Building a solid foundation and career pathway through school sport was the theme of the three day School Sport Indaba recently held at Mphekweni Beach Resort hosted by the Eastern Cape Department of Education in collaboration with the Eastern Cape Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture.
Opening the Indaba officially, MEC for Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Xoliswa Tom congratulated the two departments for working together for the benefit of an “African Child”.
“The theme of this Indaba realises the fact that school sport is not a ‘just by the way’ programme but is about making sure that as part of learner development we adhere to the principle of totality namely the development of learners mentally, spiritually, socially and physically,” added Tom.
Tom went on to urge departmental officials and educators to refrain from bringing personal agendas and ambitions to school sport.
“It is high time we keep our roles and responsibilities in mind and in terms of this programme,” advised Tom.
She added that departmental officials should stick to facilitating and creating conducive environment for the delivery of quality school sport programs while educators should fasten organising, coordinating and managing school sport programs and teams.
Themba Kojana from the Department of Basic Education said that the collaboration of these two departments has achieved to inform the government of its roles and responsibilities.
“As a result of this 270 educators will go for training on physical educations,” said Kojana.
Kojana also urged departmental officials to provide transport for teachers to do their jobs smoothly so that school sport can be sent back to educators.
Amongst the topics which were discussed was the issue of funding and resource mobilisation. In this issue Mveleli Ncula a representative from Lotto explained the process of accessing funds from Lotto to educators. He said that Eastern Cape schools are clueless when it comes to applying for these funds and most of the times they submit incomplete applications which are then rejected.
“It is so painful to find that our schools are suffering while other provinces are progressing through Lotto funding,” said Ncula.
He added that because of this problem Lotto has decided to open a local office in East London that will have someone who will help educators with applications.
“I would like to appeal to the two departments to help us with personnel to speed up the process,” pleaded Ncula.
In his closing remarks, Education MEC Mahlubandile Qwase said the Eastern Cape Education Department is making strides in reviving the interest of educators in school sport.
“We understand that educators are no longer residing where they teach and so after school they have to rush to town, which is why we are busy discussing to bring back hostels in schools so that there is enough time for educators and learners to practice sport,” said Qwase.
Qwase advised educators to instil the principle of respect in learners when it comes to the importance of National Anthem.
“We are so fortunate to have lived in this era as we are going to experience the 2010 FIFA World Cup, so it is very important to teach learners the National Anthem and sing it in our school games” said Qwase.
He added that educators should utilise sport legends in their communities for coaching and sport related issues.
Issued by: Department of Education, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
26 February 2010
Source: Department of Education, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
(http://www.ecdoe.gov.za/)
