Ludhiana, Feb. 7 -- The absence of physical education teachers in Punjab's government primary schools has left young students without structured sports training. With no designated instructors, students either train themselves or rely on teachers from other subjects when a sports event is organised by the department.

According to e-Punjab portal data, none of the 12,819 government primary schools in the state have a designated physical education teacher. This gap has placed an added burden on school heads, who, despite lacking expertise, are compelled to train students for various sporting events, people familiar with the development said.

District president of the Government Teachers' Union and head teacher at Government Primary School...