Should the admission system into Primary schools be modified?
THE EDUCATION SYSTEM
Pictures of our people were taken by Tan Hong Kai
Should all single-sex schools be replaced with co-educational schools?
Promoting fair access to education has been greatly aided by the primary school admissions system in Singapore. This system, which was put in place in 1972, was designed to offer a methodical and transparent way to enrol children in educational institutions while balancing accessibility, equity, and resource distribution.
Facilitating an orderly process that allows parents to reserve a spot for their children in a suitable educational environment is the main goal of primary school registration. However, over time, there were questions raised about the system’s effectiveness, equity, and capacity to adjust to newer demographic patterns such as the changing concentration of non-Singaporeans and the changing wealth distribution.
While the existing system has effectively improved transparency for parents and educational institutions by streamlining the enrolment process, certain issues have worsened, such as the stress experienced by parents during the registration process. In order to guarantee that the primary school admissions process successfully meets the needs of all parties involved, representatives should seek to propose a resolution that maintains the advantages of the current system while addressing its drawbacks.
Singapore has many single sex schools, with the current number standing at 27 single sex secondary schools and 24 single sex primary schools. Some of Singapore's most prestigious and sought after schools, like Raffles Institution and Hwa Chong Institution, are single sex. Many of Singapore's most important figures attended these schools, which led to these schools having a reputation for their ability to nurture future leaders. Calls to keep single sex schools are thus based on their rich history and academic success.
However, the continued existence of single sex schools in a changing society that is increasingly striving toward gender equality has raised some concerns, such as whether single sex schools can be effective in preparing young minds for future mixed-gender workplaces, as well as whether they may end up unintentionally fostering prejudice and sexism. Representatives should consider the function of single sex schools in today's educational climate, if converting them to co-educational schools is a possible option, and how, if at all, these schools should be transformed.
Image created with the help of OpenAI’s ChatGPT
Image created with the help of OpenAI’s ChatGPT
