Decades ago, when this columnist was a student, it was a matter of pride that our alma mater was the largest in the home suburb, not just as a building with adequate, roomy and well-lit classrooms but also that it boasted of several open spaces for sport, and had tree-lined canopied sections and seating areas on campus. We’d savour our lunch breaks, after which rounds of badminton, cricket, basketball, and volleyball were part and parcel of those school years. Back then, friends who attended other schools would be envious of our luxury of space, given that they were confined to boxy apartment-like structures that masqueraded as school buildings, with a tiny central space that doubled up as the ‘play area.’ Since then, this prototype, I am afraid, has become the norm rather than the exception. When the opportunity arises to step into these modern template schools, I often wonder how such educational institutions inculcate the importance of physical activity when there is paltry representation of the same.