This story is from November 30, 2016

TT champ: Sports must be made mandatory in schools

​ After sports was made mandatory for school children in post-Apartheid South Africa, the crime rate came down by 18%, said former international table tennis player Vasanth Bharadwaj.​
TT champ: Sports must be made mandatory in schools
Representative image
MYSURU: After sports was made mandatory for school children in post-Apartheid South Africa, the crime rate came down by 18%, said former international table tennis player Vasanth Bharadwaj.
Speaking at ‘Round Table on Sports Education’ organized by CII National Committee on Sports here on Monday, he cited the example of the country which adopted sports in schools and doing well. “In South Africa, it is mandatory for every child to play sports for at least two hours in the afternoon daily.
Over the years (post-Apartheid), sports was also introduced in the local communities, and this cut the crime rate by 18%. It is the same with China too. Because of sports, their activity level rose, and its workforce, especially on shopfloors, is 1.5 times more than Indias’. It is not due to culture or discipline that they are more active — but it is due their quick movement of feet, hands and fingers, thanks to sports in their school days. China debuted in Olympic in 1984, while India entered Olympics in 1904. They have won more medals than India,” he added.
“Introduction of sports and making it mandatory in schools will also improve attendance of children. Sports can attract students and keep them engaged. It also benefits children by keeping them fit and fine. Besides equipping them with energy, sports makes them to be sportive — to accept victory and defeat, whatever comes their way. A recent survey shows that children who play well also do good in academics. Hence, it is important for us, especially parents and schoolteachers, to encourage children to take up sports,” Vasanth said.
N Muthukumar, chairman of CII (Mysuru), said: “To realize the dream of former President Abdul Kalam, of making India a super power by 2020, youths play an important role. Forty per cent of our work at CII (Mysuru) is devoted to industrial development. We make sure 30% of our activities are for Mysuru’s development, and the rest is to encourage youth, who play a pivotal role in the country’s development. To promote sports in schools, we have taken up this programme. We will also take up related issues with the department concerned.”
Deep Mukherjee, CEO of CII National Committee in Sports, said: “We need to bring sports culture in the country as it teaches us life skills.” By the next academic year, the members will visit private schools in the city and request the respective school heads to make sports mandatory for schoolchildren and let them play for at least one hour daily.
Arjun Ranga, vice-chairman, CII, and Gayathri Vasudevan and Saumil Majmudar, members of CII National Committee on Sports, also spoke on the occasion. Physical education teachers, principals and teachers from various schools and colleges took part in the discussion.
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