SINGAPOREANS GIVEN PRIORITY IN EDUCATION OVER PRs, FOREIGNERS

By Zakaria Abdul Wahab

SINGAPORE, Dec 21 (Bernama) -- The Singapore government is putting in place
measures in the education system to ensure its citizens have more chances to
enroll in public schools than permanent residents and foreign students.

The measures are in line with the city-state’s move to sharpen the
differentiation between Singapore citizens, permanent residents (PRs) and
foreigners to reflect the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship.

One of the measures to be enforced next year would be on the primary one
registration exercise where parents have to participate in a balloting exercise
if applications exceed the vacancies at a school, according to the Education
Ministry Sunday.

The republic’s citizens and PRs are currently given one ballot slip each
during the balloting exercise, but under the new measure its citizens would be
given two ballot slips and the PRs only one.

The ministry said its citizens would therefore have a higher chance of
securing a place for their children in a school of choice when there was
balloting.


Giving Singaporeans two chances during balloting would retain the underlying
principle of its existing primary registration framework and provide for
diversity in Singapore schools, while simultaneously according its citizens an
additional privilege, it added.

The ministry said foreign students would continue to be eligible to register
after its citizens and PRs had been balloted in.

In another measure, school fees payable by Singaporeans, PRs and
international students would also be further differentiated from 2011 onwards.

The government would further increase the fees of PRs and international
students in 2011, the ministry said.

Fees for PRs will increase by between S$36.50 (S$1 = RM2.45) and S$73 per
month, and those for international students by between S$100 and S$400 per
month.

-- BERNAMA