Physical education essential for children, students: Baskaran
COIMBATORE, Dec 7 (UNI): Former Indian Hockey Captain V Baskaran has stressed the need for one hour physical education every day for children as well as students in order to keep away from diabetes, which was affecting most of the people in their later stages.
Addressing a seminar on “Creating Champions in Life – Holistic Education through sports,” organised by Edu Sports here yesterday, he said physical education should be made as curriculum like other subjects with 100 marks.
He said syllabus for the physical education should have 60 per cent practical and 40 per cent theoritical.
He wanted the Tamil Nadu government to ensure that for every 300 students there was one physical education teacher (PET).
Mr Baskaran said at present the PETs were working as watchmen in most of the schools as the parents were giving importance to the academic classes and the students were also sufferering with more stress as they were not allowed to play sports.
It was unfortunate that most of the schools started at 0700 hrs when the students were in a sleepy mood, he said, adding in the afternoon the school premises were rented out for other purpose.
This system should change and the schools should work from 0915 hrs to 1700 hrs with one period compulsory for sports, he added.
Listing out the names of world champions, who had completed degrees or higher degrees with high marks, he said it was wrong belief among the parents that the sports would spoil their children’s education.
Edu Sports Programme Director Suhas Nair said a recent survey at New Delhi revealed that 35 per cent of the students studying from 8 standard to 11 standard were addicted to alcohol due to divertion from the studies.
Stating that sports would bring them to the proper way to their future, he said another study in Mumbai pointed out that every day one child was committing suicide due to stress from education. Only physcial education would remove the stress in the students, he added.