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Rules versus discretion: Which way should we lean?
More discretion in public administration is welcome, but every effort must be made to uphold impartiality and accountability to maintain public trust.
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Pupils waiting to collect PSLE results in 2022. It is because of the foundations that years of rules-based admissions have set that schools are trusted to exercise discretion in their intake of students.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
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What do school admissions, government procurement and social assistance have in common?
They are all domains in which administrators and officials are exercising greater flexibility and discretion in decisions that affect citizens, firms and other societal stakeholders.
