Aspiring cricketers in Punjab’s government schools have to depend on private academies. (Express)
CRICKET HAS failed to find place in the list of sports ‘wings’ announced by Punjab education department. The state education department runs training ‘wings’ for various sports under which the players selected through trials from government schools are given free of cost kits, Rs 125 a day for their diet, professional coach, residential practice camps and free of cost education. A government school having required facilities is selected as ‘wing venue’ where selected students reside, get coaching and education.
As per the latest list of ‘wings’ (a copy is with The Indian Express) announced by the education department for 2017-18, free coaching will be provided for basketball, boxing, judo, football, kabaddi and hockey across the state. Cricket has failed to make it to the list. This means government school students, who mostly come from poor families, have to depend on private academies, if they want to pursue cricket. Most of the government schools in Punjab also do not have playgrounds or cricket pitches to train students at their own level.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior officer with the education department looking after sports wing said, “There has never been a wing for cricket coaching in government schools. They mostly depend on private academies and then give trials. Under these wings run by education department, we select students through trials and groom them through a professional coach, proper diet, kits and free education. There is no provision for cricket wing either for boys or girls.” Kamaldeesh Singh Sodhi, principal, Gian Jyoti School, Moga, which trained woman cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur said, “My school is affiliated to the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB). We have not taken or received any monetary help from the government and built cricket infrastructure on our own to train cricketers. I think it depends a lot on the principals and school heads. If they have interest, they can create infrastructure at their own level and train the students. However, if government starts wing for cricket, it will be an excellent move for poor children who want to play cricket.”
Rupinder Ravi, state organiser for sports, Punjab education department, said, “There is no problem in starting training wings for cricket. We will do so if there is any demand for it. A school gets status of wing only if it has required facilities like hostel, playground etc. Children pursuing cricket get training from other academies etc.” He failed to give a satisfactory reply to why there is no free coaching for government school children in cricket.
‘Cricket wing for govt schools will be started’
Aruna Chaudhary, Punjab’s Education Minister, said that ‘there is a lot of interest for cricket among children from government schools and a wing for cricket will be started’. “If there hasn’t been a cricket wing for free coaching of government school children till now, then it does not mean there cannot be one in future. We will correct this blunder and government school children will also get free coaching in cricket like other sports.”
