Nagpur educationists discuss blueprint for fitness in schools and colleges with wrestler Sangram Singh

Serious intent, sincere efforts and strong willpower were the keywords at the chatathon organised by Nagpur Times, which saw wrestlerSangram Singh interacting informally with some of the movers and shakers of education arena in the city. The topic was 'Blueprint for fitness in Nagpur schools and colleges.' With Sangram Singh in their midst, our educationists couldn't hold back and voiced their concerns, discussed their problems and found solutions without inhibitions….Fitness unpluggedSangram set the ball rolling, as he described his own fitness mantra, which helped him win many medals and become an icon in the field of wrestling. "Fitness is not about six-packs or hitting the gym with a vengeance. It is about gaining that level of strength, which helps you discharge your daily duties without getting bogged down. Contrary to the popular belief, one needs to spend barely Rs 500-700 extra to attain this fitness," he said, and added, "we don't have to lecture the youngsters to stay fit and healthy. We just need to motivate them. My long tryst with the wheelchair ended when I decided to fight my paralysed state, and through self-motivation, I attained my current form."The problem areas The brand ambassador of Wrestling Federation of India then went on to ask the city educationists about the motivation levels of the youngsters in their respective institutions. Arun Upadhyaya, the founder Director of Centre Point School, said: "In our school, we have provided the best of facilities for sports and fitness and children are making good use of them too. But what really disturbs me is the fact that many children lack that requisite motivation to get going."Lack of motivation Arun said: "Parents play a vital role when it comes to motivating kids. After school, if we advise the youngsters to stay back for sports, the mother would say, 'Mere bache ko dhoop mein sir dard ho jayega.' I remember in our school days, Nagpur was even hotter than now and it was a dry region too, but we would forever be on the ground, playing cricket, pitthu or other outdoor games. This is what leads a child to video games and play stations, adding to the obesity and health issues at an early age." To this, Mahesh Sadhwani, Chairman, JIT said: "We can't blame the parents alone and it is our responsibility to motivate the youngsters too. I really feel that if the government provides motivation through more job opportunities, it would be a great motivating factor."Where is the time?Dr Ramakrishna Shenoi, the Vice Dean of VSPM Dental College, however, felt that it is not correct to blame only the parents or the youngsters. "The fact is that in professional colleges like ours, there are exams held after every three months. So, students have to really slog it out constantly. So, that leaves very little time for fitness and sports. Moreover, a large number of students in the dental colleges are girls, and they have a family pressure to return home at a stipulated time, leaving little or no scope for fitness related activities," said Dr Shenoi, adding, "Also, their snacking habits add to the woes and it spells doom. After all, the most popular snack in our country is samosa, and at home too, youngsters aren't eating healthy."Curriculum versus sportsNavneet Singh Tuli, the CMD of Guru Nanak Institutions, made it clear that the biggest problem was the ongoing tussle between the curriculum and the sports. "Unless and until sports and fitness are made an integral part of the curriculum, nothing can be done to improve the fitness levels of youngsters," he said.The solutionsIf the grey areas and problems were discussed threadbare at this platform, the solutions were also found right there in this brainstorming session. Anuj Badjate, Director, Jain Group of Institutions, was very vocal about finding solutions to the problems in the path to fitness. "Unless we stop the rat race and make sports compulsory, nothing can be done for fitness. And for that, even if we have to compromise from 72 percent of marks to 68 percent, there’s no harm. I've been a state-level sportsman and in our institutions, we have provided the state-of-the-art facilities and it's heartening to see the youngsters making use of them. Agreed, that you can't motivate 100 students, but if we can motivate even 20 to 30 percent, it is an achievement."A de-stressing factorSangram Singh interjected at this juncture and went on to add: "In this day and age, when all of us are running after the superfluous sheen, sports can be a de-stressing factor. Parents are worried about their EMIs, and children are pushed to excel in studies. But, if everyone takes to one sport or the other, it can help them fight their daily problems in a better manner."Improve nutritionRita Rawat, the HOD of