The importance of physical education and school sports in promoting high-level competition, for the country’s future successes, were defended today (Wednesday), in Luanda, by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Rui Falcão.
Speaking at the reopening ceremony of the fields of the Luanda Middle Institute of Economics (IMEL), after benefiting from improvement works, the minister stated that actions of this kind, which will be used by hundreds of practicing students, are part of the Angolan Executive’s projects for school sports.
‘The National Sports Development Plan also involves a major investment in student participation in the different education systems and in the implementation of community activities. What we are seeing here at IMEL is in line with the Government’s strategies to foster high-level competitive sport,’ he said.
He added that only with organized and sustained work, with a major investment in the construction and improvement of infrastructures, will it be possible to take advantage of young ta
lent, equipping them with physical, technical and competitive skills, so that Angola can project itself at international levels.
He explained that the work being done here at IMEL and other institutions, such as Vila Clotilde, which now also has a more suitable venue, attracting many children and young people, is on the right track.
‘Physical education classes and school sports produce very strong and capable athletes, teams and national teams. Therefore, I ask students and others in the communities to dedicate themselves and become great athletes,’ he stressed.
In turn, the Secretary of State for Secondary Education, Soraya Kalongela, expressed her satisfaction with the action, which in her view aims to provide IMEL with better conditions for physical education and sports classes. This is an important contribution from the sponsoring company to the education sector.
On behalf of the director of IMEL, Clemente António Fernandes, he promised to redouble efforts in investing in and training sports practitio
ners, so that he can contribute to the development of the different sports, in which he has been champion in the past, mainly in volleyball and tennis.
The person in charge, who thanked the entity responsible for rehabilitating the fields for their gesture, guaranteed their maintenance and conservation, for the benefit of sport, as well as the possibility of building other facilities, such as a swimming pool, increasing the range of disciplines to be practiced at the establishment.
An identical position was expressed by the administrator of the BAI Foundation, Tchissola Mosquito, mentor of the action, pointing out the gesture as a contribution to the well-being and satisfaction of the needs and needs of the communities, in a commitment to the social, cultural, sports and other sectors.
Likewise, former swimmer Nádia Cruz, curator of the BAI Foundation, stressed that, in this way, IMEL will be able to continue to be an important training centre for sporting talents, making the most appropriate use of the be
st conditions in terms of infrastructure.
At the end of the event, there were demonstrations by players of futsal, handball, basketball, volleyball and tennis. Some trophies won by the school’s athletes were also on display.
As for the rehabilitation works, over a period of one month, they also included the construction of a changing room (male/female), to better serve physical education classes and sports.
Comprising a bare football pitch, a hall, a multipurpose court, a basketball court, two volleyball courts and a tennis court, existing for over 30 years, the infrastructures were intervened with repairs and painting of the floors, fences and other features.
Previously, the institution’s courts hosted the provincial phase of the School Games, which selected its representatives for the Nationals, held in the province of Uige. The delegation from the country’s capital was concentrated at IMEL.
In addition to physical education classes, as far as sports are concerned, its practitioners, mostly students, h
ave already distinguished themselves in provincial, national and international competitions, with emphasis on athletics, volleyball and tennis.
In the school’s “gallery” there are several trophies, the majority being for volleyball and tennis, in which in both specialities its teams dominated the national championships for more than two decades, mainly during the period of Celso Rosa and Catarina dos Reis’ management, the latter of whom even awarded the tennis players for winning the Angola Cup.
With the contribution of dedicated teachers, such as Jesus Airosa, Nascimento (deceased), Merino, Genivaldo Dias, Reinaldo de Sousa, Tavira, José Manuel, Ventura Afonso, Júnior, Mário, among others, they worked voluntarily for the emergence of great talents in Angolan sport, who joined the various national volleyball and tennis teams.
In volleyball, the highlights are the players Francisco Boa, Dadinho, Otchine, Paulino, the Kalebe brothers and others, while in tennis, the renowned Sónia Sirgado, Marta de Sousa, Jo
sefa, Cira Paim Ribeiro, Janeth Makonda, Júlia Rombo, Mira Piedade, Neusa de Sousa, Camila Zangui, VSnia Silva, Eugenia, Conceição Dulo and many more.
The former Joka Sport School, run by the late coach Joka Santinho, also operated on its premises. It provided excellent players for national teams and even Angolan football teams in different categories.
IMEL, as it is also called, is an educational institution, based in the country’s capital, on Avenida Deolinda Rodrigues, in Largo (1º de Maio) da Independência, where most of the Public Schools can be found.
It offers secondary technical education and over the years has trained several Angolans in a variety of areas. For the education sector, it has 36 classrooms, an amphitheater, a projection room, three computer labs, a cafeteria and a library.
It offers courses in accounting and management, business management, finance and planning, statistics, commerce, public administration, transport administration, management information technology and social commun
ication.
IMEL hosts more than 2,400 students annually.
Source: Angola Press News Agency
