Gayton McKenzie Looking To Bring Back Physical Education as a Subject

• The Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, announced that the department will be prioritising physical education
• he said some of the budget allocated to various programmes within the Department of Sports, Aerts and Culture would focus on fostering a sports culture in schools
• South Africans cheered for him and praised the initiative, listing some of the benefits that school children would receive

With over seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News, Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist, offered insights into South African politics, national, provincial and local governance, political parties and election dynamics.

WESTERN CAPE, CAPE TOWN—The Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, said the department will focus on making sports available to underprivileged schools.

Gayton McKenzie tables department budget vote

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McKenzie delivered his maiden speech before the Portfolio Committee on Sports, Arts and Culture in Parliament. He tabled the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture's budget vote before the committee and announced the department's intention to develop sports in underprivileged schools. @ParliamentofRSA tweeted the session's live stream.

McKenzie said that only 8% of children in South Africa who are at a school-going age are involved in school sports. He gave credit to the former minister Zizi Kodwa for developing a comprehensive blueprint for school sports to be developed.

"We will be reaching out to the Department of Basic Education to bring back physical education as a stand-alone subject at school. We must take (the comprehensive blueprint for school sports) forward with a new delivery model to be implemented," he said.

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View the session here:

South Africans support McKenzie's initiative

Netizens commenting on @SportsArtsCultur's tweet were on board with McKenzie's initiative.

Just Musa said:

"This is a great initiative. Hope it comes with revamping sports infrastructure in public schools."

NaGA said:

"I love this, Minister of Sports. Learners must play sports in all schools, including soccer and different sporting codes."

Romario Strauss said:

"This is great news for us sports graduates. Hopefully we'll get more jobs and opportunities in our field of study and elevate the country's sport."

Eugene Christopher said:

"Lord Gayton is cooking."

Miss MK was impressed.

"This is good to hear."

Department publishes list of COVID-19 grant beneficiaries

In a similar article, Briefly News reported that the Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture published a list of artists who benefited during the pandemic.

The list covered the artists who applied for and received grants during the COVID-19 pandemic after McKenzie promised to publicise the list earlier on X.

Source: Briefly News