Supporting Lower-Income Students in Direct School Admission Applications to Ensure Equitable Talent Identification

Ms Elysa Chen asked the Minister for Education (a) how does the Ministry support students from lower-income families to overcome barriers, such as (i) access to training, (ii) preparation and (iii) exposure opportunities when applying through the Direct School Admission scheme, so that talent identification does not depend disproportionately on family resources.

Mr Desmond Lee: The Ministry of Education (MOE) invests significant resources to support students from lower-income families to discover and nurture their interests and talents. For instance, MOE provides Opportunity Fund grants to schools for them to subsidise co-curricular development opportunities for students from low-income households. MOE also runs the Junior Sports Academy for primary school students who show sporting potential. Selection is based on general motor ability, with no prior sports training needed.

The main objective of these efforts is to help students from lower-income families to discover their strengths and interests, which may lead to them applying for Direct School Admission (DSA), with the support of their schools. However, these efforts are not aimed at preparing them for DSA, as it is not the main pathway for students to gain admission to the next level of education.

For DSA, our schools adopt a holistic approach to selection and consider factors such as a student's potential and personal qualities, beyond their demonstrated achievements. This approach recognises that talent can manifest differently depending on a student's background and opportunities.