Reported by N Dhamotharan for The New Indian Express

Physical education (PE) teachers in Coimbatore have alleged that the School Education Department has not disbursed funds for conducting the zonal-level matches of the Republic Day Sports Meet held at the district level in August.

They pointed out that zonal secretaries, who are usually PE teachers from government schools and who organise matches for students from government, aided, and private schools across three age categories at the zonal level, typically receive the funds within one or two months after conducting the zonal matches.

A zonal secretary from a government school in Coimbatore, who did not wish to be named, told TNIE that zonal-level matches comprising new and old games were held across 12 zones in the district in August, with around 1.44 lakh students participating, followed by district-level matches.

"The School Education Department should allocate Rs 95,000 to each zonal secretary before conducting the zonal matches. Unfortunately, the funds are received from the department only after conducting the zonal meets every year. We are forced to conduct these sports meets by spending money from teachers' pocket on students' food, certificates, medals, transportation, etc. Sometimes, we try to secure sponsorship from local heads to conduct the sports meet, as expenses can sometimes arise," he said.

"In previous years usually we received the funds within one or two months. This year we have yet to receive funds from the department even after four months. If the department releases them, it would help us repay the teachers who spent money on the zonal matches," he said.

Tamil Nadu Physical Education Teachers and Directors Association State General Secretary V Periyadurai told TNIE that the School Education Department allocated Rs 12.50 crore to conduct these matches from the zonal to state level this academic year.

As soon as the department sanctions funds, they should be distributed to the 323 zonal secretaries across the state. As there are many difficulties in conducting zonal matches without funds, they should be released before conducting the matches.

Periyadurai confirmed the money was not paid to all zones in the state, i.e., 323 zones have to receive Rs 3.06 crore.

Also, funds were not received for the block-level chess competition across the 413 blocks, amounting to Rs 5,000 (per block), he added.

Official sources say last year the government sanctioned Rs 2.50 lakh to conduct district-level matches, but this year the allocation for them has been reduced to Rs 50,000. This has created a significant burden for district officers in conducting the matches smoothly.

An officer from the School Education Department in Coimbatore told TNIE that it had distributed funds for the third quarter, but funds for the fourth quarter had not been received, adding that without full allocation, they cannot disburse partial amounts to the zonal secretaries.

He demanded the release of funds before conducting the match.

When contacted, Joint Director of School Education Shanthi told TNIE that funds had been distributed to the districts.