THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With just a day remaining until the conclusion of the 63rd State School Arts Festival, organisers have already collected over Rs 50 lakh in appeals fees.
Despite a substantial increase in appeal fees this year, parents have continued to pay to secure their ward’s place at the state festival. By Tuesday evening, the appeals committee received 342 lower appeals (made by students who disputed the district-level scores and secured permission to perform at the state level from competent authorities) and 82 higher level appeals (made by students who disputed the state-level scores).
An applicant of lower-level appeal has to remit a minimum of Rs 10,000 to the director general of education. If the application is through the deputy director of education, they have to first pay Rs 5,000 at the district level. There have been 241 such applications incurring a whopping Rs 36.15 lakh in total to the parents. In the higher-level appeals, an applicant has to pay Rs 5,000.
“The revenue generated from these appeals could exceed the government’s allocation for food, Rs 35 lakh, at the festival. But the total expenses for food are much larger and are covered through sponsorships,” said a senior official with the directorate of general education.
The total number of appeals in four days crossed 400, compared to 421 last year. In 2023, there were 362 appeals, while in 2022, the number was as high as 632.
This year’s increase in appeal numbers comes despite a fee hike: the fee for lower-level appeals was doubled to Rs 10,000 and the fee for first appeal to the deputy director of education rose from Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,000.
Total appeals
424 Lower-level Appeals - 342 (D10,000 each)
Fees received through district education officer: K36.3 lakh, from a total of 242 applications
Fees received through courts and other judicial bodies: K10 lakh
Total revenue for lower appeals: K46.3 lakh
Higher-level appeals - 82 (K5,000 each)
Fee received for higher appeals: K4.1 lakh
Total appeals revenue: K 50.4 lakh
POINTS TALLY
Thrissur - 960
Palakkad - 956
Kannur - 956
Kozhikode - 954
Malappuram - 929
Ernakulam - 925
Kollam - 916
T’Puram - 908
Alappuzha - 904
Kottayam - 878
Kasaragod - 871
Wayanad - 862
P’thitta - 802
Idukki - 777
