Lyceum incorporates swimming into syllabus
View(s):Lyceum International School has taken steps to include swimming into its syllabus as a school subject, in stark contrast to what government schools are doing in Sri Lanka.
Nishantha Perera, swimming instructor of Lyceum International School, Nugegoda
A senior officer of the Ministry of Education said that this is the first time a sport has been added to a school syllabus as a subject in Sri Lanka. He added that no government school has done so simply because the Ministry of Education does not make room for a sport to be included in the syllabus.
“In the current school syllabus, students are given a description of sports in the Health Science subject. But sport was never considered a practical subject,” hesaid.
Nishantha Perera, swimming instructor of Lyceum International School, Nugegoda said that swimming will be taught as a subject from Grade One in four steps at the school and other branches too are following the procedure.
Nishantha is a swimming instructor with a Grade III certificate from American swimming experts. “We have a very clear plan at Lyceum International School,” he said. “Swimming is a school subject from Grade one to five. Students will get marks for their performances in the pool and that will be added to their report cards”, Nishantha said. Lyceum International School, Nugegoda, became runners up at the Inter-International Schools Swimming Championship last year after winning the championship on many occasions.
Nishantha, who has also served as an assistant swimming instructor for the Sri Lanka national swimming team, further stated that they failed to win the championship due to the non-participation of five top swimmers last year.
Lyceum swimming team
Their top swimmers, Senal Senanayake, Binupa Nanayakkara, Lasath Gamage, Dashan and Damindu Costa could not turn up for the meet due to various reasons.
He also predicted that these swimmers will soon reach the national level too.
“Most students give up the sport when they reach higher grades and start concentrating on their studies. Despite the fact that we have no choice on their decisions, it is huge drawback to maintain our levels in the meet,” Nishantha said.
“As a swimming coach, I really thank the management of Lyceum International for the simple reason that they have understood the value of this sport”
“No matter which sport you select later in your career, swimming is an integral part of any sport” Nishantha said.
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