Delhi Sports University will award degrees to help athletes get jobs: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the upcoming Delhi Sports University will provide degrees to sportspersons to help them get jobs if they want to work.

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He said the Delhi government has eliminated three difficulties faced by sportspersons ? lack of facilities, lack of monetary support, and political intervention in selection processes.

"At the Delhi Sports University, players will be provided degrees in their respective sports such as BA in kabaddi, BA in wrestling and BA in cricket among others. This will help them get jobs in case they want to work," Kejriwal said at a ceremony to provide financial assistance to sportspersons here.

"It is quite common for sportspersons to face a dilemma between sports and career. They have to quit studies and if they are unable to achieve success in sports, then it becomes very difficult for them to get a job."

"The employer asks them what their educational qualifications are and if they have a bachelor's degree. Now, they need not worry about it. Whatever sport you choose, you will get a degree in the same and you will be eligible to apply for any job," he added.

Kejriwal said he wished that every athlete achieves success and makes the country proud but if they fall short, other avenues of employment should remain open.

"This is a new experiment which is first of its kind in the country. Many such experiments are in the pipeline. I am optimistic that Delhi will make the country proud and our infrastructure will help the athletes in achieving great results," he added.

Sixty players were given financial assistance of Rs 9.5 crore on Friday under the Mission Excellence scheme, he said.

"In the first year of the scheme, we have distributed financial assistance of Rs 9.51 crore to 117 players to develop their talent. We dream of an India where sportspersons bring more medals than China and America at international events. We will not allow talented players to face any lack of funds, we have to make the country proud," Kejriwal said.

"The players who were given financial aid by the Delhi government under the scheme brought medals for India in the Olympics. There are three major shortcomings in the sports system of India -- lack of support to underprivileged talent, lack of sports facilities and undue political interference. We are trying to eradicate these three shortcomings in our country's sports system by bringing reforms in Delhi," he added.

Under the scheme, a four-member selection committee consisting of sportspersons decide on the merit of one's application and assess their financial need.

The government extend aid of up to Rs 16 lakh with different players bagging different amounts under the cap according to their assessment. Now, the onus is on the players to excel, he said.

"We are a country of 130 crore people and when it comes to Olympic medals, we get a handful. We have to resolve to leave US-China behind in our sports exploits. We have to win more medals than them. To enable this mindset, we have established the Delhi Sports University, which has signed an MoU with University of East London (UEL). UEL is considered the premier sports university of the world," Kejriwal said.

"This MoU will help us gain such expertise and credence that we rank among the best in the world. This university may be called the Delhi Sports University but it will forever belong to the whole country."

"This is a new experiment. It will fine tune established sportspersons and also develop sportspersons from the school level through the Delhi Sports School. These children will get education in sports. They will earn degrees in the sports they play," he said.

The Kejriwal government operationalised its scheme "Mission Excellence" in 2018 to provide financial assistance to top level sportspersons of Delhi.

Through this scheme, financial assistance is being given to top level sportspersons for receiving training and coaching and to maintain their dietary supplements to compete in international tournaments and championships to make this country a top sporting nation.