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发表于 21-5-2012 08:42:48|来自:新加坡
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越来越多的小学提高家长义工的时间至60到80个小时。
More schools increase volunteer hours for P1 placing
Edvantage | Sun May 20 2012
Parents hoping to enrol their children into popular primary schools will now have to commit to longer hours as volunteers or to come up with specific projects.
More schools have set 60 to 80 hours of voluntary work if parents want their child registered at Phase 2B of the Primary 1 registration exercise, reported The Sunday Times.
This is over the Ministry of Education's (MOE) guideline of 'at least 40 hours'.
Phase 2B a registration procedure for children whose parents are not alumni and have no other ties to the school.
The Sunday Times reported that Raffles Girls' Primary, St Hilda's and Poi Ching School have increased their volunteer requirements this year from 40 to 60 hours.
Other schools have also upped the contribution hours earlier in the year: Nanyang Primary increased contribution hours to 80 hours, Nan Chiau to 60, and Rosyth to 70 hours. Rosyth stopped accepting volunteers this year.
Principal for Poi Ching School Mr Lawrence Chong said the requirement was increased as the school was in high demand.
'We have so many parents asking. Some don't mind doing more hours, others continue to serve even after they complete the hours,' he said.
The volunteer scheme, which started in 1998, is aimed at encouraging parents to contribute and know the school better before enrolling the child.
A spokesman from MOE said schools are free to ask for more volunteer hours 'depending on individual schools' needs' and either parent can be a volunteer, or both parents can split the work over two years.
The number of volunteers are limited to give those who volunteer a better chance at getting their children in.
But there have also been cases where volunteers were disappointed when their children missed out in a ballot for limited places.
Although some parents feel discouraged with the more stringent requirements, others said they would do anything to get their children into Phase 2B.
More challenging tasks have been set for parent volunteers, who are now being asked for a wider range of support.
Previously, they would help out with directing traffic, accompany groups on excursions or reading to children.
The Sunday Times reported that volunteer tasks now go beyond that: Nanyang Primary now looks for help in IT, such as robotics or web page design, Catholic High wants long-term projects, and South View needs help for its teachers to create digital learning tools.
About 40,000 children enter Primary 1 each year and popular schools typically receive 100 to 200 applications a year. However, no more than 30 volunteers are accepted.
Mrs Katherine Wong, programme executive for the parent support group at St Hilda's said that the school has reduced the number of volunteers to 25 this year.
Since there are fewer volunteers, more hours are now required from them and several have accumulated up to 300 hours, reported The Sunday Times.
Principals said that when it comes to the number of places that can go to children of parent volunteers, their hands are tied, as it depends on the remaining vacancies left after each phase.
Although Nan Chiau principal Tan Chun Ming advised parents not to despair as there are other schools that are comparable in terms of standards, parents who have set their sights on a particular school are unlikely to be swayed.
Housewife M. Lim, 36, is eyeing two popular girls' schools.
She told The Sunday Times: "The P1 registration system has become like a gambling game and parents will do anything to buy more chances for their children.
"If we volunteer at more than one, we can register at the school with more vacancies during Phase 2B."
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