The recent news that the Ministry of Education (MOE) will run pilot schemes with selected schools to see if students can be guaranteed admission to the co-curricular activities (CCAs) of their choice touched a chord with this mother and teacher that I felt compelled to write this essay.

I had first wanted to put pen to paper on this subject when I read about Mr Lee Chin Wee, a final-year Oxford undergraduate who became the first Singaporean to win the coveted "triple crown" at the prestigious World Universities Debating Championship (the "Worlds").