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The Ministry of Education (MOE) told The Straits Times yesterday that Boon Lay Garden Primary had made a mistake, and would let its pupils' parents know.
In a letter to all parents last Friday, principal Wan Imran Woojdy said that since the school canteen had been certified halal, children would not be allowed to bring non-halal food onto the premises.
The school security guard and discipline master had also been checking lunch boxes since last week to ensure pupils complied.
About 20 per cent of the school's 1,700 pupils are Muslims.
Halal refers to what is permissible for consumption by Muslims. A product is not halal if it contains, for example, pork or alcohol, both forbidden to Muslims.
Boon Lay Garden Primary's move to declare its canteen a halal zone left some non-Muslim parents unhappy.
Three who spoke to The Straits Times said they did not mind that the school canteen sold only halal food, but they felt the ban on taking in non-halal food amounted to discrimination.
Madam Esther Chia, 36, who has two daughters in the school, said one of them resorted to hiding a pork floss bun in her pocket last week to avoid being caught for flouting the new rule.
Another parent, Mr Edward Ang, said: 'I have nothing against the school stalls selling only halal food, but they shouldn't restrict kids from eating non-halal food.'
When contacted earlier yesterday, principal Imran said the rule forbidding non-halal food in the canteen had been in place since 2002, when all eight food stalls were certified halal by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis).
He said that the school decided to enforce the rule as it had a new canteen contractor and had to get recertified by Muis.
'We decided to make the whole canteen halal to provide a common eating space for all our children, whatever their race,' he said.
'Our stalls provide all the different types of food - Chinese, Indian, Malay and Western.'
He said that four parents had called to complain about the ruling.
When contacted, the MOE said the school had made an error and regretted the concern caused to parents.
Its spokesman added: 'Schools will continue to ensure the preservation of common space for all pupils, and educate them on the multiracial and multi-religious nature of Singapore.'
Last night, Mr Imran called The Straits Times to say he regretted that an error had been made, and that he would be sending a letter to all parents today.
A spokesman for Muis clarified yesterday that the council certifies only the food stalls in a school canteen, not the premises as a whole.
'Once a stallholder has obtained his halal certificate, non-halal foods cannot be brought in or out of that halal-certified stall,' the spokesman said.
'As for the dining area in the canteen, it is up to the school to decide whether to allow non-halal foods to be brought in.'
The council's records show that only one other school, Millenia Institute, has all eight canteen stalls certified halal, but the school said there is no ban on bringing in non-halal food.
Editor's note: Discussion Board comments for this report have been disabled.
