SINGAPORE - About half of the Secondary 1 student cohorts in affiliated secondary schools came from non-affiliated primary schools in the past four years, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said.
This is more than double of the requirement by the Ministry of Education (MOE) for affiliated secondary schools to reserve 20 per cent of places for non-affiliated pupils since 2019.
In a written parliamentary reply to Mr Louis Chua (Sengkang GRC) on Feb 4, Mr Chan said that with MOE’s encouragement, some affiliated schools have “tightened” the minimum score requirements that pupils from affiliated primary schools need to meet to qualify for priority admission.
This has helped to provide greater access for their peers from non-affiliated schools, he added.
Mr Chua had asked about the percentage of secondary school places taken by affiliated primary school pupils since 2021 and the cut-off point difference between this group and those who are not affiliated. He also asked if the MOE would review this disparity.
There are currently 27 secondary schools affiliated to primary schools.
At Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School, the cut-off point for the 2025 intake for non-affiliated students in posting group 3 was 10. For affiliated students, it was 20.
At St. Joseph’s Institution, the cut-off point for the same cohort for non-affiliated students was 8, while for affiliated students, it was 12.
Mr Chan said the difference in cut-off points between both groups of students depends on their Posting Group.
Primary 6 pupils are sorted into three posting groups with their PSLE scores. This is mapped from the score ranges for the Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) streams.
In Posting Group 3, the average difference is about seven points, said Mr Chan. In Posting Groups 1 and 2, the difference is smaller - around two points and one point, respectively - because the cut-off point ranges in these groups are narrower, he added.
“While this may be the current balance that we have established for now, we will continue to adjust and make further refinements, as time goes by and circumstances change, so that we can achieve the right balance for the future.”
Over the years, some have called for the school affiliation policy to be relooked, citing that this leads to an ...