Even the most badly made documentary film is acceptable if it helps reveal some facts and realities that surround us. News channels should be doing that, but instead it has become a trend to launch meaningless campaigns. Some of these campaigns are simply senseless, totally bankrupt of logic and the channels will keep patting themselves on their backs for having created a miracle. There are campaigns such as ‘India Positive’ by CNN-IBN, and ‘Amazing Indians’ by TimesNow which at least showcase the good work of fellow citizens and are welcome. I am not one who supports sugared sponsors of any campaign concerning kids but can even accept Coca-Cola sponsoring some school campaign if it leads to better classrooms, toilets and other facilities at schools that do not get much attention otherwise. But ‘Marks For Sports’ (MFS)? What exactly is that? Well, that is the brilliant tomfoolery of NDTV, the channel that specialises in frivolous ‘sponsored’ campaigns.
"The country needs to take sports more seriously and not just as a hobby. As part of Marks For Sports, I hope to strive to do just that" - Ranbir Kapoor. Hmmm! That’s the brand ambassador for MFS speaking. Nothing wrong in that statement except that it would have sounded better coming from some accomplished sportsperson, say like Kapil Dev or Abhinav Bindra or Saina Nehwal. Ranbir Kapoor would have been preferable for a ‘Marks for drama’ campaign. I’m not kidding, many schools in the world do have ‘Drama’ as an optional subject. Harrison Ford, the biggest box office star of all time, got through high school because of his ‘drama’ grades since he wasn’t so good at regular subjects. So what is this MFS all about? If you were to go by NDTV’s own explanation it is essentially a “Fit India Movement”! So why call it ‘marks’ for sports? Marks in a school represent scores in an exam in any subject like Math or History or Chemistry. So the campaign title itself is meant to mislead.
Of course, it helps that there are many who will join the bandwagon simply because it sounds so good and noble. And the list gets impressive. Sample this from the Business Standard (March 16): “To launch the initiative, Development & Campaign Ambassador, Ranbir Kapoor joined Dr. Prannoy Roy, Chairman, NDTV and Mr. Dharmesh Jain, Chairman & MD of Nirmal Lifestyle in New Delhi. Also present at the launch were legendary cricketer MAK Pataudi, Olympic boxer Vijender Singh, India’s Football Captain Baichung Bhutia, Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist Gagan Narang and seven times World Billiards and Snooker Champion Pankaj Advani”. Nirmal Lifestyle? Well, that’s not a wellness company in any sense. It’s a real estate company that probably builds ‘green and healthy’ malls and luxury residences.
Add to the campaign visits to various schools across the country, interview students, principals, teachers and you have a concoction that wants you to believe MFS is a great idea. Further, add some silly pledging exercise which gets over a million signatures to a petition seeking MFS. On the same page as the million signatures, scroll down, you will find votes for reasons why kids don’t get enough time to play – in all 11 votes!(at the time of writing). While MFS may sound like a GREAT idea or innovation it is fundamentally flawed and disingenuous. Schools exist for a system of formal ‘academic education’ and other activities are ‘extra-curricular’. The curriculum adopted by schools adheres to a Board or body that certifies scholastic achievements through exams by giving marks. The exams are common to all students in a class and in a subject. How in the world did NDTV come up with the silly idea that students should be given marks for sports? Is ‘sports’ a singular subject? A variety of physical activities and games are collectively called ‘sports’. How in the world did so many intelligent people in sports and education and govt come to support this stupid idea? Other than a feel-good exercise and a commercial transaction this campaign is nothing but frivolous at best.
As a School-education professional who has interacted with over 2000 schools across India I can vouch for the fact that even some of the best schools do not have adequate grounds for sporting activities. If ‘sports’ were indeed to be a subject how do you score marks for different students who are talented and skilled in different sports such as Hockey, Cricket or Football? To all this, NDTV even reported somewhere that Maharashtra had re-implemented ‘Sports & Physical Fitness’ as a regular subject from 2012-13 perhaps implying a consequence of its campaign. Fact is, CBSE has been already offering the course for quite a few years for all their schools. The course is not about actual sports on the field but a subject that teaches theories and rules for various sports. It is tested as an academic subject and not as performance on the sports ground.
