Sports, art one of the biggest contributions of human beings to society: Javadekar

Sports and art are one of the biggest contributions of human beings to the society and nurturing students in these areas right from the beginning should be the focus of schools, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said Wednesday.

Javadekar was addressing the gathering at the inaugural session of "Kala Utsav" at Bal Bhavan here.

"Sports and art are one of the biggest contributions of human beings to the society. They are one of the biggest treasure too and nurturing our students in the areas right from the beginning should be the focus area of schools," he said.

"Kala Utsav" is an initiative of the Department of School Education and Literacy of the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Javadekar also inaugurated the sports centre at Bal Bhavan which has been revamped with modern facilities.

About 370 children from all states and Union Territories, except Karnataka, are participating in the four-day national-level competition in areas including vocal music, instrumental music, dance and painting.

"One girl and one boy from each state and Union Territory will compete in each of the competitions. Students representing Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and Navodaya Samiti will also be competing," a senior HRD Ministry official said.

Kala Utsav National Competition was launched in 2015 with a view to promote arts in education by nurturing and showcasing artistic talents of school students.