THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vigilance and Ant- Corruption Bureau will scrutinise the conduct and judgement of the 57th Kerala State School Arts Festival which will begin in Kannur on Monday.
A directive to this effect was given by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday. The chief minister also asked the Education Department to ensure that the appeals in the Arts Festival were settled in a fair and just manner.
The Education Department has also been asked to bring out guidelines to prevent clashes at the arts festival venues over judgement and appeals.
The chief minister’s directive came in the wake of a letter from Anagha A S of St John’s Model HSS, Nalanchira. The student, who was denied a chance to participate in the District School Arts Festival, despite securing A grade in Keralanadanam at the sub-district level, had written to the chief minister. Hearing
Anagha’s woes, the chief minister invited her to his office for an interaction.
Anagha told the chief minister that a ‘mafia’ was behind scuttling the chances of many deserving students like her. Last year, Anagha had secured the second prize with A grade at the District School Arts Festival. Though she had filed an appeal, it was turned down. However, she secured a Lok Ayukta verdict in her favour. She went on to participate in the State School Arts Festival and secured the second place.
The student alleged that she earned the displeasure of a few people last year and they had resolved to scuttle her chances this year at the sub-district level itself. Anagha also produced evidence about the involvement of a lobby and their alleged interference in the judgement and appeal process.
The student told the chief minister that she lost the chance to participate in the State School Arts Festival in Kuchipudi and Keralanadanam due to the interference from a group of people.
Anagha, who lost both her parents when she was one-and-a-half-years old, is under the care of her uncle P Radhakrishnan Nair, an autorickshaw driver, who raised Anagha along with his two daughters.
Radhakrishnan Nair said that he was struggling to make both ends meet and that he did not have enough money for filing appeals at arts festivals.
The chief minister consoled Anagha and told her that vested groups could only succeed in preventing her from participating in the arts festival but they could not take away the talent from her.