Latest news with #DeviSubhakesan
Straits Times
13-05-2025
- General
- Straits Times
Forum: Steps taken to support students with special educational needs in mainstream schools
Forum: Steps taken to support students with special educational needs in mainstream schools We thank Forum writers Devi Subhakesan and Quek Hong Choon for their letters on supporting students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools (Move beyond token inclusion and cultivate true empathy in schools, April 22; and Do more for those with different learning needs, May 7). We are encouraged by their shared concern for ensuring all learners can thrive in our education system. The Ministry of Education (MOE) recognises that meaningful inclusion requires both structured support and a nurturing school environment. In schools, a whole-school approach is adopted to create a caring and nurturing classroom environment that supports diverse learners, including students with SEN. Through the TRANsition Support for InTegration (Transit) programme, young learners develop essential self-management skills as they begin their school journey. Other intervention programmes like Circle of Friends enable classmates with and without SEN to build bridges through empathy and action. All teachers are equipped with basic knowledge and strategies to support students with SEN as part of their pre-service training. Every school also has teachers trained in SEN, who have deeper expertise and can share effective teaching practices with their colleagues to support students with more complex needs. Beyond the support by teachers, schools have SEN officers who work closely with students who require more support through various intervention measures. MOE has increased the number of SEN officers from around 450 in 2017 to about 750 in 2024. Building an inclusive school culture is equally important. Character and Citizenship Education lessons instil students with values of empathy, sensitivity and respect towards individuals with disabilities. Primary school pupils are taught to respect and relate to these individuals in their own class or in the wider community. Students in secondary schools learn about individuals with disabilities or SEN who have overcome their personal obstacles and that everyone can contribute meaningfully to society. Through co-curricular activities, Values-in-Action projects and inter-school activities, students can interact meaningfully with their peers with SEN and advocate against stigmas and stereotyping. MOE will continue to strengthen efforts to better support students with SEN. We welcome suggestions and ideas from the public and community on how we can, together, keep society inclusive, starting from the classroom. Dayna Chia Divisional Director, Special Educational Needs Division Ministry of Education More on this Topic Forum: What readers are saying Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
21-04-2025
- General
- Straits Times
Forum: Move beyond token inclusion and cultivate true empathy in schools
Forum: Move beyond token inclusion and cultivate true empathy in schools Many schools in Singapore allow students on the mild end of the autism spectrum to join mainstream classes – a commendable effort to promote inclusivity. However, true inclusivity demands more than mere physical presence – it requires a classroom culture of understanding, support and respect. This requires a lot more planning and effort, which I am afraid is lacking in our system and may have led to differently abled students sometimes facing difficult environments in mainstream schools. It is important that before any differently abled student joins a mainstream class, the peer group receives targeted lessons on what autism is, how sensory and social challenges manifest, and why kindness and patience are essential. Early awareness-building can prevent misunderstandings and create a more welcoming environment. Our education system already instils rule-following and respect for elders. Let's expand this by teaching students to notice when a peer 'misses' social cues or responds differently to loud sounds, and to step in with genuine compassion rather than mockery. Role-play, guest speakers and peer-mentoring programmes can foster empathy and make these lessons stick to adulthood. Inclusion should be a dynamic process. Regular check-ins with teachers, counsellors and students can identify any instances of teasing or isolation. Swift intervention and restorative practices will reinforce that our schools are safe spaces for everyone. Physical placement of differently abled students in mainstream classes is only the first step. Only by embedding awareness, compassion and active peer support can we build truly inclusive schools where every child not only belongs, but thrives. I hope the Ministry of Education works with individual schools to look into implementing these measures as part of its ongoing inclusivity initiatives. Devi Subhakesan More on this Topic Forum: What readers are saying Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNN
03-03-2025
- Business
- CNN
This humble boba chain has more outlets than McDonald's
