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Kerala to hold low cost school fest

Mr Raveendranath told the media that a meeting would be held on September 17 to revise the education manual to revise the exam schedules.

Thiruvananthapuram: Education Minister C.Raveendranath has said the school festival will be conducted sans the extravagance. From now on there will be a mid-term exam in December, limiting the quarterly Onam examination to a classroom test.

Discussions are on to define the modalities for the conduct of the State school youth and the sports meet following Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan approving the Education Department's proposal to conduct the annual fixtures without the usual fanfare but ensuring students in classes 9 to Plus do not suffer for want of opportunities to clinch grades.

The search is on for a district that has the sufficient number of permanent venues to host the State-level fest as three taluks in Alappuzha, originally proposed as the festival venue, were ravaged by the floods. The elaborate pandals are off and the State meet may not be held as scheduled from December 5 to 9, given the time already lost.

Mr Raveendranath told the media that a meeting would be held on September 17 to revise the education manual to revise the exam schedules.

Sources said the Education Department's proposal for a low-cost youth fest was borne out of its commitment not to penalise students on account of the natural calamity. The number of students scoring full A plus grades had gone up from 18,000 to 28,000 the past year as a direct result of the overall quality improvement programme launched by the department.

There is also a plan to send contestants directly from the school-level to the district competitions, skipping the sub-district to save time and money. The Government used to spend Rs 3 crore on average every year for sub-district-level jamboree.

To cut down costs, the massive community kitchen may be done away with and canteens brought in, instead.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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