To further improve sports infrastructure in educational institutes, the Uttar Pradesh government has asked senior officers to ascertain that schools and colleges are using the fee they collect from students in the name of developing sports facilities.
In a letter to high school education and skill development departments, additional chief secretary Navneet Sehgal instructed them to conduct a special exercise to ensure that educational institutes are held accountable if they do not spend the sports fee to encourage sports among students.
Sehgal has asked the principal secretary of the high school education department, Sudheer M Bobde and the principal secretary of skill development, Subhash Chandra Sharma to formulate a mechanism so that schools don’t charge fees for activities that they don’t conduct.
The aim of the initiative is to promote sports from the school level itself.
Sehgal has instructed the officials to seek details of sports activities conducted by schools like the number of sports events and expenditure.
“Sports facilities should be created for students in various educational institutions. These facilities should be used regularly by students,” Sehgal wrote, adding, “The Sports Department is working on a plan to provide facilities to the youth.”
He further said that the Yogi Adityanath government is committed to its motto of ‘Khelega UP, Jeetega UP’.
“For this, basic facilities required for popular sports should be made available at the village, block and district levels in order to nurture and encourage talent. Proper attention to sports will play an important role in realising this motto.”
The senior official further informed that the UP government plans to build playgrounds in every village, a mini stadium at block headquarters, and a ‘Khelo India’ centre at district headquarters.
“I urge you to put in place a system in your department to ensure that part of the fees collected by each institution from the students in the name of sports should be spent on sports,” Sehgal wrote.