographical spread of schools across Singapore. The adjustments help to ensure that our schools have sufficient student enrolment to offer a meaningful range of learning opportunities and programmes for their students.

4. For Sengkang in particular, four of the twelve schools in Sengkang saw balloting at Phase 2C in last year's P1 Registration Exercise. However, the other eight schools in Sengkang had more than 650 places available during Phase 2C(Supplementary). This was more than double the number of applicants who did not get a place in the four schools that balloted at Phase 2C. So we expect there to be more than sufficient P1 places in Sengkang for the upcoming P1 Registration Exercise, even though some schools will continue to see balloting at Phase 2C.

5. MOE has also progressively strengthened open access within the Primary 1 Registration Framework through Phase 2C, which is open to students regardless of whether they have prior connections to the school. MOE had increased the number of reserved Phase 2C places from 0 to 20 in 2014, and from 20 to 40 in 2022. As announced earlier this year, MOE is reviewing the Primary 1 Registration Framework to further strengthen open access and to support a good social mix in our schools. We will share more details when the review is completed.