What it takes to be a really kiasu parent

In one of my recent conversations with my dear colleagues, the topic of childcare centres, preschool and eventually primary school came up, mainly because Daryl is approaching 18mths, the 'official' age for enrollment in most childcare centres, be it playgroups, half-day or full-day care.

The fact that parents have to volunteer their services at certain primary schools in order to secure a place for their child is something Singaporeans recognised. By the local standards, I'm considered pretty bochap. I read of mums that spent lotsa money sending their barely 1-yr olds to Shichida classes, swimming classes, etc. Well, not me.

After Kel raved about the primary school he attended, which is considered near enough for consideration, I decided to check out the school's website for more info, i.e. what I have to do if I really want Daryl to be enrolled in this school:

Parents Volunteer Programme

Under the Phase 2B Category, parents who have contributed voluntary service to the school will be eligible to register their child during the Primary One Registration Exercise. However, the priority does not guarantee their child a place in the school.
In view of Ro**** School’s huge enrolment and limited number of applications that school could take in, we encourage parents to register their interest to provide voluntary service to the school at least 24 months before the child’s admission. Volunteers are not only required to fulfill the minimum of 60 hours of voluntary service, but are also strongly encouraged to make continuous voluntary contributions to the school thereafter. The objective is to encourage parents to develop continuous personal involvement and commitment to the school by playing an active role.

The school reserves the right to decide on the type of volunteers it recruits based on school needs. In view of the 5 Day Work Week, voluntary service applications that could be performed during working days and at the same time most benefit the school and our pupils will be given priority. This will also ensure that resources are channeled to where they are more critically needed, and also to avoid duplication of services.

Wow, this means that I have to start volunteering when Daryl is 3 yrs old, and this is a huge gamble cos there's a note to all applicants that states:

There is no guarantee that an applicant’s child will get a place in Primary 1 in Rosyth School even though he/she may have successfully completed the Parent Volunteer Programme since the following information is not available:

8.1 Annual P1 Intake (as this is determined by the Ministry of Education)
8.2 Number of children registered under Phase 1.
8.3 Number of children registered under Phase 2A1 and 2A2.
8.4 Number of children registered under Phase 2B's Grassroots Connection.

Hmmm, do I really have to go to such extent?? I only have 2 more years to think about it!