Supporters welcome outdoor learning, but others say it may not be suitable for all.

With the Government ramping up the capacity of Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) by 2020, all Singaporean youth will have a chance by then to take part in a camp there at least once in their school days.

While it is hoped that OBS will allow youth from different schools to interact, views are mixed about whether it should be compulsory for them to spend time at the outdoor adventure learning school.

Supporters said it will help the young go beyond book learning.

Said former Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong of the Workers’ Party, who often comments on education issues: “OBS is one way to develop students beyond academics.

“We can also look at achieving holistic development through CCAs (co-curricular activities) and other programmes to ensure continuity.”

Parents told The Straits Times that they were mainly supportive of making it compulsory, as long as safety measures are adequate.

Ms Tan Teing Im, 47, a teacher who has two daughters, said: “The teenage years are a good time to expose children to outdoor learning, although we need to bear in mind that some are not adventurous and we cannot force them to do something they are not ready for.”

Activities like rope courses should be age- and ability-appropriate, she added.

Also in favour was Ms Chan Choy Wei, 40, a housewife with three children. “Our kids are not spending enough time doing physical activities, and spending too much time staring at screens.”

But others pointed to the drawbacks of making OBS mandatory.

Mr Gene Kam, a former OBS employee of eight years, said: “Most students would be keen to participate in the past because they were selected. When you triple the numbers, the likelihood of encountering those who are not so keen will grow.”

On Wednesday, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu announced that the school, which will expand to Coney Island, will offer 45,000 young people an opportunity to take part in an OBS camp every year, up from 14,000.

Mr Kam, 46, who is now a director of an outdoor education company, said more effort is needed to engage participants even before they embark on the programme.

Sociologist Paulin Straughan also opposed making OBS compulsory as young people might have a negative attitude about the experience if they felt coerced into it.

She said: “Students should be allowed to opt in or opt out. If the programme runs well, there will be a line of people waiting to get in.”

More effort is needed to plan a meaningful course, she said, as what is seen as resilience for one generation might not be the same for the next. “Resilience for the older generation might mean being able to endure the heat while being outdoors for a long time, or running long distances. But for the younger ones, it could mean being able to withstand social isolation.”

Ms Chan Ser Huang, 51, a housewife with two sons, is also against enforced OBS courses: “Outdoor activities are not suitable for everyone. Also, I’m not sure if the integration will last beyond the camp.”

Jurong GRC MP Tan Wu Meng said the crux is not about whether OBS is compulsory.

“In the long term, it’s about young people going outdoors from all walks of life, coming together with a spirit of teamwork and ruggedness. Not because they’ve been told to, but because it is a way of life.”

yuensin@sph.com.sg

kenggene@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 1, 2016.
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At Kindle Garden, children with special needs learn alongside other kids

A pre-school set up to promote inclusion, where children with special needs learn alongside other children, has become oversubscribed just three months after it opened in January.

Likely the first full-fledged inclusive pre-school in Singapore, Kindle Garden offers 75 places, of which up to 30 per cent are for children with special needs.

Fifty-five places have been taken up, with the 20 remaining places set aside for next year’s K2 children – so this year’s K1 children have places next year.

The centre, run by voluntary welfare group Awwa and funded by the Lien Foundation, already has a waiting list of 100 special needs children and 25 other children.

Awwa chief executive Tim Oei said he was initially concerned that there would be low enrolment.

He said: “When we put up the banner, the community walked in. We took great pains to say that there are kids with special needs. But that was not a hindrance (to parents).

“To them, it’s like – so? And some felt – better still, it is different.”

Mr Izaan Tari Sheiki, 32, an executive director in a bank, enrolled his three-year-old child in the Lengkok Bahru centre as it is near his home.

“I was wondering if the curriculum would cater just to children with special needs, but I liked the idea of personalised care,” he said.

“I also notice my daughter being helpful to others. Kids need to be taught (when they’re) young to accept differences among people.”

