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3-day Yoga Olympiad at NCERT Campus to be an annual feature from now on
Secretary of School Education and Literacy, Subhash Chandra Khuntia, revealed that the upcoming education policy will encourage Yoga in schools. He also declared that the 3-day Yoga Olympiad launched this year will continue to be held every year.
Secretary of School Education and Literacy, HRD Ministry, Subhash Chandra Khuntia, said that the new education policy being framed by the government will encourage Yoga in schools. He was speaking at the inauguration of the first Yoga Olympiad in which 350 students from 22 states participated.
The Olympiad is a 3-day event organised at the New Delhi NCERT campus aimed at popularising the ancient practice among school children across the country. Yoga holds a “significant” place in the upcoming education policy, Khuntia said.
Terming Yoga as an art of “maintaining balance” and ensuring “well being” of mind and body, he declared that the Olympiad will be a regular feature and will be held annually to ensure that it reaches out to every school-going child.
“Yoga Olympiad will be held every year to enable participation of all states with an aim that school children learn Yoga. NCERT has published books on Yoga for upper primary and secondary students. It is part and parcel of National Curriculum Framework and compulsory for classes VI to X,” he said.
Regarding the availability of yoga instructors, he said that there were certified Yoga teachers in major schools but in schools where they are not available, physical education teachers are being trained with the help of recognised Yoga institutes.
The Director of National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT), Hrushikesh Senapaty, said that Yoga can contribute in nurturing good human beings and citizens.
“We are acknowledged in the world for producing good professionals and Yoga can help us to produce good individuals and citizens,” he said.
The theme of this year’s Olympiad is ‘Yoga for Health and Harmony’. The selection process for choosing students who can participate in the National Yoga Olympiad started at the block level followed by choosing from district level and then state level competitions.
The 16 finalists, 4 boys and 4 girls from upper primary level and an equal number from the secondary level, will go on to compete before a jury which will assess their performance.