MUSCAT, Oct 9 - A symposium on ‘School Sports and Horizons of Quality’ was organised by the Ministry of Education, represented by Directorate-General of Human Resources Development, at the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) on Monday.
It was held under the auspices of Saad bin Mohammed al Mardouf al Saadi, Minister of Sports Affairs. Dr Madiha bint Ahmed al Shaibaniyah, Minister of Education, was also present.
The two-day event will see participation from teachers, school supervisors and sports specialists.
It also targets the public and private higher education institutions, Omani Olympic Committee, Omani sports associations and military sports associations. The symposium was aimed at exchanging local and international experiences on developing school sports facilities.
It will focus on school sports curriculum, professional development of sports teachers, recent trends in designing and construction, and deployment of sports facilities.
The opening session included the minister’s speech delivered by Dr Hamood Alharthi, Undersecretary for Education and Curriculum, Ministry of Education, followed by a screening of a documentary on school sports.
Ann MacPhail from the University of Limerick in Ireland, delivered the main paper titled ‘International Practices and Trends in Physical Education’. It was followed by a tour of an accompanying exhibition.
The first session included three papers. The first one, titled ‘School Sports in Sultanate of Oman’, was presented by Badr al Akhzami, Directorate-General of Human Resources Development. The second paper, titled ‘School Sports in the International Educational Programs’, was delivered by Amna al Farsi, Directorate-General of Private Schools. The third paper, titled ‘School Sports Curriculum Development and Quality Horizons’, was delivered by Daoud al Balushi, Directorate-General of Curriculum Development.
The second session included three papers. The first paper, presented by Dr Abdullah al Kharousi, Directorate-General of Curriculum Development, was on ‘Societal Partnership and its Role in Supporting School Sports’. The second paper, ‘School Sports Union’, was presented by Ahmed al Balushi, Oman Union for School Sports. Adel al Ghuzaili, a sports teacher in Muscat Governorate, presented the third paper, ‘Sports Library’.
The third and final session began with a paper titled ‘Physical Activity and Health’, presented by Dr Huda al Saibi, Ministry of Health. The second paper, ‘Developing Sports Facilities in Schools’, was presented by Riyadh al Hinai, Directorate-General of Projects and Maintenance.
The last paper, ‘Development and Vocational Development for School Sports Teachers’, was presented by Najlaa Mohammad Ibrahim, University of Nizwa. On the sidelines of the symposium, an exhibition of sports equipment and tools used at schools was organised.
Babar al Jabri, Thuraiya al Hosni
— Pic by Saif al Saadi
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