Cleaning common areas to be daily routine for all school students

The Ministry of Education (MOE) will make classroom cleaning a daily affair for students. Acting Minister for Education (Schools) Ng Chee Meng in introducing this daily routine for students, said that it will be implemented in all schools by the end of 2016.
The students will clean all common areas such as corridors, canteens and classrooms, but not toilets. Schools will have autonomy in how they implement the daily cleaning routine, and it can be carried out at various periods of the school day, such as before the first lesson, during recess, in between classes, or just before dismissal.
MOE said that it was introducing this initiative to inculcate a sense of responsibility and good life habits in students. Schools such as Xingnan Primary School, Park View Primary School, and New Town Secondary School have already incorporated five to 10 minutes of cleaning activities within their school hours each day.
Mr Ng who visited Xingnan Primary School today observed a lesson on inculcating good habits of cleaning up, and joined the students in cleaning up at the end of the school day.
The Ministry is also looking at similar practices in other countries like Taiwan and Japan to see how it may be incorporated into daily student-life here.