South Africa
Naptosa slams suspension of contact sport at schools─── 15:07 Wed, 19 May 2021
The National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) has slammed the Department of Basic Education for its decision to suspend contact sports at schools.
The Council of Education Ministers (CEM) made the decision on Wednesday amid the rising number of Covid-19 infections.
Naptosa's Basil Manuel says there is a need for children to take part in sport at school.
"Unfortunately, we now have seen the circular and the circular just bans all contact sports, and we believe that it could have done better, and it could have done it sensitively.
"There are provinces that had no problem with this, and the reality is that we need activities in schools, children need to be outside breathing and doing more exercises.”
Manuel says some provinces did not deserve to have sports suspended due to a lower number of Covid-19 infections.
"Where we have a heightened problem, such as [what] we are experiencing now in Gauteng, that a short period where everybody has to stop participating, and then it is reassessed and run it again.
"Take for example, KwaZulu-Natal has had no infections in schools and it seems unfair that they have to stop and similarly, very little is happening in Western Cape and Eastern Cape."
