Adequate land for the 400m synthetic track at the Government Physical Education College, Kozhikode, will be made available soon after a discussion with the departments concerned, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said.
Inaugurating the newly constructed building and the recently introduced courses at the college here on Friday, Mr. Chandy said a meeting of the Chief Secretary with rest of the secretaries scheduled for November 12 would discuss the issues and would do what could be done about it.
“If the meeting fails, I will take it up with the ministers concerned in a special meeting to be convened on December 12,” he said. Education Minister Abdu Rabb, who presided over the function, also promised to take special efforts to realise the decades-old demand of the college for a synthetic track.
A. Pradeepkumar, MLA, who welcomed the gathering, said that the introduction of new courses and the addition of new infrastructure would open a new chapter in the history of the college.
The college started in 1957 with an objective of producing qualified physical education trainers for the education sector in the State had only bachelors’ and certificate programmes in physical education until recently.
Protests
It was after different forms of sustained agitations that the government recently decided to sanction a two-year postgraduate programme and a four-year integrated bachelors’ programme to the college, which was functioning under infrastructural constraints for several years.
Along with the courses seven new teachers’ posts have also been sanctioned for the college.
Talking about the aspirations of the college, Mr. Pradeepkumar said that the college could easily be developed as a centre of excellence in sports education if the government wished so.
“Such an effort could give vital contributions to the field of sports education in the State,” he said. The government could also actively consider the possibility of converting the college as the first sports university of the State, Mr. Pradeepkumar said.