Lesson on cleanliness from Rwanda

I was struck by the report “Pipping S’pore for cleanliness with community day” (Nov 13).

It said that the head of the UN Environment Programme called Rwanda’s capital Kigali the “cleanest city on the planet”. And travel blogger Drew Binsky ranked Rwanda the world’s cleanest country.

The Forum letter “Unsightly waste all over playground” (Nov 14) highlights the ugly side of Singaporeans’ use of communal space.

Perhaps we can learn from Rwanda and improve the level of cleanliness here.

Bennie Cheok

Lost card replaced, yet not cancelled

I recently lost my wallet, which contained my PAssion Silver Concession Card. I immediately applied for a replacement, and the process was easy, with the card being ready for collection on the same day.

I had assumed that once I was given a replacement card, the old one would automatically be cancelled.

I was surprised to find this was not the case. Although I had a replacement card, someone found and used the old card. I had to make a separate call to cancel the old card.

Randy Lee Tong Teck

Why let pupils use e-dictionaries?

As a parent of a young child in primary school, I learnt recently that pupils are now allowed to use e-dictionaries in their Chinese essays and even during examinations.

While such practices are common in higher levels of education, I wonder what message we are sending to young children by allowing this – that it is all right not to be able to write the characters, because technology can help?

Tan Teck Leng