Kerala makes physical education part of school curriculum

Updated on: Monday, January 24, 2011

The Kerala Government has proposed to include physical education as part of school curriculum from this academic year to create awareness about need for fitness.

The project will be implemented at various levels of school such as primary, upper primary and secondary in the initial stage and expanded to colleges later, Sport Minister M Vijayakumar told reporters here today.

The state-level inauguration of the programme would be done by Chief Minister V S Achutanandan on January 25 at the Cottonhill School here, he said.

"By making physical education part of curriculum, the government aims at nurturing a good sports culture and creating awareness about the need for physical fitness among youngsters. It will help attract more talented youth to sports," he said.

The project, being implemented as part of the 'Complete Physical Fitness' programme, would be a health diversion for children amidst their hectic school schedules and would help them imbibe sporting spirit, Vijayakumar said.

"It is for the first time that an Indian state is implementing the project. Many education commissions had stressed the significance of including sports as part of educational system," he said.

The 'Complete Physical Fitness' programme, implemented two years ago, had prompted the government to include the physical education in curriculum.

Of total 29 lakh school students in the state, only 19.6 per cent had passed physical fitness tests conducted as part of the programme. The exercise also revealed that various health problems including diabetes were prevalent among
children, he said.

A number of programmes like physical education camps, special coaching to talented children and friendly matches between schools are also planned to make the project attractive.

Every student, irrespective of their gender and health status will benefit. The curriculum had been worked out in a manner so that even the differently abled children could become part of it, he said.

There would not be any evaluation or examinations in the first three years of the implementation.

To meet the shortage of qualified physical education teachers, the government would soon recruit sufficient hands, Vijayakumar said.

Kerala makes physical education part of school curriculum

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