Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday inaugurated five tennis courts and a tennis academy at Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya No. 2 in Punjabi Bagh as part of the Delhi government’s policy that allows private academies to use the premises of schools run by the government.
These academies are given land for free and can use it commercially on two conditions — half of all enrolments should be from Delhi government schools and that these students are not charged a fee.
‘Enthusiastic response’
Mr. Sisodia said the policy has received very enthusiastic response from organisations with expertise in sports training, and imparting art and cultural activities to children.
Stating that there should not be any difference in the quality of training, the Education Minister instructed the academy to ensure there is no segregation between students from surrounding areas and those from Delhi government schools.
He also asked the MLA and the school principal to explore the possibility of organising inter-school tournaments once the students are trained.
The Delhi government has also rolled out a ‘Play and Progress’ scheme to help talented sportspersons at the school-level hone their skills. Under the scheme, sportspersons under the age of 14 years are eligible to receive a quantum of assistance of ₹2 lakh per annum and ₹3 lakh for students in 14-17 years age bracket. The quantum of assistance can be enhanced by 20% in some cases.
Specialised training for these sportspersons is organised at 18 places, including Chhatrasal Stadium, Thyagaraj Sports Complex, East Vinod Nagar Sports Complex and Najafgarh Stadium.
Another scheme rolled out for established young sportspersons, called ‘Mission Excellence’, aims to see 100 top-level sportspersons of Delhi receive training and coaching sponsored by the government to prepare for international tournaments and championships.
Mr. Sisodia said that the problem with sports administration was that decision-making powers are held by those who have had no link with sports in their lives. “The Delhi government has formed a special panel of experts with sportspersons to pick talented students, coaches and coaching techniques.”
