Update on Review of Primary 1 Registration Framework

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Gho Sze Kee, Mountbatten

Question

To ask the Minister for Education whether, as part of the Ministry’s review of the Primary 1 Registration Framework, the Parent Volunteer Scheme will be reviewed in its entirety, including if schools should retain any discretion in its implementation or a common and standardised approach should apply across all schools.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Elysa Chen, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education as schools discontinue Phase 2B parent volunteer schemes (a) whether the Ministry expects registration pressure to shift toward Phase 2A, which similarly favours alumni, Ministry of Education (MOE) Kindergarten enrolment, and staff ties; and (b) whether Phase 2A criteria will be reviewed alongside Phase 2B.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Gho Sze Kee, Mountbatten

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry has a planning benchmark for what constitutes a reasonable travel time or distance between home and school for primary school pupils; and (b) what proportion of pupils in an area will be expected to have access to a primary school within that benchmark.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Tin Pei Ling, Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education whether the changes to the Primary One Registration Framework can be deferred by one year to allow families who made significant and long-term decisions based on the existing framework to transition or adjust accordingly.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Dr Hamid Razak, West Coast-Jurong West GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether MOE Kindergarten pupils who are not successfully admitted to the primary schools co-located with their kindergartens represent a significant number; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider strengthening the priority accorded to such pupils.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Assoc Prof Kenneth Goh, Nominated Member of Parliament

Question

To ask the Minister for Education regarding the recent changes to the Primary 1 registration framework aimed at broadening access and social mixing, how will the Ministry assess (i) whether greater social mixing translates into meaningful integration and (ii) whether students from different backgrounds have comparable opportunities in CCAs, enrichment and leadership, without being disadvantaged by programme costs, distance from school, or access to external tuition or coaching.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Elysa Chen, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry will consider reserving a proportion of places under Phase 2C of the Primary 1 registration exercise for children residing in public rental flats, and smaller flat types such as 2-room flats, in place of or alongside the two-track distance criterion announced on 10 September 2026; and (b) if not, why not.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr David Hoe, Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education in relation to the Phase 2C Two-Track Scheme (a) whether the Ministry will study if distance-related considerations, including school bus costs and journey times, affect applications from families living further away; and (b) whether future reviews of the Scheme will consider accessibility across socio-economic backgrounds, sense of belonging, and peer relationships, beyond admissions outcomes.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Assoc Prof Kenneth Goh, Nominated Member of Parliament

Question

To ask the Minister for Education given successive increases in places reserved for Phase 2C and fewer places available under Phase 2A for the Primary 1 registration exercise (a) whether the Ministry has assessed the cumulative impact on alumni-linked enrolment and engagement; and (b) how it will preserve the intergenerational continuity, culture, heritage and alumni support that contribute to affected schools’ communities.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Gho Sze Kee, Mountbatten

Questions

To ask the Minister for Education whether, in designing the revised Primary One registration framework, the Ministry has assessed (i) the extent to which priority accorded to children living within specified distances of a school contributes to differences in residential property values around popular primary schools and (ii) the potential impact of the revised framework on social mixing among pupils in the affected schools.

To ask the Minister for Education whether the Ministry will consider providing a transition period of about three years for the revised Primary One registration framework, given that some families may have made residential, childcare and schooling arrangements based on the existing home-school distance criteria.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Low Wu Yang Andre, Non-Constituency Member of Parliament

Question

To ask the Minister for Education in respect of the 12 schools implementing the Phase 2C Two-Track Scheme from the 2027 Primary 1 Registration Exercise (a) what baseline and outcome indicators will be used to assess access and socio-economic mixing; and (b) whether the Ministry will publish annually, by school and track, statistics on applicants, vacancies, balloting, and admissions outcomes.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Fadli Fawzi, Aljunied GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) what are the plans to ensure that students living beyond 2km of the 12 schools with a two-track scheme for Phase 2C of Primary 1 registration will have easy access to the schools by school bus or public transport; and (b) whether there are any plans to expand the eligibility for school bus subsidies for such students.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Diana Pang Li Yen, Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC

Questions

To ask the Minister for Education (a) what evidence supports using the proportion of public housing within two kilometres to select schools for the two-track P1 Registration Framework, rather than the distribution of P1-eligible children by housing type and household income; and (b) whether this proxy risks disadvantaging nearby children without demonstrably improving socioeconomic diversity.

