Since the Education Ministry announced its decision last Monday to allocate two ballot slips to citizens instead of just one during balloting exercises, this has been a hot topic among parents both on and off the web. This move, together with the impending increase in school fees payable by non-citizens, have been explained as one of the measures to further differentiate between Singapore citizens, permanent residents (PRs) and foreigners in schools, and a way of according additional ‘privileges’ to Singapore citizens.

Differentiation – looks like it. But how much if an impact will this ‘privilege’ have? At first look, this does appear to increase the chances of parents hoping to secure a place for their child.  But to simply say that now every citizen has ‘two chances’ can be misleading. The  probability of getting a place still depends very much on firstly, the number of available places vs number of applicants, and secondly, the number of PRs vying for places. If a school has hardly any PR applicants, then each parent’s probability is unlike to change all that much since almost everyone else is getting an additional chance.

One must also note that while data from the Ministry of Education indicates that PR students comprise 8% of the total cohort, actual percentages vary in schools. Some schools, particularly elite ones do feature a significantly higher percentage of PR students.  So it stands to reason that citizens who would benefit most from the additional ballot slip are those whose schools of choice are highly sought after AND have a sizeable percentage of PRs among the total number of applicants.

For those who lament that this additional ballot slip won’t really help their chances of getting into an elite school, perhaps it is worthwhile to note that there are those who DON’T need this additional leg-up from the government at all – namely those who are happy to choose (NOT settle) for a neighbourhood school or one where there are enough places to do without the need for balloting. But this is another issue altogether...

What are your thoughts on the provision of 1 additional ballot slip for Singapore citizens? Do share your comments with us. 

Comments (3)

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written by janet, December 25, 2009

It won't make a difference - this is a paper exercise. By telling people they get two chances it as good as those shopping malls promising extra chances for those who hold this card and that, when actually the actual chance is very small.

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written by chin, December 25, 2009

What we need is a good look at why these top schools are so popular... how much value-add are they adding to their pupils? Is this a case of parents who, once their kids are in a so-called 'elite' school will give all sorts of tuition and additional classes to make sur their kids will do well? So who is giving the value-add then?

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written by Pamela Cheong, January 11, 2010

2 chances is better than one, but I hope more can be done. Even before beginning my child's P1 journey, we are already stressed by the P1 registration process. I hope to hear more changes to the current system of registering our children for primary education.

Best thing to do:
- Do away with the clan association.
- Give Singapore citizen children priority at Phase 2C. Why? Not everyone can afford the private property address near the top/popular school, have a clan association, and is a parent volunteer.

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