Introduce swimming at basic school level - UG coach advocates

Swimming Coach and Head of Fitness and wellness Section at the University of Ghana Sports Directorate; Daniel Opare Okyere has called for the introduction of swimming into the basic school curriculum.

This follows the death of Nicholas Atteh, a level 100 student at the University of Ghana, who drowned after he attempted to swim at a depth of 21 feet in the university’s pool on Saturday, January 29, 2022.

Speaking to UniversNews, Mr. Opare Okyere called for every Ghanaian to take swimming seriously.

He said that as swimming is a necessity for enrollment in many American schools, Ghanaians should also include it in the basic school curriculum.

“It is one thing, I personally think that we should have done a long time ago. We live in a world where about 70 to 80 percent is water. Swimming is something each and every individual must take seriously. It is part of the curriculum of a lot of American Schools, you need to sometimes pass swimming tests before you get to high school so I think it is something we should introduce into our curriculum.,” he said.

The Minister for Education Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum has outlined a number of educational reforms, including introducing the first Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Schools, a new curriculum for basic schools, and Gifted and Talented Education schools for very gifted students to be well-groomed.

With all these new education policies, is it time for the Government to introduce swimming into the basic school curriculum?

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