by Kiran Manral
WHAT’S HAPPENING
- Tamil Nadu will be the second state in India to make chess a compulsory subject for all government and aided schools. Gujarat was the first state in India to require that students learn chess.
- This is a bid to improve the cognitive skills of the students, especially those from “educationally backward” districts (Times of India, 4 January 2012).
- The initiative is to begin in the next academic year and will target children age 7 to 17.
- Each school will have its physical education teachers and a couple of others trained in chess, so that they in turn can train the children in the game.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS
- Chess has not generally been taught in government and aided schools, although some private schools do teach it as an optional subject.
- Chess is considered an elite sport in India, and the middle and lower classes don’t really take to it.
RESOURCES
