Singapore to widen admission to 12 schools amid privilege concerns

Southeast Asian families tying house move to top schools spur privilege worries

Singapore’s admission debate

Singapore is preparing to widen admission to 12 schools in predominantly private-housing neighbourhoods, a move intended to encourage greater social mixing.

The plan comes as a parliamentary debate over primary school admissions has placed a familiar parental strategy under scrutiny: moving house to improve a child’s chances of entering a popular school.

The debate has also raised concerns about privilege, as access to a sought-after school can be linked to where a family is able to live.

Families plan moves years ahead

In Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, a family’s residential address is one of the factors determining admission into schools.

Speaking with This Week in Asia, property agents said some Singaporean families had approached them intending to buy or rent particular residences at least two years before their children’s primary school admission.

The strategy therefore involves planning a residential move well before the admission process begins, rather than waiting until applications are being filed.

Proximity does not ensure entry

Living close to a sought-after school does not guarantee admission.

A family may still face balloting for a particular school if it is oversubscribed.

That qualification means that even families who move into the relevant area remain subject to the school’s available places and admission demand.

Singapore’s planned expansion to 12 schools in predominantly private-housing neighbourhoods places the residential-address system within a wider effort to promote social mixing.

Source: South China Morning Post