Physical education is not a top priority in many Western Cape schools, partly because it has no teachers charged with this task, but this is likely to change.
Students in the Sport Management Department have been rolling out physical education programmes that they developed at local primary schools as part of their Service-Learning project.
The programmes were aimed at bringing the learners closer together, improving their knowledge and understanding of the importance of sports,
The project’s feedback session, which was held on the Mowbray Campus recently, was attended by the affected schools’ principals and Life Orientation teachers, CPUT staff and students as well as officials from the Western Cape Education Department.
Desmond Jackson from the Department of Community Engagement and Work-Integrated Learning said CPUT assists students with transport to take them to the schools where they worked.
Wade Cupido was part of the group of students who designed a fitness programme for Grade 3 learners at Belthorn Primary School.
“The programme involved a lot of running, competitive exercises, agility exercises, quick reaction and balance exercises and hand-eye co-ordination exercises,” says Wade.
Dr Sharhidd Taliep, a lecturer in the Sport Management Department, said that while there is a need for schools to offer physical education to their learners few schools have the resources or expertise to competently implement it.
“This is particularly true in underprivileged schools who often do not have physical education teachers,” says Taliep.
“Therefore in order to bridge this need, Sport Management 3rd year students completed a community engagement with primary schools in partnership with the Western Cape Education Department.
The students were required to assist in the evaluation and training of the physical fitness of children in underprivileged primary schools.
“The project was extremely successful and it brought joy to the children who received individual attention from CPUT students during the project and the students also received invaluable experience and skills assisting them in developing their portfolio as their will soon be entering the workplace.”
The principals and teachers of the schools who benefited from the project gave raving reviews of CPUT students’ work at their schools.
