Extra marks for sports in Maharashtra schools not the best idea ever

Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) has decided to re-introduce allocation of extra marks for students who take part in sports. Additional marks range from 15 to 25 depending upon the level of participation.

The proposed resolution, which comes into effect in the year 2016, will benefit students irrespective of the status of their results.

Prima facie, the move appears progressive. However, it has certain drawbacks—the least of which is that students may score more than 100 percent.

When I was schooling , there existed no such system. Sports persons would, however, enjoy a lower cut-off for admissions to colleges that supported sporting activities. This was left to each college to decide whether they wished to admit lower-scoring ‘active‘ students. There may be something in reverting back to this system.

The proposed regime where students are rewarded for their sporting activities may have them pursuing physical activities for the extra reward they engender while ignoring the recreational aspects derived from them. Competition for sporting events would increase and not because there exist outstanding athletes among the students.

Sport could become study—another chore, another subject.

Pupils ought to be encouraged to both study and play. One should counterbalance the other.

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All play and no work makes Jill a dull girl.”

At the macro level, physical exercise and fitness should become an integral part of each citizen’s life and routine. The ethos of sports  should pervade the very fabric of this nation and all its states.

Physical well-being and mental well-being are two sides of the same coin.

Go play!