Health and sports:Minister for Industries and SportsE.P. Jayarajan and former Minister V.S. Sivakumar playing badminton at the inaugural function of 17 clubs at the Government Central High School at Attakulangara in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. —Photo: S. Gopakumar
Sports Minister E.P. Jayarajan has said that the project to introduce yoga classes in all schools will be implemented soon.
He added that the Sports Department will ensure that there are adequate number of yoga instructors for the purpose.
Inaugurating 17 clubs at the Government Central High School at Attakulangara on Thursday, Mr. Jayarajan said that the government intended to set up portable swimming pools at schools across the State.
He pointed out that the government strived to ensure that educational institutions, especially those that many students depended upon, were protected from closure.
Real estate ventures
Citing the instance of the Aided Upper Primary School at Malapparamba, which is believed to be 140 years old, Mr. Jayarajan alleged that attempts to utilise the school for real estate ventures were thwarted with the government deciding to takeover the institution.
“Similarly, attempts to commence business endeavours on the land, which came under the possession of the 127-year old Attakulangara government school, will never be entertained. Instead, efforts will be made for enhancing the facilities of the school, which has witnessed an increase in intake from 44 to 152 students within a few years,” he said.
Presiding over the function, former Minister V.S. Sivakumar, MLA, urged the government to identify a different location for establishing the proposed bus bay-cum-shopping complex. The facility had been planned to be established on a plot within the school compound. He appealed to the government to protect the school at all costs.
The clubs which commenced functioning at the school included those for Science, Mathematics, Social Science, Ecological Conservation, Health, Arts, Sports, English, Reading, Kathakali, Kalaripayattu and Yoga.
State Institute of Educational Management and Training – Kerala director P.A. Fathima, Kerala School Teachers Association general secretary K.C. Harikrishnan, school protection committee president E.M. Radha, School headmaster R.S. Suresh Babu, parent-teacher association (PTA) president A. Shajahan and staff secretary R.S. Arun were also present on the occasion.