Kozhikode: While Union Minister Harsha Vardhan recently issued orders to the Human Resource Development ministry to initiative activities that boost sports in schools, the District Panchayat and Sports Council of Kozhikode is proudly boasting about its year-old project, Sports Promotion and Education Empowerment by District Panchayat (SPEED).
With the success of the project, conceived of by the district panchayat in partnership with the District Sports Council, the State government has said it would be willing to adopt the project and replicate it in all government schools in the State to nurture the best talent in sports.
SPEED aims at improving physical fitness of students and promoting their sports skills according to their area of interest. The project has so far been implemented in more than 20 schools in the district, including nine aided schools, at special request, offering the children quality coaching and all the required sports accessories.
State Minister for Sports Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said, “The Ministry has decided to invest Rs 1050 crore for the first phase of the adoption of the project for the renovation and development of playgrounds in the State soon after the upcoming National Games."
The main sports events of these units will be cricket, football, volleyball, basketball, athletics, kalari, swimming and taekwondo, with sports trainers and physical education teachers (PET) in attendance.
“Whoever adopts our model project, the only request that we have is to undergo all the processes of the SPEED project that have been implemented in our district with as many regional training academies and sports clubs in all schools,” said District Panchayat President Kanathil Jameela. We have also sent proposals to the Central government to work on the promotion of sports in the country and ensure at least one stadium each for every panchayath and a spacious playground for all government schools.
As per the SPEED project, various units, each focusing on specific games, have been implemented in select schools in the district, said Jameela. "We didn't want any game to lose prominence by mixing them all up together. The students of the selected schools have been categorised according to their sport of interest sport in which regular training, tournaments and supply of necessary accessories, would be organised for the sum of Rs 15 lakhs, generated by the diistrict panchayat. We have assured all financial and moral support for the schools to run the project in the best way possible," she added.
The panchayat had, so far, been busy investing their resources in already skilled students. But this programme was aimed at locating new talents and helping them be part of the district’s future potential in sports initiatives with the help of a resource pool of retired PETS and experienced sports instructors,” said District Panchayat Education standing committee chairperson KP Sheeba.
The Kozhikode Panchayat distributed high-end sports kits, containing jumping beds, shots, javelins, discus, high jump stands, first-aid kits and other instruments, to selected schools.
The sports training academies have also been given necessary sports equipment, besides protein-rich food, especially for disbursal to children from remote areas.
