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The Science and Education Ministry is initiating replacement of physical-education lessons with yoga lessons in schools.

The press service of the Science and Education Ministry announced this in a statement.

Ways of modernizing the system of physical education was discussed at a joint meeting of senior officials of the Science and Education Ministry, the Family, Youth, and Sports Ministry, and the Health Ministry, which was also attended by representatives of educational institutions.

"Specialists from the [Science and Education] Ministry proposed discussing the idea of a transition from traditional physical-education lessons to the use of techniques for physical and mental development, particularly yoga," the statement said.

According to specialists from the Science and Education Ministry, taking yoga lessons and taking exercises aimed at developing the physical health of humans and the philosophy of self-perfection will have a positive effect on the health and general development of pupils.

Experts from the Family, Youth, and Sports Ministry supported this initiative, saying that introduction of yoga lessons and a gradual transition from the study of simple techniques to complicated ones would prevent excessive physical loads while simultaneously improving the health of pupils.

Moreover, they expressed the view that retraining of physical-education teachers could begin during the summer if the relevant decision was adopted before June and that teachers could even be sent to India to learn from professional yoga practitioners so that yoga lessons could begin in schools in September.

Experts from the Health Ministry said it was necessary to study the issue in details in order to determine the yoga techniques that should be taught in educational institutions because some techniques are unlicensed in Ukraine.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the Family, Youth, and Sports Ministry, the Health Ministry, and the Science and Education Ministry intend to introduce a new system for developing physical education in educational institutions on September 1, 2009.

Dear readers, this is a fictional story. The editors of the Ukrainian News information agency congratulate you on the Day of Laughter (April Fool's Day) and wish you happiness.