Secretary for Education wants to include students with disabilities in school sports - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Educação e dos Assuntos Culturais

The Regional Secretary for Education and Cultural Affairs, Sofia Ribeiro, presented a proposal to promote the participation of students with disabilities in school sports activities.

The announcement was made at the Regional Sports Council, which brings together representatives of all regular education schools and public schools taking part in sports activities.

"We have called on the members of the Council to consider the participation of students with motor, visual, hearing and even mental impairments in school sports," she explained.

In this context, the Secretary for Education said it was necessary to adapt "the regulations of games and activities to take into consideration, in their classification stages, different criteria, according to the different functional levels of these students."

During the meeting, the government official announced the intention to implement "a transparent and uniform system for the reduction of teaching hours" so that Physical Education teachers "can plan school sports activities," with this school year serving as a "preparatory year."

"The proposal for this year consists of assessing the interest of each school in the activities and dynamics of the games, also verifying the number of participating students," she explained.

Sofia Ribeiro also stressed the joint efforts with the Regional Secretariat for Health and Sport, through a "series of activities and initiatives." They intend to "evaluate the ability level of students and their physical condition," such as the Awakening project, and other activities that aim to potentiate "the competition level of school sports," such as the From Zero to the Olympic Games project.

"On the one hand, we contribute to healthy living habits and, on the other hand, we also boost quality and competitiveness in sport," she stressed.

The Regional Council for School Sports was chaired for the first time by the Regional Director for Education and Educational Administration. It was previously under the responsibility of the Sports Department.