DUBAI // There is more to physical education than gym sessions and games of football, schools chiefs were told yesterday.
Schools need to focus on educating children about physical activity to help their physical, mental and social development, a senior health official said.
"Physical education and physical activity are different. Activity is exercising your muscles. Physical education is taught in class … and it should be in the curriculum," said Dr Fathia Hatim Al Mazmi, head of health promotion and public health and safety at Dubai Health Authority.
"Some schools, they just teach football. There is no education."
The authority proposes standardising physical education in schools to encompass both activity and studies. The programme, which is still under consideration, coud be introduced in every school in Dubai depending on the results of a survey carried out in December.
"The survey, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Dubai Statistics centre, was conducted across all government and private schools in Dubai to access the levels of physical activity in schools, to identify gaps as well as understand successful physical activity initiatives," said Dr Al Mazmi.
The aim is to develop of standard guidelines for physical activity and education.
Schoolchildren should have an hour of physical activity a day and four or five classroom-taught hours a week, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States recommend.
Schools in Dubai should merge the two - education and activity - in the PE class, said Dr Al Mazmi, and physical education should be compulsory.
"Children, they like PE classes. They are fun and joyful. They like it more than physics, chemistry or maths classes, so let us combine these things."
Last year, the Ministry of Education increased the number of PE classes in primary and secondary schools to three and two a week respectively.
Dubai has had problems in the past with physical education in schools. Last November, the Ministry of Education revealed that about 100 schools in Dubai and the Northern Emirates had no PE teachers.
In addition, some private schools offer their own curriculum.
Without a standard unified system in place, some schoolchildren are not receiving adequate attention. "We are currently tabulating the results and, based on our findings and recommendations, we will formulate a comprehensive action plan to improve physical activity and education in schools," says Dr Al Mazmi.
Abdullah Ibrahim, a PE teacher at Omar bin Al Khattab Model School in Deira for the past seven years, said it was important that youngsters were made aware of why they should be exercising, but a classroom may not be the best place to get through to them.
"In our schools, mostly in each class, we have a minimum of four to five kids who are overweight. Many have diabetes."
Mr Ibrahim said educating pupils would reduce the long-term risks of developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, all of which can result from being overweight, but this should not be taught in class.
"The kids, they sit in class the whole day. They have only one or two PE classes in a week so it is unfair to keep them in the class and teach them about this and that."
The information should also not be delivered in a rigorous format, said Michael Lambert, a Canadian father whose children attend Dubai American Academy.
"I think it's a good thing. My eldest boy, who is 7, would be able to absorb most if not all of it. My younger boy, who just turned 6, there's no way he would absorb it."
Mr Ibrahim said: "You can give a lecture, but not in the class. You can take them outside, you can give them five minutes in the playground, and then you start the game [gym class]."
Sitting in the confines of a classroom might result in children not paying attention to the information being given to them because "they are so hyper to go outside to play", he said.
zalhassani@thenational.ae
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
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Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
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Investors: Eight first-round investors including, Beco Capital, 500 Startups, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Hala Fadel, Odin Financial Services, Dubai Angel Investors, Womena, Arzan VC
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Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013