If the campaign was merely intended as a ‘physical fitness’ campaign then it wasn’t even necessary. Genuine schools in India do provide adequate time for physical exercise and activities, including sporting competitions. There are schools that even teach Yoga. CBSE goes beyond that, it even has guidance courses for students to deal with ‘Adolescence and related problems’. There is a difference between physical fitness and sporting excellence. Unfortunately, NDTV confuses the two. Channels like NDTV and CNN-IBN do not tire in ridiculing someone like Baba Ramdev who conducts mass Yoga campaigns for a healthy nation. If sporting excellence has to come from students the most urgent need is that of specialist coaches. India needs specialised schools that coach the coaches. Furthermore, schools typically try to specialise in a variety of sports instead of focussing on a few in which their students possess talent and can excel. This site somewhat explains the process of schools specialising in certain sports
Well, here’s the best part. Go to any school in India you will usually find a Basketball court. Wait, if the school doesn’t have a ground they will at least have half a court, or just one Basketball board in some corner. To the thousands of teachers I have met I have often asked the question – why Basketball? This is a game usually dominated by very tall people and does not offer a great career for Indians. You’re gonna laugh at the explanation I have mostly received – “It helps increase the height of children”! If that were true then NDTV’s frivolous campaign does help in “increasing the stupidity” by Marks for Sports! That's a good reason why news channels should first attempt excellence in news reporting and analysis rather than mindless social campaigns.
Of course, it helps that there are many who will join the bandwagon simply because it sounds so good and noble. And the list gets impressive. Sample this from the Business Standard (March 16): “To launch the initiative, Development & Campaign Ambassador, Ranbir Kapoor joined Dr. Prannoy Roy, Chairman, NDTV and Mr. Dharmesh Jain, Chairman & MD of Nirmal Lifestyle in New Delhi. Also present at the launch were legendary cricketer MAK Pataudi, Olympic boxer Vijender Singh, India’s Football Captain Baichung Bhutia, Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist Gagan Narang and seven times World Billiards and Snooker Champion Pankaj Advani”. Nirmal Lifestyle? Well, that’s not a wellness company in any sense. It’s a real estate company that probably builds ‘green and healthy’ malls and luxury residences.
Add to the campaign visits to various schools across the country, interview students, principals, teachers and you have a concoction that wants you to believe MFS is a great idea. Further, add some silly pledging exercise which gets over a million signatures to a petition seeking MFS. On the same page as the million signatures, scroll down, you will find votes for reasons why kids don’t get enough time to play – in all 11 votes!(at the time of writing). While MFS may sound like a GREAT idea or innovation it is fundamentally flawed and disingenuous. Schools exist for a system of formal ‘academic education’ and other activities are ‘extra-curricular’. The curriculum adopted by schools adheres to a Board or body that certifies scholastic achievements through exams by giving marks. The exams are common to all students in a class and in a subject. How in the world did NDTV come up with the silly idea that students should be given marks for sports? Is ‘sports’ a singular subject? A variety of physical activities and games are collectively called ‘sports’. How in the world did so many intelligent people in sports and education and govt come to support this stupid idea? Other than a feel-good exercise and a commercial transaction this campaign is nothing but frivolous at best.
As a School-education professional who has interacted with over 2000 schools across India I can vouch for the fact that even some of the best schools do not have adequate grounds for sporting activities. If ‘sports’ were indeed to be a subject how do you score marks for different students who are talented and skilled in different sports such as Hockey, Cricket or Football? To all this, NDTV even reported somewhere that Maharashtra had re-implemented ‘Sports & Physical Fitness’ as a regular subject from 2012-13 perhaps implying a consequence of its campaign. Fact is, CBSE has been already offering the course for quite a few years for all their schools. The course is not about actual sports on the field but a subject that teaches theories and rules for various sports. It is tested as an academic subject and not as performance on the sports ground.
If the campaign was merely intended as a ‘physical fitness’ campaign then it wasn’t even necessary. Genuine schools in India do provide adequate time for physical exercise and activities, including sporting competitions. There are schools that even teach Yoga. CBSE goes beyond that, it even has guidance courses for students to deal with ‘Adolescence and related problems’. There is a difference between physical fitness and sporting excellence. Unfortunately, NDTV confuses the two. Channels like NDTV and CNN-IBN do not tire in ridiculing someone like Baba Ramdev who conducts mass Yoga campaigns for a healthy nation. If sporting excellence has to come from students the most urgent need is that of specialist coaches. India needs specialised schools that coach the coaches. Furthermore, schools typically try to specialise in a variety of sports instead of focussing on a few in which their students possess talent and can excel. This site somewhat explains the process of schools specialising in certain sports
Well, here’s the best part. Go to any school in India you will usually find a Basketball court. Wait, if the school doesn’t have a ground they will at least have half a court, or just one Basketball board in some corner. To the thousands of teachers I have met I have often asked the question – why Basketball? This is a game usually dominated by very tall people and does not offer a great career for Indians. You’re gonna laugh at the explanation I have mostly received – “It helps increase the height of children”! If that were true then NDTV’s frivolous campaign does help in “increasing the stupidity” by Marks for Sports! That's a good reason why news channels should first attempt excellence in news reporting and analysis rather than mindless social campaigns.
