TWO of Singapore's official matchmaking agencies say more members are marrying, but their partners are mainly people they have met elsewhere.
The agencies were set up with government backing nine years ago to promote marriage among people with the same standards of education.
But while membership has grown and weddings are on the rise, only a minority are matches made within the agencies.
Officials of the agencies profess not to be concerned by the trend, contending that the increase in marriages attests to their success in developing social skills among members.
The Social Development Section (SDS), which caters to singles who achieved O and A-level passes at secondary school and has the highest membership of the three agencies, recorded 2,834 marriages in the second half of 1993. Only 848 were between members.
The Social Promotion Section (SPS), which brings together people below these educational levels, recorded 1,093 marriages in the same period. A mere 136 were between members.