How the Sports Ministry is helping young SAI athletes balance sports and studies

The Union Sports Ministry decided, in a meeting, to implement a new policy through which it hopes to eradicate the case of “either/or” between sports and studies, as per an Indian Express report. 

Under the new policy, all school-going athletes who join national training centres will be provided tuition in three subjects, viz. English, Science and Mathematics. On top of that, the government will also roll out another initiative from October which will see the ministry tieing up with residential schools that have sporting facilities.

Sports secretary Radheyshyam Julaniya explained the need to provide tuitions for the three afore-mentioned subjects. He said children, in general, find it tough to learn English, Science and Mathematics by themselves.

Julaniya was quoted saying, “These are a few subjects that the children can’t study without anyone’s help and it is one of the reasons that hamper their education. Even in the normal course, children and parents find these three subjects challenging. So if they get tutored in these subjects, their academic performance will improve considerably.”

The report further mentioned that the upper ceiling for remuneration to a tutor will be INR 15,000 per month and that the federations will be responsible for appointing the tutors. Every young athlete training at any Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre will be eligible for this policy.

Junior athletes who start training at SAI centres are forced to leave schooling mid-way or join an open school. But more often than not, they miss their lectures and exams. In fact, on several occasions, athletes have left their studies to commit to sports.

Julaniya believes that it is imperative for all athletes to have proper education, which in turn will help them better their on-field performances.

He said, “Both (sports and studies) can go hand in hand. Both must go hand in hand. If you are physically fit and active, then you are mentally alert. No sportspersons excels at international level till he is very sharp in his observations and reactions. That is what education helps them with.”

This comes as a great news for budding athletes. For long, it's been a myth in India that sports and studies can't go hand in hand. There are numerous instances already where athletes have had to leave their schooling midway, and there are way more where talented youngsters have had to leave sports. Hopefully, with the introduction of the new policy, such cases will be reduced.