Teachers, parents say that lack of playgrounds in government schools has affected the physical and intellectual development of the children.
As per the Department of Education, as many as 77 government schools in Dakshina Kannada have no basic facilities of playgrounds. Teachers of the government schools in the district said that the students are deprived of outdoor sports activities due to the absence of proper playgrounds, stated a report in The New Indian Express.
Anusha, a government school teacher said, "We are forced to engage our students only in indoor sports."
Muneer Katipalla, an activist and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) leader said that in a few places, school property has been encroached upon by private people depriving children of playgrounds.
"In Dakshina Kannada, the elected representatives are not in support of improving infrastructure in government schools. They are in support of the private education lobby. Even if some School Development Management Committees put some effort into providing basic amenities to the schools, local elected representatives do not support them. Also, the government's inaction against encroachments has enabled public land grabbing. Government's priority must be to improve the infrastructure in government schools and the elected representatives must encourage people to send their children to government schools by admitting their children to government schools," he said.
Dayanand Ramachandra Nayak, Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI), Dakshina Kannada told The New Indian Express that some of the government schools use nearby public grounds for training students in sports and physical education.
"In some of the schools, few donors have donated their land for a playground while other schools sans playgrounds conduct indoor games or play outdoor games in the available space. We are also helpless due to the lack of space for playgrounds. We have also written to other departments to provide space for playgrounds for government schools," he said.
