The Direct School Admission (DSA) exercise will be open for applications from May 8 through June 4 this year, with a simplified and streamlined process.
Students and parents may submit applications via a centralised online portal, said a press release by the Ministry of Education (MOE).
Applicants only need to fill in one online form to apply to multiple schools/talent areas. The application form has also been simplified. For example, information such as students’ Primary 5 and Primary 6 academic results, Co-curricular Activities (CCA), and school-based achievements/awards will be automatically shared with the secondary schools that students apply to. Students will not be required to submit any certificates, transcripts, or testimonials with their application form.
Application through the portal is free-of-charge, and requires one parent’s SingPass to login for authentication purposes. Parents who do not have SingPass access can approach their child’s primary school for assistance.
Each applicant can indicate up to three choices in the application form. For each choice, applicants will need to choose a secondary school and a talent area offered by that school. For a student with more than one talent area, he/she can indicate a different talent area for each of his/her three choices. A maximum of two choices may be used for the same school.
DSA provides a pathway for students to gain direct entry to secondary schools based on their talents and achievements that may not be demonstrated at the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE). Upon admission, students can develop these talents further in their secondary schools.
There are 146 secondary schools participating in DSA this year.
Students participating in DSA are still required to take the PSLE. They will be informed of the outcome of their DSA application, and if successful, they will need to decide whether to take up the offer before their examination results are released.
A student who takes up a DSA-Sec confirmed offer is guaranteed a place in that secondary school, provided his/her PSLE result meets the minimum requirement for a course offered by the school.
In accepting an offer of admission through the DSA, students expected to develop their talent in the chosen area, and will also not be allowed to transfer to another school after obtaining their PSLE results.