The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that sports should be made as a compulsory subject in Schools and Colleges and extra marks should be given in Examinations and there should also be a quota for employment for Sport Persons. He was addressing the gathering after laying foundation stones for Multipurpose Indoor Hall, Swimming Pool and SAI Girls Hostel, in Puducherry today. The Lt. Governor of Puducherry, Dr. Kiran Bedi, the Chief Minister of Puducherry, Shri V. Narayanasamy, the Sports Minister, Puducherry, Shri Malladi Krishna Rao and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.The Vice President said that children and youth as well all human beings have a right to physical education and sport. He further said that this has to be recognized and action has to be taken to realize this vital requirement for a good quality life. Sports and games are an important part of our lives and they improve our physical fitness, improve our cognitive abilities and in the case of team games, enhance our social skills, he added.
The Vice President said that participating in games and various sports will improve the concentration levels of an individual, promote the concept of team work and help in developing an attitude of stoicism, which is essential to accept defeat without any sense of bitterness, ill-will or grudge.The Vice President expressed concern over lack of emphasis on physical activity in schools and said that it is quite worrisome that there has been a mushrooming of a significantly large number of schools and colleges without playgrounds.Saying that country of 130 crores should not fall short of talent in major sporting events, the Vice President called for coordinated efforts of society, schools and governments to encourage children to take up sports as a regular profession. Conduct of regular sports festivals and tournaments at all levels must be encouraged to recognise and reward the young talent, he added.Underlining the lack of sports infrastructure in the country, Vice President highlighted on the need to build or develop state of the art sports infrastructure in India. He further said that may be it is time for entering into Public Private Partnerships for building sports infrastructure and its maintenance. Wherever possible, the sports infrastructure can be used for exhibitions, seminars and conferences, he added.