Sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore says efforts are being made to expand National Sports University

New Delhi: Efforts are being made to open campuses of the National Sports University in other states while four new courses are soon being introduced in the Imphal-based university, Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said on Thursday. Replying to questions in the Lok Sabha, he said there was already a five per cent quota for sportspersons in government jobs and stressed that the need of the hour was to keep politics out of Indian sports. [caption id=“attachment_4747261” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. PTI[/caption] The University in Imphal already has four schools and 13 departments and since January two courses have been started. “Very soon we will start four more courses in the University,” Rathore said during Question Hour. For academic session 2018-19, Bachelor of Physical Education and Sports (BEPS), B.Sc (Sports Coaching), Master of Arts (Sports Psychology) and Master of Science (Sports Coaching) will start. He said it was essential that a curriculum or syllabus is prepared which would act as a “torch-bearer” for sports education in the country. “The National Sports University in Imphal will continue to be the mother university. We will also spread campuses of the university in other states as well,” Rathore said. Ranjeet Ranjan (Congress) asked the Minister as to what the government was doing for those sports persons who have won medals for the country, Rathore said “the need of the hour is to free Indian sports from the clutches of politics”. The National Sports University Ordinance 2018 was promulgated on 31 May for setting up the National Sports University in Manipur. The Government of Manipur has provided 325.90 acres of land in West Imphal District of Manipur for setting up of the University. As questions were being asked and replied to, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan observed that it was for the first time that two supplementary questions related to the Sports Ministry have been asked. “The young Minister is doing a good job. Ask good questions, you will get good answers,” Mahajan said.