ID :
191681
Wed, 06/29/2011 - 08:05
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/191681
The shortlink copeid
All third-graders in Seoul to take swimming classes starting in 2012
SEOUL, June 29 (Yonhap) -- All third-grade elementary school students in Seoul will receive swimming lessons starting next year as part of a new policy to strengthen education in sports and culture, the city's education office said Wednesday.
The new program will be launched next year following a pilot run in selected elementary schools across the city in the fall semester, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) said.
Under the 2009 education curriculum, third-graders are required to take 12 hours of swimming classes per year, but many schools have neglected the rule or resorted to play sessions in the water, according to surveys. Only a third of 591 elementary schools in Seoul conducted proper swimming classes last year, of which more than 60 percent taught only one to four hours per year, the SMOE said.
Few schools are fitted with pools, making it difficult for schools to arrange classes. As of November, only 54 out of some 1,300 elementary, middle and high schools in Seoul had their own pools.
"We plan to build more pools inside schools in areas where there are few facilities compared to the total number of schools," said an SMOE official. "We will figure out the possible difficulties during next semester's test run and come up with solutions."
The new program will be launched next year following a pilot run in selected elementary schools across the city in the fall semester, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) said.
Under the 2009 education curriculum, third-graders are required to take 12 hours of swimming classes per year, but many schools have neglected the rule or resorted to play sessions in the water, according to surveys. Only a third of 591 elementary schools in Seoul conducted proper swimming classes last year, of which more than 60 percent taught only one to four hours per year, the SMOE said.
Few schools are fitted with pools, making it difficult for schools to arrange classes. As of November, only 54 out of some 1,300 elementary, middle and high schools in Seoul had their own pools.
"We plan to build more pools inside schools in areas where there are few facilities compared to the total number of schools," said an SMOE official. "We will figure out the possible difficulties during next semester's test run and come up with solutions."
