Science has confirmed that play and sport are conducive to children’s healthy development. It not only improves children`s physical fitness but also builds their character and helps them to reduce stress and achieve better academically. Above all, play and sport help all children, even the poorest and most marginalized, have fun and enjoy their childhood. Photo: ©UNICEF/China/2015/Xia Yong

In China, physical education (PE) has long been an overlooked element of school life, compared with academics. In rural areas, poor infrastructure, inadequate sports equipment and the shortage of human resources make it difficult to bring the joy and development value of sports to children. According to Prof. Chen Yanfei, Director of the Faculty of Art and Physical Education at the Beijing Education Institute, the total number of full-time and part-time PE teachers in China’s primary and secondary schools is 540,000, with a shortage of 300,000. The shortage of PE teachers is more severe in rural areas than in cities. Photo: ©UNICEF/China/2015/Xia Yong

Supported by grants from FC Barcelona, UNICEF and the Ministry of Education started a programme in 2013 to improve children’s physical education, health and sports abilities through physical education in rural schools in the western region of China. The programme focuses on the training of PE teachers through training resource packages and training workshops, like the one pictured here in Beijing in late 2015. Photo: ©UNICEF/China/2015/Xia Yong

A total of 100 PE teachers from Sanjiang County in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Shule County in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Jianchuan County in Yunnan Province and Nayong County in Guizhou Province took part in the week-long workshop in Beijing, which included lectures on teaching methods for various sports and an Outward Bound training regimen. Photo: ©UNICEF/China/2015/Xia Yong

During the training, teachers also observed how PE classes are conducted in schools in Beijing, and learned from their Beijing counterparts. Photo: ©UNICEF/China/2015/Yang Jingjie

Aimilaguli Yibulayin (in red jacket), 48, teaches PE at Zhentai Primary School in Shule, Xinjiang. The week-long workshop in Beijing was only the second time that she had received professional training in the 26 years of her teaching career. A 2013 survey carried out by Beijing Education Institute in four western counties, with support from UNICEF, found a lack of training programmes for PE teachers, despite the huge interest teachers have expressed for it. Photo: ©UNICEF/China/2015/Xia Yong

The survey also revealed the shortage of PE teachers in underdeveloped regions. While the national requirement stipulates that rural schools with more than 200 students must have at least one full-time professional PE teacher, the student-teacher ratio in the four surveyed regions was as high as 600:1. At Zhentai Primary School in Shule, Xinjiang, where Aimilaguli Yibulayin teaches, there are more than 2,800 students but only five PE teachers. “Students like PE the most,” she says. “They like games, table tennis, skipping and soccer, although there is limited space and equipment for sports at school.” Photo: ©UNICEF/China/2015/Xia Yong

“Children in our place, both girls and boys, love soccer, though we have very limited space. Every night, we spray water on the ground so the earth hardens and children can play soccer the next day,” explains Yusufu Maimaitiniyazi, 28. A PE teacher at Tazihong Township Primary School in Shule County, Yusufu Maimaitiniyazi is also the school’s soccer team coach. Given there are only two PE teachers, he has to teach two classes, or some 80 students, at the same time, which only allows him to carry out basic physical training with the students. Yusufu Maimaitiniyazi said he can’t wait to apply the innovative training methods he has learned in Beijing during the week-long workshop. Photo: ©UNICEF/China/2015/Xia Yong

Zhang Fengshu, 49, began his career 31 years ago and now teaches at Baila Primary School in Jianchuan County, Yunnan Province, a small school in the mountain with only 36 students. Due to the shortage of teachers, Zhang also teaches several other subjects, which is not uncommon in rural schools. The biggest challenge, he finds, is how physical education in rural areas is heavily undervalued. PE classes always give way to other subjects due to the heavy study load, and it’s difficult for PE teachers to get promoted. Photo: ©UNICEF/China/2015/Yang Jingjie

Delighted to be included in the Beijing workshop, Zhang Fengshu recorded the demonstrations with his mobile phone. “I love teaching PE. When I go back, I will try the games I learned here. I’m sure the students will enjoy them,” he says. Photo: ©UNICEF/China/2015/Yang Jingjie

The training strives to stimulate innovative ideas among rural PE teachers to make the best use of their available resources. At Shaxi Junior High School in Jianchuan County, Yunnan Province, a class of 60 students only have three balls during their PE class. They must wait in turn to practise soccer. Luo Yuan (in orange), a 26-year-old teacher from the school, was inspired by the various methods offered during the training, such as turning used newspapers into balls. Photo: ©UNICEF/China/2015/Xia Yong

Yang Lichun, 25, another PE teacher at Shaxi Junior High School in Jianchuan County, is impressed with how sport and play help children, especially those in poverty, enjoy their childhood. “Even the simplest games make students extremely happy,” he says. The training in Beijing “has reignited my passion,” adds Yang, who graduated with a degree in physical education in 2011 but lost some of his interest due to the shortage of equipment and the undervaluing of PE as a critical part of children’s education. Photo: ©UNICEF/China/2015/Xia Yong