Parents camp overnight at Nafa to book classes for their kids

Camping overnight to get the ideal time slot for art classes is not an issue to some parents.

More than 300 parents spent over six hours queuing overnight on Saturday at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts' (Nafa) Bencoolen campus, each prepared with chairs, sleeping bags, yoga mats and snacks.

These parents, whose children have been assured of a spot in in Nafa's art enrichment classes, went early to snag the class timings, which are on a first-come, first-serve basis.

One parent, who wanted to be known only as Ms Bai, went as early as 2.35am for the registration that only started at 9am. She was ninth in the queue.

The 36-year-old webmaster told The New Paper that she was looking at an 11am Saturday class for her son.

"Getting that timing was important for me as I had to coordinate my son's timetable, between his other enrichment classes and family time," she said.

Even though registration ended at 1pm, it took another two hours for the crowd to disperse.

Ms Bai, who got to register at 10am, said: "I did not bring any snacks, but to me, getting that 11am slot was more important than how hungry I was."

Nafa offers four main courses for their junior art department, with fees starting at $552.10 a term for students aged five to 12, and from $352.10 to $492.10 a semester for those aged 13 to 16.

They also offer short-term vacation courses during the June and December school holidays.

Parents started enrolling their children in March.

After getting their enrolment confirmation in October, they pick their time slots in November.

According to the Nafa website, since the department was set up in 1976, student figures have grown exponentially from less than 100 students to more than 3,000 students.

This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.