At a time when the number COVID-19 cases in Kerala is slowly but steadily rising, the next generation of aspiring sportspersons from the state are anxiously looking on at what the immediate future holds for them.
The admission process to induct students through sports quota into schools across the state is set to get underway at the start of next month. Meanwhile, it has already started for colleges.
The Kerala State Sports Council (KSSC) which is the organisation overlooking the process for HSC students have been facing a few hurdles due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The common practice of KSSC officials meeting the applicants face to face and checking their certificates manually will not be possible due to the coronavirus.
In such a scenario, they are planning to make a majority of the process online, although the scrutiny of the original certificates remain the biggest cause of concern. The Council held a meeting on Thursday to discuss this matter and are trying to work in tandem with the COVID protocols and complete the process in the coming months.
"We have initiated the procedure. We will have to conduct the interview and verification of the original certificates. At the moment, we are trying to devise a system in which we can do that with the COVID-19 protocols in place. We have not yet formulated it completely but are in the process of doing so. We'll have to do the interviews online and I guess the certificate verification will have to be done in a phased manner. In the next week, we'll formulate the plan and hopefully get the approval from the health department. We want to make sure that there is as little lag as possible," said KSSC Secretary Geromic George.
Meanwhile, the admission process for colleges have already started. While the college authorities share a similar concern, the bigger worry for them is if no sports events happen this year due to the coronavirus.
"As far as the admission procedure is concerned, I think it will be completed in time. But the bigger problem will come if no sports events happen this year. That will be a big setback as far the future of these youngsters are concerned. Since a majority of them won't be that good in studies, they rely on grace marks from sports and if events don't happen, it will be detrimental. Given the current circumstances, there are serious doubts about whether any sports events will happen," said Dr Thankachan Mathew, Associate Professor of Physical Education at Alphonsa College, Pala (Kottayam).
Dr Jimmy Joseph who is the Assistant Professor of the Department of Physical Education at Assumption College, Changanacherry raises another concern.
"We are left with a situation where we have to select the person without seeing them in person. Normally what we do is to prepare a list of prospective candidates based on their application and the rank we give them, and invite them to our college. We take their interviews and fully evaluate and verify their credentials. Now, it might come to a point where we are relying only on documents while selecting the students. This whole COVID situation has left us with a lot of practical difficulties," said Joseph.