No place in sports school
By Sandra Davie and Lynn Lee
WHEN Muhammad Safuwan Baharudin, 12, got a provisional place in the
Singapore Sports School, he thought his dream of becoming the next
Fandi Ahmad was about to come true.
He only managed an aggregate score of 126, putting him in the
Normal (Technical) stream and firmly out of the Sports
School.
Although the boy was among 106 Primary 6 pupils and 44 Secondary 1
and 2 students selected for its pioneer batch next year, the Sports
School wants all its students to be good enough to get into the
Express stream.
Muhammad Safuwan said: 'I was so happy and proud when I passed the
trials and my name came out in the papers. Now I am sad.'
His father, Mr Baharudin Abdul Ghani, 42, a production
superintendent, admitted that his son may not be good at his
studies, but 'give him a football and you can't beat him'.
The boy's former coach, Mr Kunju Jamaludeen, 47, said the father is
not exaggerating.
'The boy is talented. I have no doubt he will make it to the
national team one day. In fact, in my opinion, he has the makings
of a star footballer like Fandi Ahmad.
'It's a pity.'
Another disappointed pupil was swimmer Ng Yi Qing, 12, of Red
Swastika School, who was a finalist in this year's national
inter-primary schools championships.
Crying after getting her results yesterday, the swimmer, who dreams
of being the next Joscelin Yeo, told The Sunday Times that she had
received a good progress award from her school on Friday.
So she did not expect to do only well enough to get into the Normal
(Academic) stream.
'I want to go to the Sports School so badly. I'm very
disappointed.'
Her school principal, Mr Ong Kian Hin, said imposing the minimum
academic criteria will mean the school misses out on talented
children like her.
He suggested that the Sports School should take in all 106
students, whatever their results, and work on helping them to
become better students.
The school's officials, however, have always maintained that,
because the yearly student intake is small, it has to have a
cut-off mark.
Those who qualify for the Normal (Academic) stream will be
considered on a case-by-case basis.
But pupils who make it to the Normal (Technical) stream, meant for
the weakest students, are definitely out.
The Sports School in Woodlands, built at a cost of $75 million,
offers a unique form of education: It aims not only to nurture
sportsmen but also to pay attention to their academic studies, so
that promising athletes will not have to choose one over the
other.
Sports School spokesman Gerard Wong would say only that for the
Normal (Academic) students, the door has not been slammed
shut.
He said school officials would meet them this week to take another
look at their results.
'If it was one particular subject that pulled down the scores, or
if the child had been doing well all along but for some reason
faltered in the PSLE, then we will reconsider,' he said.
'As long as we satisfy ourselves that the child can cope with the
O-level curriculum, we will take him in.'
[/quote]
while we like to groom our sporting talents, we are still sending
the message that they cannot run away from paper
qualifications.
as much as we wish to develop all rounded talents, are we not
limiting ourselves by doing so?
are we implicitly sending a signal that a successful sporting
career in itself is not sufficient in singapore?
what are the downsides of admitting all students who qualified for
the sports school regardless of their academic results? would that
make them less motivated to put in efforts in their studies as they
know they have secured a place in the school?