Haryana all set to include yoga in school curriculum

Chandigarh, December 2

 Haryana is all set to include Yoga in the School Curriculum as a separate subject in all government schools across the State from the next academic session commencing April 1, 2021. The decision which aims to inculcate the habit of yoga among the students right from the very beginning would also make Haryana perhaps the first State in the country to make Yoga as a part of studies in the schools.

        This was informed in the meeting of Haryana Yog Parishad held under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal here today.

        Several other significant decisions were also taken in the meeting which was also attended by Health and Home Minister, Mr Anil Vij and Yoga Guru Baba Ram Dev who is also the Brand Ambassador of Haryana for the promotion of Yoga and Ayurveda in the State.

       It was informed in the meeting that apart from Moral education, Yoga is already being taught to the students from the academic session 2016-17. But, taking a step ahead now it has been decided to make Yoga a compulsory or optional subject in the school curriculum and the Department of School Education has constituted a Committee for this purpose. It was also informed that the subject curriculum would be designed in such a way that it would have both theoretical and practical content on the pattern of Physical Education so that besides education, students could also get training in Yoga.

       Mr Manohar Lal said that the aim of the State Government is to take Yoga at the grass root level and encourage the people to make Yoga as part of their lifestyle. For this, Yog and Vyayamshalas and other adequate infrastructure is being made available at the village level. He also directed the Development and Panchayats Department to put up a proposal within a week for the setting up of 1000 more Yogshalas in the State.

He also directed the Department of AYUSH to take up the matter on priority basis for the setting up of Wellness Centres at the Yogshalas under the State Scheme and finalize the preventive activities to be taken up in these Centres at the earliest. He said that focus should be given on promoting Yoga and naturopathy so as to minimize the dependency on medicine.

        It was decided in the meeting that to further encourage the people to make Yoga an integral part of their life, ‘Yog Prashikshan Diwas’  would be organized on the first Sunday of every month under the aegis of Haryana Yog Parishad. Under this, Yoga training programmes would be organized at District, Block and Tehsil Level wherein trained Physical Training Instructors (PTIs) and Degree holders in Physical Education (DPEs) would impart Yoga training to the people. Decision was also taken in the meeting to rename the Prakritik Chikitsa Kendra as ‘Yog and Ayush Kendra’. It was decided that apart from the rural areas, ‘Yog and Ayush Kendra’ would be set up at all district headquarters.

It was also decided in the meeting that an international level Dhyan Yog Kendra (Meditation Yoga Centre) would be set up at Shri Krishna AYUSH University, Kurukshetra which would give the Holy city a distinct identity and take it further on the world heritage map in the time to come. The Shri Krishna AYUSH University, Kurukshetra would explore the possibility of signing a MoU with Patanjali Yogpeeth Haridwar for running the Meditation Yoga Centre.

        It was informed that the process for the recruitment of 1000 Ayush Yog Sahayak and 22 Ayush Yoga Coach is in progress and would be completed soon. To popularize Yoga in the state, it has been decided to recruit 1,000 Ayush Yog Sahayak on contractual basis. Apart from this, 22 Ayush Yog Coach are to be recruited for various ''yogshalas'' across the state. It was also informed that work is underway on the proposed Act of Haryana Yog Ayog and it would be brought in the next Session of Haryana Vidhan Sabha after getting it passed from the State Cabinet. 

        It was informed that 250 new Yog and Vyayamshalas have been constructed and ready for inauguration. While taking a major stride towards promoting sports infrastructure in rural areas and fulfilling his promise of setting up 1000 Yog and Vyayamshalas in the State in the first phase,  Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal has recently inaugurated 110 Yog and Vyamshalas in the State through video conferencing.

Health and Home Minister, Mr Anil Vij said that more Yog and Vyayamshalas should be set up in the State so that maximum people can practice Yoga at these Centres and remain healthy.

        Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev appreciated the Haryana Government for taking a lead for including Yoga in the School Curriculum as a separate Subject from the upcoming academic session. He said that Yoga classes should be organized in all about 6500 villages of the State and people should be encouraged to inculcate Yoga in their life.

        Later, Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal alongwith Health and Home Minister, Mr Anil Vij and Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev released Souvenir and a booklet of Haryana Yog Parishad.

        Among those present in the meeting include Chief  Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Mr D.S. Dhesi, Additional Chief Secretary, Health Mr Rajeev Arora, Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Local Bodies Department, Mr S.N. Roy, Additional Chief Secretary , School Education Department, Dr. Mahavir Singh, Principal Secretary, Sports, Mr Yogender Chaudhry, Principal Secretary, Development and Panchayats Department, Mr Sudhir Rajpal, Deputy Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Dr Amit Agarwal, Director General, Elementary Education, Mr Nitin Yadav, Director, Sports and Youth Affairs, Mr S.S. Phulia, Director General, Ayush Mr Atul Kumar, Director, Ayush Dr. Satpal Bahmani, State Ayush Coordinator Dr. Nasir, Chairman, Haryana Yog Parishad Mr Jaideep Arya and other senior officers of the State Government.

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