Commentary: Parents want the best for their child, but P1 registration cannot be only about ‘me first’

Yet while these policy objectives sound reasonable in theory, the registration rules meant to achieve them have become gameable levers of advantage in practice. 

Alumni priority, once a celebration of institutional heritage, is now frequently used as an “insurance policy” against the unpredictable Phase 2C ballot. Justified by the language of “school culture”, it converts public educational opportunities into inheritable private assets, allowing top schools to remain self-reproducing enclaves. 

Likewise, parent volunteer schemes are less about active community service, and more about the possible reward of securing a spot. This in effect turns time into access—favouring those who have flexible working hours, are stay-home parents or can afford domestic help.

Even proximity rules, which are wholly defensible from a convenience and child well-being standpoint, mean that access to public education in some neighbourhoods comes via the luxury real estate market.