Importance of sports and physical education in schools

- KMV Redhills

Physical education has long been a mainstay in most school curriculums. As a matter of fact, it has often been advocated that exercise, in general, must be a mainstay in everyone’s daily life. Schools have always understood this fact and have very often promoted sports for their students and built facilities so as to support the same. However, in recent times it has often been argued that it is necessary to increase the number of hours per week that students spend out on the field. Contradictory to this, it can be noted that many schools are yet to buy into this cause. There could be a multitude of reasons for this. Indian parents, by and large, don’t have much use for sports in their child’s curriculum. They would prefer school boards to instead focus on academics. Secondly, administrators may feel uncomfortable with the notion of sacrificing teaching hours in exchange for an increase in hours of physical education. Finally, sports have often been blamed for a student’s poor performance in academics. At the same time, the last point is an old myth, as the data hasn’t conclusively proven that there is any difference between the average student pool and the student pool that actively participates in sports.

Between these various criticisms, administrators have often had a hard time moving proposals for an increase in physical education hours forward. In spite of this, arguments to the contrary continue to persist and are beginning to sway schools towards their side. As the array of benefits that physical education & sports provide continue to become more well known, both schools and parents alike have begun to get behind the increase of physical education hours for students. So let’s have a look and understand why it is becoming so important for schools to implement policies that provide students with more time to focus on sports and more weekly hours for general physical education.

Physical Fitness

This is undoubtedly the greatest benefit of physical education in schools. While parents have in the past, have argued against an increase in physical education in school, it is simply because they would prefer their children to spend more time on academics and don’t really believe that physical education does not, in fact, help in developing the body. Physical fitness is the key ingredient for a healthy lifestyle. This is why physical education is an important element in most schools. When students have regular fitness activities as part of their daily regimen, they stay fit and healthy. Regular physical activities daily help in better absorption of nutrients in the body and also help in improving cardiovascular health and developing muscular strength.