MOE to open applications for school placement exercise for returning Singaporeans on Jul 15

SINGAPORE: Singaporean children returning from overseas who wish to enrol in a secondary school, junior college or Millennia Institute next year can apply to take do so from Wednesday (Jul 15), said the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Tuesday.

The School Placement Exercises for Returning Singaporeans (SPERS) is an annual exercise held towards the end of each year.

Singaporean parents working abroad can apply for their children to re-enter the mainstream school system when the family relocates back to Singapore.

Returning Singaporean children will need to sit for one set of centralised SPERS tests and then indicate their school choices before MOE posts them to a suitable school.

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The tests for those seeking admission into Secondary 1 to 3 will be held from Sep 22 to 24, while tests for Pre-University 1 will be on Nov 12.

Placement results will be released in December, and students will be able to join their new schools at the start of the school term in 2021.

Students returning to Singapore will generally not be able to re-enter the school system at Secondary 4 and Pre-University 2 levels as those are national examination years, said MOE.

Those who are unable to return in time to sit for the SPERS tests for secondary schools in September can do so under the Supplementary Placement Exercise (SPE).

SPE applications will open in October, with the tests tentatively scheduled for mid-December. Applicants will receive their results in early February next year, with admissions beginning the same month.

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“In view of the COVID-19 situation, the conduct of the centralised placement exercises will be subjected to the national measures in place leading up to and during the actual test dates,” said MOE.

“MOE will keep parents updated should there be any changes or cancellation of these exercises,” it added.

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The ministry also encouraged returning Singaporeans to make use of MOE’s Assured School Placement service to secure a place in a school near their Singapore residence.

The Assured School Placement service guarantees that a returning student will be admitted into a school with vacancies near their residence, even before they return to Singapore.

The student would not need to sit for any centralised test, although the school may conduct school-based assessments or an interview to determine the level and course to place the student in.

Returning singaporeans at the Primary School level may approach MOE at any time of the year for assistance for admission, and do not have to sit for placement tests.