Governor Djunaidi welcomed the minister's plan, saying that he will instruct education offices in Lampung to urge schools to make gymnastics mandatory.
"We can show the commitment to adopting a healthy lifestyle by making gymnastics a compulsory sport in schools," the governor said, as per information posted on the Youth and Sports Ministry's website on Saturday.
He added that the ministry's plan is in line with Lampung's commitment to promoting a healthy lifestyle while improving the quality of education.
"Making gymnastic activities mandatory in schools aligns with our commitment to consistently applying a healthy lifestyle and improving the quality of education in Lampung province," he continued.
An improvement in educational quality, he said, could, in turn, boost the quality of human resources, strengthen the nation's competitiveness, and produce young generations who are ready to face future challenges.
Earlier, Minister Ariotedjo informed that his ministry will encourage all educational institutions to adopt gymnastics as a mandatory sport.
The minister said that gymnastics is necessary to push for a stronger physical and character development process for many branches of sport.
"The Youth and Sports Ministry is urging every school to make gymnastics a mandatory sport. We are currently finalizing the policy. Hopefully, we can start implementing it by the end of this year," he informed.
The Grand Design of National Sports (DBON) includes gymnastics as one of Indonesia's priority sports since gymnastics has the potential to become the nation's mainstay sport in international-level competitions, including the Olympics.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Gymnastics Association (Persani) has continued to improve the performance of Indonesia's gymnasts. Currently, the association is preparing gymnastic athlete Rifda Irfanaluthfi for the qualification for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France.
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Translator: Muhammad Ramdan, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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