Nutrition Department, LAD College, pointed out that while a lot has been said about facilities, motivation and curriculum, people tend to downplay the importance of nutrition. "While youngsters are hooked to junk food, they have deficiency of Vitamin D, calcium and iron. Parents give juices to their children and fruits are completely ignored. Youngsters have no stamina. All this can be remedied if parents and colleges take small steps in the right direction. Youngsters must be taught to eat healthy, and to drink lots of water," she said.Let there be freedom to chooseWhile everyone was speaking about how students need to shift focus from computer games to physical activities, Neeru Kapai, principal of Modern School, spoke on developing their interest in the activities that interest them. She said, "Parents don't have the time today to explore their child's interests, so they just impose their will on the child. A dad says, 'I played cricket, so you should also play it.' Thus, it is important to identify a child's strengths. Getting to know their interests and potential in games, we've observed drastic growth in them. Yoga and meditation have also helped a great deal in their development. Children are not given any free time and they keep on running from one tuition to another. Frankly, I feel no tuition classes are required till 10th standard. School teaching combined with self study is sufficient. Activities like painting, music and dance, which aren't given much importance, are the best stress busters, and I've observed that students are interested in them, but parents need to encourage them in these activities.Reduce distractionsNikhil Mundle, Trustee, Mundle Educational Trust, felt that to enable students to be fit, it's important to reduce the distractions to a bare minimum. He said, "Children have an inherent urge to go out and play and I think that is enough to keep them fit. They enjoy the process. However, it's a huge task for the schools and the parents to keep them away from addictive distractions like play stations, mobile phones and televisions, which stop them from going out and playing. Restrictions should be imposed on children so as to enable them to 'play' in the real sense."Break the mythsAkhilesh Chaturvedi, principal of Delhi Public School, put focus on inculcating the interest for fitness in a child at a young age. He said, "As the child grows up and reaches middle school, he is certain about where his interest lies, and can then decide for himself. The onus lies on the physical trainers. Teachers take extra classes in games period, that should be avoided." Neeru Kapai intervened, saying, "Students always frown when a games period is taken away. They have the interest in sports, and the teachers shouldn't discourage it. Sports are as important as academics, and this negativity attached to it needs to go away. Each child has an area of interest, and that must be acknowledged. It is a myth that if you give more time to sports, academics get affected." To this, Anuj Badjate put a strong point saying, "But who will break this myth?"Girls can make a differenceAs the discussion moved towards involvement of girls in physical activities, Harsha Jharia, the Vice Principal of LAD College, had a point to make. She said, "Girls are doing well at the National and International level in sports like kabaddi, karate and cricket. I see the curiosity in them, it's all about the opportunity given and they grab it with both hands."Channelise effortsRachna Singh, Principal, St Ursula Girl's School said that girls need little extra motivation to do even better. She went on to add: "We have a mix of tribal and urban students at our all-girls' school and the tribal students at our school are more enthusiastic towards sports than the urban ones. However, they lack proper nutrition as most of the girls have very low haemoglobin levels. We try to combat this deficiency by providing them with food, which is high in nutrition during the mid day meals. To ensure fitness, it is not only necessary to get them to play but it's also important that students have proper nutrition in their daily lives." To this, Rita Rawat suggested that every school and college should have a dietician to look into the nutrition levels of the students.Glamorise sports eventsLalit Khullar, Director of Tirpude College had a different take on the whole issue as he said, "In an age where glamour matters so much, it is important to glamorise sport events in colleges to attract students and therefore the onus lies on the colleges and schools. We have a Premier League in our college, which includes different kinds of sports activities. Except for tug of war, we have mixed teams of girls and boys for these games. We named the teams as Mavericks, Jaguars, etc., to make the concept more appealing to students and it has really worked."