Queueing for a place in school

Early birds: Parents started queueing outside SJKC Ave Maria Convent in Ipoh as early as 3am.

PARENTS are queuing overnight at their preferred Chinese primary schools to enrol their children in Year One, reported Chinese dailies.

The queues are longer than usual this year because it is also time for children born in 2012 – the Year of the Dragon – to register for primary school, reported Sin Chew Daily.

More children are born in the Year of the Dragon as the Chinese believe the zodiac animal to be a symbol of power and prosperity.

Parents also believe that their children will have higher chances of studying at the preferred schools if they register them early.

Despite the Education Ministry assigning children to schools based on their addresses and not on a first-come-first-serve basis, parents still queued from as early as 8pm the night before the registration started on Wednesday.

China Press reported that parents waited outside SJK(C) Ming Chih in Johor Baru although it began to rain at about 4am.

Taking shelter under umbrellas, they sat on their chairs and waited for registration to open at 8am the next day. In Ipoh, some family members took turns to wait outside SJKC Ave Maria Convent after the queue started at 3am.

The ministry has encouraged parents to register their children online for their preferred schools.

> Nanyang Siang Pau reported that Hong Kong actress Aimee Chan made a return to the entertainment industry after taking a long break.

The 35-year-old actress, who attended a product launch in Hong Kong on Wednesday, said she was in the midst of discussing several jobs.

Aimee also described her husband, Hong Kong TVB actor Moses Chan, as “superman” for staying at home alone to look after their children so that she could attend the event.

The former Miss Hong Kong took a year off to look after her children after giving birth to her third baby last April.