Udupi Zilla Panchayat president Katapady Shankar Poojary said on Wednesday that the Udupi Zilla Panchayat along with the taluk panchayats would urge the Government to provide more funds for the “Pratibha Karanji” competitions.
Inaugurating the district-level “Pratibha Karanji” (cultural competitions for primary and high school students) organised by the Department of Public Instruction at the T.A. Pai English Medium High School, here, he said the Government had not revised the funds for the “Pratibha Karanji” programme for the last 10 years. This was making it difficult for the department to organise the competitions effectively.
The “Pratibha Karanji” programmes are held at the cluster-level, taluk-level, district-level and finally at the State-level.
Mr. Poojary said students should not confine themselves to curricular activities because extra-curricular activities helped in bringing out their hidden talent. It gave them an opportunity to demonstrate their creativity. It gave them a welcome break from the curricular activities.
Teachers played an important role in spotting and encouraging the talent, Mr. Poojary said.
Probationary IAS officer Srividya said competitions such as the “Pratibha Karanji” helped in all-round development of students. Mere academic qualifications would not make anyone a fully rounded person. Such competitions taught students to mix with others and turned them into good human beings, she said.
Deputy Director of Public Instruction Nagendra Madhyastha welcomed the gathering. President of Udupi Taluk Panchayat Devadas Hebbar, president of Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC) Kiran Kumar, vice-president Bharati Chandrashekhar and Block Education Officer Vasanth Shetty were present.
