Officials work at the registration office of State School Kalolsavam. Photo: ManoramaThe ongoing 57th Kerala State School Kalolsavam broke a record of the previous year's youth festival in just three days - but it is a record not to boast about. The number of appeal entries was close to 800, surpassing the number of entire appeals last year's Kalolsavam saw, in three days. Now, we are on the 6th day of the youth festival and the appeal entries have crossed 1,200.
The education department, struggling to deal with the flurry of appeals, is blaming Lokayukta, the state's anti-corruption ombudsman, for the chaos. A top official, who requested anonymity, said that the panel of judges at Lokayukta is allowing appeal entries insensitively and that too in a non-uniform way.
"The manner in which the Lokayukta is clearing off appeal requests make us feel that the judges are doing so without conducting proper scrutiny into each case. We think that they are not even checking the Kalolsavam manual while hearing pleas," the official told Onmanorama.
Each appeal entry – be it a team of students or an individual student – has to pay Rs 5,000 to the government at the State School Kalolsavam. That amount will be returned to them if they score even a point above the participant/s who got the first prize at respective revenue district festivals. When Lokayukta allows an appeal entry, they order the participants to pay a fine too, in addition to the mandatory Rs 5K.
"What's bizarre is that the Lokayukta orders vary drastically from appeal to appeal. One team was asked to pay a fine of Rs 10,000, another a fine of Rs 7,500 and another participant Rs 5,000. One participant was allowed to compete in the State Kalolsavam without paying any fine," the official added.
Let's take a took at numbers here. Over 5,500 students have come via appeals so far to the State Kalolsavam and when participants are more, the more the delay is. Out of the 1,300+ appeals so far, nearly half of them have come via DDE (directorate of district education) offices. The hidden fact here is that DDEs reject hundreds of appeal applications. Most of these rejected ones then go to courts, child rights commission and Lokayukta, trying hard for even a last minute nod to participate in the State Kalolsavam.
Till Thursday, a total of 314 appeals had come with Lokayukta orders. All the district munsiff courts together allowed 160 appeals, half of what Lokayukta sanctioned. The child rights commission approved 91 appeal requests and the High Court gave nod to only 10 appeal entries.
"Hundreds of appeals have come through Lokayukta. On the other hand, the High Court has passed only a bare minimum. Education department had conducted a discussion with the advocate general on curbing the appeal entries ahead of the Kalolsavam. The child rights commission is hearing the education department's side while considering pleas, but Lokayukta has failed us," the official, who was visibly irked, said.
When Onmanorama contacted the Lokayukta's office in Thiruvananthapuram, an official said that the judges won't comment to the media on orders and that they are busy with two sittings happening in Kottayam and the state capital itself.
