Sunglasses necessary for Australian pupils

To protect students' eyes from the sun, a primary school makes it compulsory for children to wear sunglasses in the playground.

A primary school in Sydney on Tuesday became the first in Australia to force children to wear sunglasses in the playground.

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Education Minister John Della Bosca said the New South Wales state government would look at making sunglasses compulsory for all schoolchildren to protect their eyes from the sun.

Most primary schools already insist that pupils wear sunhats in the playground and some insist that children rub on sunscreen as well. There are schools that ban children from running in case they fall over and some that have removed play equipment for the same reason.

"These were things that were not conceived as important 20 years ago," Della Bosca said.