SC notice to govt on plea for inclusion of sports in education curriculum

The Supreme Court today sought responses from the Centre and all states and union territories on a plea seeking to include sports as a part of the educational curriculum from elementary to higher education.

The direction came on a plea filed by Kanishka Pandey, a final year law student, saying "children's talent and sports aptitude should be tested from the elementary school days itself so that the talent can be improved and developed through training and education".

A bench of Justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao issued notices to the Centre, the states and the UTs and sought their responses in four weeks.

 

The plea, filed through advocates Anjani Kumar Mishra and Rajeev Kumar Dubey, said education and sports were inseparable and if academic education coupled with sports and its values was imparted, it will surely develop better human tenets among children.

"Children will be able to cope with prevailing challenges and life pressures in modern world and their confidence and patience level will also be strong through sports activities and competition involved in sports," it said.

The petitioner sought directions to the Centre to take steps to include sports among the fundamental rights and form an independent 'Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth Empowerment' at both Union and State levels.

It said that directions should be issued to the Union and State governments to make suitable amendments in their academic and sports education policies to promote sports at all levels of education.

"Most of the foreign countries winning gold medals in Olympics and World championships are from Universities and Colleges of those countries, but in India this average is almost nil because of least efforts made by the educational Institutions of the Country," the petition said.

The plea also pointed to the lack of proper sports facilities and play grounds at village and school levels which is one of the principal reasons for the failure to develop good players. It also sought grant of sufficient funding at the Union as well as State level budgets for the sports.