GAMES and play are very important ways to stimulate learning
GAMES and play are very important ways to stimulate learning, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat.
Mr Heng was speaking yesterday at the first National Primary School Go Championship organised by The Go Academy.
"We should encourage our children to explore learning in different forms, whether it is a strategy game or whether it is through outdoor activities," he said.
"We want to encourage them to develop a wide range of interests, and in that way we can stimulate learning through different means."
This will also give them a chance to meet and interact with different people and develop holistically, he added.
Mr Heng's comments come just as The Straits Times reported that the latest Household Expenditure Survey in September found that families spent $1.1 billion a year on tuition - almost double the $650 million spent a decade ago.
The average household spending on tuition rose from $54.70 a month 10 years ago to $79.90 in the latest survey. Along with spending more, there were also more households in the latest study - 1.2 million compared with 993,000 a decade ago.
Academy founder Daniel Chan, 27, said the ancient Chinese strategy game, Go, which is also known as weiqi, is an educational tool which can help children with academic studies and brain development.
"A lot of parents think weiqi is just a game, a hobby. But in countries such as China, South Korea and Japan, weiqi is also an educational tool," he said.
More than 400 pupils from 103 schools took part in the competition yesterday, which was held at the official launch of The Go Academy at the Ulu Pandan Community Club.
Also held concurrently was the first Tri-Nations Junior Go Challenge, with three participants each from Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.
Lucas Rahardja, 12, a Nanyang Primary pupil who has been playing the game since he was six, said: "I hope more people will be interested in Go because it is a really fun and enriching game."
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