Schoolbag: What role do sports and sports values play in education in Singapore?

Sum Chee Wah: Sports provide a platform for the physical development of students, and are therefore important in holistic education. It also contributes towards mental health as it helps build bonds among players and develops character traits like perseverance, self-reliance, confidence, sportsmanship, teamwork, discipline and fair play.

All children, regardless of background, have access to physical education (PE) and sports CCAs in school.

Through participation in sports, students learn to strive and give their best, develop respect for authority (referees and umpires) and their opponents, and learn to appreciate and care for their team mates. These are Olympic values, namely, excellence, friendship and respect, which are propagated at all levels of sports performance. These values are also embodied in the Desired Outcomes of Education and we hope that students would be able to acquire and apply them to their lives.

Teachers also play a role in helping students and the coaches they work with understand the meaning of competition and winning. The predominant thinking now is that when we win, we have beaten our opponent. We hope to change this mindset and teachers can help make this change. While competition is integral to sports, we need to recognise that very often it is ourselves that we are competing against. Our sports opponents are our sparring partners, pushing us to overcome our own limits so that we better our own performance. Winning in a well-played competition enables us to overcome our own barriers, and we should thank our opponents for challenging us and helping us to reach new peaks in our performance.

Schoolbag: What would you consider MOE's key achievements in developing sporting talent?

Ms Sum: MOE has put in place a system where all children, regardless of background, can access physical education (PE) and sports CCAs in school. While PE may be seen as a given in all education systems, children in Singapore are fortunate in that we have good facilities for sports activities. We also have a unique system of CCAs, which provides additional opportunities for those who wish to spend more time on sports, to do so. In most other education systems, after-school activities are carried out by clubs, and membership to these clubs could be exclusive.

MOE also has a system where children with sports talent in all schools enjoy the opportunity to compete in sports competitions, and be identified and developed in their talent area. In Singapore, principals of all schools come together to form the Singapore School Sports Council (SSSC), which looks into the organisation of inter-school sports competitions. In the last 50 years, SSSC has provided many students with the experience of competition - it is through this platform that many talents are scouted and eventually groomed into national representatives.

By participating in sports, students learn to give their best, develop respect for authority and their opponents, and learn to appreciate and care for their team mates.

One may ask, isn't there such a system in other countries? I would say that in large countries, typically, education and sports provisions are decentralised. Hence, even if there is a regional system, there may not be a national system to spot and identify talents.

Additionally, our small size allows the close nexus between policy formulation and implementation. MOE's CCA Branch (CCAB) has capitalised on our smallness and compact structures to work with various stakeholders. An example of how we have taken advantage of these conditions is our collaboration with national sports associations (NSAs) to train and develop talent.

The most successful partnership model thus far is that with Singapore Gymnastics. The structured training programme and conducive training environment led to Singapore winning the Team Championship gold and silver medals on the floor exercise in Women Artistic Gymnastics at the 2005 SEA Games. The best performance in the history of gymnastics in Singapore was made at the 2007 SEA Games, where Singapore won the Team Championship (gold medal) and a double Individual All Around Championships (gold medal). The partnership with the NSA has been pivotal in the development of gymnastics talent and contributed to Singapore qualifying for a spot each in the Men's and Women's Artistic Gymnastics in the Youth Olympic Games (YOG). Apart from gymnastics, there were also collaborations with other NSAs like sailing, soccer, netball, volleyball and sepak takraw.

The Singapore School Sports Council (SSSC) has provided many students with the experience of competition, during which many talents are scouted and eventually groomed into national representatives.

More recently, in 2007, we launched the Talent Development Framework to systematically identify and provide development opportunities for talented young athletes within the school system. The Junior and Youth Sports Academies have been established to provide training at centralised locations, so as to harness and maximise resources to realise the potential of our young athletes.

The organisation of the Asian Youth Games and the YOG has also presented opportunities for MOE to work with NSAs, MCYS and the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) to establish a shared understanding and agreement on talent development (talent selection and training). This collaboration between various organisations will definitely benefit students in the long-run.

Schoolbag: How would you evaluate MOE's success in encouraging mass participation in sports among students?

Ms Sum: Mass participation forms the main pillar of the sports and games programme in schools, and MOE has been successful in encouraging mass participation. Our data on students' participation in Sports and Games 2006-2009, shows that about 30 per cent of the school cohort participates in CCA sports and games, and almost the entire school population participates in intra-school athletics and games competitions.

Currently, about 30 percent of the school cohort participates in CCA sports and games, and almost the entire school population participates in intra-school athletics and games competitions.

While we have been successful in promoting sports to the masses, we should continue fuelling our efforts to encourage students to participate in sports. This is because we are fighting against a tide of children of the digital age, who are more likely to lead sedentary lifestyles and spend their time on electronic games.

While part of playing sports is to outsmart your opponent in competitions, sports is not only about winning accolades; it is also for health and recreation. We hope to promote sports as a lifestyle by encouraging mass participation in sports. Students should eventually see sports as a form of exercise and a hobby they enjoy.