A Public Interest Litigation has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking its orders to Centre and states for making sports compulsory in educational curriculum from elementary to higher education and to pronounce right to sports as a part of fundamental rights on the lines of right to education.

The Supreme Court bench has issued notice to the Centre, University Grants Commission (UGC), National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and Sports Authority of India (SAI) asking for their opinion on the inclusion of right to sports in the fundamental rights making the government responsible to set up sports infrastructure at all levels of education.

The petition has been filed by a law student, Kanishka Pandey seeking the Apex Court to intervene and direct the Centre to encourage sports culture in educational institutes. Introduction of sports in a student’s life would encourage and promote patience, friendship, comity and remove several social problems existing in the society.

The petition claims that unless positive steps are taken for encouraging sports activities and education in the schools, it would be highly difficult for our country to be placed amongst the top medal winners. It has become the need of the hour to provide sufficient world-class sports education and training to the children right from the primary classes up to higher education to prepare them for facing challenges in life. It has been contented by the petitioner that all school boards should consist of one national level sports player as a committee member and biographies of eminent players should be made a part of the syllabus.