Botswana Keen On Introducing Chess In Schools
Naledi Lemogang | Monday August 21, 2017 16:05
Ilyumshinov appealed to the Minister of Basic Education, Unity Dow to introduce chess as part of the learning programme where children at primary, junior and senior schools learn chess as a subject.
He said chess is a sport that entails thinking and for students, it can assist them in improving their academic results as it has been proved in countries that adopted the same approach.
“My target is to reach one billion chess knowledgeable generation in the near future. In the past, we have been signing memorandum of agreements with different countries in order for them to introduce chess as part of the curriculum.
The idea came out with positive outcomes as it contributed to the educational results of students,” Ilyumshinov said.
He said the initiative is also good for the development of top chess players at a tender age and also some chess related careers. He said they are ready to help Botswana with resources such as books, chess equipment and trainers for all the grades if they can sign a Memorandum of Agreement with FIDE.
Minister Dow said they are excited to hear about the chess programme that can improve the educational results of the students.
“We are going to consider this programme and find how we can implement it because there are some issues we have to look at before adopting it. It sounds like a great idea since it would develop chess in the country and also assist student to perform well in their studies,” Dow said.
She said chess is a sport with high discipline and requires critical thinking. Therefore, this would assist students to also approach their exams in the same way they approach chess games.
“I am highly interested in the idea to introduce chess in schools therefore we would not take a lot of time to give feedback to the FIDE and the Botswana Chess Federation,” she said. Meanwhile, BCF has sent 18 chess players to compete at the 2017 Africa School Chess Champions in Zimbabwe.
The competition started on Saturday and runs until Sunday. Botswana is the defending champion.