Secondary One School Posting Exercise for Students Who Took PSLE from 2019 to 2021

Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Education with regard to Secondary one school posting exercises for students who took the PSLE from 2019 to 2021 (a) what is the annual number of students posted to a school which was not their first choice, broken down by travelling time of (i) over 30 minutes (ii) over one hour (iii) over 90 minutes by public transport; and (b) what guidance and advice are provided to students and parents to optimise their choices.

MOE encourages parents and students to carefully consider their school choices for Secondary 1 (S1) Posting and choose a range of schools that are a good fit for the student’s learning needs. They are also advised to use all six choices and consider at least two or three schools where the student’s PSLE score is better than the school’s indicative Cut-Off Point (COP). We understand that some do choose to include schools that are a distance away from home.

S1 Posting is based on merit and choice of students. This means a student with a better PSLE score will be posted ahead of another student into their choice school.

Students may not always secure their first-choice school as the COPs of some schools fluctuate slightly each year. This is due to that cohort’s PSLE score and their school choices. Even with the change in PSLE scoring system in 2021, the proportion of students posted to a school of choice in the 2021 S1 Posting Exercise was comparable to previous years. More than 80% of students were posted to a school within their top three choices and more than 90% posted to a school in one of their six choices.

MOE posts those unsuccessful in all six of their choices to the nearest school with remaining vacancies, based on their PSLE score and registered address. This would generally be within 30 to 45 minutes travelling time by public transport, subject to traffic conditions and waiting time.