New Delhi (NVI): In a first, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to observe Fitness Week in all 22,000 schools affiliated to it even as the government plans to take this initiative to all the schools across the states.
The CBSE Fitness Week initiative, as part of Fit India movement, will be observed in the second and third week of November so as to bring about a behavioral change in school children from spending “Passive Screen Time” to “Active Field Time,” an official statement said.
CBSE has also decided to assess the fitness levels of students from the age of 5 years to 16 years using the Khelo India Mobile App that has been developed by the Sports Authority of India.
The App has inbuilt fitness tests for various age groups that helps to ascertain aspects such as flexibility, core strength and agility of students, the scores of which can then be used to identify students who have the prospect of taking up sport at the professional level.
Lauding the initiative, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju said, “I am very happy to know that CBSE has decided to celebrate Fitness Week in all its affiliated schools. The Fit India Movement, envisioned by PM, is the need of the hour and we must make every effort to inculcate fitness habits in Indians from an early age.”
“The Sports Ministry is in talks with education departments of all state governments and we will soon finalise the plan to observe Fitness Week in schools across the country in the last week of November,” he said.
The extensive 6-day programme during the Fitness Week addresses both physical and mental fitness needs of children and goes beyond the usual form of physical exercises like yoga, free-hand and includes interesting forms of fitness like dance, aerobics and gardening, among others.
Indigenous games from every state, such as Cowrie from Gujarat, Silamba from Tamil Nadu, Bante from Jammu and Kashmir, GulliDanda from Punjab, Pambaram from Kerala, will also be included in the fitness regime of children.
Lectures by sports psychologists have been included to give children an insight into the importance of sports in character building and off-field stress management. Parents and teachers will compete with each other and with students in playing the indigenous games and also participate in the fitness activities undertaken in each school during the week.
-sb
