With 2019 being the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese calendar, the Ministry of Education (MOE) is expecting more children to register this year.
About 2,600 more places have been added for Primary One registration to cater to the demand, Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung said in a Facebook post.
The planning of school places are considered both at the national and local levels to ensure there are sufficient vacancies for all eligible P1 students, he added.
Years of the Dragon are considered auspicious to have babies and the number of babies born in Singapore tend to increase.
The number of children born in 2012 – the last Dragon year – was 38,641. This was slightly higher than the birthrate of the previous years, 35,129 in 2010, and 36,178 in 2011, according to figures from the Department of Statistics.
P1 registration for the academic year of 2019 will take place between June 28 and Oct 3. For the first time ever, the process will feature computerised balloting, replacing manual balloting. The computerised balloting will take place at the MOE headquarters.
Find out more about the registration phases here.