2020 Primary One Registration Exercise (For Admission to Primary One in 2021): Updates & New Developments

1. The registration of children for admission to Primary One (P1) classes in 2021 will open from Wednesday, 1 July 2020 to Friday, 30 October 2020. The dates for the different phases of registration can be found at: https://www.moe.gov.sg/admissions/primary-one-registration/phases.

2. The list of primary schools and vacancies available will be updated on the P1 Registration website at https://www.moe.gov.sg/admissions/primary-one-registration by mid-June 2020.

Precautionary Measures in Light of COVID-19

3. In view of the COVID-19 situation, there will not be any in-person registration at schools for the upcoming 2020 exercise. Changes will therefore be made to the mode of registration for Phases 2A(1), 2A(2) and 2B, while Phases 1, 2C and 2C Supplementary will largely remain the same.

Registration for Phases 1, 2C and 2C Supplementary

4. Parents registering their younger child under Phase 1 will receive and be required to submit the application form and relevant documents to the school via email. The primary school where the older sibling is currently studying will continue to provide parents with details on how to register their younger child under Phase 1.

5. Parents who are registering their child under Phases 2C and 2C Supplementary, under which all Singapore Citizen (SC) or Permanent Resident (PR) children are eligible, should use the existing Primary One Internet System (P1-IS) to register for their choice of school. For this online registration via the P1-IS, parents only need to use their SingPass. For a simple guide on online registration, parents may refer to https://www.moe.gov.sg/admissions/primary-one-registration/internet-registration-for-phase-2c-and-2c-supplementary.

Changes to Mode of Registration for Phases 2A(1), 2A(2) and 2B

6. Instead of in-person registration for Phases 2A(1), 2A(2) and 2B, eligible parents will be required to complete an online application form to register their child, using their SingPass. The link to the online form and user guide will be available on the MOE P1 Registration website during the registration periods of the respective phases.

e-Submission of Declaration of Alternative Child-Care Arrangement

7. Parents who wish to register their child using the address of the child's grandparent or the parent's sibling (i.e. a caregiver), should declare the alternative child-care arrangement by completing an online form, instead of submitting their declaration physically at MOE's Customer Service Centre.

Assistance with Online Registration

8. Parents registering their child for P1 using the online forms or the P1-IS are advised to set up their SingPass 2-Step Verification (2FA) early. For a smooth registration experience, parents should ensure that their SingPass account is valid before the commencement of the P1 Registration Exercise.

9. As there will not be any in-person registration at primary schools this year, parents who require assistance during registration may contact the school of their choice via email or telephone on the respective registration days between 9.00am and 4.30pm. Links to the online forms, user guides, declaration process and eligibility criteria can be found at https://www.moe.gov.sg/admissions/primary-one-registration.

Cap on Singapore Permanent Resident (Pr) Intake in Phases 2c and 2c Supplementary

10. With effect from the 2020 P1 Registration Exercise, MOE will be introducing a cap on the intake of PR children during the P1 Registration Exercise. This is to prevent any concentration of PR children in our primary schools, provide a more conducive environment to encourage interaction between SC and PR children, and facilitate the integration of PR children into Singapore. The cap, which will be about 25%-30% of the school's planned P1 intake, will take effect from this year's exercise, and will be applied in Phases 2C and 2C Supplementary only.

11. The introduction of the PR cap will not result in any change to the priority that SC children have over PR children. If there are more registrants than vacancies in a school during any registration phase, SCs will continue to be admitted first ahead of PRs, before home-school distance is considered.

12. The vast majority of primary schools and PR children will not be affected by this cap as their past patterns of PR admissions are well below the cap of 25%-30%. Therefore, for this year, the implementation of the PR cap will take effect in the following 10 schools:

S/N	Primary School
1.	Bukit Timah Primary School
2.	Bukit View Primary School
3.	Changkat Primary School
4.	Greendale Primary School
5.	Marymount Convent School
6.	North Spring Primary School
7.	Opera Estate Primary School
8.	Pioneer Primary School
9.	Tanjong Katong Primary School
10.	Xingnan Primary School

At the start of Phase 2C, and at Phase 2C Supplementary, MOE will publish the maximum number of vacancies available to PR children for the 10 schools above on MOE's website at https://www.moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/primary-one-registration/vacancies. For all other schools, there will be no change to the vacancy information displayed.

