SPORTS SCHOOL (Admission requirement)

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SPORTS SCHOOL:

(Admission requirement): 7.

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan asked the Minister for Community Development and Sports if he will (a) explain the rationale for the requirement that students admitted to the Sports School must meet the minimum aggregate points required for admission to the Express Stream in secondary school, and (b) review this requirement taking into account the Sports School's recent experience with its admission of the first batch of students who had taken the Primary School Leaving Examination.

The Minister for Community Development and Sports (Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim): Mr Speaker, Sir, Dr Amy Khor may be concerned that we might have excluded top student athletes who cannot qualify for the School, based on their academic results. This issue was also raised by several Members at the Committee of Supply debate in March last year. At that time, I had explained that the Sports School is set up primarily to cater to students who have the potential to excel in both their studies and sports but, unfortunately, have tremendous difficulties balancing both. However, I had also assured Members that very talented student athletes who cannot meet the academic criterion of the School will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Indeed, as I had indicated then, the first criterion for admission is that the student must be talented in sports and that, only after he or she has crossed this first hurdle, will we look at his academic results.

Besides these two criteria, potential entrants to the Sports School also went through a technical skills test, fitness assessment, psychological profiling, and a personal interview.

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The first batch of students at the Singapore Sports School started school yesterday morning. Amongst its 140 students are 26 students in the Normal (Academic) course. The School has accepted these students because its assessment is that they

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can complete the 'O' level course in five years. Also, Sir, two of the 140 have been streamed to Normal (Technical) course. These two talented student athletes will be undergoing basic education in English, Mathematics and Science so that they will have the basic educational requirements to allow them to pursue upgrading courses in future.

Sir, as can be seen, the Sports School has and will continue to adopt a flexible approach to its admission criteria, if there are justifications for it.

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: Sir, first of all, I would like to thank the Minister and the Sports School for exercising flexibility in the admission of this batch of students. But, having said that, I would like to ask the Minister whether setting the minimum academic entry criterion for the Sports School at Express Stream would be a signal that academic performance is still pre-eminent. Would this not be contrary to what the Government has recently been preaching, that we recognise different pathways to success and different abilities of individuals, and would not this be contrary to the very objectives of actually setting up the Sports School?

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, on the contrary, as I have stated in my reply, we are looking at students who are talented both in sports and in their studies. So, I do not think we are sending a mixed signal by selecting the minimum criterion as the Express Stream. At the end of the day, we must ensure that when we allow the students to come to the school, they will continue to receive secondary education to ensure that they can complete and go on to post-secondary options.

Having said that, Sir, I think we must allow the Sports School to evolve. This is the first time that we are doing it. We have exercised some flexibility in allowing about 30-odd students to come in to the Normal course. We will continue to monitor the situation in the succeeding batch. We will study the requirements and see whether or not we can relax further.

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In the longer term, the Sports School will look like an ordinary secondary school where we will have the bulk of the students in the Express Stream, with a couple of classes for Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical). It is still a secondary school and, therefore, at the end of the day, it must meet those academic requirements that we have set for students in Singapore.

Mr Ng Ser Miang (Nominated Member): Sir, can I ask the Minister what is the key performance indicator for the Sports School and, although the Sports School has exercised flexibility, whether the current admission criteria will still exclude top sports talents from going into the school and, therefore, affect the performance of the Sports School itself?

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, we do not see the Sports School as the only school providing talent for sports in Singapore. It is only one of the pieces in the jigsaw puzzle. So, other schools will continue to produce talent for Singapore, and that must be the case. Our outcome must be that we must be able to provide a good secondary education for our students, so that they can go on to post-secondary and, at the same time, provide opportunities for them to excel in their sporting talent. If you ask me if we are able to produce some of our champions from the Sports School - and the word is "some", not "all" - I think that would already be a landmark for Singapore.

In the longer term, I think the Sports School can look into various other ways to continue to maximise potential talents that are within Singapore. At the moment, we do have some athletes who are not in the Sports School, or currently sports which are not catered for in the Sports School, but they are part of the Sports School where we have an arrangement with the National Sports Association.

So, I think the model would evolve as to how the Sports School can maximise potential sporting talents which are available in Singapore.

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: Sir, again, I would like to thank the Minister for saying that the Ministry will review the criteria. But I would like to ask the Minister to consider whether setting the criterion at Express Stream and not Normal (Technical) or Normal (Academic) would not also be a signal of an indictment actually of the capabilities of Normal Stream students as to their future potential, should they fall out of the Sports School and look for another career. Why should it be set at Express Stream? Should it not be reviewed seriously to take into consideration that Normal (Technical) students could also have other future?

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, it is for that reason that we have admitted 26 Normal (Academic) and two Normal (Technical) students, because we think these students have the potential to excel in both. In other words, they are able to complete the academic requirements of a Normal (Academic) or Normal (Technical) course and yet, at the same time, they display high potential talent in sports and, therefore, we are of the view that they can complete both and do well in both.

What are the post-secondary options

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for these kids? I think it would be best left to the school to decide. We have to establish the criteria but, over time, we should study them and evolve as we go along. As I said earlier, we should give the Sports School a chance to start off. This is the first time we are doing it and, over time, as we learn from these experiences, we will be able to look at it in a more holistic manner.

Mdm Cynthia Phua: Sir, I still want to appeal on this basis. If the Minister is saying that the Sports School is a normal secondary school, in the admission criteria booklet of the school itself ---

Mr Speaker: Mdm Phua, are you making a speech or are you asking a question?

Mdm Cynthia Phua: Sorry. It is stated in the booklet that it admits students from Normal (Academic), Express Stream and Normal (Technical). So, can the Sports School not put that requirement as a minimum requirement?

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, all secondary schools have cut-off criteria. So, there is no difference for a Sports School in setting a criterion. And we have chosen to set that criterion as a starting point. I am not saying that this is cast in stone, but I think we should give the Sports School a chance to evolve and learn from this experience. Already, we have exercised flexibility, and I think that it is good for us to learn as we go along and then review it after a sufficient time.