A Physical Education teacher of a government school in Dhanas has written a complaint against the Director Sports of Panjab University (PU), alleging misconduct in choosing a PU representative for a panel constituted to select the Chandigarh Kabaddi team, which would participate in the upcoming Khelo India Youth games. In his compliant addressed to the Director of Sports, the PE teacher, Harjit Singh Saini, has alleged that the person nominated by PU’s Director of Sports to chose the Kabaddi team, is not qualified enough to be a part of the selection committee. Saini also alleged that the nominee, Ramesh Kumar, who is an employee of BSNL and has been coaching a team at PMLSD College in Sector 32, “influenced the selection process and selected seven players of his team”. The teacher sent a copy of the complaint to the Vice Chancellor of the university, Raj Kumar, on Monday. “Four people were nominated to form the selection committee for Kabaddi, including Ramesh Kumar and I, along with one nominee from the Kabaddi Association and one from the Sports department. We had to take a unanimous decision, but Kumar just went about picking students without everyone’s consent. I believe, he was planted here to do exactly this by the Sports Director,” says Saini. “He is a school teacher and what does he know about our process for nominating anyone for the committee. Do I interfere with his process of choosing a class monitor, so how can he interfere in my process of nominating someone to the committee?” asks Parminder Singh Ahluwalia, Director Sports of PU. According to Ahluwalia, a selection process, whether it be to select nominees for the trial committee or to select students for the team, is subjective and hence, cannot be contested. “Furthermore, Ramesh Kumar has a diploma in Kabaddi and has been coaching in a few colleges since long,” adds Ahluwalia. “Everyone can get a diploma now. He (Kumar) only did a 45-day long certificate course from NSNIS, so how can he be eligible,” asks Saini. His compliant to the VC also mentions that Kumar cannot be appointed as a coach at PU colleges according to rules which require a coach to “possess an MA in Physical Education or at least a one-year long diploma in coaching”. However, Ahluwalia says it is normal practice to appoint coaches without an MA degree or a one-year long diploma because there is a shortage of experienced coaches for the kabaddi team. “If they perform well as coaches, what is the issue with their qualification?” In support of Ahluwalia, the Director of Sports for UT Chandigarh, Tejdeep Singh Saini says that there are no proper guidelines on the qualification levels of those nominated to the selection committee. “It is up to the department to chose whoever they want. By the end of the day, the goal is to form a good team and our teams alway bring laurels. Furthermore, if the PE teacher had such an issue with it, why did not he bring it up earlier? But regardless, we will look into the matter if he is so insistent,” says Tejdeep Singh Saini. Although, Harjit Singh Saini claims that he had complained to the Joint Director present at the trials camp on October 30, but since no action was taken, he decided to pursue the complaint later in the form of RTIs and written complaints. “They gave me no clear answer. I have been trying to collect facts on my own and have been presenting them as evidence, yet no answer was provided. Hence, I sent the written complaint again,” says Saini.
