The Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) organized a regional workshop for coaches, physical education teachers and sports coordinators in Lucknow and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak inaugurated the program. The one-day event, held at La Martinier College, brought together nearly 320 participants from all regions of the state to discuss health, fitness and physical education in schools.The workshop combines an active CISCE training program for coaches and physical education teachers with the Uttar Pradesh Regional CISCE Games and Sports Coordinators’ Meeting. It focuses on preparing schools for the 2026-27 academic session through training on physical fitness assessment methods, implementation processes and program updates.Workshop focuses on physical fitness assessmentAddressing the inaugural session, Brajesh Pathak said education should not be limited to academic performance but should also include physical fitness, sports and all-round development. He said physical fitness contributes to discipline, character building and overall development of students.Participants received an introduction to the Active CICE framework, assessment protocols, newly introduced features and methods for integrating physical fitness into daily school activities. The program also provides a platform for physical education teachers and physical education coordinators to exchange experiences from the first year of implementation of the program.Uttar Pradesh records number of participantsAccording to CISCE data, 498 of the 523 feeder schools in the state are registered for Active CISCE during the 2025-26 academic year, with a participation rate of 95.20 per cent. Nearly 596,000 students signed up to take the physical fitness assessment, and about 506,000 students completed the physical fitness assessment, with the assessment completion rate being 84.97%.National program reaches more than 3.1 million studentsCISCE CEO and Secretary Dr Joseph Emmanuel said the program aims to integrate physical fitness into mainstream school education and is in line with the objectives of the National Education Policy 2020.CISCE said that more than 31.24 lakh students from more than 3,300 affiliated schools across India and abroad have participated in Active CISCE. Among them, approximately 2.915 million people have completed the assessment, and the national completion rate is close to 93.54%.The program assesses age-appropriate fitness measures including motor skills for younger students and speed, agility, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, core strength and body composition for older students. Each participant will receive a fitness report card. Stephen D’Costa, Sudhir Joshi, Arijith Basu and Garry Everett were also present at the event.