Starting school late for all not necessary

There is no doubt that starting school later for Nanyang Girls' High School has helped the pupils to concentrate better but the Government should not rush into extending this to all schools. (No downside to starting school late; July 19).

Anecdotally, a higher proportion of Nanyang Girls' High students are chauffeured to school than in other schools. A later start time would not affect them much.

But for those taking public transport, a later start time would inconvenience both students and working adults as they would all be travelling at about the same time in the mornings, which would result in packed buses and trains.

Reports about students having to wake up as early as 5am to cross the border from Johor without compromising their academic performance are also not uncommon.

Ultimately, self-discipline is the key to attentiveness in class, which is also essential when one becomes a working adult.

Lim Chee Khiam

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 21, 2017, with the headline Starting school late for all not necessary. Subscribe