Debated in Parliament on 11 May 2015.
Dr Benedict Tan asked the Minister for Education whether the Ministry will consider shifting key school sports competitions to the night during the rainy season, to avoid the 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm thunderstorm peak hours, and to facilitate attendance by parents, extended family and alumni.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) promotes sports as it is an important platform for the holistic development of students. Specific to the inter-school sports competitions, organisers have to safeguard the safety and well-being of students, while bearing in mind the needs of parents, staff and stakeholders.
Inclement weather will invariably affect sports in our schools, given Singapore’s tropical climate. MOE has built more indoor sports facilities to allow more physical activities and sports competitions to be weather-proof. However, for sports like football, hockey, rugby, softball and those that cannot be played indoors, schools will postpone the games to another day when there is inclement weather.
Scheduling games in the evening will result in competition for use of the already heavily utilised public sports facilities in the evening. This will result in inconveniences to public users. Holding competitions in the evening will also increase students’ school hours and lengthen the working hours of teachers.
MOE has no immediate plans to host the games in the evenings. We will continue to explore how parental involvement and support for the competitions can be further strengthened while balancing the needs of different parties involved.
PAPERCUTS