Petition to make sports compulsory in educational curriculum filed in SC

A petition seeking direction to Central and state governments to make sports compulsory in educational curriculum from elementary to higher education has been filed in the Supreme Court.

The petition, filed by Kanishka Pandey, has been admitted by the apex court, and is likely to be heard in the first week of November.

The petition, a copy of which was accessed by ANI, stressed that "in prestigious tournaments like Olympics and World Championships, foreign countries make big gains on the back of their student-athletes. But in India, this average is almost nil because of minimal efforts made by the educational institutes of the country."

It further argued that in international tournaments, India send their amateur team which comes empty-handed most of the time in spite of the fact that "a lot of money is spent by the public exchequer."

The petitioner said that unless positive steps for the promotion of sports activities and sports education are not initiated in the country, it is almost impossible for India to be placed amongst medal-winning countries.

In the petition, Pandey requested the top court to grant the status of Universal Rights of People of India to sports, as intended by the United Nations and its agencies.

The petition further sought directions to the Central Government to take steps to include sports among fundamental rights and to form an independent "Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth Empowerment" at Union and State level.

It also asked the top court to direct the Centre and state governments to make suitable amendment in their academic and sports education policies to promote sports at all levels of education.