Kerala School Kalolsavam: Students limited to a maximum of 5 events this year

Thiruvananthapuram: The newly revised manual for organizing Kerala School Kalolsavam has introduced an array of changes, including a reduction in the maximum number of events a student can participate in. As per the revised guidelines, student participation in the school arts festival, including the Sanskrit and Arabic festivals, is now limited to a maximum of five events, which includes up to two group events.

Further, the manual has doubled the fees for submitting appeals against competition results, from the school level to the state level. There is also an increase in the financial contribution required from schools to help organize sub-district-level youth festivals. Additionally, as many as five tribal dance events have also been added as competition categories in the festival.

These revisions will take effect from the current academic year. The Director of General Education has issued a directive mandating that school-level youth festivals be completed by October 15, while sub-district and district-level festivals must be finished by November 10 and December 3, respectively. The state-level youth festival is scheduled to take place in Thiruvananthapuram during the first week of January.

Key changes in Kalolsavam 2024
New competitions: Mangalam Kali, Paniya Dance, Malapulaya Attam, Irula Dance, and Paliya Dance have been included as competition items.

Event participation limits: Previously, participants could compete in up to five events, including two group items, and one each in the General, Arabic, and Sanskrit festivals. Now, students are restricted to three individual events across all festivals and two group events.

Hike in appeal fees: The fees for appealing competition results have been raised significantly. The appeal fee is now Rs. 1,000 at the school level (previously Rs. 500), Rs.2,000 at the sub-district level (previously Rs.1,000), Rs.3,000 at the district level (previously Rs. 2,000), and Rs. 5,000 at the state level (previously Rs.2,500).

Tightening of state-level qualification: Participants advancing to the state-level competitions through district-level appeals will be considered for grades and other benefits only if they score higher than the respective district-level winners. Previously, they only needed to match the district-level winner’s score.

Hike in surety amount: The surety amount for those advancing to the State Youth Festival through district-level appeals has been raised to Rs.10,000 (from Rs5,000). This amount will not be refunded if the participant fails to score above the district-level winner.

Increase in school contributions: Schools are now required to contribute more from their PTA-special funds towards the conduct of sub-district-level competitions. Higher secondary schools with fewer than 1,000 students should contribute Rs. 2,000 (up from Rs.750) while high schools in the same category are required to give Rs.1,000 (up from Rs.500). For schools with over 1,000 students, the contributions are Rs.3,000 (previously Rs.1,000) for higher secondary schools and Rs.1,500 (up from Rs.750) for high schools. All UP schools are required to contribute Rs.750 each (previously Rs.400).

Hike in festival budget: Schools can now spend up to Rs. 20,000 from their PTA funds for higher secondary and high school categories and up to Rs.10,000 for LP and UP sections. Previously, the limit was set at Rs.10,000 and Rs.5,000, respectively.

Lastly, the list of jury members for school-level events must now be approved by the concerned Assistant Educational Officer (AEO).