School athletics meet: Govt firm on cost-cutting measures

The Education Department reiterated that it has no other option than adopt belt-tightening measures in the wake of the devastating floods so that the savings could be diverted for the rehabilitation of the affected sections.

Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has made it clear that it would go forward with the decision to revise the State School Athletics Championships manual as part of cost-cutting in the wake of floods despite repeated requests from veteran athletes and Olympians.

Though the athletic fraternity has pointed out that the move would deny budding athletes a chance to showcase their prowess, the Education Department is not ready to relent on its decision.

Olympians T C Yohannan, P T Usha, Shiny Wilson, Anju Bobby George, Mercy Kuttan, and K M Binu through an open letter to Malayala Manorama, requested the authorities to reconsider the decisions such as exclusion of district-level third prize winners from the state meet, cutting short of the duration from five days to three days, and doing away with awarding of medals to winners.

However, the Education Department reiterated that it has no other option than adopt belt-tightening measures in the wake of the devastating floods so that the savings could be diverted for the rehabilitation of the affected sections.

The authorities concerned made their position clear at the official meeting held here on Monday to review the arrangements to be made for the smooth conduct of the annual event.

Although an amount of Rs 1.68 was set aside in the plan fund for the conduct of the school games and athletics meet, the Education Department has been instructed to hold the event on a shoestring budget and return the remaining amount to the government.