Lahore: Most of private schools without playgrounds

[LRE]

Most of private schools without playgrounds



Sunday, September 07, 2008
By Khalid Khattak

LAHORE

IT is believed that sports play an important role in the overall character building and personality development of children but it is a bitter reality that the majority of private and public schools lack playgrounds, which affects students’ physical and mental fitness.

The condition of public schools is somewhat better than private schools as their campuses are built on a vast piece of land unlike private schools operating in small buildings or even houses. There are some private schools that offer playgrounds and sports which public schools cannot afford.

Sadly, indoor games are uncommon in schools owing to which students seldom find opportunities to spare time for sports.

By and large, there is a lack of playgrounds in the provincial metropolis which compels children to play in streets or on roads. The paucity of play areas and fewer sports opportunities encourage children to rely on computer games. The tendency to play computer games among children has been on the rise over the years.

Academic circles believe that sports and games play a significant role in character building. They say that students learn the significance of teamwork, commitment to a job, sense of responsibility and a spirit of tolerance and forbearance by taking part in sports.

They argue that one of the major reasons for students’ inclination to playing computer games and internet surfing was a lack of sports facilities available to them. They are also very critical of private schools, saying the commercialisation of education had turned it from a divine mission into a business.

Faisal, a concerned citizen, said it was unfortunate that the majority of private schools did not care about students’ basic needs but charged handsome fees. He said private schools operated in one or two-room buildings, adding offering playgrounds to students was a huge challenge for such schools. He said in the absence of any sports-related activities, students were compelled to find alternatives.

Nasir, a government schoolteacher, said majority of government schools were housed in big buildings and had playgrounds for students unlike private schools. “The infrastructure of government schools, however, is going to waste as they do not organise sports activities on a regular basis,” he said. He said the condition of education institutions for girls was even worse as they did not at all encourage students to participate in sports.

Another teacher said that at a time when most of public schools in the province were without basic facilities, the issue of sports was not important. “For me the provision of missing facilities such as electricity, toilets and boundary walls is more important than providing students with playgrounds,” he remarked.

Commenting on the issue, Schools Education Department Secretary Nadeem Ashraf said sports at school had been pushed into the background over the years. He said the government was devising a strategy to promote sports at schools.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=134386