CHENNAI: More than 35 lakh government school students in classes 6 to 12 throughout the state are set to showcase their talent in various art and culture events as school-level competitions for Kalai Thiruvizha commenced this week. Competitions will take place at school, block, district, and state levels.As per the school education department, the state-level competitions are scheduled to occur from November 21 to 24.
So far, a total of 35,37,860 students have registered to participate in the school-level competitions. Last year, approximately 28 lakh students took part in school events, 6 lakh at the block level, and 1.9 lakh at the district-level competitions. The department has also been providing arts training for students in classes 6 to 9 by roping in local artistes for the past two years. Officials believe these initiatives will help students uncover their talents and excel in their studies. Moreover, this will enable students to understand the heritage of their region as well as the state.
The events will be categorised into three groups - students in classes 6 to 8; 9 and 10, and 11 and 12. Winners at each level will progress to the next, and those who excel in multiple competitions will be recognised as ‘Kalaiarasan’ and ‘Kalaiarasi’ in each category. Additionally, 25 students chosen from these competitions will also be taken on educational tours to foreign countries.
The department has released comprehensive guidelines for the competitions, saying student details participating in the event must be uploaded to the Education Management Information System (EMIS). However, students who won at the state-level competitions in the previous year can’t participate in the same competition this year. The event will include different competitions under categories of fine arts, music, dance, drama, and language skills among others.
In addition, the department has urged schools to establish committees, comprising teachers, parents, students, art enthusiasts, and elected representatives to oversee the competition arrangements at school level. Similar committees will be formed at the block and district levels. The school education minister will serve as chairman of the organising committee for the state-level competitions. For district-level competitions, ministers from the districts, collectors, MPs, MLAs, and elected representatives should be invited as guests. Appeals committees will be established at all levels, with students required to pay a fee of Rs 500 for appeals. This will be refunded if the appeal results in their favour.
Even as teachers and officials welcomed the conduct of competitions, they stressed the importance of safety measures during events. Students suffered minor injuries using fire as part of their performance in two schools. While guidelines by the department say that safe travel of students during block, district, and state level competitions should be ensured, detailed safety guidelines during their performance should also be given, they added.