The Swim n’ Survive scheme of the State government for teaching swimming to children in government and aided schools is in need of resuscitation.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had launched the programme in April 2013 at St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School, Pattom, here. Mr. Chandy had then said that cases of children drowning were reported on a daily basis from across the State, and concrete steps, such as compulsory swimming coaching for children, should be taken to check this.
The Directorate of Sport and Youth Affairs is implementing the scheme with support from the Pune-based Rashtriya Life Saving Society of India (RLSSI). In the first phase, the programme was implemented for one year at St. Mary’s, among schools in other districts. As many as 1,080 students were trained in swimming at the school. But since then, the programme has lost pace.
Fr. John C.C., Principal of the school, says the programme is as good as dead there. “It was on for a year but once the trainers left, it was discontinued.”
No coaches
The school, he says, do not have swimming coaches to take the programme forward. It would also be a heavy financial burden. There are plans to do away with the pool and use the area for some other activity for the children, he says.
However, P. Pukazhenthi, Director, Sports and Youth Affairs Department, says the programme is on, but government cannot continue to hand-hold the schools.
“Some schools have expressed their inability to continue with the programme, but it is under way in schools that are ready to take it forward on their own.”
The idea, Mr. Pukazhenthi says, is to form a cluster so that once a pool was installed in a school, children studying in neighbouring schools in the area could also learn swimming there.
The success of the training given, he says, was evaluated by the Pune-based society.
Government launched Swim n’ Survive in schools in 2013 to train students in swimming.
