When I was young, the only option I was presented and given was to enter a boarding school. My parents had faith in my intellectual ability to perform well in primary school and set me apart from other candidates to be considered for a place in one. Back then, I had no idea that the several extracurricular activities I participated in were part of the ‘points’ that would contribute towards the selection process. I honestly did it because I knew I could do it and it was fun. So there was me in a storytelling competition, choral speaking, ‘deklamasi sajak’ and traditional dance. Then there were the more ‘academic’ ones like spelling bee and maths quiz. I wasn’t good at sports though.

I sat for the UPSR. Had an IQ test done. Called for an interview. And then I was offered a place in Sekolah Tun Fatimah, a boarding school in Johor. I never set foot in any mainstream secondary school back then. Hence, it puzzles me as to why kids nowadays may need to attend their supposed secondary school first before knowing if they are selected for any other school of their choice. It disrupts leave taking plans for the parents and such.

I got to know of the term ‘feeder school’ lately. Primary schools feed their students to designated secondary schools. Therefore the first choice is always the said school whether the student like it or not. They can put in their preferred choices underneath the initial school. Obviously, schools with high academic performance with minimal social issues are popular and it could be tough trying to go in. Hence, for able students – most parents like myself would go for the obvious – choose boarding schools.

For our son, we applied for three different streams. The MRSM and Sekolah Khusus boarding schools as the first two and UKM Pintar.

Admission to UKM Pintar is through a series of assessments and that is an ongoing process. I will write about that in a different post regardless of the outcome. As for the earlier two, it involves sending in an online application and then sitting for their respective exams. My son sat for Penilaian Kemasukan Sekolah Khusus (PKSK) a few weeks ago and soon there will be another assessment for the MRSM intake. There is another option for secondary schooling – home schooling. But I know I do not have the emotional capacity to undertake that one. I will leave that to the more capable parents.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for my son’s success. I hope he will be placed in a secondary educational centre that will give him good opportunities in the future.