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2023 Primary One Registration Exercise to Start from 4 July 2023

Published Date: 23 May 2023 10:00 AM

News Press Releases

1. The registration of children for admission to Primary One (P1) in 2024 will open from Tuesday, 4 July 2023 to Tuesday, 31 October 2023.

2. The dates for the different phases of registration1 can be found at: www.moe.gov.sg/primary/p1-registration/registration-phases-key-dates. The list of primary schools and vacancies available will be updated on the MOE P1 Registration website at www.moe.gov.sg/primary/p1-registration by mid-June 2023.

Online Registration via New P1 Registration Portal

3. From this year's P1 Registration Exercise, parents can use the new online P1 Registration Portal for all five phases (i.e. Phases 1, 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2C Supplementary) of the Exercise to register their child in their chosen school. The P1 Registration Portal replaces the online application form (for Phases 1, 2A, and 2B) and the P1 Internet System (for Phases 2C and 2C Supplementary) used in previous years.

4. The P1 Registration Portal will go live on 4 July 2023 and can be accessed via the MOE P1 Registration website. Parents can log in to the Portal to view the phase(s) and school(s) their child is eligible to register in, as well as register their child in their chosen school when the phase the child is eligible for opens for registration.

5. Parents will require a valid Singpass with 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) to login to the P1 Registration Portal. Parents are advised to set up their Singpass 2FA early and ensure that their Singpass account is valid before the commencement of the P1 Registration Exercise. Only one parent is required to login and submit the registration through the Portal.

6. Parents who require assistance during registration may contact the school of their choice via email or telephone on the respective registration days between 9am to 4.30pm. Information on the P1 Registration process, eligibility criteria and user guides can be found at www.moe.gov.sg/primary/p1-registration.

Publishing of Preceding Year's P1 Registration Statistics During the P1 Registration Exercise

7. Similar to past years, information on the number of available vacancies in each school for the 2023 P1 Registration Exercise will be made available on the MOE P1 Registration website from mid-June, prior to the start of this year's P1 Registration Exercise. The number of available vacancies and applicants will be updated during the relevant phases. However, such statistics should not be taken as final during the Exercise due to its dynamic nature, as parents can withdraw and make changes throughout the registration period. Schools will also not be able to provide additional information beyond what is available on the MOE P1 Registration website.

8. From 2023, MOE will also publish data from the preceding year's P1 Registration Exercise to better support parents in their selection of primary schools. Starting from 23 May 2023, parents may refer to www.moe.gov.sg/primary/p1-registration/past-vacancies-and-balloting-data for last year's P1 Registration Exercise data, which will include last year's available vacancies, registration applicants, and balloting information in the relevant phases for each school. If balloting was conducted for a specific phase, parents would see the category that balloting was conducted for, the number of vacancies available in the ballot, and the number of applicants who participated in the ballot. Parents can also view a list of schools within 2km of their residence and check whether these schools were oversubscribed in specific phases during last year's Exercise.

9. In selecting a primary school, we encourage parents to consider a wide stable of schools and explore how these schools' unique programmes and offerings can best meet their child's learning needs, interests, and strengths. Parents should also consider schools that are reasonably close to home to reduce their child's commuting time. A longer Home-School Distance could mean more limited transport options for the child. Parents can use MOE's SchoolFinder at www.moe.gov.sg/schoolfinder for a more holistic understanding of the offerings by each school.

Updates to Infrastructure Plans for One Primary School

10. St Margaret's School (Primary) is currently at a holding site2 at Mattar Road while its permanent site undergoes upgrading. Due to a delay in the upgrading project, the school will continue to operate from the current holding site for another year until December 2024.

Compulsory Education

11. Under the Compulsory Education Act, Singapore Citizens (SC) 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 2017 and 1 January 2018 (both dates inclusive) must either participate in this year's P1 Registration Exercise for admission in January 2024 or enrol in the Junior 1/P1 Programme of a SPED school.

12. 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 2018, parents may also seek approval for deferment if they want their child to enter primary school in January 2025 instead. Application can be made using the relevant form available on the MOE website at www.moe.gov.sg/primary/compulsory-education/deferment. Queries on Compulsory Education may be directed to CEU at MOE_CEU@moe.gov.sg or 6879 6457 / 6879 6458 / 6879 6459.

Registration for International Students

13. As in previous years, International Students (IS) will register under Phase 3 of the P1 Registration Exercise, after all SC and Permanent Residents (PR) have been allocated a place under the earlier phases. IS who intend to participate in Phase 3 of the P1 Registration Exercise must undergo a two-step process:

  • Step 1: Submit an online 'indication of interest' form via the MOE P1 Registration website, between Tuesday, 30 May 2023, 9am and Monday, 5 June 2023, 4.30pm. Those who do not do so by 5 June 2023 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 by end October 2023, on 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.

14. School admission at Phase 3 is not guaranteed, as there are limited vacancies after places have been allocated to SC and PR children.

Address Used for Registration

15. 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 4 July 2023. In cases where this condition is not met, MOE will transfer the child to another school with vacancies.

16. 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 the Declaration of Alternative Child-Care Arrangement (DACA) form on www.moe.gov.sg/primary/p1-registration/home-address between Monday, 3 July 2023, 9am and Thursday, 3 August 2023, 4pm.

False Information

17. Any registrant found to have provided false information during the P1 Registration Exercise will be referred to the police for investigation. If a child is found to have been successfully registered in a school based on false information, MOE will transfer the child to another school with remaining vacancies after all eligible children have registered.

Parents Gateway Available for Parents of Prospective P1 Students

18. Starting 18 May 2023, parents of prospective P1 students will be able to download and register for MOE's Parents Gateway app on their mobile devices using their Singpass account (available on iOS and Android platforms). Through the app, parents will be able to receive:

  • Updates and information on the P1 Registration Exercise process and requirements
  • Information on administrative tasks before the start of school (e.g., P1 Orientation dates, purchase of school uniforms and book supplies)
  • Tips on how parents can support their child's transition to P1

19. Parents are encouraged to prepare early and check the MOE P1 Registration Exercise website for the latest updates on the registration exercise and the documents required for registration, including registration for overseas Singaporeans.


Footnotes

  1. See Annex for details on the eligible group(s) under each registration phase.

  2. The holding site is located at 2 Mattar Road, Singapore 387724 (former MacPherson Primary School site) while the permanent site is located at 99 Wilkie Road, Singapore 228901.