What was once a cursory, optional activity will be a mandated one soon — it’ll be a must for all Secondary 3 students in the country to go through five-day expeditions in Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) come 2020.
The new National Outdoor Adventure Education Masterplan was outlined in Parliament by Acting Minister for Education (Schools) Ng Chee Meng, who mentioned that school camps can help develop a culture of self-reliance and mutual support with peers.
Going unmentioned is the fact that the government wants kids these days to actually go out and play off the grid instead of getting staying indoors all day on the internet. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu said last months that building up rugged youths is “pertinent amid the threat of terrorism and an increasingly diverse society.” We hope the whole part about being an “increasingly diverse society” isn’t considered a threat as well.
OBS will be working together with the Ministry of Education to design the camp programme, while also partnering up with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth to build the new OBS campus on Coney Island.
MOE will also appoint an advisory panel for outdoor adventure learning to raise the quality and safety of their programmes.
