The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport yesterday laid out key measures for an ongoing overhaul of the country’s physical education curriculum.

The measures, announced by Sean Borat, a secretary of state at the ministry, during a seminar yesterday, included expansion of national competitions, renovation and development of infrastructure and strengthening of the country’s 47 sports associations, said ministry spokesman Ros Salin.

For example, officials were planning the first national competitions to include all provinces in sports such as volleyball, football and basketball in October, he said.

Aide et Action’s Lam Socheat, head of the Cambodian Consortium for Out-of-School Children, said students learned valuable skills, such as teamwork and how to socially interact through sports. “Learning through play is also important for the children,” he added.

The budget for physical education and sports this year was $14 million, which funded five programs, Salin said.

Schools would not be asked to expand physical education during school hours, Salin said. Instead they would be encouraged to implement sport activities after school or on weekends.

Meanwhile, the ministry yesterday announced changes to school hours during the remainder of the dry season to prevent students from falling ill as the country confronts a heat wave.

Morning classes will be from 7am to 10:30am and afternoon classes will be from 1:30pm to 5pm.