…meanwhile, PSEB at odds for making physical education optional

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 5

While the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is pressing on health and physical education (HPE) by mandating one games period daily for students, the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) is at odds by making the physical education subject optional.

The Director School General Education on Friday released a revised scheme of study for Classes IX and X. Subjects including physical education, agriculture, tailoring and music have been made optional. Three periods per week have been allotted to schools for each optional subject. Besides, three periods of outdoor physical activity have also been allotted in the scheme of study.

The decision has been condemned by sports teachers across government schools, as they feel that sensitising students on physical education was the need of the hour.

Surinder, a PTI teacher at Government Senior Secondary School for Girls, Bharat Nagar Chowk, said: “The department has made physical education an optional subject. Now, students will not take sports seriously, as the subject is no more obligatory upon them. The CBSE has made games period in schools compulsory each day, but the PSEB is heading in the opposite direction.”

Kuldip Singh, DPE at Government Senior Secondary School Chakohi, said: “Physical education is imperative keeping in view the health and fitness of children. We talk about gold medals in sports, but we are not giving students enough time to spend on the ground. Theoretical aspects of physical education are equally significant, as students learn health and hygiene, first-aid, balanced diet. Our Prime Minister is urging on yoga participation, but now students will be deprived of knowing yoga asanas, which they were taught earlier through books."

The department has brought optional subjects in parallel to National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF). Students of Classes IX and X can either opt for elective subjects (thee periods per week) or NSQF (six periods per week).

Director General School Education (DGSE) Prashant Goyal said: “Earlier, physical education was a compulsory subject, most importantly the theoretical part. We have now made the subject optional as the CBSE only has five subjects, whereas students here have to study nine subjects. Students feel overburdened this way. However, we have not compromised with sports, as we have given three games periods in a week.”

Schools sans sports teachers

Many government schools in Ludhiana are functioning without the Director of Physical Education (DPE) and PTI. GSSS, Cemetery Road; GSSS Multipurpose; GSSS, Haibowal Khurd; GMS, Goh; and GSSS, Galib Kalan, are some of the schools that have no physical instructor.

Gurpreet Singh, member of the Democratic Teacher Front, said: “Many schools are without sports teachers. Some are without playgrounds and sports equipment. The government wants to downsize the posts of DPE and PTI in government schools by keeping the subject optional.”