Parent was jailed for lying about address

Unfairness in the P1 registration system

Inequality drives anxiety in parents

Bullying in an elite school 

Lack of information about school culture

Will auto school allocation be fairer?

How far would you go to get your child enrolled at a primary school of your choice?

One woman repeatedly lied about her home address to get her daughter a spot at the primary school the mother wanted in 2023.

But the school discovered the truth, and she was handed a one-week jail sentence in November for subverting the admissions process.

While her sentence has raised eyebrows, she’s not the only one to have attempted this, with other parents over the years having been fined between $4,000 and $5,000 over similar attempts.

In a 2007 case, a parent was jailed after lying about his residential address in order to get his daughter into a certain school in Bukit Timah.

Data from the Ministry of Education showed that between 2020 and 2024, there were about nine such cases each year.

In this episode of The Usual Place, I speak with three guests about why some parents think they need to game the system to get their child a good education.

They are:

• Pooja Bhandari, founder of non-profit EveryChild.SG, which looks to raise awareness about the need for education reforms and the well-being of children in Singapore,

• Esther Foong-Tan, a family life education specialist, who helps families work on their interpersonal relationships by equipping parents with up-to-date resources and training, and

• Assistant Professor of Sociology Jacqueline Ho, who teaches at Singapore Management University. Her research is focused primarily on the Singaporean education system.

In this pre-recorded episode, we discuss: Is this just ‘kiasu’ culture taken to extremes? And what’s driving parents to go to such lengths for a place at a “good” primary school?

Highlights (click/tap above):

3:16 Emotional impact on the child whose parent was jailed for lying about their address

4:54 Unfairness in the P1 registration system 

11:26 How inequality in society builds anxiety in parents

23:32 Bullying in an elite school 

35:54 How the lack of information about school culture has spurred anxiety among parents 

38:20 Could an automatic allocation to primary schools create a fairer admission system? 

Follow The Usual Place podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/theusualplacepodcast

Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/v6DN

Filmed by: Studio+65

Edited by: Teo Tong Kai, Eden Soh and Chen Junyi

Executive producers: Danson Cheong, Elizabeth Khor & Ernest Luis

Editorial producer: Lynda Hong

Follow The Usual Place Podcast and get notified for new episode drops every Thursday:

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YouTube: https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast

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How far would you go to get your child enrolled at a primary school of your choice?
One woman repeatedly lied about her home address to get her daughter a spot at the primary school the mother wanted in 2023.
But the school discovered the truth, and she was handed a one-week jail sentence in November for subverting the admissions process.
While her sentence has raised eyebrows, she&rsquo;s not the only one&nbsp;to have attempted this, with other parents over the years having been fined between $4,000 and $5,000 over similar attempts.
In a 2007 case, a parent was jailed after lying about his residential address in order to get his daughter into a certain school in Bukit Timah.
Data from the Ministry of Education showed that between 2020 and 2024, there were about nine such cases each year.
In this episode of The Usual Place, I speak with three guests about why some parents think they need to game the system to get their child a good education.
They are:
&bull; Pooja Bhandari, founder of non-profit EveryChild.SG, which looks to raise awareness about the need for education reforms and the well-being of children in Singapore,
&bull; Esther Foong-Tan, a family life education specialist, who helps families work on their interpersonal relationships by equipping parents with up-to-date resources and training, and
&bull; Assistant Professor of Sociology Jacqueline Ho, who teaches at Singapore Management University. Her research is focused primarily on the Singaporean education system.
In this pre-recorded episode, we discuss: Is this just &lsquo;kiasu&rsquo; culture taken to extremes? And what&rsquo;s driving parents to go to such lengths for a place at a &ldquo;good&rdquo; primary school?
Highlights (click/tap above):
3:16 Emotional impact on the child whose parent was jailed for lying about their address 4:54 Unfairness in the P1 registration system&nbsp; 11:26 How inequality in society builds anxiety in parents 23:32 Bullying in an elite school&nbsp; 35:54 How the lack of information about school culture has spurred anxiety among parents&nbsp; 38:20 Could an automatic allocation to primary schools create a fairer admission system?&nbsp;
Follow The Usual Place podcast on IG:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/theusualplacepodcast">https://www.instagram.com/theusualplacepodcast</a>
Follow Natasha on LinkedIn:&nbsp;<a href="https://str.sg/v6DN">https://str.sg/v6DN</a>
Filmed by: Studio+65
Edited by: Teo Tong Kai, Eden Soh and Chen Junyi
Executive producers: Danson Cheong, Elizabeth Khor &amp; Ernest Luis
Editorial producer: Lynda Hong
Follow The Usual Place Podcast and get notified for new episode drops every Thursday:
Channel: <a href="https://str.sg/5nfm?ref=inline-article" aria-label="link" data-testid="custom-link"></a><a href="https://str.sg/5nfm?ref=inline-article" aria-label="link" data-testid="custom-link">https://str.sg/5nfm</a>
Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://str.sg/9ijX?ref=inline-article" aria-label="link" data-testid="custom-link"></a><a href="https://str.sg/9ijX?ref=inline-article" aria-label="link" data-testid="custom-link">https://str.sg/9ijX</a>
Spotify: <a href="https://str.sg/cd2P?ref=inline-article" aria-label="link" data-testid="custom-link"></a><a href="https://str.sg/cd2P?ref=inline-article" aria-label="link" data-testid="custom-link">https://str.sg/cd2P</a>
YouTube: <a href="https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast?ref=inline-article" aria-label="link" data-testid="custom-link"></a><a href="https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast?ref=inline-article" aria-label="link" data-testid="custom-link">https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast</a>
Feedback to: <a href="mailto:podcast@sph.com.sg?ref=inline-article" aria-label="link" data-testid="custom-link"></a><a href="mailto:podcast@sph.com.sg?ref=inline-article" aria-label="link" data-testid="custom-link">podcast@sph.com.sg</a>
SPH Awedio app: <a href="https://www.awedio.sg/?ref=inline-article" aria-label="link" data-testid="custom-link"></a><a href="https://www.awedio.sg/?ref=inline-article" aria-label="link" data-testid="custom-link">https://www.awedio.sg</a>
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Follow more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: <a href="https://str.sg/wvz7?ref=inline-article" aria-label="link" data-testid="custom-link"></a><a href="https://str.sg/wvz7?ref=inline-article" aria-label="link" data-testid="custom-link">https://str.sg/wvz7</a>
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Natasha and her guests unpack the latest current affairs, every Thursday.

Synopsis: Join host and correspondent Natasha Ann Zachariah every Thursday live at noon, as she unpacks the latest current affairs with guests. 

Podcaster: Natasha Ann Zachariah

Executive producers: Danson Cheong, Elizabeth Khor & Ernest Luis

Editorial producer: Lynda Hong

A podcast by The Straits Times, SPH Media

Synopsis: Join host and correspondent Natasha Ann Zachariah every Thursday live at noon, as she unpacks the latest current affairs with guests.&nbsp;
Podcaster: Natasha Ann Zachariah
Executive producers: Danson Cheong, Elizabeth Khor &amp; Ernest Luis
Editorial producer: Lynda Hong
A podcast by The Straits Times, SPH Media

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