Sports take a backseat at govt primary schools in Punjab
Punjab's government primary schools lack physical education teachers, impacting sports training for students. A proposal for 2,000 recruits may address this crisis.
The absence of physical education teachers in Punjab’s government primary schools has left young students without structured sports training. With no designated instructors, students either train themselves or rely on teachers from other subjects when a sports event is organised by the department.
According to e-Punjab portal data, none of the 12,819 government primary schools in the state have a designated physical education teacher. This gap has placed an added burden on school heads, who, despite lacking expertise, are compelled to train students for various sporting events, people familiar with the development said.
District president of the Government Teachers’ Union and head teacher at Government Primary School, Mangli Uchi, Ludhiana, Jagjit Singh Mann highlighted the issue, stating: “A few years ago, physical education teachers from middle schools were given additional responsibility for primary school sports, but that practice has been discontinued. Currently, only teachers who voluntarily take up the responsibility train students for sports events. A dedicated physical education teacher is crucial at the primary level, as these formative years are essential for nurturing talent. Without proper guidance, identifying and refining students’ potential is nearly impossible.”
The Annual Status of Education Report 2024, released by the Pratham Foundation last week, further underscores the crisis. It reveals that 38.8% of upper primary government schools lack a dedicated physical education teacher, 56.8% have teachers of other subjects taking the responsibility and only 4.4% have a separate instructor for sports.
A head teacher from a government primary school in Ludhiana, who requested anonymity, echoed similar concerns: “Without a dedicated physical education teacher, conducting sports classes is almost impossible. At most, we can make students do light exercises once a month. During sports events, any teacher with some knowledge of the games steps in to teach the basics, but that is hardly enough.”
State education minister Harjot Singh Bains said for the first time, a proposal to recruit 2,000 physical education teachers for government primary schools will be taken up in the upcoming cabinet meeting.
If approved, this initiative could transform the sports landscape in government schools, providing students with structured training and a fair chance to excel in athletics from a young age.