To ask the Minister for Education (a) why are Ngee Ann Primary School and CHIJ (Katong) Primary included in the two-track P1 Registration Framework despite having HDB estates within one kilometre; (b) what proportion of homes within two kilometres of each school are public housing; and (c) what evidence shows that reducing priority for nearby children improves socioeconomic diversity.

To ask the Minister for Education (a) why does widening the access to applicants living beyond two kilometres requires removing the existing one kilometre priority within the local Phase 2C allocation at the 12 selected schools; (b) whether this priority can be retained while reserving places for applicants beyond two kilometres; and (c) whether transitional arrangements will be considered for families who established residence before the announcement.

Response

1. Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to address oral questions numbers 3 to 8 on today’s Order Paper? My answer will also include responses to questions for written answers as well as for subsequent sittings.
2. Mr Speaker, our schools are important common spaces where children from different backgrounds interact and learn together, in turn appreciating different perspectives and developing mutual understanding. This helps to lay the foundations for a cohesive and inclusive Singapore. To enable our schools to remain open and accessible, MOE announced two changes to the Primary One Registration Framework on the 10^th of September this year. One, we will increase the number of reserved places in Phase 2C from 40 to 60 in all schools, except for schools with a smaller intake. Two, we will introduce a Two-Track Scheme in Phase 2C for schools located in neighbourhoods where the proportion of public housing is significantly lower than the national average. The two changes seek to improve access for children regardless of prior connections to a school, and encourage more mixing among students from different backgrounds.
3. As part of our review, we consulted widely and carefully considered the many views and suggestions that have been raised. We decided to focus on Phase 2C and not make structural changes to Phases 2A and 2B for now. This balances our objective of improving open access while continuing to recognise the contributions of alumni, school partners and community volunteers who contribute to the school and wider community.
4. There are no changes to the Parent Volunteer Scheme, which provides an opportunity for parents who wish to contribute to and get to know the school. But schools decide whether and how to implement the scheme based on their specific needs.
5. There is also no change to the Phase 2A priority for MOE Kindergarten children. MOE Kindergarten children who did not get a place under Phase 2A can still apply for subsequent phases, including Phase 2C. Most of our MOE Kindergarten children have been able to secure a place in their preferred school.
6. Some members had questions on the design of our Two-Track Scheme in Phase 2C for selected schools. We had considered different parameters, and decided to base it on the proportion of public housing as it is simple and easier to implement, and also gives greater certainty to parents given that housing make-up does not change frequently. We used the distance of within 2km, as it strikes a balance between maintaining access for children living near the school while opening access to families living beyond the schools’ immediate neighbourhood. As our objective is to broaden opportunities for access, rather than to reserve places for specific socio-economic groups, we have not introduced priority for particular socio-economic groups including those living in rental flats. The criteria for the Two-Track Scheme are consistently applied to schools where public housing accounts for less than 40% of dwelling units within 2km, including CHIJ (Katong) Primary School and Ngee Ann Primary School.
7. Many of the 12 schools under the Two-Track Scheme are accessible by MRT and/or major bus routes. School bus operators will also determine school bus routes and pick-up points based on students’ demand. In addition, MOE will provide financial assistance to Singapore Citizen students in need, including subsidies to reduce the cost of public transport and school bus fares if required. All our school leaders, including those of the 12 schools under the Two-Track Scheme, endeavour to create a conducive and inclusive school environment to cater to all their students’ needs and circumstances.
8. The two changes to the Primary One Registration Framework will be implemented from the 2027 Primary One Registration Exercise. On implementation timing, we recognise that on the one hand, some families have made residential arrangements based on the existing framework. But on the other hand, more families would benefit the sooner we implement these changes. In fact, some have asked why we did not make these changes earlier for the 2026 Primary One Registration Exercise.
9. Finally, I would like to add that the two changes to the Primary One Registration Framework do not by themselves lead to a more diverse socio-economic mix in our schools. Many other factors, including parents’ preferences and eventual school choices, matter too. We will thus monitor the implementation of the two changes, continually review our Primary One Registration Framework, and make further refinements as needed.