Abu Dhabi: A member of the Federal National Council questioned the move to introduce rugby to UAE’s national school curriculum.
Salem Ali Al Shehi, a member from Ras Al Khaimah, said ruby is a dangerous sports and “not among our priorities”.
“The Ministry of Education should have instead added or focused more on cooking or other classes required by students and parents,” Al Shehi said.
Jameela Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Public Education, told the House 60 per cent of countries around the world have rugby in their school curricula. She added rugby is now a part of physical education curriculum as the country looks to develop Emirati talent in the long-established expatriate sport.
The UAE Rugby Federation has made an agreement with the UAE Ministry of Education in the second phase of the sport’s expansion in the Emirati community. In January, the Ministry of Education published a rugby workbook and trained more than 400 teachers in a one-day training programme.
There are 16 rugby clubs across the country with more than 3,000 registered rugby players in the UAE.
“We want to develop a population of rugby players, building their stamina and having them play against other countries. We want players that can win tournaments in all sports not just rugby,” the minister said.