WHEN my daughter was in Primary 1 last year, I was surprised to come across the word 'jigaree' in her spelling list.

Unable to fathom the meaning of the word and thinking that it could be a neologism, I checked a dictionary and the Internet, but could not find it.

I did not give the matter much thought, but imagine my surprise when my friend, whose daughter is in Primary 1 this year in a different school from my daughter's, was given the same word in a spelling list!

Could the Ministry of Education clarify how spelling lists are vetted and how such words enter them?

Mr Christopher Ching Yong Joo

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