JUNIOR CYCLE pupils will be entitled to a minimum of two hours physical education per week if the recommendations of a draft interim report are implemented.

The Physical Education Course Committee report states that at senior cycle the allocation of time is of necessity more fluid, but a realistic time allocation is essential.

At present, the time allocated to PE varies widely from school to school and within schools themselves. About 30 per cent of second level schools do not offer a structured physical education programme. The time allocated to PE in second level schools averages out at about 45 minutes per week, well below most other European countries.

The course committee also recommends that physical education be included as a core subject at all levels in the post primary sector.

As to the fraught question of the inclusion of PE in Junior and Leaving Certificate exams, the committee list four possible options. PE could form either a compulsory or optional part of the certification process at Junior Certificate. At Leaving Certificate, it could comprise an optional component of the certificate process in addition to the core PE programme at senior cycle, or it could continue with its present status as a non certifiable subject at all levels.

Structures put in place for the implementation of the previous draft syllabus, produced in 1982, were described as "wholly inadequate". For example, teachers' notes/guidelines referred to in the syllabus were never issued. "It is not surprising therefore that the 1984 syllabus is not referred to by teachers and overall lacks any status in the life of most schools."

The latest draft report notes that the absence of any compulsion on schools to provide a structured physical education programme means in effect that pupils in our schools have no legal right to be physically educated. Because of its non compulsory nature the subject is therefore often regarded as a luxury item. This perception results in PE departments operating on restricted budgets and "suffering disproportionately in times official stringency within the school".

John White, assistant general secretary of the ASTI, says that the union is "very supportive of PE and its enhancement in schools. Schools, however, are coming under great pressure to introduce a whole variety of new programmes including relationships and sexuality and social, personal and health education. There is a danger that the curriculum could become overloaded. However PE and physical well being is so important that the ASTI would certainly look favourably on recommendations which are well resourced."