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Ricky Zililo recently in Kariba
PLANS are at an advanced stage to incorporate Physical Education (PE) into the school curriculum, according to the deputy director of schools sport, physical education, arts and culture in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Tendai Tagara. Tagara, who is also the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (NAAZ) president, told participants at the Sports Leaders Institute of Zimbabwe (SLIZ) Summer Camp that ended on Sunday in Kariba that PE would be introduced as a subject in 2017.

He said the introduction of PE was part of the government’s plans to cultivate and nurture talent from the grassroot as well as to set career paths for children that are not gifted academically but are good in sport

“The introduction of PE as a subject is in line with the government’s Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset) which seeks to achieve sustainable development and social equity anchored on indigenisation, empowerment and employment creation. The sport industry is one of the biggest employers and education is the backbone of sport. Talent is identified and developed at schools hence the introduction of PE as a subject,” said Tagara.

“The PE curriculum is being crafted in a way that will motivate learners to prepare them to live life peacefully and manifest patriotism as they develop into sports stars. It is through platforms like SLIZ that sports directors will get a chance to share ideas so that they develop talent at their respective institutions.”

Tagara said the introduction of PE will see a rise in demand for coaches and encouraged some of the 262 delegates that attended the SLIZ workshop to capacitate themselves by attaining coaching certificates.

“There’s a myth that government doesn’t want sporting associations in schools, which is not true. Sporting associations have the rules and are abreast with the changes that occasionally occur in certain disciplines. We need to train youngsters in a way that they understand rules and can easily compete globally,” said Tagara.

The Soccer Coaches Union of Zimbabwe (SCUZ) was represented at the Kariba retreat by secretary-general Newsome Katema alongside Zifa’s coaches desk administrator Mike Ngore, who presented a paper on correct youth development. They discouraged schools against age-cheating, saying it was a cancer affecting the development of sport.

Schools, clubs and uniformed forces that attended the workshop were encouraged to get proper equipment to use in developing talent. SLIZ president Russell Mhiribidi said they had achieved their objectives of facilitating and providing a conducive environment for optimum growth and advancement of the nation’s sports leaders, with emphasis on capacity building and professional development in line with existing global trends.

“The major objective of this workshop, among others, was to ensure the effective and efficient teaching and participation in PE and sport by our schools. The role of PE in sport development of our nation was clearly defined. As SLIZ, we believe that participants now understand the basic fundamentals of PE,” said Mhiribidi.

Organisers were overwhelmed with the response that surpassed the 200 participant target by 67. SLIZ was established in 2013 and their first camp in July 2014 was at Mazvikadei resort near Banket in Mashonaland West province. The inaugural Winter Camp had five participants with the November 2014 Summer Camp attracting 44 participants in Nyanga.

In July this year, 70 participants attended the Winter Camp at the Matopos National Park.