Lok Sabha Question No. 2996 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-06
Subject: Playgrounds in Schools
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: PARBHUBHAI NAGARBHAI VASAVA, George Baker

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2996 TO BE ANSWERED ON 6 TH  AUG, 2018

## Playgrounds in Schools

## †2996. SHRI PARBHUBHAI NAGARBHAI VASAVA: SHRI GEORGE BAKER:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the  number of secondary schools in the country that do not have any playground, State/UTwise including Gujarat and West Bengal along with the reasons therefor;
- (b) the steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (c) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  introduce  scheme  in  this  regard  and  if  so,  the  details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI UPENDRA KUSHWAHA)

- (a) As  per  Unified  District  Information  System  for  Education  (UDISE),  2016-17  (Provisional), there are 55,074 (22.11%) secondary schools without playground in the country. Details of secondary schools without playground State/UT-wise including Gujarat and West Bengal are at Annexure. Nonavailability of playground in the schools is mostly due to non-availability of land.

(b) and (c) The Schedule to Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 lays down the norms and standards for a school building. A school building has to be an all-weather building comprising, inter alia, playground facility.

The  Ministry  of  Human  Resource  Development  has  formulated  an  Integrated  Scheme  for School Education - Samagra Shiksha, which subsumes erstwhile Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA),  Rashtriya  Madhyamik  Shiksha  Abhiyan  (RMSA)  and  Teacher  Education  (TE).  Samagra Shiksha  effective  from  1 st April,  2018  supports  States  and  UTs  for  strengthening  of  existing government schools, and for creation and augmentation of infrastructure facilities based on  the  gap determined  by  Unified  District  Information  System  for  Education  (UDISE)  and  proposals  received from respective State/UT.

To address the issue of shortage of playgrounds in schools, this Ministry has issued an advisory to  the  State  Governments  that  the  schools  that  do  not  have  playgrounds,  may  make  adequate arrangements in an adjoining playground, municipal park etc., for children to play outdoor games and other physical activities.

There is an inbuilt system for creating sports facilities for students in Kendriya Vidyalayas. As and when a building for Kendriya Vidyalaya is constructed, a provision is kept for developing sports infrastructure/playgrounds as per the local need and the land availability. Also, in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, play facilities such as running track, playfield, Basketball field, Kho-Kho etc are provided.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has also included provision of playgrounds in its Affiliation Bye laws.  As per clause 3.3 (ii) (a) of the Affiliation Bye laws, it is laid down that 'the  School/Society/Trust/Company registered  under  section  25  of  the  Companies  Act,  1956  or  the Congregation or other Religious Body controlling the Society/Trust/Company registered under Section 25  of  the  Companies  Act,  1956  managing  the  school  must  have  about  two  acres  (or  as  otherwise permitted measurement) of land and a building constructed on a part of land and proper playgrounds on  the  remaining  land.'  As  per  clause  8.6  of  the  Affiliation  Bye  laws,  'the  School  should  have adequate facilities for providing recreation activities and physical education as well as for conduct of various  activities  and  programs  for  developmental  education  and  for  the  social,  cultural  and  moral development  of  the  students  and  for  safeguarding  their  health.'  As  per  clause  8.7  of  the  CBSE Affiliation Bye laws, the school should have the following sports facilities as (i) adequate ground to create outdoor facilities for a 200 metre track; (ii) adequate land for kabbadi and Kho-Kho; and (iii) facilities for playing Volleyball.

Further, Ministry of Rural Development has issued a notification in March, 2017 which makes a  provision  for  construction  of  play  fields  and  compound  walls  for  Government  run  schools  in  the villages under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005.

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## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  2996  FOR  06.08.2018  ASKED  BY  SHRI  PARBHUBHAI  NAGARBHAI VASAVA AND SHRI GEORGE BAKER REGARDING PLAYGROUNDS IN SCHOOLS

Statement showing State/UT-wise details of secondary schools without playground

Source: Data from NIEPA based on UDISE, 2016-17(Provisional)

| S. No.   | State/UT                 |   No of Secondary Schools |   No. of Secondary Schools without Playground |
|----------|--------------------------|---------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
| 1        | Andaman& Nicobar Islands |                       113 |                                            32 |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh           |                     12063 |                                          2164 |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh        |                       449 |                                           109 |
| 4        | Assam                    |                      8369 |                                          2930 |
| 5        | Bihar                    |                      7748 |                                          2088 |
| 6        | Chandigarh               |                       159 |                                             4 |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh             |                      6524 |                                          1946 |
| 8        | Dadra &Nagar Haveli      |                        44 |                                            10 |
| 9        | Daman& Diu               |                        41 |                                            12 |
| 10       | Delhi                    |                      2086 |                                           176 |
| 11       | Goa                      |                       417 |                                           137 |
| 12       | Gujarat                  |                     10723 |                                          1152 |
| 13       | Haryana                  |                      7831 |                                           654 |
| 14       | Himachal Pradesh         |                      3962 |                                           198 |
| 15       | Jammu And Kashmir        |                      4238 |                                           961 |
| 16       | Jharkhand                |                      4639 |                                          1259 |
| 17       | Karnataka                |                     15708 |                                          2003 |
| 18       | Kerala                   |                      4705 |                                           505 |
| 19       | Lakshadweep              |                        15 |                                             4 |
| 20       | Madhya Pradesh           |                     16264 |                                          3773 |
| 21       | Maharashtra              |                     23484 |                                           817 |
| 22       | Manipur                  |                      1054 |                                           249 |
| 23       | Meghalaya                |                      1449 |                                           646 |
| 24       | Mizoram                  |                       648 |                                           446 |
| 25       | Nagaland                 |                       724 |                                           264 |
| 26       | Odisha                   |                      9873 |                                          3387 |
| 27       | Puducherry               |                       371 |                                            43 |
| 28       | Punjab                   |                      9298 |                                           137 |
| 29       | Rajasthan                |                     28534 |                                          8069 |
| 30       | Sikkim                   |                       230 |                                            36 |
| 31       | Tamil Nadu               |                     12893 |                                          1936 |
| 32       | Telangana                |                     12280 |                                          2766 |
| 33       | Tripura                  |                      1043 |                                           183 |
| 34       | Uttar Pradesh            |                     27189 |                                         10901 |
| 35       | Uttarakhand              |                      3575 |                                          1413 |
| 36       | West Bengal              |                     10346 |                                          3664 |
|          | All India                |                    249089 |                                         55074 |