CBSE directive spurs schools to start more self-defence classes

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) may have asked its affiliated schools to train girl students in self-defence from class 1 to 10 only recently, but a number of institutions in Bengaluru have been imparting the training to all their students for quite sometime.

Following the CBSE directive, they now plan to hire more instructors and put in place better infrastructure to train a higher number of students in various techniques of self-defence.

The Gear Innovative International School located on Sarjapur Road has been teaching karate as an optional subject since June and 400 children have been enrolled, said its chairman, M Srinivasan. “With the CBSE giving this directive, we will have to see how to expand the classes and take them to the next level, especially with more children set to enrol for it,” he added.

Schools affiliated to the CBSE across the State would start similar classes, said Srinivasan, who is also president of the Management of Independent CBSE Schools’ Association, Karnataka, which has more than 100 schools under its umbrella.

At Delhi Public School, East, students of class 1-8 learnt karate last year and are taking taekwondo classes this year. Manila Carvalho, principal of the school, said there were plans to hire more instructors as more students were expected to enrol.

“We are considering starting the classes next year as beginning something like this in the mid-season will be quite difficult. Hiring more instructors will definitely be on the agenda,” she said. Presently, about 200 students are taking self-defence classes.

In a circular on September 7, 2015, the CBSE asked schools to teach self-defence “at the beginning of both terms (terms 1 and 2), one week’s training in self-defence to all girl students of class 1-10.” It also asked schools to invite experts from local police stations or use locally available resource persons for this exercise.

“Self-defence training will equip girl students with useful strategies to defend themselves from spontaneous or pre-mediated violence and abuse,” the circular read.