10/11/2015 Why 

SDP is an effective tool in tackling youth development issues | The News Minute

Why SDP is an effective tool in tackling youth development

issues

Saturday, March 21, 2015 - 05:30

By Rohit Kumar

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009)

enacted by the Parliament of India while making (elementary)
education a fundamental right to every child between the age of six
and fourteen, laid emphasis on the importance of quality physical
education and sports for an all-round development of a child. The Act
also directed the schools to provide children with access to
playgrounds and recreational facilities. This could be a significant step
towards integrating sports and physical activities into school curricula,
if the ambitious policy is implemented in both letter and spirit. Despite
significant positive effects on the social, mental, physical and
intellectual health of an individual, sport/physical activity, by and large,
remains at the bottom of the priority list of both, policy makers and
school/collage curriculum.
According to the 2014 National Youth Policy document, India’s per
capita expenditure on youth is about INR 2,710 of which INR 1,100 is
made towards targeted spending and the remaining INR 1,610 towards
non-targeted spending. Of the targeted expenditure, more than 80%
of the funds are allocated towards education, primarily, in the form of

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grants to various government schools and universities as well as direct

cash benefits to students in form of scholarships and fellowships, for
both secondary and higher education. The remaining 20% incurs on
expending related to skill development, employment, health and
engagement. Food subsidies, employment programmes like the
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, health programmes related
to infrastructure development, disease (/) control, and family welfare
constitute a significant share of non-targeted expenditure.
Education, health and healthy lifestyle, employability and skill
development, promotion of social values, community engagement,
inclusion, substance abuse, and gender and social justice are broadly
the issues concerning the youth. Sports imparts ‘soft-skills’ such as
teamwork, rule-based behavior, (self) discipline, fair play, tolerance,
problem-solving abilities and so on, which are often required in
dealing with real-life situations. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to
say Sports for Development and Peace (SDP) initiatives, which function
on the scheme of activity-based learning, could potentially contribute
in addressing each one of the mentioned issues.
Also, in the context of India, which envisions “to empower the youth of
the country to achieve their full potential, and through them enable
India to find its rightful place in the community of nations,” SDP
initiatives are an efficient and cost-effective tool at our disposal.
Vocational training received through academic channels is required for
better job prospects. However, they could not be sustained without
(whatsapp://send?
learning non-technical skills, such as life, behavioural and other similar
text=Why
skills. Also, not all learningSDP
happens inside the four walls of a
classroom. In this light, sports/physical
is an activity assumes significant
effective
function. Qualities like cooperation, tolerance, morality, discipline,
tool

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10/11/2015 Why SDP is an effective tool in tackling youth development issues | The News Minute

tool
respect and coping skills are in easily and naturally learnt in a sport-field.
These are necessary lessons the youth requires to be able to achieve
tackling
tangible and sustained outcomes
youth at different stages of life. Also, what
could be a better place todevelopment
inculcate team spirit while being competitive
at the same time than a sports-field?
issues
SDP initiatives are executed at the most basic level of a society and
http://www.thenewsminute.com/lives/585)
works toward building capacity of the same. It is in this positive and
non-threatening environment that small issues of daily life as well as
deep rooted challenges of our societies are addressed. If one learns to
not discriminate against a fellow being on the field, the likelihood the
person would resort to discriminatory practices off the field lessens
considerably. In tribal areas of eastern India, moving a step ahead,
children have been breaking the deeply entrenched caste and gender
barriers on the football fields. Sport, in this case, proves to be a great
equaliser, and builds on the social capital by infusing a sense of shared
identity.
In India, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like obesity, diabetes,
stroke, chronic lung diseases, cardio-vascular diseases, cancer, etc.
which are attributable to lifestyle disorders have become an
increasingly serious problem amongst the urban middle-class
population, including the youth. According to recent WHO estimates,
NCDs are responsible for almost 60% of total deaths in India. Being
physically active on a regular basis significantly lowers the risk of NCDs.
Health is directly related to productivity. Also, bad health causes
serious expenditure on the part of both governments as well as
individuals. SDP promotes healthy lifestyle habits and spreads
awareness about health, nutrition and preventive care, and hence,
contributes towards the holistic growth of an individual, and thus the

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10/11/2015 Why SDP is an effective tool in tackling youth development issues | The News Minute

nation.
People with disability, women, the poorest of a society, youth living in
conflict-affected regions, and youth at risk due to substance abuse and
human trafficking are most vulnerable to exclusion. SDP helps
individuals overcome personal barriers and endows them with hope &
strength to fight and eliminate structural difficulties. SDP initiatives are
invaluable intervention in reducing social tensions and integrating the
marginalised as it provides an alternate entry point into the social and
economic life of communities.
People forget about their differences while playing on a team and
work towards achieving a common goal. Is this not precisely what, as a
nation, we want from the youth – to look past their differences and
work towards comprehensive growth of the entire nation?
A thoroughly planned, carefully implemented and rigorously evaluated
SDP programme centred on national, regional or local development
and/or peace priorities is a powerful and least expensive answer to the
various issues which concerns youth development.
Tweet

Rohit Kumar holds a Masters in Peace & Conflict Studies and is a

research scholar at Jamia Millia University, New Delhi. His research
interest includes studying the intersection between sports and
politics/society and blogs on the issues at s4dp.wordpress.com

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this articles are the personal

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