Edu ministry forms plan to bring in ‘Bharatiya Games’ in schools

The first “Bharatiya Games” initiative, under which the government is set to introduce indigenous games in schools, will be implemented by appointing a teacher as a point of contact, developing annual and monthly training programmes for them, training students under those teachers, and review and recognition of their performance by experts, according to a plan chalked out by the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) division of the education ministry

The first “Bharatiya Games” initiative, under which the government is set to introduce indigenous games in schools, will be implemented by appointing a teacher as a point of contact, developing annual and monthly training programmes for them, training students under those teachers, and review and recognition of their performance by experts, according to a plan chalked out by the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) division of the education ministry.

The first interschool competition under the initiative will be held in January, officials said.

The first interschool competition under the initiative will be held in January, officials said.

The plan to hold Bharatiya Games was announced in July. The ministry has prepared a list of 75 Indian games from different parts of the country, including Raja mantri chor sipahi, posham pa, gilli danda, yubi lakpi, and different forms of kabbadi and kanche, HT reported on July 31.

According to the implementation plan, each school will nominate a person, most likely the sports teacher, as the point of contact. “The schools will upload the details of these teachers on the IKS website, and we will reach out to them directly for further coordination,” a document prepared by the IKS division stated. “These teachers, upon training and direction from IKS, will prepare students in their respective schools to play the games.”

The IKS games experts will develop a structured training programme consisting of details of the game, including methods to play, scoring techniques, rules, life lessons attached to each particular game, variations of each game, and skills developed through each game.

“After getting trained using the website and by attending the training programme conducted by IKS, the teachers will identify the students, ideally a large number. A few of these students could be selected for the final game, that is recorded, depending on their interest and competence,” the document stated. “These games generally require no special equipment or field, hence there is no need to procure any additional funds.”

The schools will upload a five-minute video of students’ performance on the IKS website for review. “IKS will set up a team of games experts, taken primarily from the teachers from the schools. This team of about 20 will be coached by IKS experts on rating the games. The rating framework will be developed by IKS games experts,” the document stated.

Schools have already started registering teachers and students on the division’s website, said Ganti S Murthy, national coordinator for IKS. “We have already started conducting meetings with the Kendriya Vidyalayas and other school associations to create awareness about the initiative,” Murthy said. “In January, we are likely to conduct our first competition.”

“The top performing school, the teacher who coached the students and the playing students will be rewarded with a certificate of excellence mentioning their national rank in the game,” he said.