The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Fit India, the government's flagship fitness movement, will start live fitness sessions for school students from Wednesday to keep them engaged as well as fit in the second phase of the countrywide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the HRD Ministry, from April 15 at 9:30 am, students can access the live sessions on the Facebook and Instagram handles of Fit India Movement and CBSE.
All the sessions will also be available on YouTube so that students can access them at their convenience as well.
The live sessions will cover all aspects of children's fitness such as daily workouts, yoga, nutrition and their emotional well-being. Distinguished fitness experts like Aliya Imran, nutritionist Puja Makhija, emotional wellness expert Jitendra Nagpal, yoga professional Heena Bhimani and several others will be part of the sessions.
"CBSE has supported the Fit India Movement right from its initiation. 13,868 CBSE schools have been part of several Fit India programmes in the past and 11,682 CBSE schools have already got the Fit India flag. Now, with this unique endeavour I am confident that students across the country will not just be gainfully engaged during the lockdown but will also be motivated to take up fitness and healthy living as a way of life," Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' said.
Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju said the online sessions are the need of the hour as children are at home with limited physical activity.
"These sessions by fitness experts will ensure that children practice fitness even when at home. It is also imperative at these times to ensure that everyone, especially children remain healthy and have strong immunity.
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"In these sessions, besides fitness-related topics, the guidelines of the Ministry of Ayush with regard to following simple steps to increase immunity will also be discussed. I am sure children and parents will benefit greatly from these rich sessions," he said.
Schools across the country were closed by mid-March, ahead of the nationwide lockdown announcement due to the spread of coronavirus. The 21-day lockdown, which was scheduled to end today, has now been extended till May 3.