Education Minister V Sivankutty said that state government is mulling over the inclusion of the biographies of sportspersons in Kerala schools’ textbooks
Thiruvananthapuram: In what could provide a much-needed fillip towards efforts to acknowledge the contributions made by sportspersons to the country, students in Kerala will soon be able to learn more about the stars of the sporting arena as part of their school curriculum.
An effort towards making this happen has been kickstarted with Kerala’s Education Minister V Sivankutty stating that the state government is mulling over the inclusion of the biographies of sportspersons in the school textbooks.
Speaking at an event to honour Olympian PR Sreejesh, who had starred in India’s fascinating performance in the hockey matches at the Tokyo Olympics that concluded recently, the Education Minister said that Sreejesh’s life should be a model for the children of Kerala.
The event was organised by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). The Minister also announced that Sreejesh has been promoted as Joint Director (Physical Education & Sports) by the Kerala government. The Indian hockey star and the much-applauded goalkeeper had been serving as Deputy Sports Organizer at the Directorate of Education.
Sreejesh wants to take more Kerala kids to the Olympics
Commenting on his promotion, Sreejesh said that with his new position comes added responsibility and that he would strive towards achieving better results. Adding that he would bring forth opportunities for more athletes from Kerala to sporting arenas like the Olympics, he called upon the government to lay turfs for hockey training in schools in the state.
Earlier in the day, PR Sreejesh called on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The star sportsman showed the Chief Minister the Olympic medal he had won in Tokyo.
The Chief Minister wrote on his Facebook page that, “Kerala’s proud hockey player PR Sreejesh came visiting. Sreejesh is an integral part of the Indian hockey team’s history of winning a medal at the Olympics”.
Sreejesh, a former captain of the national hockey team, is a native of Kochi, in Kerala. He currently plays for Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the Hockey Indian League. He had been presented with a Padma Shri in 2017.