As many as 23 of a total of about 50 students, all boys, have emerged as promising swimmers after learning swimming for about 15-20 days at School of Eminence (SoE), Indrapuri, Sector 32, here. Excited, they feel that it was a sport they could never have afforded learning otherwise. Expressing gratitude to the Education Department for coming up with a swimming pool at the newly-constructed SoE, the students said it was an ‘out of the world’ experience for them.
Principal Jaswinder Singh said the school got over at 2 pm and that the male students of senior classes waited for this time to rush to the pool for swimming. “Come what may, they never want to miss swimming classes, which are taken by experts appointed recently by the department. At 4 pm, which is the closing time, we ask them to come out. It feels great to see smiles on the faces of these students from underprivileged backgrounds,” the principal added.
The principal said this facility could not be availed by the girl students of the school. “The reason is that parents do not want their girls to swim in the open. Besides, we do not have a female swimming teacher as of now,” said Singh.
The boys including, Ajay, Dharminder, Inderjit and Vivek, who have learnt swimming well feel relaxed after a session. “Swimming gives relaxation to both mind and body. After attending classes, this is the best time in the school when we play, swim and have fun. My father’s wages are limited, I could’ve never afforded to learn swimming,” Inderjit, a Class XII student, said.
Dharminder, another student, said his father was working at a factory on flat knitting machines and learning swimming was like a dream come true. “The school has a total of 1,758 students. For now, we are teaching swimming to the students of classes XI and XII. Once everything is streamlined, students from other classes would also be given the opportunity,” the principal said.
Residents from the neighbouring area wish to send their wards to the SoE because of its facilities such as smart classes, laboratories, swimming pool, etc.
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