FTrash Squeezing Out Sporns in P1 Registration

[makapaaa]

Nov 21, 2009

P1 registration: Guarantee places to those living nearby

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I WISH to highlight the perennial problem of parents failing to enrol their children in schools close to their homes during the Primary 1 registration exercise.
My friend failed to enrol his child in a school located opposite the block where he lives. Instead, his child was given a place in a school two bus stops away.
My friend and his wife work full time and must rely on a 60-year-old grandparent to take the child to school, as well as care for their older special-needs child.
The principal of the school their child was denied entry to has put my friend's child high on the waiting list, but should that be the case?
Perhaps the Primary 1 registration exercise could be tweaked to include a phase that guarantees places to pupils living within a 500m radius of the school.
How then do we free up more places to accommodate this phase?
Abolish the parent volunteer system, which does not genuinely inculcate a spirit of volunteerism, but is a convenient channel for parents to win their children places in their target schools.
At the very least, parents in the same situation as my friend will get their child into a school near their homes.
Wee Hien Seng

 

[makapaaa]

Nov 21, 2009

School transfers

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'The MOE should implement a more transparent process.'
MR KANG JUN KOO: 'At the end of each year's second semester, many parents apply to transfer their children to other schools for a host of reasons, ranging from changing their place of residence to trying to enrol their child in a more reputable school. I tried transferring my son to a school nearer our home - to no avail. The stock reply, that the school did not have vacancies and would put my son's name on the waiting list, is unhelpful. Most schools do not have a transparent process in this respect, such as stating basic information like the number of vacancies at the present moment (and historically as well, to give parents a better perspective), selection criteria and number of applications. The Ministry of Education should review current transfer procedures and implement a clearer and more transparent process, as is the case now with the Primary 1 registration exercise.'