Hello!
I am a reporter with the local paper and I'm doing a follow up story on the news today about fee hikes for young children of expats who are non-PR or non-citizens.
Am quite new to this area, so was hoping to speak with some people with knowledge and first-hand experience on deciding between local and International Schools for their children.
Please reply on this post or contact me if you can help!
Thank you!
Yen
I'm attaching part of the article here:
TWO measures to draw a clearer distinction between Singaporeans and non-citizens will be introduced by the Education Ministry in a move to enhance the privileges of being a citizen.
First, from July, Singaporeans will get an edge when they have to ballot for places during Primary 1 school registration.
Second, starting from January 2011, school fees for permanent residents and foreigners will be raised.
Education Minister Ng Eng Hen announced these changes yesterday during a dialogue at the end of his visit to the Jalan Kayu ward of Ang Mo Kio GRC.
He had been asked by Ms Renee Lim what could be done to help parents get their children into popular schools.
The 36-year-old human resource manager was worried her four-year-old daughter would not be able to get into nearby Rosyth, a top primary school.
Dr Ng's announcement - especially the one on balloting - was greeted with loud applause from the more than 200 residents attending the hour-long dialogue.
However, he took pains to stress that the changes did not mean non-Singaporeans were not welcome in schools here.