The Ministry of Education in Singapore wants to introduce a new regulation. From primary school onwards, children should clean classrooms and corridors every day at school. This would hardly be possible in Germany but in the US, this would lessen the need for services like house cleaning.

Cleaning together at school is good for children – according to the theory of the Minister of Education of Singapore. According to a report by Channel New Asia, Minister Ng Chee Meng said, “Involving the children in daily activities is a very good way for them to learn personal and social responsibility. They even enjoy it and learn good behavior along the way.”

Therefore, Minister of Education Ng wants to introduce a daily cleaning unit in all primary and secondary schools by the end of the year. This included classrooms and corridors – but not the toilets. According to the report, many schools have already integrated cleaning tasks into everyday school life. “Ten minutes before school ends, we clean the classroom together,” says sixth-grader Sherlyn Tan. “The next day we use the room again, so we need a clean environment to concentrate on the tasks.”

 

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Parents and students in Singapore welcome cleaning

Not only the students apparently find it more than okay to clean their classroom. Parents were happy about hardworking children at home. “When my daughter comes home from school, she brings the plates to the kitchen on her own,” says the mother of a first-grader, “I don’t even have to tell her.” Other parents reported that their children at home asked how to wash properly or even wanted to help with wiping.

In Japan and Taiwan, it is already common practice for children to learn to clean at school – and that has now been copied in Singapore. Such regulation has not yet been introduced in German schools. Individual schools, as in Hildesheim in 2008, tried it out to save costs – to the great protest of parents and teachers.