Though there are a few good schools making excellent provision for co-curricular activities, a large majority of schools do not offer these as desirable. Some of the reasons for a lack of active interest in co-curricular activities are as follows:
(a) All schools do not have necessary raw materials, tools and apparatus for offering co-curricular activities.
(b) Curricula today are heavy. Thus, students have very little time to pursue other activities and interests.
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(c) In a mega polis like Mumbai and similar other crowded cities, open, spacious grounds are not available to schools.
(d) Students sometimes do not participate in them because their achievements in these activities do not get reflected in their mark sheet.
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(e) Very often such activities are organized beyond school’s working hours. Thus, students do not participate in them because they are neither compulsory nor convenient.
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(f) Teachers, principals, some parents and students sometimes feel that these activities interfere with regular classroom instructional processes.
(g) Some students find it difficult to bear additional expenses on account of co-curricular activities.
(h) Schools do not emphasize the importance of these activities.
(i) Sometimes teachers lack knowledge, skills or motivation necessary for guiding and supervising co-curricular activities of students.
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(j) These days most of the schools assign heavy amount of home work to students thereby leaving no time for co-curricular activities.
(k) Working students or night school students have no time for such activities.
(I) Teachers am not willing to put in additional working hours for co-curricular activities.
(m) Teachers sometimes expect additional remuneration for these activities which schools are unable to give.
(n) Most of the teachers use teacher centred lecture method and concentrate on completing syllabi on time thus leaving no time for co-curricular activities.
Important principles of organizing co-curricular activities:
(1) Provide for individual differences in interests, abilities, socio-economic background, maturity and motivate on of students.
(2) Activities should neither be too many nor too few.
(3) Activities should not put undue burden on student:
(4) Activities should be well-planned in accordance with financial, infrastructural and human (teacher) resources available with the school.
(5) Activities should suit students in that different activities are required for primary and secondary students or urban and rural students.
(6) Gender differentiation in offering activities should be avoided.
(7) Provide for necessary space, time, equipments and trained personnel.
(8) Involve students’ participation in organizing activities.
(9) Identify and clarify the objectives of each activity.
(10) Involve all the teachers and students in them.
(11) Positive reinforcement in terms of praise, certificates, trophies, medals, shields, cash prize, etc. should be provided to motivate students and to acknowledge their accomplishments.
(12) Allocate duties to teachers in accordance with their abilities and interest.
(13) Provide training to teachers first, if necessary.
(14) Avoid undue expenses.
(15) Appraise the activities periodically.
(16) Do not compel any student to participate.
(17) Organize activities which are in tune with the overall aims of the school.
(18) Maintain a proper record of all the activities.