By Jonathan Paoli
Basic Education Deputy Minister Reginah Mhaule and Sports, Arts, and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie visited the Job Rathebe Senior Secondary School in Soweto, to present the school with a multipurpose sports field, aiming to enrich the students’ extracurricular activities.
The departments in partnership with Orlando Pirates, Nedbank and The Sports Trust commemorated the handover of a Multipurpose Sport Court on Monday as the first constructive step in implementing the drive to reintroduce sports into public schools.
It follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the departments last week. It is a framework between the two departments to implement extracurricular programmes, including school sports programmes, throughout the country.
The Orlando Pirates Football Club, who are champions of the 2024 Nedbank Cup, chose the school as the recipient of the field, due to a legacy of former students who have been selected to play for professional teams.
“This project will help improve school sports, supporting the objectives outlined in the recently signed Implementation Protocol on School Sports, Arts, and Culture,” Mhaule said.
McKenzie addressed the recent criticisms regarding previous government initiatives, especially concerning sports in public schools, saying it was actions and not paperwork that remained important in transforming schools.
“People say you are not the first one to sign a MOU. You can sign a million MOUs. I am an action man. Sport is not coming back, it is already back,” he said.
He thanked the Basic Education Department for being a partner in driving transformation within the country’s schools.
McKenzie said the agreement was a vital first step in unlocking talent and boosting transformation in both sport and the arts. It was also key to transforming South African sport to ensure that as many schools as possible gain access to similar kinds of facilities, coaching and equipment.
“For too long, South Africa’s national teams have relied on private schools as talent-feeders, which, while valuable, does not represent the full potential of this country,” McKenzie said.
The MOU is expected to materialise in a manner where facilities are built for numerous schools to be able to share and benefit from them.
McKenzie has been vocal about reviving sports in schools, particularly in rural areas, to give pupils equal opportunities and ensure representation in national teams.
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