Kozhikode district lifted the championship when curtain fell on the 53rd State School Art Festival here on Sunday evening.
Students of Kozhikode secured 912 points, pushing Thrissur with 900 points to the second place, and Malappuram to the third position (881 points). It was the seventh consecutive victory for Kozhikode district.
Minister for Education P.K. Abdu Rabb gave away the gold cup to the champions at an electrifying function witnessed arguably by the largest crowds in the 52 years’ history of the festival.
Palakkad will host the next edition of the festival.
Mr. Rabb said that Malappuram had scripted history by turning the festival into a people’s mela. ‘‘You have scripted a Malappuram model for the school mela. The entire district became the host of this complaint-free festival,’’ he said.
The Minister said the cash prize for the winners of the special school festival to be held this month end would also be doubled. The government had already doubled the cash prize for winners of the State School Art Festival.
Mr. Rabb said that an expert panel would be appointed to study the conduct of the festival and to suggest ways to improve it. He said a corpus fund would be formed by involving sponsors to help talented poor students.
From next year, the Education Department would conduct the school opening festival in an expanded style by holding awareness programmes on subjects such as alcohol and drugs.
Director of Public Instructions A. Shajahan read out a message by Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan, who was to inaugurate the finale.
Minister for Urban Affairs Manjalamkuzhi Ali released a souvenir. Minister for Social Welfare and Panchayats M.K. Muneer gave away trophies to schools which topped in the festival. Mr. Rabb felicitated Pazhayidam Mohanan Namboodiri, the chief chef of the festival.
Durga Higher Secondary School, Kanhangad, secured maximum points (123) in higher secondary category. BSSGHS, Alathur, Palakkad, topped in the high school category.
When Malappuram, Palakkad, Kozhikode, and Thrissur shared the first prize in the Arabic Art Festival (95 points), Kannur got the second prize (93 points). GHSS, Thalapuzha, Wayanad, topped in the Arabic fest.
In the Sanskrit Art Festival, Palakkad and Kannur shared the first prize by scoring 95 points. Thrissur, Kasaragod, Malappuram, and Kottayam shared the second place with 93 points. Durga HSS, Kanhangad, topped in the Sanskrit festival.
