Imbibe Positive Values through Sports, Students Told

Uchechukwu Nnaike

Students of the Federal Science and Technical College (FSTC), Yaba, Lagos have been advised to be pragmatic, tactful, disciplined and tolerant, which can be achieved through engaging in sporting activities.

The Director, Technology and Science Department, Fedeal Ministry of Education, Mrs. Tina Eyaru, who gave the advice at the 47th annual inter-house sports competition of the college, added that these values would help them to succeed in their technical institution where practical training and experience are emphasised.

She added that sporting activities greatly help to balance physical and emotional well-being. “They enhance balanced psychological and psycho activities. Helping a child to grow and develop to become a total man can be achieved through involvement in regular sports activities.”

Also highlighting the importance of sports, the Director, Basic and Secondary Education in the ministry, Alhaji Mohammed Karage, he said it impacts positively on the health of the competitors, adding, “irrespective of our status, age or academic class, our health must be adequately enhanced through engaging in physical activities and this programme affords us that opportunity.”

He added that over the years, sports competitions have been a potent tool for the discovery and grooming of talents especially at this level of the country’s sports development.

In her remarks, the acting Principal of the college, Mrs. Jane Nwanah stated that sports helps the youths to channel excess energies to useful and benefitting activities. “To achieve enviable heights in life, discipline is needed. Sports encourages this through the enforcement of sports rules and regulations that must be obeyed to win in any competition,” she said.

While highlighting some of the school’s achievements in sports, she urged the competing students to put up their best to be good enough for the cherished gold medals. “In competitions of this nature, we must have winners and losers. Winning or losing is not the issue but being able to relish the joy of participating. To the winners, be modest in victory. Losers take heart but do not lose hope. Go back to the drawing board with determination to succeed next time.”

Also speaking, the Chairman of the occasion, Hon. Fatai Ayoola stressed that wholesome education looks to harness not only the academic capabilities of students, but also to improve and sharpen their psycho-motor domain. He therefore urged the students to take their sporting activities seriously in order to realise an all-round development.

On her part, the Head of Sports Department at the school, Mrs. Mary Fatoye said sporting activities help students to refresh their brains after the day’s academics activity. She also urged them to imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship; to win gracefully and to lose without losing hope, but with the determination to put in more work.