Adding a Foreign Flavour to Singapore Schools (part 2)

Read the first article in this series of interviews with foreign teachers in Singapore schools.

“I came because I wanted to experience teaching in another country,” says Mdm Gnanam Sarojini, “and at that time, the remuneration here was attractive.” She thought she would go back to Chennai, India after a two-year contract. But today, 14 years on, she is still teaching Mathematics at Riverside Secondary School and she is happy to keep working here for as long as she can.

Mdm Sarojini is amongst the first batch of teachers from India recruited by MOE. Prior to taking up the post in Singapore, she had been teaching Mathematics in India for 13 years. In spite of the wealth of experience she had accumulated as an educator and a Mathematics specialist, teaching here initially posed some challenges.

“When I first came, I taught Sec 1, Sec 2 and also students in the Normal (Technical) stream. These students were very different from those I taught in India,” she recalls. In India, she was teaching older students at a higher level, equivalent to Singapore’s junior college students. “My students in India were very well-behaved and quiet. They didn’t dare to talk to teachers unless they needed to ask something about school work. Students here are different!”

Furthermore, when she was teaching in India, teachers specialised in one subject and they did not have to handle any CCAs as there were teachers dedicated to that role. So taking on “extra duties” such as overseeing CCAs added to the challenges she faced as a new teacher in Singapore.

“It took me a year to adjust,” Mdm Sarojini says. Thankfully, she had many helpful colleagues and a supportive Principal who helped her through the tough moments. “I started liking my job at Riverside Secondary School. The students and teachers saw me as a teacher with good subject knowledge.”

Even though Mdm Sarojini has been teaching Maths for the past 27 years, her passion for the subject remains strong. “It is very satisfying for me when students do well for their Maths,” she said with a smile. Now, she teaches mainly graduating students in Sec 4 and Sec 5.

Current Principal Mrs Sng Siew Hong commends her contributions. “Mdm Sarojini is a strong pillar of support in her department. She is a very patient and giving teacher.” For example, she helps weaker students by giving extra remedial lessons and individual tutoring.

She has also been in charge of the Indian Dance Club for the past four years, and last year the team won a gold award at the Singapore Youth Festival. She is very proud of the students’ achievement and looks forward to them performing equally well in next year’s Festival.

Mdm Sarojini’s husband and children have also settled down to life in Singapore. “What I like in Singapore are the clean and safe environment, and the system of law and order which makes for a peaceful society,” she says. Her children attend local schools and enjoy the local lifestyle, and as a family they appreciate the warm and welcoming attitude of Singaporeans towards foreigners.

After more than a decade in Singapore, will Mdm Sarojini eventually return to India? “Maybe, but after I retire,” she chuckles. For now, she visits her family in India every year, but also enjoys teaching here. It is the supportive, familiar environment and her concern for her students that keeps her motivated and fulfilled as a teacher.