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- Oct 22, 2008
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The Ministry of Education (MOE) probably thought it could get away by proclaiming that citizens will get “absolute” priority over PRs for primary 1 registrations particularly with the mainstream media giving it prominent and unquestioning coverage. But alert Singaporeans like netizens know it is only a half-truth and not the whole truth.
Absolute priority kicks in only when there is balloting, and balloting takes place when there are more applications than vacancies in the school in a particular phase. Usually there is no balloting in the early phases of registration for children who have siblings studying in the school or whose parent is an alumnus of the school, sits on the school advisory/management committee or teaches in the school; in these phases children get priority registration regardless of nationality, so non-citizens including PRs who qualify in these phases are allotted places ahead of citizens who fall outside these phases. And there are many such non-citizens and PRs who qualify and hence push citizens further back in the queue.
How MOE and the mainstream media can say with a straight face that there is absolute priority for citizens, boggles me. Do they really think that we are so daft and can be taken for a ride? Singaporeans expect nothing less than total openness from our high officials particularly more so of officials in the education ministry whom young students look upon as role model. Which brings me to the education minister’s recent suggestion of teaching character development in schools. Yes there is a need to develop a character of honesty, openness and transparency and we should begin with teaching, not young innocent students, but PAP ministers who have not been totally forthcoming, open and transparent in their disclosure of our national reserves, the true cost of public housing and other data and statistics.
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Tan Jee Say
Absolute priority kicks in only when there is balloting, and balloting takes place when there are more applications than vacancies in the school in a particular phase. Usually there is no balloting in the early phases of registration for children who have siblings studying in the school or whose parent is an alumnus of the school, sits on the school advisory/management committee or teaches in the school; in these phases children get priority registration regardless of nationality, so non-citizens including PRs who qualify in these phases are allotted places ahead of citizens who fall outside these phases. And there are many such non-citizens and PRs who qualify and hence push citizens further back in the queue.
How MOE and the mainstream media can say with a straight face that there is absolute priority for citizens, boggles me. Do they really think that we are so daft and can be taken for a ride? Singaporeans expect nothing less than total openness from our high officials particularly more so of officials in the education ministry whom young students look upon as role model. Which brings me to the education minister’s recent suggestion of teaching character development in schools. Yes there is a need to develop a character of honesty, openness and transparency and we should begin with teaching, not young innocent students, but PAP ministers who have not been totally forthcoming, open and transparent in their disclosure of our national reserves, the true cost of public housing and other data and statistics.
.
Tan Jee Say
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