Play and sport may be incorporated in education policy

Islamabad
The Ministry of Education and Professional Training will recommend the incorporation of play and sporting in the National Education Policy 2015 and advocate that all four provinces devise a policy to place sport and play on their education agendas.
A pledge to this effect was made by Minister of State for Education and Professional Training Baligh-Ur-Rehman while speaking as chief guest at a ceremony organised by Right To Play here on Monday in connection with International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP). The minister also appreciated Right To Play’s efforts to promote quality education by working in 650 government schools of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh.
“IDSDP 2015 offers an opportunity for Pakistan to join the international movement and recognise sport and play as a fundamental right of a child as endorsed by United Nations Convention on the Right of Child,” the country manager of Right To Play Iqbal Jatoi stated on the occasion.
Right To Play also shared a policy brief for policy-makers; the brief contained recommendations on bringing health and physical education on priority education agenda in Pakistan. The recommendations, which were read out by Iqbal Jatoi, are: mandatory playgrounds/play spaces in educational institutions; more budgetary allocations for physical education in schools; revision of the health and physical education curriculum; training and capacity building of physical education teachers; and revival of physical education at the primary school level.
The event also featured screening of a video message by Wilfried Lemke for IDSDP 2015. The message urged governments, civil society and development agencies to “continue joining efforts to firmly place sport in policies and programmes relating to education, health development and peace consolidation.” A special representative from UNESCO Pakistan read the special message of Irina Bokova, Director General of Unesco for IDSDP 2015.
The programme was followed by three panel sessions to generate debate around the role of sport for quality education, social cohesion and peace and women empowerment/development. Dr. Haroona Jatoi, member of the advisory committee on education, Prof. Rafique Tahir, joint education advisor, Ministry of Education, Sehar Tariq, United States Institute of Peace and Zulfiqar Khan, DCTE Government of KP, were the panelists for the first session. Former cricketer Majid Khan, former hockey Olympian Mansoor Ahmed and former captain of the national women’s hockey team Sehrish Ghuman were the panelists for the second session while human rights activist Tahira Abdullah, news anchor Shabnum Riaz, and development consultant and psychologist. Zehra Kamal moderated the third session.