Dharmendra Pradhan launches National Yoga Olympiad 2022

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday inaugurated the National Yoga Olympiad 2022 and quiz competition in Delhi. Pradhan said that yoga has served humanity in alleviating the sufferings and building resilience, especially during the post-Covid era.

New Delhi: Suggesting the inclusion of Yoga as a part of the National Council of Educational Research and Training curriculum, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday inaugurated the National Yoga Olympiad 2022 and quiz competition in Delhi. Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan said that yoga has served humanity in alleviating the sufferings and building resilience, especially during the post-Covid era.

He appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to choose 'Yoga for Humanity' as this year's theme and highlighted that it is important to encourage healthier choices and bring people closer together. "Yoga is India's gift to the world and it has gained tremendous popularity globally since the United Nations General Assembly adopted PM Modi's proposal to celebrate June 21 as International Day of Yoga. Yoga is uniting the world in the pursuit of good health and wellness," he said.

The Minister further mentioned that National Education Policy 2020 lays special emphasis on the physical and emotional well-being of both students and teachers. "Sports-integrated learning will inculcate sportsman spirit and help students adopt fitness as a lifelong attitude," he added.

Pradhan also said that Yoga is an integral part of health, wellness and physical education while also suggesting the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) include the ancient wisdom of Yoga in the curriculum. "While we are in the process of developing the National Curriculum Framework (NCF), we must prioritise yoga right from Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) to Class 12 level," he added.

He also suggested the NCERT for conducting yoga olympiads at the school, block, district and state levels. Later in his address, Pradhan said that involving school students from every block will further the legacy of yoga and also help in developing yoga as a lifestyle.The Education Minister congratulated all the selected students, representing their states/Union Territories in the National Yoga Olympiad and appreciated them for their participation right from the block level.

While addressing the participants, Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar said that yoga has to be popularised as a part of the National Education Policy 2020. He said that the aim is to promote an education system which would give the citizens a vision to see the country in a unified form. "In the Yoga Olympiad, asana, pranayama, kriya, meditation etc will be demonstrated by the students, so that they will be able to understand the importance of yoga experientially," he said.

He also emphasised the values of Yoga that are now globally accepted and how it would be able to accelerate the sustainable lifestyle worldwide. The theme for this year is "Yoga for Humanity". It is an acknowledged fact that yogic asanas are beneficial to all in maintaining quality health and a holistic personality. The NCERT started the National Yoga Olympiad in 2016. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, the spirit of yoga was kept alive by organizing a Quiz competition, where the students of Kendriya Vidyalaya, NVs and students from Demonstration Multipurpose Schools of Regional Institutions of Education participated in a large number.

This year, The National Yoga Olympiad-- jointly organised by the Ministry of Education and the NCERT--will continue till June 20. The Vice Chairman of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) M.P. Poonia, Director of NCERT Prof. Dinesh Prasad Saklani, Joint Director of NCERT Prof. Shridhar Srivastava, Secretary of NCERT Prof. Pratyush Kumar Mandal, and senior officials of the Ministry of Education and students from various parts of India attended the event.

As per an official statement, this year about 600 students from 26 states/UTs and Demonstration Multipurpose Schools of Regional Institutions of Education will be participating in the forthcoming National Yoga Olympiad. (ANI)