Importance of physical education faculty in law colleges

The author of this article is Vyshnavi S Krishnan a 6th Semester student of 5 year BA LLB at Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram.

In this article, she discusses the various aspect with regard to the importance of implementation of physical education in Law colleges.

Introduction

Physical Education in a layman’s view can be termed as ‘learning with the help of body movements and understanding the benefits at the mental level. The role of physical education in providing teaching activities that not only promote skill development and proficiency but also enhance an individual’s overall health.

Many recent studies that were conducted worldwide have proven that Physical education enables students to develop the skills, knowledge and abilities to lead a healthy and physically active life throughout their lives at school. They study ‘in, through, about’ movement, realising that movement is an integral part of human expression and can contribute to people’s happiness and improve their lives.

Based on all these contexts, our nation has also taken physical education as an important subject and included it in the curriculum of all primary, secondary and higher levels of education. It has been extended to the State education departments also to take the subject of Physical Education with utmost importance.

The Kerala Education Acts and Rules are providing almost a clear picture of how Physical Education should be treated in each curriculum. Even though all these aspects are addressed, there is still a big void regarding the implementation of the Physical Education area while coming to the higher education institutions, especially in the case of professional colleges like Government Law Colleges in Kerala.

Though Physical Education has been given importance in the curriculum of higher education in our State, the void I have found here is the absence of a Physical Education Teacher – (specifying hereinafter as Assistant Professor for Physical Education) posts in our Government Law Colleges. Now the issue regarding the lack of importance given to physical education and the importance of creating the post of an Assistant Professor for Physical Education in our Law College could be addressed in this article under the following headings.

Physical Education and its Importance in Higher Education

Physical education not only plays a unique role in education but is also an integral part of the school education process. Coming to the higher education level, even though sports have been given a great significance in the written curriculum, a visible void can be identified while bringing it to a practical extent. Talking about the importance of sports in higher education, it is an impetus for students’ well-being as well as shaping their physical fitness. According to the article ‘Sports and Higher Education – An Indian Perspective’ by Dr. K.P. Prashobhith (Associate Professor & Head, Dept. of Physical Education, Govt. Brennen College ,Thalassery,Kannur, Kerala) which has been published in the International Journal of Educational Science and Research (IJESR); justification to induct sports in higher education is broadly explained like that, the skills such as team bonding, interpersonal skills, planning and development, decision making, assiduous attitude, conflict resolution skill, dealing with success and failure and goal settings can be developed during sports practice. Since the mentioned skills are of utmost importance for the developing youth, the importance of physical education in higher education can be understood just from the above aspects themselves.

Coming to the importance of Physical Education faculty, the point to be stressed is, that a holistic approach towards the issue must be considered rather than just consolidating it merely to the level of the sports field. A Physical Education faculty should be contemplated not only as a person who is entitled to the purpose of excelling students in sports but as a vital persona for the overall development of students in varying aspects of academics and life skills as well. The concept of holistic development should be taken into account. It means the intervention of a Physical Education faculty should also benefit every other student along with those in the sports field by way of implementing diverse activities such as seminars,and other academic activities based on Physical Education and in the field of sports. A Physical Education faculty can provide such knowledge based on sports and through this, a student’s overall development in numerous areas of higher education including academic, personal, professional and social levels could be achieved, which marks the utmost importance of the need for Physical Education faculties in every higher education institution.

Current situation of physical education in professional colleges under various universities- a few examples.

By understanding the importance of physical education in higher education, many universities in our country have been including it as a core subject in their curriculum and even maintain the best environment for flourishing a better level of spot-based academic education in their institutions. It is done irrespective of any disciplines taught in each university whether it is arts, science and technology, etc. and even in the professional higher education field. Some examples can be pointed out as follows:

Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, which is one of the constituent units of Manipal Academy of Higher Education, an Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University is providing sports facilities on campus both on indoor and outdoor fields. Being one of the most eminent Medical Colleges providing professional education in the medical field, they provide physical education facilities headed by a qualified physical educationist the Deputy and Assistant Director of Physical Education and coaches have been appointed to take charge of day-to-day games and sports activities. There are faculty sports advisors to mentor all these sporting activities. For students who excel in their respective sports at the State and National levels, a trainer/coach is organised by the university. A sports calendar is prepared at the beginning of an academic year, ensuring that it doesn’t overlap with the student’s examination and other important events. Sports competitions are accordingly held as per the calendar.

Considering another example, The ILS Law College ,Pune, India which has been one of the top ten law institutions in India for many years ( as per the college web content) should be discussed as one since the core objective of this article is about the importance of having physical education faculty in law colleges. The ILS College is even conducting a Physical Education Examination for LLB students that consists of project work and clear-cut syllabus which is framed for providing standard physical education in professional courses itself.

Kerala Scenario

Now coming to the Kerala scenario, there is one best example that can be denoted in the case of professional college under the field of law itself . The National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS), a public law school and a National Law University located in Kochi, India which is the first and only National Law University in the State of Kerala and one of the 23 NLUs in India has the Centre for Sports Law (CSL) that is engaged in research and consultancy for both public and private bodies on issues relevant to the legal regulation of sport.

The Centre has a particular focus on the intersection between sport and Indian law but is also engaged with questions on global levels. The primary vision of the Centre is to promote study and research in sports law, as per the details provided by the official website of NUALS. It is also based on certain aims and objectives and organized many activities for the purpose of pursuing Fundamental and Applied Research in the area of laws relating to sports.

Its functionaries include a Director (In charge) who is designated as Student Welfare Officer -NUALS and a Research Associate.

