SINGAPORE - About half of all primary schools here will go to a ballot in the fifth phase of this year's Primary 1 registration exercise.

Of the 181 primary schools, 89 are going to a ballot in Phase 2C, according to updates on the Ministry of Education website on Thursday evening (Aug 12).

These include popular schools like Nanyang Primary School, as well as ones that do not usually see such fierce competition for places, such as Admiralty Primary School.

Five of these schools have five times more applicants than vacancies, led by Northland Primary School in Yishun, which has 191 applicants for 28 vacancies.

The other four are Nan Hua Primary School, South View Primary School, St Hilda's Primary School and Princess Elizabeth Primary School.

Phase 2C is for children with no ties to the school, and is commonly considered the most competitive phase.

This phase closed on Aug 5 with four in 10 primary schools already oversubscribed, with the final figures released on Thursday.

Two schools - Oasis Primary School and Valour Primary School, both in Punggol - are oversubscribed but will not go to a ballot.

Both schools have places only for Singaporean children who live within 1km of the school. Those who have less priority, such as permanent residents, will not get entry into these schools.

Another school - Opera Estate Primary School in Bedok - will admit all Singaporean children but will hold a ballot for PRs.

This is because the school has reached its cap on the number of PRs that can enter the school in Phase 2C and 2C Supplementary, which MOE introduced last year.

The cap is between 25 per cent and 30 per cent of a school's planned Primary 1 intake.

The measure is to "prevent any concentration of PR children in our primary schools, provide a more conducive environment to encourage interaction between Singapore citizen and PR children, and facilitate the integration of PR children into Singapore", the ministry previously said.

Results of the ballot will be out on Aug 17.

Last year, 99 schools went to a ballot in Phase 2C, including Princess Elizabeth Primary, Temasek Primary School and West Spring Primary School. In 2019, 87 schools were oversubscribed in this phase, with 81 eventually going to a ballot.

Phase 2C is the fifth of seven phases in the Primary 1 registration exercise, which is being conducted entirely online this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Those who still have not registered in a primary school can register in the next phase - Phase 2C Supplementary through the Primary 1 Internet System, starting on Aug 19 at 9am.

International pupils can register under Phase 3 after all Singaporeans and PRs have been allocated a place under the earlier phases.