MOE boost to Phase 2C places draws mixed reactions from alumni parents
The Ministry of Education will increase Phase 2C places to 60 per school from next year, reducing alumni priority under Phase 2A. Alumni parents express disappointment and worry, while experts say the changes signal a decisive narrowing of legacy advantages for greater social mixing.
SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Thursday (Sep 10) that most primary schools will set aside 60 places for Phase 2C from next year's Primary 1 registration exercise, up from 40 currently. Twelve schools in neighbourhoods where public housing makes up less than 40 per cent of homes within 2km will also split their Phase 2C places into two equal tracks – one for applicants living within 2km, another for those beyond it – with no home-school distance priority within either track. These schools are mostly in Bukit Timah, with a few in Marine Parade.
The change could mean fewer places under Phase 2A, which gives priority to alumni. Jasmine, an alumna of Singapore Chinese Girls' School (SCGS) who wanted to be known only by her first name, said she felt disappointed and worried. She lives more than 2km from SCGS and is considering moving closer to improve her four-year-old daughter's chances when she registers in 2028. "For many years, it's something that parents from these schools felt was very competitive, even in the alumni round. Now we're going to be squeezed even more," the communications professional said.
Eugene, an alumnus of Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) who wanted to be known only by his first name, is already wondering whether his two-year-old son will get into his alma mater when it is his turn in five years. "For years, I've heard of my friends moving houses to give their kids a better chance of this. It was never something that I thought I'd do, but now I'm thinking if I should do it," he said. He acknowledged the need to look beyond individual preferences and consider the kind of society Singapore wants its schools to foster, cautioning against allowing schools to become "enclaves" where particular backgrounds or communities perpetuate themselves.
Associate Professor of Sociology at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Vincent Chua described the changes as a reallocation of seats "away from legacy phases (Phase 2A and 2B) toward open access". "Although there is no outright abolition of the legacy, the moves do represent a decisive narrowing of alumni leverage. The state is making it clear that public educational infrastructure must prioritise open access and social mixing over private network continuity," he said. Assistant professor of sociology Jacqueline Ho at Singapore Management University (SMU) said the changes signal the direction the Primary 1 registration system could eventually take. "There is a growing recognition that granting alumni priority access to schools is a legacy of the past, and is misaligned with the principles of fairness and meritocracy that we aspire to," she said.
Experts also said widening access to popular schools could help broaden the socio-economic mix of their student populations. "Under the old 1km distance rule, these schools were effectively monopolised by adjacent luxury private estate owners," Assoc Prof Chua said. The new 50-50 two-track framework, he said, would weaken the "popular-school-wealthy-area nexus". Asst Prof Ho agreed the new system is fairer in principle, as it opens places to families living farther away and not just those in wealthier neighbourhoods, but cautioned that the complexity of the system could affect whether families take up the opportunity.
Not all alumni parents are opposed to the changes. Mr Lester Lee, an alumnus of Nanyang Primary School with a five-year-old daughter, said alumni priority matters to him as it offers "an added dimension of shared experience", but he would sacrifice that advantage if it did not serve the common good. "If excessive alumni benefits are worsening inequality then we should intervene," the 35-year-old healthcare professional said. Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) alumnus Gabriel, who wanted to be known only by his first name, described the changes as "perfectly reasonable", though he questioned what it means for a registration system to be fair. St Margaret's School (Primary) alumna Rachel, who wanted to be known only by her first name, said she would want her future child to learn alongside peers from different backgrounds and cultures, as this could help develop empathy and understanding.
