Self-defense soon to become part of Maharashtra Government’s school curriculum

Self-defense soon to become part of Maharashtra Government’s school curriculum

Maharashtra government is mulling over the idea of making training in self-defense as a part of school curriculum in the state. The assurance was given by the State Education Minister Vinod Tawde as a response to an online petition filed by a woman self-defense coach from Pune, Neha Shrimal. The petition was posted on Change.org in September last year. Shrimal is a mother of a seven-year-old girl and had demanded that self-defense training is made compulsory in all state-run schools. The petition was supported by a large number of people as it received 1.38 lakh signatures in support. In the petition, Shrimal gave an example of an 18-year-old girl from West Bengal who fought against three men harassing her and handed them to the police. "This brave student shows us that girls can be empowered to face such situations with confidence, rather than feeling scared, victimized and helpless. "In India, over 53% children face sexual abuse. Whenever any such incidence happens, we just look at police and legal system for help. We never imagine that a girl can also have the power to deal with such situations. I believe that every child should be trained to protect themselves from an early age. I am asking Maharashtra Government to make self-defense training compulsory for all the students from 5th standard onwards," she said. According to her, self-defense is not a martial arts but a psychological, mental and physical preparedness to deal with the dangers of an unwanted situation. In his online reply, Tawde said, "The first petition that I have received is from a Pune citizen and a mother, Neha Shrimal. Neha and 1.37 lakh citizens have asked me to Make self-defense training compulsory for all the schools in Maharashtra. I have heard you and 1.37 lakh citizens." "Taking due cognizance of the petition, I am now considering running the programme, and making it a part of the curriculum. We recently decided to introduce an hour-long sports session for school students. And we are planning to introduce self-defense as a part of these sessions. With this, we have decided to start mandatory self-defense training in schools," he said.

source https://www.brainbuxa.com/education-news/self-defense-soon-to-become-part-of-maharashtra-governments-school-curriculum-9136