Lucknow, Oct 15 (IANS): The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has earmarked Rs 90 crore for the purchase of sports material for 1.3 lakh primary and upper primary state-run schools.

Under the Samagra Shiksha scheme, each primary school will get Rs 5,000 while an upper primary will be given Rs 10,000 to procure sports equipment like football, handball, volleyball net, softball among others.

The procurement will be done by a panel headed by the president of the school management committee (SMC).

Issuing an order, special secretary, basic education, A.K. Tiwari said through sports and physical education, the government aims to develop team spirit among the students by bringing individuals from different social and economic backgrounds together in a shared interest.

“It will also benefit children to develop respect for the body -- their own and others -- and contribute toward the integrated development of mind and body. It would further enhance self-confidence, social and cognitive development and academic achievement,” the order said.

The guidelines said schools should encourage traditional games and one teacher in charge in every school will be given the responsibility to take care of the sports equipment and to maintain the stock.

District and block education officers, block resource coordinators and cluster resource coordinators would visit every school to see the availability of equipment and their utilisation. Inspection and third-party verification would also be conducted regularly to see whether equipment is being used.