New Delhi: The Union Ministries of Youth Affairs and Sports and Education on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with UNESCO to promote clean sport values among schoolchildren through a dedicated educational toolkit.
The agreement was exchanged at the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) India’s Clean Sport Conclave in New Delhi, with Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Education Minister Pralhad Joshi emphasising the need to integrate sports and education.
The initiative will use the ‘Sports Values in Every Classroom Toolkit’ to teach children values such as respect, integrity and fairness through educational activities and sports. Its video modules will be made available in 13 Indian languages to expand its reach across the country.
Mandaviya said sporting excellence must go hand in hand with integrity, adding that talent, discipline and hard work needed to be matched by fairness and credibility. He said the collaboration aligned with the Khelo Bharat Niti 2025, which highlights the integration of sports and education.
Highlighting concerns over doping, the minister said the National Anti-Doping Agency conducted more than 7,000 tests and over 350 education and awareness sessions during 2025-26, reaching around 27,000 participants.
He said supplement-testing facilities at the National Forensic Sciences University in Gandhinagar and the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research in Hyderabad were helping prevent inadvertent doping cases. He added that investigations within NADA would be strengthened in line with global practices.
Mandaviya also said the National Anti-Doping Act had come into force this year and the government was preparing to bring provisions for criminalising doping-related activities before Parliament.
Joshi said the agreement would help bridge the longstanding gap between education and sports by making sporting values part of children’s learning experiences. He stressed the need to expand grassroots sporting opportunities and establish better pathways for young athletes.
UNESCO’s Regional Office for South Asia Director Tim Curtis described the agreement as a new phase in the organisation’s partnership with India, saying the toolkit could reach millions of young people and offer a model for other countries.
He said teachers would play a key role in translating the values of respect, integrity and fairness into everyday classroom interactions and encouraging children to follow rules even when they were not being observed.
The conclave was attended by senior officials from the two ministries, NADA Director General Anant Kumar, Sports Secretary Hari Ranjan Rao, School Education Secretary T.K. Anil Kumar, international delegates attending UNESCO anti-doping convention meetings and Indian international javelin thrower Sachin Yadav.
