According to the Ministry of Health, all the local and imported cases of Covid-19 in April (those that underwent genome-wide sequencing) were found to be the Omicron variants.

MOH said on 19 May that 99% of the local cases were the BA.2 strains, including the BA.2.12.1; while the remaining 1% were the BA.1 sub-variant.

98% of the imported cases were from the BA.2 sub-variants, 1% being the BA.1 sub-variants and the other 1% being the recombinant lineages including the XJ and XE strains, which are hybrids of the BA.1 and BA.2 sub-variants.

Two of the imported cases were infected with the BA.4 strain, and MOH also detected two local cases on 15 May with the BA.4 sub-variant, and one case of the BA.5 sub-variant (local).

All three of the cases are confirmed to be the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants, which has been described as a variant of concern by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

MOH also reported 4,578 new cases on Thursday, a reduction from 6,442 cases on Wednesday.

Hospitalisations remained at 302, with 8 patients in the ICU and 49 needing oxygen supplementation, along with 2 deaths.

The week on week infection rate also rose to 1.14, up from 1.05 from a day before.

1. The registration of children for admission to Primary One (P1) classes in 2023 will open from Wednesday, 29 June 2022 to Friday, 31 October 2022.

2. As announced last September, starting from the 2022 P1 Registration Exercise¹, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will double the number of reserved places in Phase 2C from 20 to 40 places in each primary school, combine Phases 2A(1) and 2A(2) into a single Phase 2A, and use an updated methodology for computing Home-School Distance². An overview of the P1 Registration Framework can be found in the Annex.

3. The dates for the different phases of registration can be found at: https://www.moe.gov.sg/primary/p1-registration/registration-phases-key-dates. The list of primary schools and vacancies available will also be updated on the P1 Registration website at https://www.moe.gov.sg/primary/p1-registration by mid-June 2022.

4. In selecting a primary school, parents should consider a wide stable of schools that can meet their child’s learning needs and interests, and are reasonably close to home. Parents can use MOE’s SchoolFinder at https://www.moe.gov.sg/schoolfinder for a more holistic understanding of the offerings by each school.

Online Registration

5. Similar to last year’s P1 Registration Exercise, registration will be fully online and there will not be any in-person registration at schools. There are two modes for online registration depending on the Phase:

• Online application form for Phases 1, 2A and 2B: For parents registering their younger child under Phase 1, the primary school where the older sibling is currently studying will provide parents with more details on how to register their younger child. For Phases 2A and 2B, the link to the online form and user guide will be available on the MOE P1 Registration website during the registration periods of the respective phases.
• P1 Internet System (P1-IS) for Phases 2C and 2C Supplementary: Parents may refer to https://www.moe.gov.sg/primary/p1-registration/how-to-register?pt=2C for a guide to P1-IS registration.

6. As both registration modes require Singpass, parents are advised to set up their Singpass 2-Step Verification (2FA) early, and ensure that their Singpass account is valid before the commencement of the P1 Registration Exercise.

7. Parents who require assistance during registration may contact the school of their choice via email or telephone on the respective registration days between 9.00am and 4.30pm. Information and links to the online forms, user guides, declaration process and eligibility criteria can be found at https://www.moe.gov.sg/primary/p1-registration.

Compulsory Education

8. Under the Compulsory Education Act, Singapore Citizens born after 1 January 1996 and residing in Singapore are required to attend national primary schools, including government-funded Special Education (SPED) schools. Children born between 2 January 2016 and 1 January 2017 (both dates inclusive) must either participate in this year’s P1 Registration Exercise for admission in January 2023 or enrol in the Junior 1/P1 Programme of a SPED school.

9. If a child is assessed by a qualified health professional as not ready for P1, parents may seek approval from MOE’s Compulsory Education Unit (CEU) for deferment of registration for P1. For a child whose birthday falls on 1 January 2017, parents may also seek approval for deferment if they want their child to enter primary school in January 2024 instead. Application can be made using the relevant form available on the MOE website at https://www.moe.gov.sg/primary/compulsory-education/deferment. Queries on Compulsory Education may be directed to CEU at [email protected] or fax: 6778 9356.

Registration for International Students

10. International Students (IS) will continue to register under Phase 3 of the P1 Registration Exercise, after all SCs and PRs have been allocated a place under the earlier phases. IS who intend to participate in Phase 3 of the P1 Registration Exercise must undergo a two-step process:

• Step 1: Submit an online ‘indication of interest’ form via the MOE P1 website, from 31 May to 6 June 2022. Those who do not do so by 6 June 2022 will not be able to register during Phase 3 of the P1 Registration Exercise.
• Step 2: MOE will notify IS applicants who have indicated their interest via email in October 2022, on whether their child can be offered a P1 place in a primary school. If a place is offered, the parent of the child will be informed of how to register with the designated school.

11. As in previous P1 Registration Exercises, school admission at Phase 3 is not guaranteed, as there are limited vacancies after places have been allocated to SC or PR children.

Address Used for Registration

12. The address used in the P1 Registration Exercise should be the parents’ official residential address as reflected on their NRICs. A child who gains priority admission into a school through the home-school distance category is required to reside at the address used for registration for at least 30 months from the commencement of the P1 Registration Exercise on 29 June 2022. If this condition is not met, MOE reserves the right to transfer the child to another school with vacancies.

13. Parents who wish to register their child using the address of the child’s grandparent or the parent’s sibling (i.e. a caregiver) should declare the alternative child-care arrangement by completing the Declaration of Alternative Child-Care Arrangement (DACA) form on https://www.moe.gov.sg/primary/p1-registration/home-address from 27 June to 29 July 2022.

False Information

14. Any registrant found to have provided false information during the P1 Registration Exercise will be referred to the police for investigation. A child who is successfully registered in a school based on false information will be transferred to another school with remaining vacancies after all eligible children have registered.

Parents Gateway Available for Parents of Prospective P1 Students

15. Starting 19 May 2022, parents of prospective P1 students will be able to download and register for MOE’s Parents Gateway app on their mobile devices using their Singpass account (available on iOS and Android platforms). Through the app, parents would be able to receive:

• Updates and information on the P1 Registration Exercise process and its requirements;
• Information on administrative tasks before the start of school (e.g. P1 Orientation dates, purchase of school uniforms and book supplies); and
• Tips on what they can do to support their child’s transition to P1.

16. Parents are encouraged to prepare early and regularly check the P1 Registration Exercise website at https://www.moe.gov.sg/primary/p1-registration for the latest updates on the registration exercise and the documents required for registration, including registration for overseas Singaporeans.