Students in 120 classes in Serbia will receive two additional hours of physical education from September. It is about the Pilot Project "Every child has the right to live healthy!", in which 100 elementary school classes will attend physical education classes five times a week, and high school students in 20 classes will have physical education four times a week.
The Ministry of Education is talking about a very important project.
"Physical activities and playing sports at school age are one of the most important factors influencing proper development and growth, as well as the overall development of the student's personality, and that is why we pay special attention to improving the physical abilities and motor skills of students," said State Secretary Marijana Dukić Mijatović.
An analysis by the World Federation for Obesity found that even seven out of eleven children in Serbia are at risk of obesity.
Department selection process
70 classes of the first cycle (from the first to fourth grade) and 30 classes of the second cycle (from the fifth to the eighth grade), as well as 20 classes in secondary schools, will participate in this project.
It has not yet been precisely stated which schools are in question, or more precisely, whether this project applies only to schools in Belgrade or not. The Ministry of Education plans to select schools and form working groups that will prepare programs and materials for additional physical education classes, as well as determine the directions of the program.
This project was created as part of the cooperation between the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Sports and the Ministry of Health. The plan of the ministries is that from the school year 2024/2025. year, all schools in Serbia have more physical education classes.
More physical education classes
As stated Euronews Serbia, the union of physical education teachers at the beginning of this year submitted an initiative to increase the number of physical education classes for students. Since physical education classes in the lower grades are taught only by teachers, it was suggested that physical education teachers be hired as well.
On the other hand, the Association of Teachers of Serbia says that the students would be overburdened by increasing the number of lessons. Likewise, if the teachers were to take over the physical education classes, the teacher's lesson fund could be reduced.
How others do it
In Poland, in February of this year, it was announced that students aged 10 and up will take the so-called physical fitness tests, which are mandatory for every child.
Every year, Slovenian students take fitness tests, on the basis of which it is determined whether there is an improvement in the health and physical fitness of the youngest.
According to the Slovenian media, children's fitness is increasing every year, but the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their physical activities still remains.
AB/Euronews Serbia
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