Some CCAs to be held outside schools, selection trials to be scrapped in MOE pilot

SINGAPORE — To give students more chances to take up the co-curricular activities (CCAs) they like, as well as to reduce the competitiveness of school sports, the Ministry of Education (MOE) is offering pupils with different interests and sporting talents the opportunity to take up CCAs at centralised venues outside of schools.

Selection trials to join a CCA will be removed in certain schools as well, it said on Tuesday (Jan 21).

These pilot initiatives are part of an ongoing development by the ministry to also tackle the lack of “critical mass” to sustain certain CCAs and to work with limited resources.

As a start, for secondary schools that do not offer track-and-field as a CCA, students who are keen to take it up may head down to the Home of Athletics, a facility beside the Singapore Sports Hub, to train under sporting venue ActiveSG’s programmes.

And for secondary schools that do not offer ethnic dance, students may go to Lasalle College of the Arts, where classes will be held.

This is under a three-year pilot of the Strategic Partnership CCA (SP-CCA) programme that began last year.

MOE said that it is working with the Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth (MCCY) to study the feasibility of providing such centrally run CCAs, but did not give details on which schools and how many students are involved.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the National School Games, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Tuesday that the programme is among several initiatives to “present wider options to students to cater to the diverse CCA interests and talents of students”.

“The traditional way to do this is to offer more CCA options in school. But there is a limit to doing so, and more options in school also mean it is harder for each CCA to have a critical number of participants.”

Mr Ong also said that non-school-based CCAs help to address the problem of the “lack of critical mass”.

“The added advantage of the programme is that students get to interact with peers from other schools and of different backgrounds,” he added.

NO TRIALS TO PICK THE BEST

In the other development, instead of having schools offer many CCA options with selection trials for students to join, a number of primary schools will offer fewer CCAs but will have no selection trials and guaranteed admission for primary school students.

“Over time, these schools may differentiate themselves with their niche CCA offerings, where students deliver strong performances,” Mr Ong said. MOE did not reveal which primary schools are under this no-trial pilot.

The removal of trials also addresses the emphasis on results that have been going on in schools where the best players are picked to join a CCA or to represent schools in competitions, while children who do not make the team are not allowed to play, or are unable to pursue their interest.

One CCA model that the ministry will continue to support is that of inter-school CCA collaborations, where two schools run a CCA programme together. The schools may also form a combined team to take part in inter-school competitions.

Mr Ong cited the example of Anglo-Chinese School Barker Road and Queensway Secondary School, which ran hockey practices together, and ended up competing as one combined team for the National School Games.

IMPROVING FACILITIES IN SCHOOLS

Plans to enhance school facilities are underway, from kindergartens to secondary schools, and works will be completed by 2024. This is to create a more conducive physical environment for students to take part in sports and play.

MOE also wants to ensure that all primary and secondary schools are equipped with three covered play courts each to lessen the disruption due to bad weather. Most schools are equipped, but there are still 40 schools that are not, it said.

Primary and secondary schools will be provided with acrylic-coated surfaces for outdoor play courts, and will get up to four more basketball boards each.

Where feasible, playgrounds at MOE kindergartens will be expanded to 160sqm and outdoor fitness playgrounds at primary schools will be doubled in size.