'All Schools Should Have At Least 90 Minutes Daily Time For Games' : Amicus Suggestion In SC Plea To Declare Sports As Fundamental Right

In relation to a petition filed seeking to make sports a fundamental right, a report has been submitted before the Supreme Court suggesting that all schools should be directed to have at least 90 minutes daily time for play and fames.The report submitted by amicus curiae Senior Advocate Gopal Shankaranarayanan has also suggested that the broad term "physical literacy" be adopted instead of sports and that the same be recognized as a fundamental right protected by Article 21 of the Constitution.According to the report, the Government of India should establish the National Physical Literacy Mission (NLPM) to give effect to the right by establishing and implementing a responsibilities matrix that includes curriculum design, compliance monitoring, and review, grievance redressal and self-correction mechanismsThe report submitted by the Amicus Curiae Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan titled "From Stasis to Movement – Actualising a Fundamental Right to Physical Literacy in India", has been drafted by the Sports Law & Policy Centre for the Sports and Society Accelerator in response to a written request received from the Amicus.The report also includes the important feedback received from three of India's sporting legends including former India and NCAA tennis champion Somdev Kishore Devvarman, former Indian Hockey Captain Viren Rasquinha, and Indian badminton legend and current Chief National Coach of the Indian team Mr Pullela Gopichand.The report has been submitted in relation to a petition filed before the Apex Court which includes a number of prayers that range from making sports a fundamental right, to transferring sports to the concurrent list and forming an independent Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth Empowerment at union and state levels. The petition also seeks judicial directions to governments to amend education policies to promote sports, and make facilities and equipment available to enhance the opportunities to play sports.Through an order dated 22nd April 2019, the Supreme Court had appointed Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan as the the Amicus Curiae to assist in the hearing of the present petition.In order to better understand the position that presently prevails across the country, it was proposed that information be solicited from the various States and Union Territories by circulating a Questionnaire in a specified format.Earlier, the Court directed the States to furnish responses within 3 weeks. In December 2021, when the Court was informed that unfortunately less than a quarter of the States and Union Territories had responded to the Questionnaire, the Court had directed that the case shall be listed for hearing as a consequence.For a much deeper examination of the issue a detailed correspondence was commenced with various stakeholders through the months of December 2021 and January 2022. The various feedback that was received has been shared and has culminated in the present Report.The Amicus has submitted that after a detailed correspondence, it has been observed that rather than using the phrase "Sport" which is narrow, it would be better to adopt the phrase "Physical Literacy", one that is firmly established as a right in the leading sporting nations of the world.According to the Amicus, there were several exchanges of drafts and discussions, and although completed in a short time frame, it attempts to be an exhaustive dossier on how Physical Literacy is to be imagined and implemented in India.What would it mean to have the fundamental right to physical literacy? : The report states that having fundamental right to literacy would mean identifying the intrinsic value of physical activity to human living. It would mean not seeing physical activity as a means to an end and establishment of physical activity/ physical education as a core component of education curriculum.Further, it would mean life-long opportunities to access physical activity universally, and everyone no matter their age, ability, gender, class or other needs or interests, demands the right to be physically active and physically literate."Defined specifically, a fundamental right to physical literacy should be closely aligned to the right to education, prescribed for children under the age of 18, or of a school going age. While this is the correct approach for defining the contours of a fundamental right to physical literacy, unlike school education, access to physical literacy learning tools must also be available (even if not mandated as a fundamental right) to every individual of all ages." the report states The Report has set out long term recommendations to help ensure population-scale rollout and remedies for actualising the fundamental right to physical literacy. The Amicus has sought the following directions from the Supreme Court in this regard:Directions to School Education Boards: All School Boards including CBSE, ICSE, State Boards, IB, IGCSE be directed to ensure that from the academic year...

'All Schools Should Have At Least 90 Minutes Daily Time For Games' : Amicus Suggestion In SC Plea To Declare Sports As Fundamental Right

Srishti Ojha

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