ALUVA: The literary talents should be encouraged when they are young, Education Minister P K Abdu Rabb has said. The minister was inaugurating the 14th Vidyarangam State Sahityolsavam at KEM High School, Alangad, here on Thursday. The three-day festival is being conducted by Vidyarangam and the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA). Literateurs are a blessed lot. Creativity is possible only when truth and imagination blend together. The government is committed to promoting Malayalam. It has issued orders to make Malayalam compulsory from the first standard. The government plans to set up a university exclusively for Malayalam. Replying to a request of the organisers to award grace marks to the winners of Sahityolsavam, the minister said he was in favour of allotting grace marks. But there are some technical difficulties in introducing it. Vidayarangam units have not been formed in many of the schools in the state. The winners of youth festival are awarded grace marks. So there is every possibility to allot grace marks for Vidayarangam too. The matter would be considered favourably, he said. PWD Minister V K Ebrahimkunju presided over the meeting. K L Mohanavarma delivered the keynote address. Novelist Sethu introduced the details of the festival. MLAs V D Satheesan and Anwar Sadath, school manager P K Sreevalsakrishnan, deputy director of public instructions M D Murali and programme committee convener Shajahan spoke.Presenting the report Vidyarangam editor Sherif Chandanathoppe said the Education Manual enforced in 1998 should be updated to suit the present generation. When grace marks are awarded for various activities like NCC, NSS and arts festivals, Vidyarangam festival winners are completely ignored. Provisions for providing grace marks should be included in the prospectus for plus-I and degree admissions. The festival could be organised with the funds generated by the public as SSA could provide only a nominal amount for the same. The government should earmark sufficient funds in the budget. The workshops for story, poem, drawing and folk song were held. A Geetha, Sethu, K George Joseph, N K Dessom, Alankode Leelakrishnan, C N Karunakaran, Kaladharan and Jayachandran Kadambanatt led the workshops. A study tour of the participating students and teachers will be held on Friday. They will visit heritage centres like Thiruvaloor Temple, Kottayil Kovilakam, Chendamangalam, Edapally Museum, the house of Changampuzha and Sivarathri Manalpuram. PTA president V B Jabbar will flag off the tour at 8 am. The festival will conclude on Saturday.
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