Games period to be made compulsory in schools: Sports Minister

The Union Sports Minister, Rajyavardhan Rathore announced on August 6, 2018 that a games period will be made mandatory in all schools from 2019 onwards. Along with this, the Minister said that the Ministry of Education will ensure a 50 per cent reduction in the syllabus.

The move is a huge boost to the growth of sports in India. Explaining the decision, Rathore said, “we have come to a stage where sports is not a part of education, it is education.”

Objective

The introduction of a compulsory sports period aims to highlight the need to teach the importance of playing sports to the school children.

Other Initiatives by Government to make sports relevant

The Sports Ministry is ensuring that Sports Authority of India (SI) reduces its manpower by 50 per cent by 2022 so that they can cater to sports and it has a lean body and the money is spent more on sports.

The Government will also establish 20 specialised sports schools in 2018 at an investment of about Rs 7-10 crore for each school.

The main aim is to have a very pointed approach so that each school will have two or three main sports, which they will be focused upon.

Other Details

• The Sports Minister also unveiled the Webb Ellis Cup on the occasion, which invites India’s participation in the Rugby World Cup 2019.

• The World Cup, which is due to be held for the first time in Asia, will be promoted when it kicks-off in Japan through the two-year Trophy Tour that will be held in Mumbai and Bhubhaneshwar in 2018.

• The tour will aim to engage and excite the new and existing rugby fans ahead of Rugby World Cup,

• It will be the first time that the tournament will be played in Asia when Japan hosts the Rugby World Cup 2019.

Read More Current Affairs