The National Audit Office noted that there had been a “positive shift” in the national agenda on physical education in schools. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Despite efforts to persuade parents not to discourage children from taking physical education lessons, little progress has been achieved over the last seven years amid fears that practising certain sports might be dangerous.

This conclusion emerged from a report carried by the National Audit Office, which analysed the level of implementation of a series of recommendations it made in 2010.

The NAO had carried out a performance audit on physical education and sport in State primary and secondary schools.

In its analysis, the Auditor commended the considerable efforts put in to implement a good number of the recommendations in the original study. It noted that there had been a “positive shift” in the national agenda on physical education in schools.

However, the follow-up report noted that, during the seven-year period that followed, the parents’ outlook on physical activities organised by schools remained “more or less the same”. Despite campaigns launched by State entity SportMalta, there were still worries that practising certain sports could be dangerous, the Audit Office pointed out.

Efforts to increase weekly hours dedicated to PE lessons

The report cites the reaction of the Education Ministry, which insisted that greater exposure to various sports activities had resulted in an increase in the participation rate of extra-curricular activities organised by SkolaSport, a dedicated national centre of excellent for sport run by the government.

The follow-up report flagged a shortage of standards regulating physical education in schools and a lack of specifications on facilities that should be in place.

This was creating a “vacuum” in the ministry’s drive to raise the level of physical education in State schools, the NAO said.

It also pointed out that consultation with the PE Department in the planning of new schools was not sufficient, which resulted in limited facilities.

Moreover, while noting an effort to raise weekly hours dedicated to PE lessons in certain grades, the Audit Office called on the ministry to expedite the process across the board in the wake of the fact that, in some cases, schools were still trailing behind.