Visakhapatnam: CBSE students turn fitness freaks

Visakhapatnam: If you are not a sports enthusiast, the list of options includes yoga, dance, aerobics, stretch exercises and many more to choose from. Making the fitness regimen as interesting as possible, the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) 'Fitness Week' celebrations offered a variety of choice for the students to come out of their classrooms and engage in an outdoor activity.

Initiated as part of the 'Fit India Movement' launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the National Sports Day, the CBSE aims at minimising the screen time of the school children and replace it with the 'field time.'

Appreciating the first-of-its-kind endeavour, Principal of Ramanath Secondary School, NSTL, C V Narasimham says, "Apart from having options to make the fitness routine an integral part of the students' life, the focus is also to encourage them to inculcate healthy habits. The response for the just-concluded week is overwhelming and engaging the students in outdoor activities is going to be a continuous process."

Students from a total of 10 Kendriya Vidyalaya Schools, including the one in Anakapalle, and about 40 schools affiliated to the CBSE in the district have been part of the nation-wide movement. Apparently, the endeavour not only aided in downloading health apps to ascertain fitness levels of the students but also uploading the videos and photos taken during the week-long celebrations on the official website.

"The Fit India Movement aims at nudging even those preferring to stay indoors to the playground and engaging them in an amusing manner. The idea is to bring about a behavioural change in school children and help them spend active field time on a regular basis," shares Nishikant Aggarwal, Principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya No.2, Nausenabaugh.

Each day during the week, students get to take part in yoga or aerobics or stretch exercises and get to listen to experts on health and nutrition. "When the workout session turns out to be interesting, it is difficult to discontinue it. This way, we can enjoy the process of staying in shape," reasons P Shreeya, a Class X student from a CBSE school.

Though many school managements welcomed the initiative, a section of them felt that the movement should go beyond uploading the images and videos of the week and reach out to students, allocating funds for the purpose.