The Head of School, Juniper Hill School, Surulere, Lagos, Mrs. Ajibike Bakare, has called stakeholders in the education sector to incorporate sports in the curriculum.
Bakare, who spoke to journalists at the 2022 sports day of the school, titled, ‘Soaring to greatness,’ explained that It was very important to create a link between sports and academics.
“As a lawyer and child advocate, to have a balanced and healthy environment, we must incorporate sports into our curriculum. It’s very important that we create a link between sports and academics.
“We ensure our school participates in interschool sporting competitions. We go to other schools to compete and participate in sporting activities with them. We want them to have a new feeling of being in a new sporting environment and be able to compete with their sporting peers. And they also come to our school here to do the same. We facilitate and encourage sports at the primary level, and these children who have the potential will want to continue in that direction in the course of their secondary education. We are into various sports including Taekwondo which is quite rare in some schools.
She also advised parents to help children discover their sports talents, adding that they should be supported too.
Bakare said, “Parents should be supportive by helping their wards realise their full sporting potential. The fact that they are not interested in sports do not mean that they should now discourage or kill the sporting talents in their children by not helping them develop, nurture and maximise them. It’s important they give the total support they need in becoming who and what they want to become. It is in this country that most parents see sports as a waste of time or when they see their children displaying or showing interest in sports they talk down on them.
“They think that their children are too playful when they are doing sports or when they are playing football with their peers. Such children who show unrelenting interest and potential in one sport or the other should be encouraged and supported at the elementary level up until the secondary level and who knows, such a child may end up becoming a professional if properly mentored, monitored and followed through.“
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