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Changes to Direct School Admission Exercise for Secondary Schools (DSA-Sec) from 2019

Published Date: 07 November 2018 12:00 AM

News Press Releases

Background to Latest Changes

1. Direct School Admission for Secondary Schools (DSA-Secondary) provides students an opportunity to enrol in a school based on their talents, potential and achievements that cannot be demonstrated through the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). At MOE’s Committee of Supply Debate in 2017, several changes to DSA-Sec were announced to better support students in finding a match between their strengths and interests on one hand, and a secondary school that offers suitable programmes on the other.

2. Starting this year, all secondary schools can now admit up to 20% of their non-Integrated Programme (non-IP) Secondary 1 intake via DSA-Sec. This is an increase from 5% for Schools with Distinctive Programmes, and 10% for Autonomous Schools1. In the first year of this expansion, 3,000 students received confirmed offers2, compared to 2,500 in 2017.

3. MOE has also worked with schools to refine the DSA selection process, and co-develop a set of selection principles to support schools in identifying and recognising students’ potential in specific talents. From 2018, all schools have discontinued the General Ability Test (GAT) and High Ability Selection Test (HAST), since these tests select for general academic abilities that can already be demonstrated through the PSLE.

Centralised DSA-Sec Application Portal

4. To simplify and streamline the DSA application process, students and parents will make applications via a common online portal from the 2019 DSA-Sec Exercise.

5. All schools3 will have a common DSA-Sec application timeline4 and application will be via a centralised online portal. Applicants only need to fill in one online form to apply to multiple schools, and their details will be provided electronically to the schools.

6. The application form has also been simplified. For example, school information such as the student’s Primary 5 and Primary 6 academic results, Co-curricular Activities (CCA), school-based achievements/awards will be automatically shared with the schools that the student applies to. Therefore, no certificates, transcripts or testimonials will be required from the students.

7. Application through the portal is free-of-charge, to remove financial barriers for any student with talent and potential, and to encourage students, regardless of background, to apply for DSA. Students can apply through the portal via one of their parents’ SingPass login. Parents who do not have access to SingPass can approach their child’s primary school for assistance.

Talent Areas and School Choices

8. Each applicant can choose up to three schools and three talent areas in their DSA-Sec application. Students can explore the secondary schools with development programmes for their talent area by visiting the schools’ individual websites and attending their open houses.

9. For students with multiple talents, there is flexibility for them to use up to two choices to apply for two different talent areas from the same school. Examples of possible choice combinations can be found in Annex A.

10. Parents and students are encouraged to choose schools judiciously, selecting only those offering programmes that can develop the student’s strengths and interests, and at a suitable learning pace.

11. More details on application procedures will be made known to the Primary 5 students through their schools. Students are encouraged to check the MOE DSA-Sec webpage for information on important dates, the DSA-Sec process, participating schools and their talent areas, at around April 2019.


Footnotes
  1. For definitions of these schools, please visit this webpage: https://www.moe.gov.sg/secondary/schools/types
  2. Confirmed offers (COs) means that the student has a place reserved in the school as long as the student qualifies for an academic course (i.e. Express, Normal (Academic), Normal (Technical) offered by the school.
  3. Students interested to apply to Singapore School of the Arts (SOTA) or Singapore Sports School (SSP) will continue to apply directly to the schools because of their unique admission requirements.
  4. Period of application will span over a four-week period from 8 May 2019 till 4 June 2019.