REGISTRATION OF PRIMARY ONE PUPILS

Dr Teo Ho Pin asked the Minister for Education whether his Ministry will consider registering primary one pupils two years before they start school so as to facilitate the provision of pupil placements, including the construction of new schools, and at the same time enable parents to make the necessary arrangements for their children.

RAdm Teo Chee Hean: This is an interesting idea which my ministry will look into. Registering two years ahead will not give enough time for construction of new schools, but will certainly give more time for parents to make the necessary preparations for their children. It will also allow the Ministry of Education time to make adjustments to classroom and teacher deployment to the maximum extent practical, in response to actual rather than anticipated demand.

However, there are important pros and cons to making such a change. The matter has therefore to be carefully and thoroughly studied before a decision is taken. We will not change the current system until we are convinced that it will result in an improvement.