THRISSUR: The stage is set for the 58th State School Arts Festival, billed as the largest of its kind in the entire Asian region, which will get under way here on Saturday. Over the course of the next five days till the curtain comes down on January 10, the cultural extravaganza will regale audiences at the 24 venues by offering non-stop music, dance and art-lit fare.
Organised by the Education Department, it will witness 12,000 contestants vying for honours in 232 events to be held simultaneously. However, unlike in the past, this year’s edition is expected to be a please-all affair as the Education Department has brought in a few changes to the event’s format. Director of Public Instruction(DPI) K V Mohankumar told Express this is the first festival to be held after a comprehensive revision was brought to the manual for the Kerala State School Kalolsavam to ensure a level playing field.
The decision to do away with the practice of awarding the first, second and third prize to the winners, introduction of the grading system and trophies for all contestants is expected to reduce the unhealthy competition which had bedeviled the earlier editions of the arts fete. Most importantly, it will provide an avenue for budding artists to showcase their prodigious talents in the field of arts and literature, Mohankumar said.
Though the growing number of appeals against the results has been a major area of concern for the festival authorities and there was a last-minute rush by parents of the competitors to appeal against the judgements in the district youth festival, this time the numbers are expected to come down significantly on account of the changes effected in the manual, according to the DPI.
The successful implementation of the green protocol at last year’s festival has given more confidence for the authorities to introduce plantain leaves, paper cups, paper pens, cloth bags and seeds for counting. Also, bamboo badges will be used to make the festival plastic-free. For the first time, participants, teachers, festival organisers and reporters covering the festival will be given insurance cover. Similarly, the authorities have reduced the festival’s duration from seven days to five by increasing the number of venues to 24. However, three new events have been added to this year’s edition.
The festival will be inaugurated at a glittering ceremony to be attended by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and several top dignitaries. The usual cultural pageantry which marks the beginning of the festival has been replaced with an hour-long cultural extravaganza comprising folk arts like ‘theyyam’, ‘poorakkali’, ‘kummattikali’ and ‘pulikkali.
Students who secure ‘A’ grade in the festival will get cultural scholarship
Those who get 80 per cent mark in all areas of the contest will be awarded ‘A’ grade
The scholarship amount will be transferred to the students’ account later by the department.
All the participants will be presented with trophies
About 12,000 children selected from 14 districts across the state to compete in 232 events held simultaneously across 24 venues