Schools cut playtime, make kids study during PT Periods
On one hand private schools are pushing other subject teachers to use PT sessions and ensure the institutions’ overall academic performance is good, on the other hand, govt schools are running short of physical education instructors.;
By : migrator
Update:2019-09-07 04:32 IST

Chennai
S Praveen, a Class 11 student of at a private school in Thambaram, is unaware of the sports facilities available at his school. Although he has physical education periods, the 16-year-old does not remember when he last attended a physical education class.
Like Praveen, many students — especially those in higher secondary schools in the city — do not have regular access to physical education, which is mandatory, as the hours allocated for physical training (PT) are used to conduct special classes and catch up with subjects that are behind schedule.
“Most private and government schools especially in Chennai — which concentrate only on board-exam results — are not aware of the fact that physical education and fitness have a significant impact on children’s academic performance,” said Praveen’s father and employee of a private firm in the city.
A recent survey conducted on school children revealed extremely poor fitness levels among students across the country, especially in cities. The 7th Annual School Health and Fitness Study 2016, conducted by the EduSports across 326 schools in 86 cities found out that of the 1.5 lakh students, 34-39 per cent of students have low Body Mass Index (BMI).
The study further revealed that students who are provided with more than three physical education (PE) sessions in a week are more active and have better BMI.
Physical education is compulsory in TN
As per the Tamil Nadu government order, physical education is compulsory in schools under the state board. The Directorate of School education has framed a syllabus for physical education in all classes in schools that are part of the state board.
Even the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had earlier this year formulated guidelines which highlighted that Classes 9 to 12 must have a sports period every day.
Officials from the School Education Department said that the main reason for introducing physical education periods in schools is to ensure overall development of the students since sports and games will not only help children to be physically strong but also develop team spirit among the students.
“Although, physical education is compulsory in all schools, there are no strict laws to punish the schools that ignore sports activities for students,” a senior official from the Education Department said.
Students need to involvein sports, say health experts
Dr Paranthaman, a physiotherapist in a private hospital, said, “Involvement in sports definitely boosts the immunity. Children who are involved with regular sports activities will be least likely to catch frequent cold, fever, cough and other alignments.”
“There have been also cases where children developed diabetes. Being involved in sports will keep the blood sugar level regulated,” the doctor said.
He added that even yoga, which has been introduced in all schools, will benefit the students. “Depriving children of playing sports in schools cannot be a good move,” Dr Paranthaman said.
Parents concern about their children’s health
S Gomathi, a parent hailing from Pallavaram area, said, “The management at my daughter’s school had temporarily suspended physical education period due to exam pressure. This affected my daughter’s health.”
Prior to this, my daughter was healthy when the PT classes were regular in Class 9. The classes were suspended when she moved on to Class 10 and pressure on academics increased and my daughter began to feel lethargic,” she said.
Gomathi suggested that strict rules be put in place to monitor if schools conduct sports activities for students.
K Prabakar, a father of 17-year old in Class 11, also complained that since his son will be taking the board exams this year, he is under severe pressure because of the special classes being conducted in his school regularly. “He even goes for tuition after school and thus has cannot participate in even single sports activity,” Prabakar said.
Even parent-teacher associations have been demanding that the government authorities make surprise visits and inspect sports activities of the schools. “We have already lodged several complaints with the physical education officials, who promised to look into the issue, but have not taken any action yet,” S Farooq, a member of Chennai-suburban parents-teachers association, said.
He also complained that many government and as well as private schools do not have proper playgrounds, which is also a big issue to conduct proper physical education classes for the students.
School teachers are under pressure
At present, most of the higher secondary teachers especially in private schools are facing severe pressure from the management to get better results to improve admissions every year.
S Geetha (name changed). a private school teacher in Numgambakkam, said, “We have been under a lot of stress throughout the year. We need to train each and every student so that they get good results. And, we have to conduct extra classes during the PT periods so that we can complete the syllabus.”
Geetha even said that parents come directly to the school and blame the teachers if their children do not perform well even in the revision test. “We also work extra hours to train poor-performing students to make them get good marks in the final exams,” she added.
A science teacher in a government school at Anakaputhur said that since there have been a number of reports on the poor performance of students in the State-run schools, authorities have given strict orders to not only improve their results but also make the student get better marks than those in private schools.
“Private schools have better infrastructure. Competing with them is a difficult target for us,” the teacher said.
8,000 PT teachersavailable for over 50,000 students
Tamil Nadu Teachers Association President PK Ilamaran said that most of the PT periods are used to teach other subjects owing to pressure from the management.
“The government should instruct all schools, including private institutions, to conduct physical education classes regularly to reduce academic stress among students,” he said.
PK Ilamaran added, “It is also unfortunate that around 8,000 physical education teachers, including 5,000 visiting instructors, are available for more than 50,000 government and government-aided schools.” He said that the government must appoint at least one physical education instructor per school.
K Gurumoorthy, a physical education instructor at a government school in Pallavaram, said that nowadays academics trump physical activities. “We cannot blame the teachers alone since they do what the school management instructs them to. Also, now lack of sports awareness among the children is extremely poor and that affects participation as well,” he said.
Tamil Nadu School Education Director S Kannappan said despite periodical circulars being sent to schools, several institutions still do not give priority to physical education. “Physical activities in the schools, no matter for how short a period of time, benefits children,” he said.
Kannappan also pointed out that it also the duty of the parents to ask the school management to compulsorily conduct physical education periods regularly. He added that the government is in the process of appointing physical education trainers in all schools. “Now Teachers’ Recruitment Board will soon recruit about 800 physical education teachers,” Kannappan said.
what state govt norms say
- Fitness study conducted across 326 schools in 86 cities, found out that of the 1.5 lakh students, 34-39 per cent of students have low Body Mass Index (BMI)
- Students who are provided with more than three physical education (PE) sessions in a week are more active and have better BMI
- As per the Tamil Nadu government order, physical education is compulsory in schools under the state board. Physical activities must be conducted according to the space available in the school
- According to state government norms, every class should have two PT sessions every week
- Activities which must be included in the physical education period include ground exercise, meditation, khokho, kabbadi, hockey, football, volleyball, and badminton
- Even the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had earlier this year formulated guidelines which highlight that students in classes 9 to 12 must have a sports period every week.
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