With this Covid after effects, a number of schools are eyeing at dropping sports to concentrate much on academies with the aim of covering the lost time Aten by lockdown of at least two years.
And many of other schools never took sports as a serious issue taking it as a luxury and minor to child development.
The government through Ministry of Education and Sports, on new curriculum, Physical Education is a must to all schools.
Basing on that background, the Uganda Netball Federation President, Hon. Babirye Kityo Sarah while attending the Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Association Annual General Meeting held at Old Kampala SS on Friday, asked government to issue a circular to all schools that has its licenses to embrace sports like they do to academics.
Kityo asserts that God blessed every person with a unique talent that needs to be developed and not all people do excel through academics as some schools may want the public to think.
Babirye gave this information to the Commissioner Physical Education Canon Duncans Mugumya who represented the State Minister for Sports Hon Hamson Obua at the AGM.
“I thank the government for the efforts they put in promoting the game, but there is one humble request that I do want to front for the government to do for us” Outspoken Netball Leader said before adding….
“We need a circular as a country from the ministry of education and sports, there at those schools with government licences but they don’t have anything to do with sports development in the lives of these kids.”
I want to ask the ministry to please take this serious, we have so many people who are successful in life not because they are professors but because they are talented, the likes of Kiprotich, Netball we have Peace Proscovia, the Mary Nuba, at her age, she is an icon in world Netball, you can’t mention the best on continent and don’t list her but she doesn’t have a PhD.
“I think we need to be kind enough and appreciate God, we [Federations] work with government and schools to find a way of developing and identifying the talents of these kinds such that we help them grow and become useful to our country.“
In his reply, the Commissioner Physical Education in Ministry, Canon Rev. Duncans Mugumya says that the law is already in place and the schools that doit so are breaking it.
Duncans Mugumya
“The law is there, allowing these student to freely participate in Sports, people who are doing it, they are breaking the law…, otherwise as a ministry, we encourage all schools whether private or for government to allow Students be in sports.”
“About the circular, we are going to put it up to help the headteachers knows, am going to tell the PS to make sure that we do the needful. Since we are reminded, we are going also to work hand in hand with the leadership of districts, we get the report about those schools that don’t participate in any sport.
Meanwhile, the USSSA AGM passed all the constitution amendments, and one of the issues at hand was the Association to become a company and to have a secretariat.
The USSSA president, Patrick Okanya also highlighted the challenges they faced as an Association.
“There’s definitely a challenge because a number of children have not been practicing because of the lockdown and so there’s a bit of detroition in talent but we are optimistic our children will deliver.”
On the issue of age, Okanya also stated that this year they have adjusted on their rules to cater for the lost year and this time they will do U-21 instead of U-20
“We lost two years and logically we were meant to do U-22 for this year but the good thing among those who were affected there’s a group that did there exams, so it’s means we have lost one. This means we are going to adjust our rules to cater for that lost year, so that we do U-21 to avoid a situation whereby students are in school and ineligible to participate in school activities.”
Said Okanya.
The AGM also passed a budget of 4.3bn shillings for the year 2022.