Tendulkar writes to government to integrate sports into education system

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Batting maestro and Rajya Sabha MP Sachin Tendulkar has expressed his desire to work closely with the government to integrate sports into the education system.

39-year-old Tendulkar, in a letter to HRD Minister Kapil Sibal last week, has stressed on honing the potential of the younger generation and nurturing their talent as he felt that sports is being neglected in educational institutions, a senior HRD Ministry official said.

Tendulkar's suggestions include a roadmap for complete overhaul of the sports infrastructure at the university and college level, he said.

The batting legend has been invited by the Ministry to make a detailed presentation following which his suggestion on integration of sports with education would be looked into by NCERT and CBSE, he said.

The official said Sibal is keen on taking forward the proposal and is awaiting an early interaction with Tendulkar in this regard.

"We welcome Sachin Tendulkar's proposal and I have already written to him inviting him for a presentation," Sibal said. One of the key suggestions could also include making sports a compulsory activity and infusing greater share of sports-related activities in the course curriculum to bring in more competitive spirit.

Ministry officials also seem to endorse Tendulkar's view on making sports a compulsory activity because at present it is only extra-curricular in nature.