What game do you play? That is a common question that every child in school should have an answer to. As a student I played cricket and rugby while others took on football, cricket or tennis. This week Education Times embarked on a journey to establish the challenges faced in ensuring that all students embrace sports. This comes a few weeks after the Education Ministry had sent a directive to schools to ensure that on Saturdays, all students partake in some form of physical games or drills to ensure their fitness. Physical fitness should not be taken for granted because there is enough scientific research to confirm that a healthy mind can only exist in a healthy body. And by healthy we are not merely referring to anyone who is not in hospital. We are living in an era of fast foods, video games, internet addictions and so many other causes of obesity and ill health and if we do not nurture the culture of healthy living in our schools then we are poisoning the society in general. Sports matters should not be for the chosen few on the school team but all students because they all deserve to live healthy and fit. However there is a huge challenge of sports facilities and government ought to come to the support of schools to ensure that schools have sports grounds that students can utilise. More time and incentives should also be accorded to sports so that it is not left as a by the way but a core activity of the school programmes. More importantly more girls should be encouraged to take part in sports as well. There ought to be more competitions between schools as this tends to create the necessary competitive spirit that drives sports worldwide.
