Enforced physical activity

Children Playing

Chairman Vineet Joshi led CBSE released a circular on 27th October which will endear him to many a parent, and perhaps get him hated by an equal number. This circular makes compulsory some amount of physical activities in school. In our opinion, this is a welcome departure from the 7-9 hour forced education sessions in schools these days. As it is, the school hours are longer than they used to be, and rapidly the amount of time dedicated to physical activities (in a day or week) has dropped drastically.

The circular specifies that, (and we quote):

• "There should be at least 40-45 minutes of Physical Activities or Games period for Classes I-X everyday.
  For Classes XI – XII it should be ensured that all the students participate in Physical Activity / Games / Mass P.T / Yoga with maximum health benefits for at least two periods per week (90-120 min / week).
• In case the school has constraints of space, climatic conditions, presence of enough PE Teachers, or coaches it may consider indoor activities which would provide maximum health benefits (Aerobics / Meditation / Yoga & Asanas).
• Mass P.T. in the morning keeping in view the climate conditions is another alternative the school can have."

The daily physical activities and sports will now be a mandatory part of the curriculum under the new CCE, and will be implemented in all CBSE affiliated schools across the country. This implies that the students will be assessed on these activities as well. The assessment part is perhaps a bit of an overkill but then in our country, if an assessment is not linked to a part of the curriculum it will certainly get neglected and remain un-implemented.

Given that the schools today have become completely exam oriented, we say this is a very welcome move Mr. Joshi! What do you think? Please write in, let us know...