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Street battles between rival vocational students, young girls being raped by their boyfriends and their friends, stressed-out students committing suicide - such incidents have not yet disappeared from the front pages of Thai newspapers.

Whenever such unfortunate incidents occur, the idea of encouraging participation in sports as a solution to these problems is almost always raised.

"Instead of going to have a drink or sing karaoke after school, sports draw teens away from bad habits, especially if they can cultivate a love for one sport in particular," said Asst Prof Dr Nilmanee Sriboon, chairman of the Sport Management Programme at Chandrakasem Rajabhat University in Bangkok.

Former education minister Adisai Bodharamik once urged schools to reduce the number of academic subjects and add more hours of physical education to avoid putting too much stress on students.

"At least two hours of physical education [a week] must be implemented into the curriculum. Every student must know how to play some sport. The average amount of study time - seven to eight hours - is too long and should be reduced to four or five hours a day," the then-minister said.

Finally, education (PE) required of students to 120 minutes per week.

However, Assoc Prof Dr Supitr Samahito, dean of the Faculty of Physical Science at Kasetsart University, says more than 90 per cent of schools nationwide still limit PE class time to only 60 minutes a week.

"Each school has the status of a juristic person [an entity recognised as enjoying legal rights], so they can refuse to follow the Education Ministry as long as it is not an actual regulation or law," said Supitr.

According to Supitr, who is also an executive member of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, parents are also responsible for the students' limited amount of PE time.

"The board of a school includes a group of parents as members and those parents do not want to give up subjects like mathematics or science for PE as they do not see the benefits of it for their children's future."

Schools aren't the only problem. Some universities (such as Kasetsart and Chandrakasem Rajabhat University) have also limited the PE requirement to two units for the whole study programme.

Supitr says the current situation regarding PE at university is very different compared to the past, when students were required to accumulate eight units in PE over the course of a four-year study period.

"Students from 18 to 22 years of age will reap the maximum benefit from exercise," Supitr said.

"It is quite a shame that Thai youth only get the chance to take PE for such a short period."

However, the situation at some universities is even worse, with no PE required at all.

19-year-old Panupong Panichakarn from Thammasat University feels sad about not having the chance to study PE at university.

"I'm not asking for much, just one hour a week in the afternoon is fine. I don't know why I can't get any at all," he said.

To maker matters worse, the Commission on Higher Education has declared it will reduce the total units of study for all universities from 136 units to range between 120 and 126 to lessen the stress load on students. This makes it even more difficult for the universities to increase the total amount of PE time.

"The universities must prepare students in the knowledge they will need for their future careers," said Supitr. "Whenever a university has a debate on which subject should be removed from the curriculum, they feel it's necessary for them to maintain subjects deemed important for students' careers. So, we often see PE being removed from the curriculum."

But it's not just schools and their curricula that keep youth and sports away from each other. Dr Nilmanee of Chandrakasem says parents and physical education teachers are another factor encouraging a negative attitude about sports and exercise among children.

 "To make youth want to play sports, we must make them feel that doing so is voluntary and of their own free will. But some parents force their children to play sports just because they want them to be champions. This is wrong because it puts too much pressure on the kids and might make them feel bored with sports," said Nilmanee.

"Also, some PE teachers tend to be overly strict in their teaching styles. They force their students to play and practise exclusively according to their style. Students who can't follow or do it differently might be scolded or looked down upon until they feel hesitant about getting involved."

Supitr says some teachers often use physical activities such as running or push-ups to punish students without giving a reason or explaining the real benefits to the body.

"This can create a negative attitude about physical education among students. Some might try to avoid the class," she said.

The limited facilities and equipment at schools and universities continue to hamper students' ability to take up sports, despite an official request from the House of Representatives in 1998 that every university have at least one football field and one gymnasium for students.

But Nilmanee says one gymnasium and one field per university is not enough.

"For example, if one period of PE allocated to playing basketball has 40 students, but you only have two basketball courts in your gymnasium, only 20 students can play properly. What about the rest? How many times would each student even touch the ball?" said Nilmanee.

 Moreover, Supitr says universities now place too much importance on using their budgets for elite athletes, and until they can fully exploit the budget it should be used to provide more equipment and facilities for all students.

"If a university wants to put a lot of money into elite athletes, it should seek money from outside sponsors. It would be unfair if they used 90 per cent of their budget for a small group of elite athletes while the remainder is spent on the majority of students," she said.

To improve the sports situation among youth, Supitr suggests that universities improve the quality of their after-school sports clubs and instruct all students to become members of one club per year as a university regulation.

For example, students might choose to be a member of a football club in the first year. Then, they might switch to the archery club in the second year and to the rugby club and golf club in the third and fourth years.

"Since it is impossible to increase the time for PE, students could make it up by joining such clubs," said Supitr.

Joining school clubs would give students a chance to exercise or play and practise a sport they love after school, said Supitr.

"The clubs would have their own members, recruit new players for competitions and manage their income by themselves, as well. Also, once a student becomes a part of a club, they will automatically learn about unity in an organisation," she said.

But Pakornvit Sarnpitak, 20, a third-year student from the Faculty of Science at Kasetsart University, disagrees.

"How do we know that students who take part in a sports club will really participate in the club's practice sessions? And since most of the club members are already university representatives, how can we guarantee they are treated the same as elite athletes?" Pakornvit said.

 

Another suggestion is that universities and schools provide more sports venues and facilities for all students.

"This is important. If we want students to play sports or exercise, we must have enough facilities for them to play anytime they want," said Nilmanee of Chandrakasem.

"But more than 70 per cent of schools in Bangkok still have no sports fields. Or if they do have one, it's an outdoor concrete pitch used, some time, as a parking lot for teachers rather than for students to exercise. So it is the role of schools to provide the facilities.

"A university should not ask students to pay additional money to use its venues and facilities since they have already asked students to pay an annual activities maintenance charge."

For example, Kasetsart University charges students Bt250 per year.

"A fundamental role of the university is to provide a sports venue for students using the money they receive. It would be unfair for students if the university asked them to pay again for using some venue such as a badminton court or a swimming pool," said Supitr.

Panupong of Thammasat added: "Just having a venue is not enough. There must also be equipment such as balls and rackets made available too, since it might be difficult for us to carry those things to university every day."

Perhaps the best way to solve the problem of young Thais' waning interest in the sports world is to go back to the start and try to cultivate within them a love for games when they are children.

"It will take time, and everyone, including parents and teachers, might have to get more involved," said Nilmanee. "But when it bears fruit, everything will change. Even if we cancelled all the PE classes, it would have no effect since the kids would try to find a way to play sports by themselves anyway."

By Watchara Saengsrisin

The Nation