More parents caught giving false addresses during P1 registration

More parents have been caught providing false residential addresses in the past five years to secure spots for their children in popular primary schools.

- Gabrielle Chan

While the Ministry of Education (MOE) used to investigate an average of around one case a year between 2008 and 2018, this figure jumped to about nine cases annually from 2020 to 2024. There were no cases reported in 2019.

A 41-year-old woman was charged on June 5 with lying about her home address to enrol her daughter in a primary school.

According to court documents, the woman gave false information to the principal and vice-principal of the school between June and September 2024 during a Primary 1 registration exercise.

"The MOE takes a serious view of parents providing false information for the purpose of enrolling their child in a particular school under the Primary 1 registration exercise," the ministry said on June 13 in response to queries from The Sunday Times.

It added that the increase in cases of non-compliance in the past five years could be due to a "combination of factors", including public awareness, checks by schools and whistle-blower feedback.

MOE said it investigates all reported cases of non-compliance, including cases where parents rent properties and use the rental address for P1 registration but did not reside there for at least 30 months.

Under the P1 registration exercise, MOE uses a home-school distance priority system to allocate places when demand exceeds vacancies. Priority is given first to Singapore citizens living within 1km of the school, then those between 1km and 2km, and lastly those outside 2km.

The 30-month stay requirement applies to children securing a place using a new address that offers more priority. The new address must be reflected on both parents' NRICs during the P1 registration, and families must live at that address for at least 30 months from move-in.