College leagues to begin in Kerala next month: Minister V. Abdurahiman

Minister mentions plans for introduction of sports councils in all colleges in the State and establishing Kerala Sports Institute in partnership with Calicut University

Kerala will roll out its pioneering college leagues across the State next month, Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman announced during an event at the Krishna Menon Memorial Government Women’s College in Pallikunnu, Kannur, on Tuesday. The initiative, a collaboration with the Higher Education department, aims to discover talent, provide opportunities, and offer financial incentives to students.

The Minister was speaking after inaugurating a ground modernisation work, construction of a hostel for sports students, and a swimming pool at the college. The Sports department is modernising the college by spending ₹5 crore.

The Minister emphasised that Kerala is the first State in India to launch college leagues, starting with five disciplines, reflecting the State’s commitment to sports development. He also revealed plans for introducing sports councils in all colleges in the State and establishing the Kerala Sports Institute in partnership with Calicut University. The institute will offer courses in sports engineering, science, and management to meet the global demand.

During the event, the Minister suggested naming the newly-modernised playing field at the women’s college as “Pink Stadium,” underscoring the government’s focus on women’s sports.

He highlighted Kerala’s distinction as the first Indian State to implement a sports economy model, aiming to boost youth participation in sports and project it as a major contributor to the GDP. Kerala is also the pioneer in formulating a State Sports Policy, which the Union government is now emulating to develop a national sports framework.

e-certificates

He further said that steps to issue e-certificates to sports players have been completed in the State. This is also being implemented for the first time in India by Kerala. Complaints related to fake certificates will disappear with the introduction of e-certificates, he noted. The Sports department has submitted a proposal to the Higher Education department to make sports a compulsory subject at the college level.

The Department of General Education has already introduced sports as a subject in schools at the primary level and has printed textbooks, he added.

The State government has attracted significant investments in the sports sector, amounting to ₹24,000 crore, for infrastructure development in both government and private sectors. Projects worth ₹225 crore are under way in Kannur alone, including the construction of a ₹60 crore state-of-the-art stadium in Taliparamba, he said.

K.V. Sumesh, MLA, presided. He announced ₹25 lakh for an e-sports unit in the college. Sports Kerala Foundation chief engineer P.K. Anilkumar and Kannur Corporation Deputy Mayor P. Indira, among others, attended the ceremony.

Published - December 17, 2024 08:19 pm IST