The next edition of the State School Arts Festival, to be held in Thrissur in January, will be conducted according to the new manual, which was approved by the government on Thursday.
The Thrissur festival will sport several changes. For instance, there will not be separate competition for boys and girls in events like folk dance, Kathakali (single) and mimicry. New conditions have been laid down for certain events like ghazal and folk dance. Ghazal should now have accompanying musicians, including harmonium and tabla, while there is a direction to give negative marks for dressing up overly in folk dance.
Appeal route
For those who compete at the State festival, through the appeal route, will have to deposit ₹10,000 now, according to the new norms. Students earning ‘A’ Grade at the festival will get a cultural scholarship, the amount of which will be decided by the government. One has to score 80 per cent to get ‘A’ Grade, 70 for ‘B’ and 60 for ‘C’.
Another significant decision is to end the tradition of the cultural procession. It will now be replaced by a ‘cultural spectacle’.
