The Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) has responded with an apology for its recent orientation games which has drawn flak from the public.
Some of the games required members of the opposite sex to be in close proximity, such as eating a biscuit from opposite ends or boys doing pushups over girls who lay below them.
In its letter to The New Paper today, Mrs Ho Soon Eng, director for student life at SIM Global Education, apologised for the "unpleasant experiences" during the orientation.
Mrs Ho explained that said some of the games were "impromptu" and were not part of the programmes approved by SIM.
Said Mrs Ho in the letter: "It was unfortunate that at one point, the game masters introduced impromptu but optional activities for some participants to score additional points.
"Concerning these activities, we did not receive any feedback all this while.
"In the past few days, however, we have received some feedback from a couple of concerned relatives of the students involved in the impromptu games."
But she acknowledged that the games were "ill-conceived".
Following the incident, school authorities met up with the student leaders concerned, who were counselled and reminded of the need to exercise better judgment and be more sensitive to the feelings of others, said Mrs Ho.
"Moving forward, SIM will continue to review our processes to prevent a similar occurrence, and more importantly ensure that our student activities meet their objectives and create a positive experience for all."
Some of the games required members of the opposite sex to be in close proximity, such as eating a biscuit from opposite ends or boys doing pushups over girls who lay below them.
The Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao reported that some girls were so affected that they burst into tears later.
Mrs Ho explained that said some of the games were "impromptu" and were not part of the programmes approved by SIM.
Said Mrs Ho in the letter: "It was unfortunate that at one point, the game masters introduced impromptu but optional activities for some participants to score additional points.
"Concerning these activities, we did not receive any feedback all this while.
"In the past few days, however, we have received some feedback from a couple of concerned relatives of the students involved in the impromptu games."
But she acknowledged that the games were "ill-conceived".
Following the incident, school authorities met up with the student leaders concerned, who were counselled and reminded of the need to exercise better judgment and be more sensitive to the feelings of others, said Mrs Ho.
"Moving forward, SIM will continue to review our processes to prevent a similar occurrence, and more importantly ensure that our student activities meet their objectives and create a positive experience for all."
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