Besides cleaning up his classroom daily, Primary 5 pupil Aadeetiya Jayashanker makes it a point to do the same at home.

All pupils at his school, Xinmin Primary, have to clean up their classrooms and corridors five minutes before dismissal.

"It's a good habit," said the 11-year-old. "I also want to help my parents keep our home clean."

His mother, Mrs Mayghala Jayashanker, has noticed his new attitude towards household chores like vacuuming and doing the laundry. The 46-year-old manager said he had been helping out a lot more recently.

"After school, he does the chores on his own, without us asking him to," she added.

Aadeetiya said the daily cleaning activities in school also help him to bond with his classmates.

"We work together as a team to keep our classroom clean," he said.

Working like seasoned professionals, a class of 40 pupils at his school takes just five minutes to get their room spick and span.

A chime is played five minutes before dismissal every day, signalling the start of the cleaning session for all pupils.

In a fine show of teamwork, the pupils - armed with rags, dusters, brooms and dustpans - tackle different parts of their classrooms.

To motivate them, the Hougang school hands out monthly awards to the cleanest class at each level. Principal A. Sivam Reddy said nurturing such positive habits would have a lasting impact on students.

"This generation will grow up remembering that everybody has a part to play in keeping the environment clean," Mr Reddy explained. "It is everybody's responsibility - the cleaning should not be left to others just because the areas are shared."

He said: "Developing such habits is especially important these days as many of the children have domestic helpers at home to do the cleaning for them."

Calvin Yang