Two intakes in a year

I have observed for a long time that children born in the first half of the year tends to do better than those born in the second half.

Many people shared this observation. They said that the first group of children are older than the second group and are more developed.

This is a general observation and does not apply to every case. There will be exceptions.

A child born in January can be almost one year older than a child born in December in the same year.

I asked this question - why can't we have two intakes into schools in one calendar year, i.e. January and July? This will narrow the difference in age between the children in the same class. It also allows a better option for parents to put a child in the intake that best suit the child.

A child that is slower in development can be placed in the later intake. One that is faster can be placed in the earlier intake.

If child cannot cope with the lessons, he can stay back half a year, rather than one full year.

I mentioned this suggestion a few years ago. Someone said that New Zealand adopted two intakes in a year. I wonder how they find this experience?

There is another advantage in having two intakes in a year. It allows families to take their year end holidays in two separate groups. There will be two peak holiday seasons, rather than one season.

To benefit best from this arrangement, parents should plan to have their children born in the same part of the year, i.e. the first half or the second half. This should not be an issue.

I wonder if this "two intake" concept has been considered by our education ministry?

Tan Kin Lian