I am glad Mr Chan Poh Meng, principal of Raffles Institution, has challenged the school to do something about its problem (“RI now a ‘middle-class’ school / ‘Make RI a better school for S’pore'”; Aug 4).
Unfortunately, there are many other “elite” schools in the Bukit Timah belt, and I feel sad that many of their students have not been taught proper values.
I have stopped patronising the Starbucks outlet in Coronation Plaza as the place has been overrun by students from the nearby schools.
The students will hog the seats for the whole day, often leaving their things unattended for hours, thus depriving others of the use of the space. While it is encouraging to see our students studying so hard, it is sad to see their selfishness manifested in their ugly behaviour.
Students who can afford to drink expensive coffee every day do not understand the value of money.
It saddens me that these schools will continue to churn out top scholars who are self-centred and lack an appreciation of the basic necessities of life. One day, some of these elite students will grow up to be leaders of our country and they will never appreciate that their one cup of coffee is equivalent to two meals for some people.
I hope the school principals in the Bukit Timah belt will learn from Mr Chan’s words and inculcate the right values in their students before it is too late. As a start, they should consider providing study facilities with free beverages for their students, so that they will stop hogging the Starbucks seats.
Jessie Loy Sze Nah (Madam)
Source: www.straitstimes.com
