PANAJI: A new subject, 'sports and wellbeing', will be introduced as an optional choice from the current academic year 2023-24, starting with Class IX.

Under the national skills qualification framework (NSQF) scheme, students continue to study all six major subjects and, besides this, have to choose an NSQF subject as their seventh subject.

The students have to clear any six.

Now, the board is expanding the choice of NSQF subjects available to students by adding 'sports and wellbeing' to the choices.The Goa board of secondary and higher secondary education has said that the first 100 schools to apply for permission to offer the new subject will get permission on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Optional subjects aimed at teaching students a skillSports and wellbeing’ will be a theory subject and the board has said that a new textbook for the subject will be made available soon.

Training sessions will also be organised for the teachers of the schools offering the new subject.The idea behind NSQF subjects is to teach students a skill before completing schools, which can give them an edge in the employment market.“The school assessment subjects, namely health education, physical education, and sports, will have syllabus as per new subject titled ‘sports - wellbeing’ for implementation in all the schools with immediate effect.

Those students opting for ‘sports and wellbeing’ as seventh subject will be exempted from the existing health education, physical education, and sports subjects for school assessment,” the board said in its circular.The board has recommended that at least five sessions of 35 minutes each per week in the new subject should be conducted by schools.The board had earlier dissolved its pre-vocational scheme and merged it with the NSQF scheme to suit the requirement of the National Education Policy, 2020.As of now, 106 secondary schools — 76 government schools and 30 aided schools — are offering various combinations of NSQF subjects as optional subjects to students.

In 2023, 138 students passed Class X, taking the benefit of NSQF.Altogether, 3,863 students had appeared for the Class X exam with NSQF in 2023 for the public exam.Under the national scheme, students have a wide range of subjects to choose from as their seventh subject, like automobile, retail, beauty - wellness, apparel, construction, agriculture, telecommunications, logistics, tourism - hospitality, plumbing, electronics, healthcare, and financial services - insurance.

Recently, the board introduced artificial intelligence, fine arts, and astronomy as new seventh subject options.