More recreational spaces for school children

GINA, GUYANA, Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Schools across the country will soon benefit from adequate recreational spaces through government’s ground enhancement programme because a number of schools are cramped for recreational space.

Steps have already been taken by the Ministry of Education through the Department of Culture Youth and Sport to make the necessary provisions. This was disclosed by Director of Sport, Christopher Jones in an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA.)

“Where there are schools without adequate ground space, we will identify a space within that catchment area and upgrade that, so that children from various schools can use that space,” Jones explained.

The identification of recreational spaces is completed in Georgetown. The process is ongoing in Region Six and will continue across the country, the Sports Director said. Once all the grounds have been identified, they will be funded through the ground enhancement fund as early as January 2017.

Some of the schools expected to benefit immediately are Christ Church Secondary, St. John’s Secondary, St. George’s Secondary and St. Margaret’s Primary. Jones explained that, “we will spend monies on Parade Ground to ensure that we bring it up to a standard of which the kids can use.”

Additionally, the ground at the North Ruimvedlt Multilateral Secondary School will also be upgraded to facilitate East Ruimvedlt and other schools in the vicinity. The rehabilitation of the grounds is an initiative by government to formally reintroduce sports into the curriculum of schools nationwide.

Minister within the Ministry of Education, Department of Culture, Youth and Sport Nicolette Henry in an interview with GINA said that providing coaches will be part of the process of reintegrating sports into the schools’ curriculum.

The provision of grounds and coaches are a part of government’s effort to ensure that students become well rounded individuals.