The Hindu : Sport : Kerala seeks Central aid for sports promotion

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Wednesday, Aug 05, 2009
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Kerala seeks Central aid for sports promotion

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala has sought the maximum financial aid from the Union Government to make sports and physical education an integral part of the curriculum.

This approach was made by the Sports Minister, M. Vijayakumar, through a memorandum submitted to the Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, M.S. Gill, during the course of the Sports Ministers’ Conference held in New Delhi on Monday.

The memorandum says that the State Government has, in principle, accepted the proposal made to it by the Kerala State Sports Commission to include sports and physical education into the curriculum and thereby give a fillip to the promotion of sports and games in the country.

This, especially, with a view to identify talent and train school children who now have the chance to represent the country in the Asian Youth Games, Commonwealth Youth Games and the Summer Youth Olympics in every given four-year cycle.

Recalling that the recommendation for a strong programme of sports and physical education being part of the curriculum for the first time in independent India was way back in 1948-49 by the University Education Commission headed by the future President of the country, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the memorandum says that “as Kerala steps forward to emerge as the first State in the country to make sports and physical education as part of the curriculum, the Union Government is urged to lend the maximum financial support to the Government of Kerala for its successful implementation through the ministries of Human Resource Development and Sports and Youth Affairs.”

Enlarge TPFP’s scope

The memorandum also urges the Union Government to consider enlarging the scope of the Total Physical Fitness Programme (TPFP), implemented in the State during the last academic year, into a National-level project at the earliest with the aim of promoting the ideals of leading a healthy life style through regular physical exercise.

This in the wake of the poor results returned in the tests under the TPFP by Kerala school students last year. Only a poor 4.10 per cent of those nearly 17 lakh students tested could record optimum physical fitness and overall only 19.61 per cent were found to have received the minimum recommended pass mark of 20.

Besides, the State Government has also suggested the introduction of a training module into the recently launched Panchayat Yuva Khel Krida Abhiyan, the immediate restoration of the matching grant scheme for sports infrastructure projects by the Union Government and consolidation of the role of the Sports Authority of India in the promotion of sports in the State and deployment of more coaches.

The memorandum also registers the strong protest of the State Government against the reported move to de-link the Lakshmi Bai National College of Physical Education (LNCPE), in Kariyavattom from the Kerala University and to have it in turn affiliated to the LNIPE (Gwalior).

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