Most parents want to send their students to private schools these days for better education compared to government schools. Private schools often have stricter systems and procedures than public schools, meaning a greater emphasis on quality education. Additionally, private schools are somewhat free to choose a curriculum and add more subjects or extracurricular activities for students. All this has led to comparatively lower enrolment in government schools in many states.
While government schools are trying their best to increase their student enrolment, one in the town of Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu has devised an interest way to attract students.
The Government Primary School in Thirumayam, Pudukkottai, has included mandatory martial arts training for children as a part of extracurricular activities, in a move to attract more students.
It is now a common sight for students to be seen practicing attack and defence moves with staff and shields.
Arul Arogya Mary, the headmaster of the school, told News18, “Recently, due to the low enrolment in the school, some parents have requested through the school management committee to teach martial arts and self-defence techniques to the school children.” She added that both children and parents were happy with this implementation and it resulted in a surge in student enrolment at the school. She said that along with private schools, government schools should also include such programmes in their extracurricular activities to increase the total students’ strength.
What is striking in the new initiative is that along with martial arts like karate and boxing, the traditional Tamil martial art of Silambam is also being taught here. Silmbam includes the principles of martial arts, yoga, and Ayurveda together and it is regarded as one of the oldest forms of self-defence in the world. With time, East Asian countries came up with their disciplines of martial arts, some of which had their roots in Indian martial arts itself.