That primary schools should give top priority to children living nearest to them, rather than to those who live farther away but whose parents have participated in certain school or community activities, is a principle I fully support (Base Primary 1 registration solely on proximity, by Mr Lim Poh Seng; April 1).

This is the best and should be the only selection criterion that all schools should apply in accepting Primary 1 pupils and Secondary 1 students. After all, all schools are good, and so are the well-qualified teachers attached to them.

Allowing well-heeled and influential parents to choose their preferred schools for their children unwittingly deprives those who live in a certain area of the chance of getting into a school closest to their home.

If this practice is rampant during the Primary 1 and Secondary 1 registration exercises, the Ministry of Education (MOE) should intervene.

The ministry did not create the notion of so-called "good and popular" schools. That is the work of some "kiasu" parents.

Hence, MOE should come up with its own programme to eradicate this wrong mindset. Otherwise, the problem will continue to recur year after year.

Parents should be made to understand that all schools and teachers in Singapore are good.

Pavithran Vidyadharan