The Urgent Need For Physical Education in Saudi

The Saudi Minister of Education has half a point as relayed in this Saudi Gazette article. When it comes to Physical Education programs in Saudi schools, even boys schools aren’t very organized.

When it comes to girls schools, there’s no need for organization because there simply are no PE programs for girls in state schools.

I don’t see a fundamental need to get these programs running in boys schools before they’re addressed in girls schools, though. Every year that goes by without physical education is another year that leads to bad health habits. Girls don’t deserve to be delayed in living healthy lives until boys do. In fact, given the burden that early childbirth places on them, they need it more than the boys do.

Perhaps the Minister could re-read what he’s said, then re-think it. This is a problem time neither solves nor improves.

Minister: Too soon to talk about PE for girls ABHA:

Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah, Minister of Education, has said that it is “too soon to talk about physical education for girls when boys still don’t have it”. Speaking to Al-Watan Arabic daily, Prince Faisal said, however, that the ministry is considering “developing children’s sport”. “There is a project to develop the subject of physical education, led by Deputy Minister of Boys’ Education Khalid Al-Sabati,” he said. “It aims to improve the physical education skills of youngsters and give them more skills that generate good health and benefit for their minds and bodies. It is too early to go into physical education for girls while boys have not been given it.”

by Crossroads Arabia

Crossroads Arabia is written by a former US foreign service officer who has had two tours in Saudi Arabia, 1981-83, 2001-03, who reads and speaks Arabic and has spent the bulk of his career in the Middle East, with assignments in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Bahrain in addition to those in the KSA.

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