30 May 2018
Some schools in Singapore are making use of student-organized elections to enable students to have more say in their day-to-day affairs and at the same time, learn about active citizenship.
This year’s student council president election at CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School, for instance, was conducted hot on the heels of Malaysia’s general election (GE14) held recently on the 9th of May.
Students at CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ experienced the process of choosing a leader who would represent them at the ballot box. The candidate with the highest number of votes becomes the student council president, while the closest two candidates will become vice-presidents.
The school’s head of department for citizenship and character education, Mrs Yvonne Lau, highlighted the importance of grooming leaders who are willing and able to implement action plans that address the concerns of their peers.
She said: “We emphasise a lot on servant leadership. It’s very important that our girls focus not just on their academics, but on holistic development as well.”