Two decades ago, a modest restaurant in the middle of one of China's poorest provinces saw its business take off after selling cut-price soft serve for just 1 yuan (15 cents) per cone. Today, it has overtaken McDonald's and Starbucks as the world's largest food and beverage chain by number of stores. Mixue Bingcheng, which means honey snow ice city, now boasts over 45,000 outlets worldwide as of last September. The budget-friendly drinks giant, which is now better known for its bubble tea offerings, saw its shares jump more than 40% on Monday in its first day of trading in Hong Kong, after having raised $444 million last week in an initial public offering, according to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. 'The demand from retail and institutional investors have been strong, as was expected,' said Devi Subhakesan, co-founder at equity research firm Investory Pte. It was the biggest listing in Hong Kong so far this year, and the fifth-largest over the past year, according to the stock exchange. With its signature drinks priced between 2 to 8 yuan (30 cents to $1.20), a catchy theme song and a snowman mascot, Mixue has attracted a massive customer base across China since its founding in Henan province nearly three decades ago. Born into an impoverished family, Zhang Hongchao, the founder of Mixue, has said his strategy is simple. 'Let people around the world eat well and drink well for just two American dollars,' he has previously told Chinese state media. That affordability remains Mixue's biggest draw, especially as its home market struggles with an economic downturn. At its outlet in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay neighborhood on Monday, Wang Li, a 42-year-old retail worker told CNN she loves its wallet-friendly items. 'I don't even bother checking the price,' she said with a chuckle, adding that she wished she had known about the IPO. Over 99% of Mixue's stores are franchised, according to its prospectus, and most of its revenue comes from selling food materials, equipment and packaging to its franchisees. Mixue's net profit jumped 42% to 3.49 billion yuan ($479 million) in the first nine months of 2024 from the same period in the previous year, according to the prospectus. Its revenue increased 21% to 18.7 billion yuan ($2.6 billion) in the first nine months of 2024 from the same period in 2023. CNN has reached out to Mixue for comment. Founded in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, originally as a shaved ice shop in 1997, Mixue was not an immediate success. Zhang and his brothers came from a farming family, according to financial news outlet Caijing. As a college student struggling to make ends meet, Zhang built a shaved ice machine and started selling his creations under the name Coldsnap. That venture was unsuccessful, and he later pivoted to opening a restaurant called Mixue. In 2005, he set up a snack counter at the front of the restaurant, selling 1-yuan ice cream cones. The cheap soft serve was a homerun for Zhang. People flocked to his shop, and soon, he expanded to 20 outlets. Its pricing strategy enabled it to win customers among students as well as other people living on lower incomes in China's relatively underdeveloped cities. Mixue eventually added boba as the drink's popularity skyrocketed across the country. In 2017, Zhang added a coffee brand called Lucky Cup. Mixue expanded rapidly, growing from fewer than 10,000 shops in 2019, according to Momentum Works, a market research firm based in Singapore. Zhang's younger brother, Zhang Hongfu, joined Mixue in 2007, becoming its co-founder. He is now the CEO of the company. An older brother is no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the business. According to the Bloomberg Billionaire's Index, the share sale has given Hongchao and Hongfu a combined fortune of $8.1 billion. That makes the duo richer than Howard Schultz, the former chief executive officer of Starbucks, who is worth more than $6 billion. Mixue's IPO follows in the footsteps of smaller competitors that went public in Hong Kong in the past year. But despite the initial fanfare around the stocks of Guming and Sichuan Baicha Baidao, they have struggled to sustain their momentum as relentless competition pressured their margins and tempered investor enthusiasm. June Zhao, a 29-year-old investor relations manager in Beijing, tried to buy Mixue shares without success due to high demand. Reuters reported it was more than 5,200 times oversubscribed by retail investors. Even if Zhao had managed to secure some, she was planning to be cautious, citing the underwhelming performance of Hong Kong's milk tea stocks. 'Mixue's future growth will largely depend on its overseas expansion. Investors are betting on Mixue with the broader hope of seeing Chinese companies succeed abroad, especially given the sluggish domestic demand,' she said. Against intense competition among bubble tea shops in China, Mixue has 'essentially taken the value-for-money proposition to the extreme,' which helped it ramp up its scale beyond its competitors, according to Jianggan Li, CEO of Momentum Works. Franchise fees make up only a small portion of Mixue's revenue, according to the prospectus. 'If executed well, this could be a relatively long-term business model, as profitability mainly depends on how much franchisees can sell,' Li said. By leveraging its vast scale, the company aims to outmaneuver rivals in China's fiercely competitive tea market, which is expected to balloon to $66.5 billion by 2027, according to the state-owned Securities Times. Nearly 90% of Mixue's shops and sub-brands are within China. Its overseas outlets are in the Asia Pacific region, including Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. While the company has more outlets than McDonald's, Starbucks and Subway globally, Mixue's sales still trails Starbucks, Inspire Brands, owner of Dunkin' and Baskin Robbins, and Canada's Tim Hortons, according to Momentum Works.
