In a bid to give a boost to extracurricular activities in government and government-aided schools in the State, the School Education Department will hold a series of 10 competitions for students. These would be held as part of an initiative titled ‘Young Talent Scheme'.
According to a senior official of the Department, the contest would be conducted for students in three groups – those in classes VI to VIII, students in classes IX and X, and those in classes XI and XII.
The contests will include oratorical, essay writing, poetry writing, music, dance and drama. “In our educational system, there tends to be more focus on academics. These contests are to bring out the hidden talents in children and give them a platform to showcase their extracurricular abilities,” the official said.
All-round personality
The Department was making an attempt to design events that would help build the all-round personality of children, rather than merely driving them towards academic excellence, he said. This point was also stressed at a recent meeting of Chief Educational Officers.
The contests would first be held at the school level. Winners would later compete at the zonal level and finally, state level competitions across the 10 categories would be held in Thiruvarur around December, the official added.
