Physical Literacy To Be Recognised As Fundamental Right? Supreme Court Seeks Response From Union & States

The Supreme Court, on Monday(April 25), asked the Union and State Governments to provide their opinion with respect to the submission of the Amicus Curiae, Mr. Gopal Sankaranarayanan that physical literacy ought to be recognised as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The Apex Court had also sought the response of the Government on the other interim suggestions made by the Amicus in his summary notes. A Bench comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao and B.R. Gavai was hearing a plea, inter alia, seeking directions to the Union Government to form a High-Level Committee to make suggestions on amending Article 21A to include Sports as a Fundamental Right. Considering the fact that sports falls under the State List in Schedule 7 of the Constitution of India, responses were also sought from all the States. At the outset, the Amicus apprised the Bench that after consulting various stakeholders and luminaries in the field of sports, he has reached the conclusion that adopting the phrase "Physical Literacy" instead of "Sports" would be appropriate as it signifies inculcating in each individual the ability and interest to engage in any physical activity. It does not, in essence, limit a person to a particular sport. He briefly put forth the contents of the Report Entitled "From Stasis to Movement – Actualising a Fundamental Right to Physical Literacy in India", which was authored by the Sports and Society Accelerator in response to the written request made by the Amicus. "It firstly deals with the situation on the ground with reference to physical literacy…Second deals with the challenges that we have on the ground, with reference to attitude, pedagogy, infrastructure, etc. Third, existing legal framework, both international and domestic and policies that are there including grants etc. Finally it explains what physical literacy is, how it is wider and advantages of that. Then fundamental right to physical literacy which would include sports." He asserted that though the vision of the report was implementable, they are long term goals and involve the coordination of several Ministries, both at the Centre as well at the State level. Therefore, from his summary note, he made submissions on the short term goals seeking urgent directions. Recognising physician literacy as a fundamental right protected by Article 21 of the Constitution. He submitted - "There are three rights subsumed in this - right to education, right to health and right to freedom of expression…This forms the triangle which will lead to fundamental right of physical literacy to be recognised as fundamental right under Article 21." Establishing 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 mechanisms. Recommendations were provided by Mr. Sankaranarayanan with respect to School Education Boards, Educational Institutions and Empowered Committee and Digital Initiatives and directions were sought from the Bench. School Education Boards: From the academic year 2022-2023, all School Boards shall dedicate 90 minutes of every school day to free play and games. From the academic year 2022-2023, all non-residential colleges and schools, during non-working hours shall allow children from the neighbourhood to use their playground and sports facilities on a free play or pay-and-use basis. Educational Institutions: Within 180 days, all schools that host students for more than 10 hours are to communicate about its Physical Literacy Policy to the guardians and create an internal committee to address grievances. The policy so adopted by the schools would be required to acknowledge its commitment to include physical literacy in its curriculum and it would incorporate the protocols of the National Physical Literacy Mission. It should also reflect its commitment to provide access to its sports facilities to the neighbourhood children as mentioned above. The policy should design inclusive physical literacy activities. It should include all students, irrespective of gender, disabilities, social backgrounds etc. Empowered Committee: The Ministry of Education, through the Department of School Education and Literacy, can be directed to form an empowered committee or working group (Committee) consisting of senior officers from key line ministries and independent experts from the fields of education, health, disability, sports, and movement. A Court-appointed convenor can chair the committee. Apart from devising a core curriculum for physical literacy in consultation with other authorities, the Committee would be required to devise a strategic blueprint for actualising a fundamental right of physical literacy. Digital Initiatives: A dashboard...

Physical Literacy To Be Recognised As Fundamental Right? Supreme Court Seeks Response From Union & States

Sohini Chowdhury

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