First black mark for Olympic-inspired Kerala school sports meet

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: One month has passed since the conclusion of the State School Sports meet held in Ernakulam. The event emulated Olympic standards and was highly appreciated for its organization. The work was appreciated; the times were exciting, but it takes away all sheen to know that the officials who worked for the event haven’t been paid even one month after the end of the sports meet.

About 500 people including current coaches of the sports council, former coaches, former sports players, sports teachers of schools and public education department employees participated as officials. Officials are appointed for the smooth running of the competitions and the selection of teams for national competitions. According to norms. selectors are paid Rs 1500 per day. The stipend for sports teachers is Rs 750 per day. DPI provides accommodation to other officials but this luxury is not available to sports teachers.

The amount to be paid to the officials needs to be sanctioned from the sports fund of DPI. The DPI sports department has enough funds but the delay in disbursement is causing the worry. The money crunch has now made sports teachers hesitant to take up roles as team managers for transporting the Kerala teams to the National School Sports event.