Awwa director J. R. Karthikeyan said lesson plans at the pre-school are personalised for different learning needs. While children “experience the same lesson”, the learning goals that each child is expected to meet would differ.

The facilities at Kindle Garden are also designed such that children with special needs can learn alongside other kids. For instance, there is a toy car big enough for a child on a wheelchair to enter and play in it with able-bodied friends.

Lien Foundation chief executive Lee Poh Wah said: “Early childhood education at its very best is inclusive education – because of its focus on individual needs and developmentally appropriate practices.

“If you look overseas, inclusive education is synonymous with quality education.”

Currently, 14 other pre-schools take in children with special needs under the Integrated Child Care Programme – but only those with mild to moderate disabilities. The centres do not offer therapy and each has only up to 10 special needs kids.

In comparison, Kindle Garden admits children with mild to severe special needs, including those with autism. It has a speech therapist, occupational therapist and early intervention teacher among its staff of 12. Its monthly fee for full-day childcare before GST is $980 – the industry median is $856 as of January.

Children with moderate to severe special needs benefit from the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (Eipic), but 70 per cent of the 2,600 children in Eipic centres do not go to pre-school due to the severity of their needs or a lack of suitable pre-schools.

Khloe Gan, three, who has Down syndrome, used to go to an Eipic centre before going to Kindle Garden.

Her mother, manager Chan Bi Yi, 34, used to pay about $700 a month, but Khloe spent just six hours a week at the Eipic centre. She now pays a subsidised $748 for full-day childcare at Kindle Garden.

“I was concerned if the centre could handle her, but there are therapists around, so it’s okay,” she said.

Meanwhile, from now until April 14, the Lien Foundation is inviting people to give their views on how to make Singapore more inclusive for children with special needs. They can do so at http://bit.do/Inclusive

goyshiyi@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 1, 2016.
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Singaporean Lim Yong Nam is now in United States custody after Indonesian police handed him over to their US counterparts in Jakarta yesterday.

Lim, who faces charges for breaching an American trade embargo against Iran, was sent to the capital from Batam island, where he had been held while the US’ extradition request was being reviewed by Indonesia.

“Lim Yong Nam has been handed over to a US Marshal… but we cannot disclose the location of the (prisoner) transfer,” said Mr Andar Perdana Widiastono, who heads the provincial prosecutor’s office in Riau Islands province.

When contacted, an official from the US Embassy in Jakarta declined to comment on the case.

Indonesia has no formal extradition agreement with the US, but Indonesian law allows for such requests to be considered on a case- by-case basis. A Batam district court granted the request last year.

Judges said they had taken into consideration the two countries’ good relations and America’s help in returning two Indonesian criminals to Indonesia.

President Joko Widodo endorsed the court’s ruling in January.

Lawyer Boy Kanu, who represented Lim in Batam, said his client had tried to appeal to be sent to Singapore instead.

Efforts to reach Lim’s wife in Singapore for comment yesterday were unsuccessful.

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said yesterday it has contacted the relevant US authorities to ask for information on the legal process that Lim will face in the US. “We have also requested the US to ensure that Mr Lim is accorded his due legal rights. MFA will continue to discharge our consular responsibilities by providing Mr Lim with the necessary assistance,” an MFA spokesman said in a statement.

Lim is accused of acquiring 6,000 radio frequency modules for export to Iran. The US had asked Singapore to extradite him in 2011, but the Singapore High Court found that the crime he was accused of was not an offence in the Republic.

Lim had been held in Batam since October 2014 after he went to the island to attend a trade exhibition.

In 2011, he was indicted along with three other Singaporeans and an Iranian national by the US Department of Justice for conspiring to allow electronics components from the US to be exported illegally to Iran instead of their stated final destination, which was Singapore.

The US alleged that 16 of the modules were found later in improvised explosive devices in Iraq that had not been detonated.

wahyudis@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 1, 2016.
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