DoSBSE supremo firm on school sports revival

Thursday, February 19, 2009
Sac races are enjoying a comeback as school sports days are being revived after years of decline.

The secretary of state for Basic and Secondary Education, Mrs Fatou Lamin Faye said her department is committed to ensuring that schools are given an opportunity to engage in sport next year following the successful hosting of the Independence athletics sports championships on Wednesday.

Presenting the winner prizes at the end of the Western Region-dominated Championship, SoS Fatou Lamin Faye said she is committed to seeing sports being revived in schools countrywide.

She said the short-coming in this year’s event would be improved upon come next year. “We have had it this year after losing it for so many years. From this year’s event, we have learnt that there are other things to be done  and we will try to improve on them next year. The organisation was not bad but there is much to be done,” said SoS Faye. In the light of this, the Basic and Secondary education supremo said schools can look forward to similar Championships being held  in the coming years.

The reversal of the trend was also welcomed by the secretary of state for Youth and Sports Mr Sheriff Gomez who believes that a close collaboration between his department state and the department state for Basic & Secondary Education will go a long way in reviving a waning interest in sport in schools.

According to  Mr Gomez, the revival of sporting activities would not only enable the country to discover young talents who would carry the banners of the country in global sporting events, but also develop the students academically and socially. The mid-week championship, which gathered regions to compete in various field and track events, saw the Region Two team swim in pool of trophies as its athletes confirmed their supremacy over their opponents.

Matida Mbye, Regional Director of Region Two said the secrete behind their success was regular training and maximum discipline. She hinted that her region will do its utmost best to retain the trophy come next year.

Author: By Nanama Keita