India's Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Ministry of Education on Wednesday exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UNESCO to take clean sport values into classrooms across the country through the 'Sports Values in Every Classroom Toolkit', according to a press release from SAI Media reported by ANI.

Source: ANI via LatestLY

13Indian languages for the toolkit's video modules
7,000+Anti-doping tests conducted by NADA in 2025-26
350+NADA education and awareness sessions, reaching 27,000 participants

The MoU was exchanged at the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) India's Clean Sport Conclave in New Delhi, in the presence of Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi and Tim Curtis, Director of UNESCO's Regional Office for South Asia, IANS reported. The initiative aims to embed respect, integrity and fairness in children through education, sports and everyday classroom activities, and aligns with the integration of sports and education emphasised in the Khelo Bharat Niti 2025.

Source: IANS via NewKerala

'Excellence and integrity must go hand in hand'

"Sporting excellence and sporting integrity must go hand in hand. Talent, discipline and hard work are essential for sporting success, but integrity, fairness and credibility are equally important," Mandaviya said. He said NADA conducted over 7,000 tests and more than 350 education and awareness sessions reaching 27,000 participants during 2025-26, that supplement testing facilities help prevent inadvertent doping, and that the National Anti-Doping Act came into force this year, with the government also preparing provisions to criminalise doping-related activities for Parliament.

Education Minister Pralhad Joshi said the MoU would help close the longstanding gap between education and sports. "Through this initiative, we are working to ensure that sports values become an integral part of every child's educational experience," Joshi said, adding that the values must spread beyond classrooms to every section of society.

Tim Curtis described the MoU as a new chapter in UNESCO's partnership with India that could reach millions of young people and offer a model for other countries. "Every child in the classroom can learn what it means to play by the rules. Through this toolkit, we are bringing three fundamental values into education and sport: respect, integrity and fairness," Curtis said, stressing that teachers will play the central role in bringing the toolkit's values to life in schoolyards and everyday situations.

Also present were Secretary, Department of School Education T K Anil Kumar, Sports Secretary Hari Ranjan Rao, NADA Director General Anant Kumar, international delegates from the statutory meetings of the UNESCO anti-doping conventions, and Indian international javelin thrower Sachin Yadav, ANI reported.

Yaani in simple words: schoolchildren will now learn fair play, honesty and respect as part of their classroom lessons in 13 languages — the idea is to stop doping at the roots by teaching clean sport values before children become athletes.