BHUBANESWAR : The
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has planned to introduce a
health and physical education programme for
students of classes IX to XII from the next
academic session. The programme will be compulsory for all schools affiliated to the
CBSE.
"Health is often a state of physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The CBSE has decided to make health and physical education compulsory for students of classes IX to XII to ensure the holistic development of the child," reads the circular issued by the CBSE to all affiliated schools.
The aim of the course is to enable the students attain an optimum state of health, the circular says. "Therefore, the CBSE wants to provide a focussed curriculum for health and physical education, imbued with life skills, in all affiliated schools," it adds.
The board has asked all schools to make space for the course in their timetables. Earlier, students would get a period every week for physical education while those who opted for it in the senior-secondary classes (XI and XII) got four periods a week. However, students would not have to sit for any theory exam on the subject.
"This is a very good initiative by the CBSE. It is time to give more emphasis on health and physical education. Class IX is the age when children enter adolescence. The subject of health and life-skill education will be beneficial for them then," said Naba Kishore Mohapatra, head of the department for physical education at DAV Public School, Chandrasekharpur.
The circular also says that transactional strategies, detailed guidelines and methodology for conducting the course will be available on the CBSE website soon.
