OBESITY among school going children can be banished into the doldrums only if the Department of Education brings physical education back into the school curriculum.
This is the view of Nokuthula Zwane, manager of access to sport at Nike Africa. She was speaking during an interview with Alex News soon after the launch of their Butterflies Physical Activity programme at the Altrek Sports Ground.
This is a programme funded by Nike with the proceeds from the sport brand’s WE RUN Jozi race, which was hosted in October 2012, and was run through the streets of Alexandra and into neighbouring Sandton. The Butterflies Physical Activity was introduced into the Alexandra schools’ curriculum by the Gauteng Department of Education.
The programme was introduced to pupils at MC Weiler, Dr Knak, Iphutheng, Emfundisweni and Bovet primary schools, and is a partnership between Nike and Grassroots Soccer, the University of Johannesburg and the Gauteng Department of Education.
As children of Alexandra schools settle in for the new term, they will be excited to learn that the programme, which piloted a year ago in five schools in Alexandra, will now be extended to all 12 primary schools.
More than 500 children aged seven to 12 have already participated in the project, which is aimed at reversing the physical inactivity epidemic among school-going children.
“We hope, through this programme, to banish obesity in our children which tends to lead to many lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and so forth,” Zwane said.
“The removal of physical education from the South African curriculum 15 years ago has resulted in our children growing increasingly inactive.
“[This] announcement is a unified commitment to help transform our inactive youth into a thriving, healthy and moving generation, starting with Alex.
“Our curriculum also aligns with the foundation phase of physical education programming and the Curriculum Assessment Policy statement of the Department of Education,” said Gauteng’s deputy director general for education, Vuyani Mpofu.
Zwane said at the launch, “The programme is a collective effort from our partners, and importantly the running community who contributed through participating in our races, [to] help prepare our children for the future.”
Alex Butterflies, which is managed by professional coaches, seeks to inspire children to be physically active, and to develop children holistically through the introduction of running in a fun and safe environment. Zwane said integrating physical activity into the school day helps children learn, focus and grow.
