School syllabi should be halved for children to take part in extra-curricular activities: Venkaiah Naidu

Drawing the attention of students and teachers to the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said school syllabi should be cut down by half and children encouraged to take part in sports and other extra-curricular activities.

Stressing on the need for spending time outdoors, Venkaiah said in Hyderabad that the school curriculum should be reduced by half.

Speaking on the importance of playgrounds he said that some of life's crucial lessons like sportsmanship, empathy and teamwork are learnt by children from playgrounds. He was speaking at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan school in the city where Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana, Mohammad Mahmood Ali was also present.

The Vice President said, while it is good to learn the facts and theories from books, it is more important to be able to understand the concepts behind them, to gauge their practical applications. Naidu also stressed that the examination system in schools should be aimed at measuring the child's capacity to question the things around him. This, he said, will encourage young people to never be content with the status quo and help to make change a relatively easy process.

"Along with physical fitness schools should also encourage other extracurricular activities. Love for the fine arts and interest in literary activities should also be inculcated in children, they teach children the art of living and working together," he added.