I REFER to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's speech at Tanjong Pagar's National Day celebration dinner ('Give new arrivals the time to adapt' last Friday), in which he pointed out that 'a clear distinction' has already been made between citizens and permanent residents (PRs) in terms of public housing, hospital charges, education fees and sharing government surpluses.

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Mr Lee also assured long-time citizens that they would not be disadvantaged as the Government has enough places in top schools and tertiary institutions.

But why are Singaporeans and PRs in the same category when it comes to the Primary 1 registration process? When top schools are overwhelmed with applicants and places have to be decided by balloting, Singaporeans are not given priority.

The Education Ministry should reassess the criteria for admission to Primary 1.

Violet Koh (Ms)

This article was first published in The Straits Times.