At a time when NEP 2020 is being rolled out, it would be a good idea to mandate a dedicated sports class starting an hour before academic classes commence, or after school gets over (Puru Singh is founder-director of the Push Sports Academy, Delhi) Recalling his early years in his autobiography My Life, legendary basketball player Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson says that his senior school years at a predominantly white school, where he was in the basketball team, was probably the best thing that ever happened to him. Humiliated by his team-mates even during practice to the extent they wouldn’t even pass the ball to him, Johnson says that those years taught him “how to understand white people, how to communicate and deal with them.” This life skill could have been learned only on a basketball court in a sea of racism that Johnson experienced as a student, and not from any other place. This is as true of basketball as it is for any other sport, as lessons learnt on playing fields are indelible. This is why sports education needs to be an integral part of school curriculums — rather than limited to one or two 45-minute classes per week — when young children can start learning life skills. Therefore, at a time when the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is being rolled out, it would be a good idea to mandate a dedicated daily sports class, which could either start an hour before the academic classes commence, or after school gets over. Moreover, sports classes in schools are usually under the charge of a physical education teacher who’s more academic than an individual with experience in a sports arena. To derive full value from sports education only individuals who have experience of competitive play if not internationally, at least in national games, should be selected to teach sports and games. Indeed it’s advisable that schools invest in specialist coaches for specific sports. Just as an English teacher can’t teach algebra or trigonometry, a swimming coach can’t effectively coach a football team. This is to not discount the importance of academics. In the US to qualify for inclusion in a school or college athletics or sports team, students have to score a minimum grade point average (GPA) in academics. And to maintain minimum scores to retain their places in an athletics squad or field games team. Therefore, coaches work in tandem with fellow teachers in academic disciplines to ensure that star athletes understand that sports and academics are not mutually exclusive. A similar model needs to be adopted in India to ensure students playing for school or varsity teams maintain minimal academic grades. Sports stars should be made aware of minimum grades required if they wish to continue playing on school or college teams. After winning India’s first ever gold medal for pistol shooting at the Beijing Olympics 2008, Abhinav Bindra stressed that if teaching life-skills to sportspersons was mandatory as in the US, “none out of 10 athletes will…
