Reports | Sports ministry put aside monthly Rs 15,000 for athletes’ tuition fees
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Keeping an eye on the crucial damage inflicted upon budding Indian athletes, who skip studies to represent the country, the Union sports ministry has asked NSFs and SAIs to engage tutors at the national camps. The upper ceiling for the remuneration would reportedly be Rs 15, 000 every month.
India is witness to numerous incidents of sportspersons missing out on basic education in order to compete at the international level. While 2018 Asiad gold medalist shooter Saurabh Chaudhary had to skip his Class 10 board exams to prepare for the New Delhi World Cup, Makran Cup winner pugilist Deepak Bhoria hasn’t given his exams since the last two years.
While the successful athletes don’t face much ire owing to this, the unsuccessful ones are left with nothing to fall back on. And in cognizance of this, the Union sports ministry has asked the National Sports Federations and Sports Authority of India to introduce tutors for all athletes at their national camps.
Subjects like Mathematics, Science, and English among others would be taught in the camps with the ministry revealing that a monthly remuneration of Rs 15,000 would be provided, which would be added to the expenses inventory kept reserved for the NSFs and SAI.
"Whether athletes are preparing for Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games or for that matter any kind of senior or junior level international and national competitions, their studies will go on unabated. Their spare time will be utilized fruitfully from now onwards," said a source in the ministry, reported TOI.
As per reports, the tuitions would need to be undertaken mostly during the summer season, which would be more than 90 days and during the non-summer season, which has been more than 45 days. This step was taken after a close survey of different training centres, regional centres, and institutes across the country.
