JOVITO LOPES
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PANJIM: The inter-school sports calendar needs to be standardized so that the inter-school championships wind up by January or the first week of February at the most, stated V M Prabhudesai, director, Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs.
When specifically told that the inter-school handball, basketball, cricket and football tournaments were yet to held from North Goa district level or that football at district level, for example, would start only from Thursday after such a big gap, and that the SSC prelims were round the corner and that the students needed to prepare for the final examinations, Prabhudesai conceded that there was a gap for several reasons, due to several constraints beyond its control and that the calendar will have to be rationalized from the next academic year.
“There is no uniformity in the conduct of school unit tests, exams with the Goa Headmasters Association calendar not being followed for example by the Diocesan schools, which follow their own. Schools often seek postponements due to exams, annual day, excursions, exhibitions. Besides, this year we had problems of non-availability of the ground at Peddem, Mapusa and the basketball court at Mira Mar. Besides, there is shortage of officials like referees, umpires and judges in certain disciplines to conduct some events,” explained Prabhudesai.
“Our inter-school activities have also multiplied. Besides, more and more schools are participating in inter-school tournaments and we have also introduced new events. With the increase in tournaments, teams and activities overall, the schedules often get affected. Besides, we have also to organize inter-HSS sports and with monsoons restricting the holding of events, and with requests for postponement of schedules often as age-group tournaments are also organized by State level associations, the programmes get stretched,” remarked the top DSYA official.
“The lack of proper football ground in North Goa, has forced us to shift the district matches to Sesa Football Academy’s ground at Sirsaim. With the non-availability of Gymkhana ground due to their own inter-school tournament, matches will now have to be played at Sanquelim. Yet, all tournaments will be over soon so that there is time for the students to prepare for the exams,” stressed Prabhudesai.
Some heads of schools had pointed out that for example, the inter-school football tournament organized by State association like the Mahindra Youth League on district basis, had a compact schedule and strict adherence to the schedule and the same pattern should be followed by the DSYA. Moreover, they felt that no tournament should be held from February ownwards so as to give adequate time for the SSC students to prepare for the prelims and the final examinations. “Proper planning with a proper time-table is the need of the hour. The one-year calendar needs to be drawn in advance, based on nationals, and issued to the schools right at the start of the academic year so that schools can also prepare their own annual plans and as such are fully geared up,” a headmaster remarked.
“Inter-school sports is picking up as everyone has realized the value and importance of sports. There are bigger benefits for students now with the result there is enormity of inter-school activities. The response has been tremendous this year. Slowly and steadily, we will have to standardize the schedules in partnership with the school authorities. Uniformity will be needed in terms of holding various exams and school extra-curricular activities,” summed up Prabhudesai, who when told about the problems that some schools were facing, summoned all his district officials in charge of organization to take stock of the situation so that things could be streamlined further and problems sorted out to the benefit of schools keeping in mind the students’ needs.
