‘Can’t teach without textbooks, need changes in PE curriculum’

Chennai: Physical education (PE) instructors have called for a series of changes— from printing textbooks to allocating dedicated sports grants — days after the school education department mandated PE classes for Classes VI to XII and directed teachers to follow the prescribed curriculum.

Chief among the demands is the release of a printed version of the resource book the govt launched for PE teachers last year. "Practicals and theory are different. Though PE exams are held from Class VI, there are no textbooks to teach from. In several cases, teachers end up filling in the answers for students themselves," said Pushparaj, a retired teacher.

The school education department had launched the 256-page book in Aug last year, but only PDF copies are available. Many teachers bear the printing costs. Teachers have also flagged the lack of ring-fenced funds for sports development. "At present, equipment and kits for sports are provided through school grants. The grant varies from 25,000 to 75,000 every year depending on the student strength. But the expenses are managed by headmasters, who may or may not spend for PE," he said.

A dedicated sports grant for every school, calibrated to student strength, will push schools to take the subject more seriously, said S Sankaraperumal, president of the TN physical education teachers and physical directors association.

He also renewed a long-standing demand for the govt to expedite the creation of PE teacher posts in 9,000 schools and fill existing vacancies in 500 schools.

Chief inspector of PE Gopalakrishnan said a final decision on the printing timeline will be taken soon and district physical education inspectors have been asked to compile a list of schools lacking adequate sports facilities, which will then be addressed.