13. For future P1 Registration Exercises, MOE will review and publish the list of schools that will have to reflect a cap on their intake of PR children. This is to enable parents of PR children to make an informed choice and consider registering their child in other nearby schools if they wish to.

14. PR children will continue to have good access to our primary schools and can register at any primary school and at all registration phases if they meet the eligibility criteria for that phase. A list of FAQs on the cap can be found in Annex A.

Compulsory Education

15. Under the Compulsory Education Act, Singapore Citizens born after 1 January 1996 and residing in Singapore are required to attend national primary schools, including Government-funded Special Education (SPED) schools. Children born between 2 January 2014 and 1 January 2015 (both dates inclusive) must either participate in this year's P1 Registration Exercise for admission in January 2021 or enrol in the Junior 1/P1 Programme of a SPED school.

16. If a child is assessed by a qualified health professional as not ready for P1, parents may seek approval from MOE's Compulsory Education Unit (CEU) for deferment of registration for P1. For a child whose birthday falls on 1 January 2015, parents may also seek approval for deferment if they want their child to enter primary school in January 2022 instead. Application can be made using the relevant form available on the MOE website at https://www.moe.gov.sg/education/education-system/compulsory-education/deferment. Any queries on Compulsory Education may be directed to CEU at Email: MOE_CEU@moe.gov.sg or Fax: 6778 9356.

Registration for International Students

17. International Students (IS) will continue to register under Phase 3 of the P1 Registration Exercise, after all SCs and PRs have been allocated a place under the earlier phases. IS who intend to participate in Phase 3 of the P1 Registration Exercise will be required to undergo a two-step process.

• Step 1: Submit an online 'indication of interest' form via the MOE P1 website, from 2 to 8 June 2020. Those who do not do so by 8 June 2020 will not be able to register during Phase 3 of the P1 Registration Exercise.

• Step 2: MOE will notify IS applicants who have indicated their interest via email in October 2020, as to whether their child can be offered a P1 place in a primary school. If a place is offered, the parent of the child will be informed of how to register with the designated school.

18. As in previous P1 Registration Exercises, parents of IS should note that school admission at Phase 3 is not guaranteed, since there are limited vacancies after places have been allocated to SC or PR children.

Address Used for Registration

19. The address used in the P1 Registration Exercise should be the parents' official residential address as reflected on their NRICs. A child who gains priority admission into a school through the home-school distance category is required to reside at the address used for registration for at least 30 months from the commencement of the P1 Registration Exercise on 1 July 2020. If this condition is not met, MOE reserves the right to transfer the child to another school with vacancies.

False Information

20. Any registrant found to have provided false information during the P1 Registration Exercise will be referred to the police for investigation. A child who is successfully registered in a school based on false information will be transferred to another school with vacancies after all eligible children have registered.

Delays in School Infrastructure Projects Due to COVID-19

21. Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, various precautionary and safe distancing measures have been implemented both locally and abroad to contain the spread of the virus. These measures have affected the production and delivery of construction materials, as well as on-site construction works.

