Leung Kung-fu, who is a photo chronicler of Hong Kong, once lamented the erosion of the wide range of play facilities that used to be available in the good old days. It was a free-of-charge classroom for kids to learn communication skills, sharpen their minds and achieve physical nimbleness. He was saddened by the fact that "kids today either bury their heads in books or are glued to mobile devices".

Physical education is compulsory in primary and secondary schools: twice a week, 40 minutes a time. The two classes usually are combined into an extended 80-minute class, said Dr Chung Pak-kwong, a professor at the Department of Physical Education, Hong Kong Baptist University.

Chung said children and adolescents should take part in physical activity for at least an hour a day, based on a recognized international standard, so 80 minutes over an entire week was far from enough. "We've advocated doubling the frequency of PE class many times, but the government has not taken our advice, in part because the authorities and teachers give priority to the teaching of major subjects. If an additional 80-minute PE class were crammed in, an English class might have to be cut. That is the last thing they want."

Lack of systematic and professional PE teaching faculty training is a long-standing issue, Chung added, especially in kindergartens.

According to a 2007-2012 Quality Review Report of Kindergartens by the Education Bureau in Hong Kong, half the kindergartens did not devote enough time to children's outdoor activities. "PE classes occupy merely about 5 to 8 percent of the total class time in primary and secondary schools," says Ivy Wong Wang, assistant professor of educational and developmental psychology at the University of Hong Kong.

It is recommended that high-quality kindergartens provide a spacious area with appropriate facilities for children to exercise gross motor play (running, climbing, jumping) freely and safely. Chung is adamant that schools should double the number of PE classes every week.

A new outdoor game designed to nurture kids' creativity has caught on in many Western countries, but not yet in Hong Kong. Kids explore a "junk field", digging for scraps they might use to build makeshift structures, even as trained personnel keep a watch from a distance to ensure their safety.

Cheng Pui-wah, the early childhood education expert from Hong Kong Institute of Education, said this game can effectively enhance kids' attention spans and allow them to display originality. "Hong Kong's playgrounds are too artificial. We welcome more natural ones like these," she added.

But Ho Choi-wa, associate head of the Early Childhood Education Department of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, has a hunch even if recreational facilities are made easily available to kids, things won't improve by much unless parents stopped goading and pushing their kids to achieve academic excellence.

(HK Edition 05/12/2015 page8)