SINGAPORE — During a house visit at Block 123 in Simei recently, the Workers’ Party Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim had a meaningful conversation with a resident who spoke about the importance of smaller school class sizes.

Shariff, who met the international school teacher at the void deck as she was just about to head out with her spouse and two young children on the eve of Vesak Day, informed her that his party shares a similar understanding as her on this matter.

“.. this is a point in Chapter 2 (Achieving our Dreams) of WP’s Manifesto 2020 – WP called for average form class sizes to be progressively lowered to 20 with priority given to foundation subjects in primary schools and normal stream/G1 subjects in secondary schools,” said the WP’s candidate for East Coast GRC in the 2020 Singapore General Election.

In that election manifesto, WP calls for the reduction of class sizes in schools to be, on average, between 20 to 25 students as compared to the current class size for each primary and secondary school class which is about 29 and 34 students. The party added that academically weaker students should be the first to benefit from this change.

Posting on social media about his encounter with the resident, Shariff added, “It’s every parent’s dream for their child to do well in school. For those from disadvantaged backgrounds, education is a conduit for social mobility.”

Shariff also shared that many residents may understandably be away given the long weekend and the June school holidays, which have just started.

“However, a group of parents may be facing anxiety and not taking a complete break – parents who have a child sitting for the PSLE this year. I can speak on this subject with some conviction as my son will also be sitting for his, beginning with the oral examination in August,” said Shariff.

He added that while it might be difficult for most of us to free ourselves from being gripped by concerns about performance in this high-stakes exam and convince ourselves there are multiple pathways to success, not every parent has bought into the idea that every school is a good school.