Primary 1 changes could improve diversity in popular schools but increase competition, say observers

SINGAPORE – The latest changes to the Primary 1 registration system could broaden the mix of pupils in some of Singapore’s most popular primary schools, academics said, by giving more children without prior ties a higher chance of admission.

They said the measures also send a signal to parents that priority admission to their alma mater is not a guarantee.

But they also noted that the changes may intensify competition across most phases, and high resale prices in public housing estates with popular schools may make the area less accessible to lower-income families.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Sept 10 that 60 places will be reserved in Phase 2C for children with no prior connections to the school, up from 40 currently.

This will apply to schools with intakes of 180 or more P1 pupils, from the 2027 P1 registration exercise.

A new two-track system for 12 schools, including the popular Nanyang Primary School in Bukit Timah and Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) in Newton, will also be implemented.

Under this scheme, half of the 60 reserved places in Phase 2C at these schools will be for children living within 2km of the school, and the other half for those living farther away.

Splitting Phase 2C places between children living within and beyond 2km could widen the geographical catchment of these schools, said Vincent Chua, an associate professor of sociology and anthropology from the National University of Singapore.

This could also weaken the link between living close to a popular school and having a better chance of getting in, he added.

Chua said the changes could promote social mixing by widening access to families who have no prior connection to a school.

The new two-track system for the 12 selected schools is particularly significant, he said. These schools are located in neighbourhoods where public housing makes up less than 40 per cent of homes within 2km of them.

This proportion is significantly lower than the national average in Singapore, where about four in five of the resident population live in public housing. So far, only these 12 schools are located in such neighbourhoods, MOE said.

Map showing the 12 schools with the two-track Primary 1 registration system.

Chua added that the latest changes will force parents to recalibrate their long-term strategies and expectations.

This is because buying or renting an expensive property adjacent to a brand-name school will no longer guarantee top priority on the ballot.

In addition, putting a squeeze on the earlier Phase 2B stage reduces the incentive for parents to engage in volunteer work purely to secure admission to a school, said Chua.

Jacqueline Ho, an assistant professor from SMU’s department of sociology, said the changes could send a stronger signal to alumni that admission to their former school is not guaranteed, although the reduction of places for such affiliation is “relatively small”.

There is now a higher “barrier to entry” for their alma mater, she said, adding that there may be some pushback from alumni.

“It gets people used to this idea that alumni shouldn’t be entitled to this privilege and other people should also have an opportunity to enter schools,” she said, adding: “This could potentially set us up for bolder changes in the longer term.”

This means that alumni and parent volunteers will face higher balloting risks, with fewer spots left for Phases 2A and 2B, said Chua. And in Phase 2C, the changes open the applicant pool to families from a much broader geographic region.

“This inevitably increases the volume of applicants competing on the same ballot, intensifying balloting pressure in popular schools. But crucially, it also levels the playing field, giving families living further away a genuinely equal shot at admission,” he added.

The two-track system could further broaden the pool of applicants at the 12 schools, Ho said.

For example, a child living in Toa Payoh, for whom a popular school such as Nanyang Primary School in Bukit Timah was out of bounds because of distance, would now stand a better chance of securing a place set aside for children living beyond 2km.

A child living in Toa Payoh, for whom a popular school such as Nanyang Primary School in Bukit Timah was out of bounds because of distance, would now stand a better chance of securing a place set aside for children living beyond 2km.

PHOTO: ST FILE

However, Ho said the policy would need to be accompanied by measures to make these schools a realistic option for families who live further away.

Schools could consider improving transport options or facilitating carpooling, she said, suggesting that school bus services be subsidised so that transport costs do not become a barrier.

Ho also noted that the changes do not address popular schools in public housing estates where home prices have risen sharply.

For example, schools such as Nan Hua Primary School in Clementi may be surrounded by public housing, she said, but these flats can command high resale prices, potentially making the area less accessible to lower-income families.

Chua said the latest changes are a step towards broadening access and “focus on softening the dominance of legacy ties”, but do not fundamentally overhaul the P1 registration system.

“While school heritage is valuable and should be celebrated through alumni associations and events, it cannot be allowed to act as an exclusive gatekeeper that chokes out public access to public educational infrastructure.”

Ganesh Kurup, 43, a father of two boys aged six and four, said he and his wife were initially considering Radin Mas Primary School for their elder son entering Primary 1 in 2027.

The school is a popular choice in the Bukit Merah area where they live, and they realised upon checking its balloting history that it is usually heavily oversubscribed.

Though they live within 1km to 2km from the school, they were not optimistic about their chances in Phase 2C. They decided to apply to Cantonment Primary instead.

“At Radin Mas, many parents volunteer but they are not guaranteed a place in the school. So we decided to go for a closer option, where my son can walk to school,” said Kurup, a commercial manager in the marine sector.

Despite the latest Primary 1 registration changes, which would increase spots in Radin Mas from 40 to 60 in Phase 2C, Kurup said he is not tempted to enrol his younger son there.

He would rather secure a place for the boy in his older brother’s school through Phase 1.

“I will not take that chance and put him in a different school, because for logistics it doesn’t make sense. I would rather they both attend the same school,” he said.