This story is from October 4, 2019

Grand kick off: Delhi may soon have its first sports university

To give youngsters an opportunity to pursue sports as a full-time higher education programme, the AAP government on Thursday said it is planning to open a sports university in the capital. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the university would offer undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral degrees in various sports on a par with other educational disciplines.
Delhi: National capital might soon have its own sports university
CM Arvind Kejriwal
NEW DELHI: To give youngsters an opportunity to pursue sports as a full-time higher education programme, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Thursday said it is planning to open a sports university in the capital.
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Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the university would offer undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral degrees in various sports on a par with other educational disciplines. A full-fledged sports school affiliated to CBSE would also be established for imparting school-level teaching with emphasis on sports.
A 90-acre plot has been identified in west Delhi’s Mundka to establish Delhi Sports University, the CM added.
Kejriwal said that a sportsman is generally uncertain about his future thinking if he is not able to establish a career in sports, then he will just be called a school passout and won’t land a decent job requiring an undergraduate degree.
“A sportsperson will now be able to devote his full time to the sport he plays. The degree he gets from this university will make him eligible for various jobs, including the civil services examinations,” the chief minister said.
The AAP government has prepared the Delhi Sports University Bill, which was approved by the state cabinet on Thursday. “Since it is a finance bill, it will now be sent to the lieutenant governor for his approval. If we get the LG’s nod, we will present it in the upcoming winter session of the assembly,” Kejriwal said. However, he didn’t give a timeline on establishing the university saying it would be set after the assembly cleared the Bill.

While the DSU Bill defines the “administrative and legal structure” of the university, the CM said that several experts would be involved at various stages to design and give a definite structure to the curriculum of the courses. “The curriculum and subjects are in the ideation process and will be developed after deliberations with domain experts. The cabinet has approved the conceptual framework and Delhi assembly is hoping to pass the legal framework,” Kejriwal said.
The DSU Bills states: “The key functional domains of the university shall include academics and research at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, creating systems and processes for professional excellence in various sports, undertaking skill development, sports recreation and community outreach and extension activities, developing institutional mechanism for early stage sports talent scouting and grooming and making provisions for bridge courses.”
While an experienced sportsperson will be the vice-chancellor, the LG will the chancellor and the President the Visitor to the university. “The main aim of this university is to build and groom students who have excelled in various sports in school,” Kejriwal said.
“Sports is an important and dignified subject to pursue. A sportsperson will be treated with utmost dignity now that sports will be a part of the main curriculum at this university. We want them to feel dignified and recognised. We hope that this university will create world-class sportspersons and coaches,” Kejriwal said.
Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said that most students compromise on sports to perform well in their academic subjects. “I know some students who are pursuing their graduation from School of Open Learning to manage sports and studies both. It is disappointing that many students who have played sports at the national level often find themselves lagging behind for a job in comparison to somebody who has pursued a normal graduation degree. We are hoping to eradicate that uncertainty of the future from the minds of sportspersons,” he added.
Kejriwal emphasised that DSU will be the first government-run institution to provide formal higher education in sports. “We have come up with a different concept altogether. It is not just about the promotion of sports, but about formalising sports and making it a part of the main curriculum of a student,” he said.
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