Rebuilding the Culture of Discipline and Sportsmanship in Schools
In every educational institution, the foundation of holistic development rests on four essential pillars: truth, discipline, moral conduct, and structured learning. A person who has dedicated his life to these values naturally feels disheartened when he witnesses a decline in these principles, especially in school environments where young minds are shaped.
This month, schools across the region are hosting their Annual Sports Meets. These events are meant to cultivate team spirit, fair play, resilience, coordination, and leadership. However, several critical concerns demand attention. One of the most pressing is the quality of sports instruction and the fairness of judgment. It is unclear how many schools truly follow transparent evaluation methods or employ professionally trained and pedagogically sound sports educators.
In many institutions, having multiple sports faculty members often creates role ambiguity and inconsistency in instruction. Instead of collaborative functioning, departmental conflicts sometimes hinder planning and execution. What is more concerning is that some educators exhibit a sense of superiority without mastering basic sports pedagogy—such as teaching correct clapping techniques, body coordination, gait training, posture correction, and behavioural etiquette on the field.
Fundamental skills such as left turn, right turn, alignment, visual discipline, listening skills, and spatial awareness are the backbone of sports training. Yet these essential competencies are frequently neglected. When students are not taught systematically, they become impatient, expecting instant proficiency in their chosen sport. This unrealistic expectation results in behavioural resistance, lack of coachability, and misunderstanding of game ethics.
Consequently, students often misinterpret corrective feedback as personal bias. They accuse teachers of favouritism toward particular houses, clubs, or groups without understanding the rules, scoring patterns, or criteria of sports evaluations. Such situations escalate when some teachers, for their short-term convenience or personal gain, unintentionally encourage indiscipline by supporting students’ negative behaviour. This erodes the moral authority of educators and disrupts the healthy learning ecosystem.
Students, driven by self-interest and peer influence, sometimes manipulate situations to gain advantage. They fail to realise that sportsmanship demands humility, respect for authority, and adherence to structured guidance. These traits cannot be developed in a disorganised environment.
As sporting events continue this season, schools must ask themselves: Are we promoting fair judgment, ethical conduct, and systematic preparation?
If institutions adopt rigorous pre-planning, transparent rules, trained faculty, structured drills, and value-based sports education, they can transform sports meets into powerful learning experiences. A well-organised sports programme not only enhances physical competence but also nurtures character, emotional strength, and citizenship—qualities that remain with students for life.
Dr. Rahul Pratap Singh
Ex. Principal
(Educator and independent author)
