Schools not allowing children to play sports and games for at least 45 minutes a day are like enemies of the children. Deprivation of opportunities to expand their horizon which is possible to a large extent through extra-curricular activities would stifle their mental abilities, said National Institute of Technology (Warangal) professor B.V. Appa Rao.
Addressing a seminar on education jointly organised by Abhyasa Vidyalayam (Deepa Memorial Charitable Trust) at Siddhartha Kalapeetham here on Sunday, Mr. Rao said the State’s education policy had attached due priority to sports and games. More than attracting punitive action for violating the norms, schools would be preventing physical as well as mental growth of children in their formative years.
Teachers should make learning an enjoyable process for children who could not be burdened with run-of-the-mill stuff during the precious years of their lives. Cognitive abilities could be improved a lot through sports and games which would give them the chance to be physically agile in addition to instilling in them competitive spirit from the young age.
Imparting knowledge while bringing out the sporting talents should be the order of the day in schools, Mr. Rao added. Sankar, a resource person from Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Puducherry, said parents need to nurture the inherent talents in children and teachers have to ensure that children do not stick to textbook learning. Senior journalist C. Raghavachari, Abhyasa Vidyalayam trustee Jyotsna Raghavachari and Principal Y.V. Krishna were among those who participated.
