MOC Faults GOVT on physical education in schools

Unless government enforces physical education and redevelops sports education curriculum in local schools, Malawi will continue to lag behind in sports, Nation on Sunday has learnt.

Malawi Olympic Committee (MOC) president Oscar Kanjala said it is disappointing to note that physical education is no longer taught in schools despite its existence in school syllabi.

He attributed the country’s failure to win major trophies and medals at international competitions such as the Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games for the last 20 years to this problem.

“We feel discontented that we have never won major trophies or medals for over 20 years, yet almost all our neighbours have put themselves on the world map for their achievements. It is all because we do not take sports seriously.

“Time has come when Malawians should not only view sports as a mere child’s play but purposefully engage in it as a career,” he said.

MOC has since presented a request to the Parliamentary Committee on Social and Community Affairs to consider taking the issue into the august House for deliberation.

The committee’s chairperson Herbert Bimphi yesterday confirmed meeting MOC officials on the matter over two weeks ago while Youth and Sports Minister Enoch Chihana said government is already in the process of addressing the malaise through a task force his ministry set up six months ago.

Since the introduction of multiparty politics in the country over two decades ago, physical education has been losing its place in local schools following government’s move to stop providing special funding and equipment for the subject.

But in the past, pupils used to have two-hour sessions of exercises at least three times a week from special physical education trainers. Pupils also contested in school athletics, football and netball competitions.

Nation on Sunday enquiries during the week also revealed that out of the 32 primary schools in the three education zones in Blantyre, namely Ndirande, Chilomoni and Zingwangwa, only four schools have sports grounds.

At Naotcha and St Pius primary schools in Zingwangwa Zone, their pitches were displaced by school blocks and a hall, respectively.

Kanjala noted that making physical education examinable in schools would not only improve standards of sports but also ensure healthier lives among youths who constitute about half of the country’s population.

He cited China as one of the countries that recently made a U-turn on negligence of physical education after noticing that the lifespan of a high percentage of intellectuals was shortened by lack of physical exercises.

“The Chinese government fast-tracked the introduction of physical education curriculums in the education system. This can as well work in Malawi,” he said.

Kanjala also said research has shown that the majority of Malawians have too much idle time which is recipe for many social ills.

“For a start, we need proper sporting facilities and recreation centres in all major centres of the country so that communities can access them at all times. MOC will continue to assist government to train sports managers, officers and coaches,” said Kanjala.

According to Chichiri Primary School sports master Bunnett Nanthambwe, the last time his school received a K50 000 special funding and teaching materials for physical education was over a decade ago.

He said he is one of the few teachers who still drill pupils in physical exercises at the school. He said most teachers stopped taking the subject seriously due to lack of motivation.

“In the past, government provided schools with sports equipment such as soccer balls and sports uniforms. As a result, teachers and pupils had interest in physical education. But now teachers have nowhere to start from.

“There is no way Malawi can do well in international competitions when our athletes do not start engaging in sports at primary school level,” Nanthambwe said.

But Bimphi assured that his committee would take MOC’s request to the august House for deliberation. He, however, said they would meet MOC officials again on August 12 so that the sports body “should clarify on certain areas” before the resolutions can be reported to Parliament.