The very next example that can be illustrated along with the prior one is about another professional college that falls under a different discipline from that of law, that is Science and Technology; The College of Engineering Trivandrum (CET), which is the first engineering college in Thiruvananthapuram , affiliated to APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (University of Kerala) is having a well maintained physical education environment including 3 faculties for Physical Education and almost all indoor and outdoor sports facilities.

Owing to all the above-cited examples, an outline of the current situation of physical education in professional colleges under various universities can be acknowledged and surely can be considered for the implementation of better physical education facilities in our law colleges, especially for the appointment of Assistant Professor in Physical Education.

Government measures for the implementation of physical education

Rightly understanding the importance of sports in educational institutions, Indian government through the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs has been working hard to integrate sports education with the existing curriculum. Part॥ of the National Education Policy 2020 which includes Higher Education, contains the specification about the importance of physical education wherein it is explained under the heading of ‘Towards a More Holistic and Multidisciplinary Education’. The specification can be seen in the point “11.7” of NEP 2020 as;

“Departments in Languages, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Indology, Art, Dance, Theatre, Education, Mathematics, Statistics, Pure and Applied Sciences, Sociology, Economics, Sports, Translation and Interpretation, and other such subjects needed for a multidisciplinary, stimulating Indian education and environment will be established and strengthened at all HEIs. Credits will be given in all Bachelor’s Degree programmes for these subjects if they are done from such departments or through ODL mode when they are not offered in-class at the HEI.”

Advancing the matter regarding the appointment of a Physical Education Lecturer Assistant Professor in Law Colleges, we may now look on to the Government order issued by the Government of Kerala in response to the notifications issued by various universities of the state regarding the number of posts (s) for Physical Education Lecturer. According to the order, it is clearly stated that one physical education lecturer is eligible for the College’s having a strength of students up to 1000 , which means one Physical Education faculty for each institution and the second post is eligible for those Colleges with the strength of more than 1000 student. Also, the permission to fill up the vacant posts in various Government Colleges where the students’ strength is more than 1000 was granted, as it can be acknowledged from the copy of the order provided below:

Owing to the above order, similar steps should be taken for the creation of at least a single post of Physical Education Lecturer / Assistant Professor in our Law Colleges also.

Necessity for the Physical Education Faculty in Law Colleges -based on facts and opinions from students and experts.

The role of the Physical Education Faculty is very important in every college including law colleges because it not only helps the improvement of physical education provided for students but ensures every single part of the physical education curriculum will remain more practicable and well maintained. For instance, being a student of Government Law College Thiruvananthapuram, which has been showing steady excellence in every sports competition and tournament, I have come across many fellow students who are really talented in various sports events. A number of events such as boxing, wrestling, football, badminton, table tennis, tug of war, certain martial arts, athletics, etc have been the prize-winning ones for our college students. Even Though it is such, our talented students as well as our current supportive faculties are struggling in many aspects while coming to the time of preparatory and participating time of any of these competitions conducted by the University Of Kerala. This is because of the lack of a proper Assistant Professor for physical education in our college- as per the opinion of our students and other faculties. They struggle a lot due to the absence of their own Physical Education Faculty in many cases, even when attending the most important competitions where a proper faculty is in utmost need.

The opinion of the Director of Physical Education(in Deputation), University of Kerala is that every college including our law colleges should have a Physical Education Assistant Professor so that it will ease the work of both the students, colleges and The Department Of Physical Education during the whole proceeding of any competition or any other processes or events related to physical education.

Consolidation and Conclusion

Based on all the above-discussed subheadings, the whole subject matter may be consolidated as; physical education is an inevitable part in the curriculum of higher education.

For its proper implementation as in all other disciplines taught in colleges, Physical Education should also have an Assistant Professor. Reviewing the above points, it has been broadly explained how physical education is carried on in various universities, especially in professional colleges. Analysing all the above-mentioned points in detail, the issue regarding the lack of importance given to physical education and the vacancy of an Assistant Professor for Physical Education in our Law College is addressed here within.

Thus it is high time to look on to the urgency of the appointment of a proper Assistant Professor for Physical Education and its importance and reasons have already been explained above . The firm belief and hope that, there will be proper interventions on the part of the Higher Education Department, as well as Governmental-level interventions, will ensue on this issue is the one reason that still holds the spirit of law students and all students of other professional institutions to achieve their best in the physical education field. Moreover, a holistic approach toward the whole issue must be taken for the overall development of students in the physical education field.

Acknowledgement

This article is purely based on my student perspective on the issue regarding the necessity of the appointment of Assistant Professor for Physical Education in professional colleges especially in Law Colleges in Kerala under different universities.

I express my sincere gratitude to Dr. K.P. Prashobhith (Associate Professor & Head , Dept. of Physical Education, Govt. Brennen College ,Thalassery,Kannur, Kerala) for the help which was provided as certain documents and resources necessary for this article as well as the valuable suggestions given for the betterment of writing. I also thank Dr. Jayarajan David .D. (Former Director In Charge (On deputation), Department of Physical Education, University of Kerala) for the help, beneficial recommendations, suggestions and for providing a proper outline of the physical education department .

Most importantly, I would like to acknowledge with gratitude, Mr. Safi Mohan . M.R (Assistant Professor , Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram), who is the constant support, the one who gave me all the ideas, positiveness and enthusiasm for writing this article and still continuing to be the best guide and mentor in this whole journey of article writing.

Last but not the least, I would like to thank all those silent supporters including my parents, who had helped me from the start till now.