A new circular is being drafted on the conditions under which a student can take part in sports representing the school.
Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena said that a circular is already in place for schools when allowing a child to take part in a marathon race, which includes a compulsory medical test.
Gunawardena said the Ministry will take measures to investigate if all government schools follow the circular especially after recent reports of young children collapsing and even being pronounced dead after taking part in school marathon events.
“The sports medical unit has already submitted some proposals for the new circular which will be issued in addition to the existing circular,” the Minister said.
The minister said that sports is an important aspect of the extracurricular activities approved in state schools.
However, following the recent incident where a school girl fainted and then died while running the 5000m marathon, the minister said that on the instructions of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, officials from the Health Ministry, Education Ministry and the Sri Lanka Sports medical unit are now engaged in discussions to formulate the new circular.
He also said that in the new school term from May it will be made compulsory that all schools allocate at least 10 minutes for physical training to ensure students are fit.
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