Parliamentary Replies
Inter-School Sports Competition
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Er Lee Bee Wah, Member of Parliament for Ang Mo Kio GRC
Question
To ask the Minister for Education (a) what was the average number of students taking part in inter-school sporting events for each of the last three years; (b) out of these students, how many were foreign students; and (c) whether the Minister will consider setting a cap on the number of foreign students participating in inter-school sports.
Response
On average, 55,600 students a year participated in the inter-school sports competitions in 2008 and 2009 and of these participants 1,100 or about 2% were international students.
Only Singapore citizens are eligible for certain benefits such as Edusave scholarships, bursaries and financial assistance schemes. In areas such as school fees and registration for Primary 1, Singapore citizens also enjoy greater privileges than non-citizens. However, in sports meets and academic tests, competition encourages all students to strive and excel. Hence, in such areas, we allow all students within our national schools to compete alike based on merit, regardless of nationality.
There are benefits to creating opportunities for more students to compete at the recreational level, even if not all of them reach the apex of the sport. Not only do sports competitions help students develop their games skills, they also build character. As such, MOE will work with the Singapore Schools Sports Council and national sports associations to create Division II or III leagues for various games. This will allow students who do not currently have the opportunity to represent their schools in inter-school sports competitions to compete at the recreational level for a start.