[Update on Jan. 23, 1:04pm: An SCGS spokesperson has issued a statement.]
Full statement can be found in this article:
On Monday (Jan. 20), one Pearl Chang made a Facebook post saying that her grand-aunt had to leave her job as a drink stall seller in Singapore Chinese Girls' School, only to find out that the school had replaced her with a vending machine.
Shut down her stall
In her post, Chang wrote that her grand-aunt had worked in the school canteen since the 1950s.
She would wake up early and then travel to the school to sell her drinks to students, teachers and visitors.
Whenever the school had an event, she would be there to sell her drinks too.
Things changed in June 2019, when she was asked by the school if she would like to continue her job.
The catch was that she would only be allowed to sell hot beverages and room temperature water, according to Chang. This meant that she would no longer be allowed to sell cold beverages.
On top of that, she had to share her stall with another vendor.
The alternative was to let go of her stall.
Since that day in June 2019, she had been suffering with insomnia, Chang wrote.
Chang's grand-aunt kept her drinks at the same price for her students through the years because she loved being surrounded by them.
"I remember from time to time she would be extremely happy like when students give her cards and ex-students come back to visit her. All this small gestures she love it even though she don't say it much," wrote Chang.
Chang's grand-aunt officially shut her stall in November 2019.
Replaced by vending machine
After Chang's grand-aunt left her job, however, the school started to use a vending machine to sell -- wait for it -- cold beverages.
Image via Pearl Chang/FB.
Chang wrote that her grand-aunt had seen the school go through the years of changes but still ended up having to close her stall. "Why is that so?" she asked.
Students created online petition
Chang's post has garnered over 160 shares as of the time of writing.
It also attracted the attention of students from Singapore Chinese Girls' School, who were not pleased with the school's decision.
They started an online petition on Tuesday (Jan. 21) called: Get our drinks stall back.
The petition is now closed but it has over 200 supporters.
The student who started the petition wrote that it is ironic that the school started selling drinks from vending machines even though they wanted to reduce sugary drinks.
"Our school’s alumni is also concerned about the sudden dismissal of the drink store. Even though we understand that the government wants to promote healthy living however they should have asked our opinions and consent before taking matters into their own hands."
Mothership has reached out to Singapore Chinese Girls' School and will update this article when we receive a reply.
You can read Chang's full Facebook post here:
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