Kalolsavam 2024 | Major changes to Kerala School Arts Festival in coming years to reflect changing times, says Minister V. Sivankutty

Buoyed by the successful conduct of the 62nd Kerala State School Arts Festival of 2024 in Kollam, Kerala’s Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty has said that major changes will be brought about in the organisation of the annual event Kalolsavam in the coming years to reflect the changing times

Buoyed by the successful conduct of the 62nd Kerala State School Arts Festival (2024) in Kollam, Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty has said that major changes will be brought about in the organisation of the annual event in the coming years to reflect the changing times.

Speaking to The Hindu on the final day of the arts fete in Kollam district on January 8 (Monday), Mr. Sivankutty says the Kalolsavam manual will be “comprehensively revised” to reform the appeal system and bring independent supervision over competitions at all levels, from the school to the State.

“The number of contestants in the Kalolsavam has grown from 200 to 14,000 (over the years). The present Kalolsavam manual was framed years ago. The time has arrived to revise it. A committee will be constituted with the task of preparing a draft. It will be published in the public domain for the people, especially those associated with various art forms and mediapersons, to submit suggestions. Based on the recommendations, necessary changes will be made in the draft. It will again be put in the public domain before finalising the manual,” he says.

On the increasing number of appeals in the festival, the Minister says the trend needs to be arrested. “I am not talking about abolishing the appeal system. Appeals are part of the festival. At present, contestants, even if they finish last in competitions, are moving courts and are allowed to participate in the district and State-level Kalolsavam. In the place of 14 contestants, some of the events in the Kollam festival witnessed up to 28 participants. This results in delay. There is a need to curb the number of appeals. Clarity on who can file appeals should be specified. At the same time, there is also a need to ensure that judges at Kalolsavam events are acting transparently. The new manual will address all these issues,” says Mr. Sivankutty, adding that a law will be enacted to streamline the appeal system, if needed.