SINGAPORE: Many educators agree that when it comes to
matters of integration, the school is a great starting point and
the Ministry of Education hopes to nudge things along with a new
resource pack for schools.
Vietnamese student Nguyen Mai Huong loves a giggle with her
Singaporean friend, Kanaga Ramu.
Mai Huong has settled into life here since arriving two and a half
years ago but said it wasn't always easy.
She said: "Sometimes Singaporean students use a lot of dialect and
also they put in Malay, Chinese and even Tamil in one sentence. So
the first time I also had difficulty in understanding those terms
because they're not quite familiar with me. But after that I tried
to pick up some of the common phrases so I can interact and
communicate with them better."
Her Singaporean friend said little things like music and movies
that help break the ice.
Kanaga Ramu, student, Republic Poly, said: "Initially, I was more
comfortable with the local students because it was easier. But
there are many international students in my class and I thought
that I should befriend them because they're in my same team and
we're in the same class together for 16 weeks."
And educators at a symposium on Saturday agreed that the classroom
is a natural starting point for integration.
Senior Minister of State for Education Grace Fu said: "As young
children, they will look at their friends as friends. They don't
really care what race, what religion, what culture they come from.
And I think that's precisely the point that we think social
integration can take place and can take place well."
The inaugural Symposium on Integration in Schools is organised by
the National Integration Working Group for Schools, a committee
under the National Integration Council.
All schools will be given booklets which gives examples of what
schools are doing to get Singaporean and foreign students to mix
and mingle.
For instance, some schools organise trips to the hawker centre
while others set up buddy systems and peer support networks.
But Ms Fu said such efforts should not be too contrived and that
it's best left to schools to decide what to do. - CNA/vm
