Proposal for Additional Primary Schools in Bishan East-Sin Ming Region

22 Ms Elysa Chen asked the Minister for Education whether the Ministry will consider establishing additional primary schools within the Bishan East-Sin Ming region to address growing enrolment demands and minimise travel distances for students.

Mr Desmond Lee: The Ministry of Education (MOE) regularly reviews the demand and supply for school places at the national and local levels, taking into consideration planned housing developments and public transport networks in each residential area.

For the Bishan East-Sin Ming Division, we have assessed that there is sufficient supply of primary school places within one to two kilometres of the Division. The projected increase in demand due to the new housing developments is largely offset by the decreasing demand from the more mature parts of Bishan. Hence, there is currently no plan to build new primary schools there.

MOE is careful in our school planning to avoid an oversupply of school places, which could result in schools having many vacancies and a reduced ability to offer diverse programmes.

We will continue to monitor demand for school places to ensure sufficient places for school-going children as the profile of residents changes.