RI student launches petition to remove principal due to rumours of proposed changes

SINGAPORE: A petition was begun online calling for the “immediate” removal of Aaron Loh, the Principal of Raffles Institution.

Started on Oct 24, the petition purported to have been written by an unnamed RI student and posted on the Change.org platform has gotten 689 signatures as of the writing of this article.

Mr Loh, himself an alumni of RI, has had a career in education since 2006. He was appointed Principal late last year and assumed the role on Dec 17, 2023.

The petition claims that Mr Loh has shown disregard for the students’ welfare and brought up a number of changes that he has been rumored to plan to bring about.

One of these changes concerns wearing the school uniform four days a week beginning next year. The petitioner questioned whether this would bring about “character” and “identity building,” which appear to be the reason given for the change.

The petitioner wrote that wearing the full uniform, especially given today’s climate, would make the students feel uncomfortably warm.

Another matter the petitioner brought up was the removal of Judo as a CCA option from the school, which is the subject of a separate petition from another student.

The petition writer also touched on a recent incident of racism, saying that the Principal’s remarks in the aftermath of the incident had been insufficient.

“The role of a principal is crucial in determining the academic and emotional success of the students. RI deserves a principal who will listen to us, work for us, and prioritize our needs; a principal who understands the pressures we face and helps us navigate them,” the petition reads.

An Oct 30 report in The New Paper said that the proposed changes had been leaked from internal meetings and involved adjustments to the curriculum, modifications to the facilities, and a restructuring of CCAs, among others.

TNP underlined, however, that the changes to CCAs are a significant bone of contention.

The piece also mentioned that a plan to remove air-conditioning from specific areas in the school was the most controversial of the changes, giving rise to concerns over whether students would learn well in a hot and humid environment.

As one commenter on Reddit pointed out, “Full uni + Reduced aircon in an increasingly hot weather sure is not a good way to be liked by your students.”

Another asked if Mr Loh’s own office has an air-conditioner.

“If he cannot explain the reason for aircon removal, he better make sure there is no aircon installed in his room,” wrote a Reddit user. /TISG

Read also: Eugene Wijeysingha, ex-headmaster of Raffles Institution and education visionary, dies aged 90