Education

Pritam Singh Shares Struggles Of Picking 2nd Language In School, Praises Wife For Teaching Kids Punjabi

Pritam Singh Shares Minority Parents’ Struggles To Choose Kids’ 2nd Language In School

In the multicultural ‘salad bowl’ that is Singapore, many of us get to learn our Mother Tongues (MT) as a second language from kindergarten.

However, kids whose MT is not one of the official ones – Chinese, Malay, and Tamil – might face a different set of struggles.

Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh, who has 2 daughters with Punjabi as their MT, recently shared his family’s concerns when choosing their kids’ second language in school.

Source

He took the opportunity to thank his wife on her birthday for starting an Instagram (IG) page to teach more kids Punjabi.

Pritam Singh shares minority parents’ predicament

On Friday (16 Apr), Workers’ Party Secretary-General Pritam Singh took to social media to share how he and his wife empathise with minority or inter-racial parents in Singapore.

They typically face a dilemma when it comes to choosing a second language for their kids’ primary education.

Currently, only Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil are offered as MTs in most primary schools in Singapore.

But despite being of Indian ethnicity, Mr Singh’s daughters’ MT is Punjabi – a Non-Tamil Indian Language (NTIL).

Source

 

Punjabi not offered in most schools under MOE

While NTILs can be taken as a second language in primary schools, they are not provided by the Ministry of Education (MOE).

Instead, they fall under the Board for the Teaching and Testing of South Asian Languages (BTTSAL) in Singapore.

Moreover, classes under BTTSAL typically take place outside government school premises and hours.

As a result, taking NTILs as an MT requires extra time and energy from both parents and their children.

This might explain many minority parents’ predicament when choosing a second language subject for their kids.

Pritam Singh wants kids to learn both Mandarin & Punjabi

Sharing on IG, Mr Singh says his older daughter now takes Mandarin in kindergarten and is “getting on reasonably”.

He wants his daughter to continue learning Mandarin, as it’s apparently a useful language to be competent in.

But meanwhile, he and his wife also wish for their kids to connect with their MT – Punjabi.

Source

As such, he thanks his wife Lovleen for starting an IG page dedicated to helping kids learn Punjabi.

Comprised of daily vocabularies and witty anecdotes, the IG page helps promote Punjabi learning for more.

Paying her a birthday tribute, Mr Singh hopes that it’ll make Punjabi learning more fun for the young ones.

Kudos to Lovleen for the meaningful initiative

While it’s important to learn languages that are ‘useful’, we mustn’t overlook the ones that connect us to our ethnicity, culture, and history.

We hope similar initiatives can reach out to more minority kids allowing them to connect with their MTs more easily.

Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at hello@mustsharenews.com.

Featured image adapted from Instagram.

Qi Lu

Qi Lu has all of 3 states: huh? how come? U sure anot? When not asking questions, she's probably learning herself a new language.

Recent Posts

Continuous heavy traffic expected at S’pore-JB checkpoints till end of 2024: ICA

A record of more than 553,000 travellers crossed both checkpoints on 13 Dec.

22 Dec 2024, 7:25 pm

H5N1 poses ‘highest risk’ of becoming next pandemic, S’pore health authorities monitoring situation

There has been no year-end Covid-19 wave, as had been expected.

22 Dec 2024, 6:42 pm

Wagyu beef worth S$5,700 found in car entering JB from S’pore, M’sian driver arrested

The beef was imported without a veterinary health certificate and halal certification.

22 Dec 2024, 5:40 pm

Long queue forms at Jalan Besar Stadium for tickets to ASEAN Championship semi-final

One fan started queueing as early as 7am.

22 Dec 2024, 4:50 pm

Toys“R”Us in Japan sends parcels in plain boxes before Christmas, praised for protecting ‘Santa’s surprise’

The company made the change after parents said they wanted to make sure their gifts…

22 Dec 2024, 4:36 pm

Google Maps helps Spanish police arrest murder suspects caught transporting corpse on Street View

An incredible twist of fortune for the police -- and a stroke of bad luck…

22 Dec 2024, 2:59 pm