While I applaud the Government in its efforts to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic and educate the nation, I have noticed inconsistencies in the measures being implemented to ensure safety for everyone.

It is not uncommon to see crowded malls, coffee shops and hawker centres on weekends, yet many co-curricular activities (CCAs) and group sports are still bound by very strict restrictions and are mostly being conducted online or remain cancelled.

Schools are currently conducting performing arts CCAs, like those involving musical instruments and some sports classes, via video conferencing, which is definitely not an effective learning environment for both the children and the coaches.

The screens on personal devices are limited in size and ineffective for trainers/learners to watch everyone in one glance.

It is difficult to monitor psycho-motor skills this way.

The restriction of only four players per court for badminton or tennis has also impeded the commencement of racket training for children in schools.

In the meantime, I have seen taekwondo lessons being conducted at community centres.

It is puzzling when one sees crowded hawker centres and gatherings of 50 people being allowed, but badminton or tennis lessons for more than four persons, up to 10 people, are still not allowed.

I believe schools should have the resources and space to ensure, for example, an orchestra CCA can be conducted safely with sufficient safe distancing.

I urge the Covid-19 ministerial task force to review the policies for non-contact group CCAs to resume in school so long as safety measures can be undertaken by the schools, regardless of whether national level sport/cultural/art events or competitions are being held.

We should not have a generation of students whose critical development in sports or cultural activities is lost.

Pan Fu Cheng