Physical education (PE) instructors in Chennai have called for a series of changes, including the printing of textbooks and allocation of dedicated sports grants, days after the school education department mandated PE classes for Classes VI to XII and directed teachers to follow the prescribed curriculum.
Demand for Printed Textbooks
Chief among the demands is the release of a printed version of the resource book that the government launched for PE teachers last year. Pushparaj, a retired teacher, highlighted the challenges: "Practicals and theory are different. Though PE exams are held from Class VI, there are no textbooks to teach from. In several cases, teachers end up filling in the answers for students themselves."
The school education department had launched the 256-page book in August last year, but only PDF copies are available. Many teachers bear the printing costs themselves.
Call for Dedicated Sports Grants
Teachers have also flagged the lack of ring-fenced funds for sports development. Pushparaj explained: "At present, equipment and kits for sports are provided through school grants. The grant varies from 25,000 to 75,000 every year depending on the student strength. But the expenses are managed by headmasters, who may or may not spend for PE."
S Sankaraperumal, president of the Tamil Nadu Physical Education Teachers and Physical Directors Association, emphasized that a dedicated sports grant for every school, calibrated to student strength, would push schools to take the subject more seriously. He also renewed a long-standing demand for the government to expedite the creation of PE teacher posts in 9,000 schools and fill existing vacancies in 500 schools.
Government Response
Chief inspector of PE Gopalakrishnan said that a final decision on the printing timeline will be taken soon. District physical education inspectors have been asked to compile a list of schools lacking adequate sports facilities, which will then be addressed.
