Looking at the number of medals India fetched at the Rio Olympics despite
being one of the largest contingents, social media was abuzz with debates,
discussions and memes about what went wrong and what is it that obstructs our
talented sportspersons from doing well at the Olympics. One of the memes on
Facebook read, ‘India will start doing well at the Olympics only when the
teachers of other subjects will stop occupying the physical education/sports
classes.’ Jokes apart, this meme brings us to a more serious question of
whether our schools are putting in enough efforts to raise better players for
tomorrow. With a large number of schools not even having an adequate playground,
and many without good sports coaches or basic equipment, it’s really sad to see
that even in this day and age when we want good athletes to make our country
proud at international events, sport activities do not receive necessary
encouragement and support in our schools.
Natasha Wheeler, a teacher at Jnyan Vikas School, Porvorim,
feels that the lack of a good sports infrastructure is the major issue faced by
most of the Goan schools. “At the moment, I honestly can’t think of any school
in Goa that offer the best of playground and equipment for its students. There
are many good teachers who wish to encourage young players and coach them well,
but even their hands are tied as far as these facilities are concerned. I have
seen coaches get frustrated as sometimes they find really talented children but
cannot help them beyond a point due to lack good infrastructure for sports not
just at the school level, but at the state level as well,” expresses Natasha.
Taking inspiration from some of the major cities in our country and building
sport arenas, she feels, is a necessity at the moment.
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According to Charlene Farell, a guidance counsellor who works
with school children, more than infrastructure or coaching, the mentality of
parents, where sports is always considered secondary to studies, is a big
hindrance in the process of making good sportsmen. She opines, “We say we are a
progressive country, but we aren’t as progressive as we think we are. Parents
still want their kids to be in mainstream professions like medicine or
engineering rather than taking up something different and risky like sports.
The schools are doing their bit to encourage sports by giving extra marks to
those who are good in sports, arranging special coaching for interested
students and so on, but until parents change their attitude, fields like
sports, arts and music are going to suffer.”
For Florina Fernandes, teacher at Don Bosco Primary School,
Odxel, the problems that stop schools from giving good sports coaching to their
students may vary from one school to another. “If you see many schools in the
city, you will observe that they don’t have a good playground. Some schools
have playgrounds, but can’t afford good equipment to provide to their students.
Many schools lack good sports coaches. There are many talented kids in our
state who have a potential to do very well in sports, however they suffer due
to lack of facilities as well as coaching, as not everybody can afford special
training. It’s necessary that the schools as well as government should take
necessary steps in order to improve this situation,” Florina explains.
Bhakti Kulkarni, Goa’s chess champion who has won several
national and international titles to make Goa proud, shows a different side of
the issue. “It’s often seen that Goan schools do not allow their students to
participate actively in sports once they reach class 10. Everybody knows that
the Std 10 results hardly matter but the schools are worried about their
passing percentages and end up affecting the careers of budding sportsmen,” she
says. Bhakti also states that Goa does not have proper training facilities to
produce International stars. “Talasha was training in Bangalore while I have to
go to Mumbai. There are glaring examples of schools not supporting budding talents.
Take the examples of the talented IM Rohan Ahuja, GM elect Anurag Mhamal or
even me. We achieved our major successes once we were out of school. Unless the
Goan schools change their outlook, we shall fall behind other states,” she
maintains.
