Despite the long hours spent at their desks, children also need to be active. Although physical activity is a prerequisite for a healthy lifestyle for both young and old, this should be fostered from an early age.
This was the message that the Physical Education Section of the Education Division sought to deliver last month when it organised an Inter-College Sports Festival for Year 1, 2, 3 and 4 schoolchildren at the Cottonera Sports Complex, and for Year 5, 6 and 7 at the Marsa Sports Grounds.
The sports days ran over a period of five weeks, and for the first time, all schoolchildren - around 15,000 - took part for at least three hours of activity. The aim was to celebrate sports and encourage children to take up an activity as part of their lifestyle. Also for the first time, no competitions were held.
Renzo Galea, a PE teacher within the PE Section of the Education Division, believes that at primary level, the emphasis should be more on participation, rather than competition. "As a parent I would be happier if my child came home asking me to start a new sport rather than coming back home with a medal won during a sports festival!" he said.
He said the approach to sport should be a holistic one. "Physical education, rather than sport, is an integral part of the curriculum. If we had to focus on the children developing at their full potential, being physically educated is very important. A child is not fully educated if he/she doesn't know his/her body well, and how well it can perform in different types of sport activities.
"The children were grouped according to colleges. This meant that they were practising sport activities together with their future schoolmates whom they will meet in one or two years' time in secondary school."
Joseph Cassar, secretary general of the Malta Olympic Committee and a peripatetic PE teacher, said one of the aims of the committee and the various sport associations is to disseminate the culture of physical education, a healthy lifestyle and Olympic values.
He recalled that until 1995, sports days used to be held annually with the participation of a few students from every school who would take part in races such as three-legged races and flat races, sack races and so on.
"In 1995, after a request by the Maltese Olympic Committee, the Education Ministry had put together a ministerial committee chaired by myself, to study physical education in primary and secondary schools. A number of proposals were put into action, such as organising regional sports days instead of national ones, thus allowing a growing number of students per school to participate. The number increased progressively throughout the years until this year we have been able to host around 15,000 state primary schoolchildren.
"Another proposal was the introduction of a SEC exam in physical education. Students intending to sit for the exam became entitled to more lessons on the subject. More PE peripatetic teachers were employed and later on, activity teachers with different working conditions were also employed during hours extending beyond 2.30 p.m.," he explained.
It was therefore very encouraging for the committee to receive positive replies from over 20 national associations to offer their time and equipment and to participate in these sports days. The experience was a huge success, highly praised by the students and their teachers.
"All children were exposed to hours of fun and education, and an array of different sport disciplines. They could try out many activities, from which they could later choose the sport which gave them most satisfaction or the sport they discovered they were good at.
"This activity also helped the coaches from the several associations to learn how to present the sport to children, which entails a different approach to that of adults. In fact, PE teachers helped coaches from the national federations to assure that the latter's approach was appropriate to the respective age group."
Mr Cassar also urged parents to encourage their children to be more active and to enrol them in sport clubs.
The Inter-College Sports Festival was made possible with the help of PE teachers, the Maltese Olympic Committee and over 20 national sports associations and clubs, Euchar Camilleri on behalf of the Ministry of Education, and with the support of Education Division director general Cecilia Borg and education officer Louise Cutajar Davis.