The Ministry of Education is building new girls' schools with multi-purpose indoor halls that will allow girls to play sports. Fahd Al-Tayash, spokesman for the ministry, said the halls would be built at both boys' and girls' schools of all three educational levels, and also permit a variety of art and cultural activities. School sociologist Kharia Al-Olaian welcomed the announcement, saying that sports activities will benefit pupils both physically and mentally. “Sports can give schoolchildren the opportunity for a change and entertainment between classes and make school more interesting and enjoyable, meaning that students will take more interest in school which will serve to decrease absenteeism,” Al-Olaian said. “These sorts of activities also help pupils overcome excessive shyness and help them become more sociable and friendly. Sports are frequently used to treat psychological problems such as introversion,” she explained. According to Fawz Al-Tabakh of the King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Public Education Development Project, the ministry move will serve the interests of aspiring teachers. “There will be increased teacher training and appointments to meet the demand for PE teachers,” she said. School pupils themselves are enthusiastic. “Playing sports with my friends gives me more energy, and makes me more active in body and in mind,” said Alaa Mansour, an intermediate pupil in Jeddah. “It will help us focus better on our studies and allow pupils to expend excess energy during sports classes.” School pupil Salma Fahd described the announcement however as “better than nothing” and lamented the move as “a long-time coming”, saying that “physical exercise for girls had to come, as it helps us spend our free time on constructive activities”. Health specialists have repeatedly warned of the consequences of failing to take regular exercise. Speaking to Okaz newspaper this week, the Secretary General of the Saudi Society for Family and Public Khaled Bawakid said that 33.8 percent of Saudis do not engage in enough physical activity, resulting in numerous illnesses which could otherwise be avoided. “Regular exercise and healthy eating habits lower the rates of heart disease, hardening of the arteries, cancer, diabetes and blood pressure,” Bawakid said. “About 43.3 percent of Saudi females and 28.6 of Saudi males suffer from obesity, so we can expect an increase in chronic illnesses.” The ministry move may now help address some of those issues, but Dalal Kaky, a former school principal and director of the Women's Business Center at Assaiydah Fatmah Center, told Saudi Gazette that she would like to see it taken a step further with the provision of open
