The Punjab government has decided to give special attention to its primary schools to attract youngsters towards the sports and inculcate sports culture in them from childhood. “The Education Department has made a period each day mandatory for sports in the government schools of the state,” said the state Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema on Thursday during the inauguration of ‘Maidan Summit’ at Panjab University.
Cheema said that developing sports culture is of paramount importance when it comes to encourage young blood to keep away from drugs and channelize their energy in the positive direction. To encourage young children to take up sports, each primary school in the state would get sports kit as per the demand as well as number of students, he said.
The Minister elaborated that the state government is devoting special attention to develop sports infrastructure in the state and the construction of 14 stadiums, including six hockey astroturf stadiums, with every facility available in the modern era stands strong testimony to it.
He said that under the sports policy, the Punjab Government has disbursed cash prizes worth Rs 15.18 crores to the players excelling at both national and international level besides providing government jobs to them.
Apart from this, a state of the art ‘Punjab Institute of Sports’ has been established with specialized focus on 10 major sports, besides making whole hearted efforts to popularize Kabbadi with enormous success and also reviving state games.