22. As a result, the Primary Education Review and Implementation (PERI)¹ upgrading works for Bukit View Primary School, Mayflower Primary School, Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School and St. Margaret's Primary School have been affected. An overview of the impact of the delays to these schools and related arrangements can be found below:

S/N	School	Impact of delays and arrangements
1.	Bukit View Primary School	The school was slated to move to a holding site from January 2021 while its permanent site undergoes upgrading. To prepare the holding site for use by the school, sprucing works such as retrofitting works to the facilities and extension of the sheltered drop-off area is required. However, due to delays in the sprucing works, it will not be possible to prepare the holding site to be ready in time for the school to start operations in January 2021. The school will thus only shift to the holding site in January 2022, and move back to its permanent site in January 2024 after the completion of upgrading works. Please refer to Annex B-1 for more information on the school’s holding and permanent sites.
2.	Mayflower Primary School	The school is currently at a holding site while its permanent site undergoes upgrading. However, as more time is required to complete the upgrading works, the school will only shift back to its permanent site in January 2022 instead of January 2021. MOE Kindergarten at Mayflower Primary School (MK@Mayflower) will open as planned in January 2021, but at Mayflower Primary School’s holding site. MK@Mayflower will shift to the school’s permanent site in January 2022. Please refer to Annex B-2 for more information on the school’s holding and permanent sites.
3.	Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School	The school is currently undergoing on-site upgrading works to facilitate its transition to single-session. As more time is required to complete the upgrading works, the school will only transit to single-session in January 2022 instead of January 2021.
4.	St. Margaret’s Primary School	The school is currently at a holding site as its permanent site undergoes upgrading. Due to the delay in upgrading works, the school will extend its stay at the holding site for a year and shift back to its permanent site in January 2023 instead of January 2022. Please refer to Annex B-3 for more information on the school’s holding and permanent sites.

23. MOE will continue to monitor the situation closely and assess the impact of the COVID-19 situation on ongoing construction works. Schools will make the necessary arrangements during the affected periods to ensure that all students continue to have a conducive learning environment.

Delay in Opening of New Primary School in Tampines North and Relocation Plans for Angsana Primary School

24. To meet the growing demand for school places in Tampines North and provide a better geographical spread of schools, MOE had planned for a new primary school to open in January 2021. However, the COVID-19 situation has caused a significant delay to these plans, and the new school will be ready by late 2021 instead.

25. We have also decided that when the new school campus is ready, we would relocate Angsana Primary School to this new campus² in January 2022, as this would achieve a better overall distribution of primary school places in the area. It would also provide Angsana Primary School with a new set of quality facilities to better support teaching and learning for its current and future students. The new facilities include an indoor sports hall, band room, dance studio, media resource library and multi-purpose hall. The new campus will also include an MK, MK@Angsana, which will open in 2022 as previously announced³.

26. As Angsana Primary School will begin operations at the new site in January 2022, the current Primary One to Primary Four cohorts, as well as those who have successfully secured a place in the 2020 P1 Registration Exercise, will be affected by the relocation. For the 2020 P1 Registration Exercise, the home-school distance priority will continue to be based on Angsana Primary's current site.

27. MOE will work with Angsana Primary School to ensure a smooth transition for its relocation to its new campus in Tampines North.

Other Information

28. Parents are encouraged to prepare early and regularly check the P1 Registration Exercise website at https://go.gov.sg/p1reg for the latest updates on the registration exercise and the documents required for registration, including registration for overseas Singaporeans.

29. Information on the P1 Registration Exercise is also available as part of the Primary School Education Booklet, which can be downloaded at https://www.moe.gov.sg/-/media/files/primary/2021/curriculum-booklets/primary-school-education-booklet-2021.pdf.

Footnotes

1. In line with the Primary Education Review and Implementation (PERI) Committee’s recommendations for a more holistic education, primary schools will feature more spaces for engaged learning in both academic and non-academic areas e.g. classrooms, outdoor learning facilities and specialised rooms that facilitate greater interaction, self-discovery and experiential learning.

2. The new school campus, located at 51 Tampines Street 61, is about 2km away from Angsana Primary’s current site at 3 Tampines Street 22. Please refer to Annex C for more information.

3. MOE had announced last year that eight new MKs would open in 2022 (https://www.moe.gov.sg/news/press-releases/eight-new-moe-kindergartens-opening-in-2022). The MK at the new primary school along Tampines North Drive is MK@Angsana.