CNN
03-03-2025
- Business
- CNN
This humble boba chain has more outlets than McDonald's
Two decades ago, a modest restaurant in the middle of one's China poorest provinces saw its business take off after selling cut-price soft serve for just 1 yuan (15 cents) per cone. Today, it has overtaken McDonald's and Starbucks as the world's largest food and beverage chain by number of stores. Mixue Bingcheng, which means honey snow ice city, now boasts over 45,000 outlets worldwide as of last September. The budget-friendly drinks giant, which is now better known for its bubble tea offerings, saw its shares jump more than 40% on Monday in its first day of trading in Hong Kong, after having raised $444 million last week in an initial public offering, according to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. 'The demand from retail and Institutional Investors have been strong, as was expected,' said Devi Subhakesan, co-founder at equity research firm Investory Pte. It was the biggest listing in Hong Kong so far this year, and the fifth-largest in the past year, according to the stock exchange. With its signature drinks priced between 2 to 8 yuan (30 cents to $1.20), a catchy theme song and a snowman mascot, Mixue has attracted a massive customer base across China since its founding in Henan province nearly three decades ago. Born into an impoverished family, Zhang Hongchao, the founder of Mixue, has said his strategy is simple. 'Let people around the world eat well and drink well for just two American dollars,' he has previously told Chinese state media. That affordability remains Mixue's biggest draw, especially as its home market struggles with an economic downturn. At its outlet in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay neighborhood on Monday, Wang Li, a 42-year-old retail worker told CNN she loves its budget-friendly items. 'I don't even bother checking the price,' she said with a chuckle, adding that she wished she had known about the IPO. Over 99% of Mixue's stores are franchised, according to its prospectus, and most of its revenue comes from selling food materials, equipment and packaging to its franchisees. Mixue's net profit jumped 42% to 3.49 billion yuan ($479 million) in the first nine months of 2024 from the same period in the previous year, according to the prospectus. Its revenue increased 21% to 18.7 billion yuan ($2.6 billion) in the first nine months of 2024 from the same period in 2023. CNN has reached out to Mixue for comment. Founded in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, originally as a shaved ice shop in 1997, Mixue was not an immediate success. Zhang and his brothers were born to a farming family, according to financial news outlet Caijing. As a college student struggling to make ends meet, Zhang built a shaved ice machine and started selling his creations under the name Coldsnap. That venture was unsuccessful, and he later pivoted to opening a restaurant called Mixue. In 2005, he set up a snack counter at the front of the restaurant, selling 1-yuan ice cream cones. The cheap soft serve was a homerun for Zhang. People flocked to his shop, and soon, he expanded to 20 outlets. Its pricing strategy enabled it to win customers among students as well as other people living on lower incomes in China's relatively underdeveloped cities. Mixue eventually added boba as the drink's popularity skyrocketed across the country. In 2017, Zhang added a coffee brand called Lucky Cup. Mixue expanded rapidly, growing from fewer than 10,000 shops in 2019, according to Momentum Works, a market research firm based in Singapore. Zhang's younger brother, Zhang Hongfu, joined Mixue in 2007, becoming its co-founder. He is now the CEO of the company. An older brother is no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the business. According to the Bloomberg Billionaire's Index, the share sale has given Hongchao and Hongfu a combined fortune of $8.1 billion. That makes the duo richer than Howard Schultz, the former chief executive officer of Starbucks, who is worth more than $6 billion. Mixue's IPO follows in the footsteps of smaller competitors that went public in Hong Kong in the past year. But despite the initial fanfare around the stocks of Guming and Sichuan Baicha Baidao, they have struggled to sustain their momentum as relentless competition pressured their margins and tempered investor enthusiasm. June Zhao, a 29-year-old investor relations manager in Beijing, tried to buy Mixue shares without success due to high demand. Reuters reported it was more than 5,200 times oversubscribed by retail investors. Even if Zhao had managed to secure some, she was planning to be cautious, citing the underwhelming performance of Hong Kong's milk tea stocks. 'Mixue's future growth will largely depend on its overseas expansion. Investors are betting on Mixue with the broader hope of seeing Chinese companies succeed abroad, especially given the sluggish domestic demand,' she said. Against intense competition among bubble tea shops in China, Mixue has 'essentially taken the value-for-money proposition to the extreme,' which helped it ramp up its scale beyond its competitors, according to Jianggan Li, CEO of Momentum Works. Franchise fees make up only a small portion of Mixue's revenue, according to the prospectus. 'If executed well, this could be a relatively long-term business model, as profitability mainly depends on how much franchisees can sell,' Li said. By leveraging its vast scale, the company aims to outmaneuver rivals in China's fiercely competitive tea market, which is expected to balloon to $66.5 billion by 2027, according to the state-owned Securities Times. Nearly 90% of Mixue's shops and sub-brands are within China. Its overseas outlets are in the Asia Pacific region, including Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. While the company has more outlets than McDonald's, Starbucks and Subway globally, Mixue's sales still trails Starbucks, Inspire Brands, owner of Dunkin' and Baskin Robbins, and Canada's Tim Hortons, according to Momentum Works.
