From the 2019-20 academic year, CBSE students will likely have to contend with a new course: sports. If the word from the Sports ministry is anything to go by, it is going to be an essential component of a new subject called ‘health, physical education and sports’.

This was confirmed by sports secretary Rahul Bhatnagar to TNIE during a wide-ranging interview on Friday. “The existing subject called ‘health and physical education’ will be replaced by ‘health, physical education and sports’ from the next academic year (2019-20). It’s something we have actively pursued and recommended (to the CBSE).”

While the CBSE is yet to confirm such a move, the Sports ministry has been trying to get sports as a formal part of the curriculum for quite some time. Both Vijay Goel, who was the sports minister before Rajyavardhan Rathore took over in a cabinet reshuffle in September last year, and Injeti Srinivas, Bhatnagar’s immediate predecessor, had gone on record to talk about the importance of a sports course at the school level.