No concerted effort has been made at any level to treat sports and education as essentially concurrent activities that have to be given equal importance in a significant way
The Supreme Court bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and BR Gavai gave directions to the Union and state governments on April 25 seeking their views (but refrained from passing a judgment) as regards a suggestion that sports be recognised as a fundamental right, and the various educational entities/institutions (including CBSE, ICSE, and the various state boards) in India be directed that at least 90 minutes daily be devoted to “free play and games” (physical literacy) during school hours.
This direction came about as a result of a report submitted by senior advocate Gopal Sankarnarayanan in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). The PIL was filed by Kanishka Pandey, a sports researcher, in the wake of which the court had appointed Sankarnarayanan as an amicus curiae in August 2018.
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