The manual for the State School Arts Festival will be revised for three years in a row beginning 2019.
‘‘The first among the three will come into effect next year,’’ Education Minister C. Ravindranath told The Hindu here on Tuesday. This edition of the festival has a new manual after 10 years.
"I spoke to Chitran Namboodiripad, former Additional Director of Education Department, on the proposed reforms. We will seek the views of several such experts in the coming months. The government will seek public opinion before carrying out the reforms," he said.
Stating that the Education Department had no intention to do away with appeals, Mr. Ravindranath said the revised manual would try to evolve a scientific process that would help develop a solution to check its spike. ‘‘The revised manual will incorporate the experience derived from here,’’ he said.
Mr. Ravindranath said the government had plans to file a caveat in the Kerala High Court requesting that its version be heard before allowing appeals for various competitions.
Explaining that an inquiry would be carried out against those who came up with fake appeals this time, Mr. Ravindranath said the Education Department had also requested the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights to verify the fake appeals made in the name of the commission authorities.
The Minister said a festival document would be published soon for the first time. It would be an academic journal having the comments made by judges and experts on the performances and the conduct of the festival.
"The government has plans to nurture these talents. A meeting will be organised involving members of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, Kerala Kalamandalam, Kerala Sahithya Akademi, and students who won ‘A’ grade in various competitions. The platform will evolve suggestions on how to help young talents develop and pursue the art and dance forms seriously in the years to come," he said.
