Adjournment motion on impact of relocating Bukit View Primary School

A recent announcement that Bukit View Primary School (BVPS) will be relocated by 2027 came like “a bolt from the blue”, said MP for Bukit Batok Murali Pillai in Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 22). Moving an adjournment motion on the issue, he asked why there was no consultation on the decision to “withdraw essential educational services from a neighbourhood”, how the Government plans to support affected children and parents, and why there had been “so many flip-flops” on what to do with BVPS within a short span of time. This was in reference to repeated delays in upgrading work as well as plans to set up an MOE kindergarten at BVPS which did not materialise. In reply, Minister of State for Education Gan Siow Huang said the decision to relocate BVPS was due to changes in population spread and demand for primary school places in Bukit Batok as a whole. She said demand for school places in Bukit Batok East, where BVPS is currently located, has been falling and will continue to fall as the estate matures. That is even after accounting for recently completed BTO projects in the area. The Ministry of Education therefore decided that instead of upgrading the existing site, it would be better to move the school two kilometres away to a new and bigger campus that will meet growing demand for Primary 1 places in Bukit Batok West and the adjacent Tengah Town. Ms Gan said there will still be sufficient places at other nearby schools to meet demand in Bukit Batok East. She also shared plans to smoothen the relocation of BVPS, such as the possibility of a shuttle bus service for existing students living in Bukit Batok East. As for Mr Murali’s question on lack of consultation, Ms Gan said MOE has to keep consultations tight when it comes to “sensitive decisions” to relocate or merge schools, which could have an impact on the property market.