TANJONG Katong Primary School (TKPS) was our choice of school for our younger son, who will enrol for Primary 1 next year. Our older son studies there and we live within a 1 km-radius of the school.

We were informed to register our son in early June for admission under phase 1 and were successful.

Two days before admission opened for all other phases, we were informed that TKPS would be going for partial single sessions, that is, classes for Primary 1 and 2 will be held in the afternoon and classes for primary 3 to 6, in the morning.

We were shocked. Why were we not informed earlier?

Six months is not enough time for us to prepare for when both our children will be in different sessions. It is very difficult to manage the different school timings when both parents are working.

Also the relevant authorities should consider what it would do to a child aged six or seven years to have a day of anywhere between 12 and 14 hours. This is just adding stress to the children.

We fail to see how this can benefit the child or family, as the siblings will never be together on week days and parents will be having staggered meal times, sleep times and bonding time as well.

Was this a last minute decision by the school or the Education Ministry to increase student enrolment next year?

Didn't the relevant authorities consider building larger schools from the start, when there were so many condominiums and housing estates developing in this area?

We would not have registered our son in TKPS had we known earlier that it was going to hold its classes in the afternoon.

It is too late to go to other schools as the admission process has already started, and our son would not qualify in any other phases in other schools.

Can somebody from the school or MOE address our grievance?

Alefia A. Vasanwala (Mrs)

This article was first published in The Straits Times on July 23, 2008.