KOCHI: In the athletics category, The Ideal EHSS Kadakassery finished first with 80 points. It was widely believed that Navamukunda HSS Thirunavaya and Mar Basil HSS Kothamangal finished the second and third positions with 44 and 43 pointes, respectively.
However, when the trophy was announced the GV Raja Sports School Thiruvananthapuram, a Sports Council school, was announced in the second spot with 55 points, lowering the positions of Navamukunda and Mar Basil schools. When the athletes started to protest, Sports Minister V Abdurahiman held discussions in the first phase, but could not find a solution.
Then, General Education Minister V Sivankutty spoke to the children, school authorities and parents, and he also informed them that there would be a solution to the issue. However, as the protest started going wild, police persuaded V Sivankutty to keep away from the scene.
It was alleged that the protesting students were beaten up by police officers. The closing ceremony was quickly called off after the protests. Meanwhile, GV Raja School, which won the second position, said that it will return the trophy it received. The second place was given to Navamukunda on the website of the school fair.
Minister V Sivankutty said that a decision would be taken after investigating the complaints regarding the sports fair, and added that there was a deliberate attempt to disrupt the fair without listening to what was said.“There was an effort under the leadership of the teachers. The children were shaken. Such steps can never be accepted,” the minister told media.
Meanwhile, girl athletes complained that they were beaten up by the police. The closing ceremony was quickly called off following protests.Until this year, the organisers had not included sports schools with all facilities for sports training along with the normal schools without special facilities, while announcing the best school in athletics category.