Why there's no need to change Primary 1 admission system

From My Say

MY PAPER TUESDAY JUNE 24, 2008

 

I REFER to the letter “All Pri. 1 places should be balloted” (my paper, June 23). I am a working mother with two children, aged nine (Primary 3) and seven (Primary 1).

 

The current P1 admission system might not be the best method but it has served its purpose for a long time.

 

Why is Phase 1 – where a child with a sibling in the school is given a place automatically – unfair to children who have no siblings and hope to get into the school?

 

Don’t forget that a child who is the eldest in the family, had also gone through the same system, without any sibling to give him or her an advantage over the other children.

 

Furthermore, can you imagine two children from the same family studying in different schools?

 

I have no problem with that if they are in secondary school but for a primary school child, it can be quite difficult.

 

Just think of the expenses and time spent on ferrying them to and from different schools, especially when we don’t own a car.

 

Phases 2A(1), 2A(2) and 2B benefit parents, allowing them to be volunteers at the school.

 

I have been a grassroots volunteer for many years, but when it was time to register my son for P1, I chose not to use my connections. We registered him under Phase 2C at the school near our home, which we think is a fine school.

 

As for the use of personal relationships as a basis for P1 registration, we cannot escape from the fact that, unless one lives as a hermit, personal relationships are part and parcel of everyday life.

 

As for parents who volunteer at the school, don’t forget that it does not guarantee a place for their child – if the demand is more than the places available, balloting will take place.

 

I am not saying that the current system is the best, but as there are thousands of children going to P1 each year, we need it. Otherwise, everyone will flock to the so-called better schools, leaving the not-so-well-known ones without pupils.

 

Sometimes, a not-so-glamorous school will provide a better environment for our children to grow in. The better schools often mean stress for the child to excel.

 

Ms Susie Low Hwee Hoon