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Kozhikode: Kerala's popular State Schools Youth Festival, which draws over 9,000 students to various cultural competitions, has now come under a cloud after allegations of the weeklong event being rigged came to light following an expose by a television channel.
According to the expose by the regional Manorama news channel, those who pay money to middlemen get high grades and are selected to participate in the ongoing youth festival here. Competitions are held in a host of fields including dance, music and literary events.
The channel played the audio of a conversation between a parent and an alleged middleman where the latter is heard demanding money for a child's selection. The channel reported current going rates for getting an A grade and high marks at the district level youth festival ranges from Rs.20,000 to Rs.50,000. A candidate or a team that gets an A grade with high scores is automatically selected to the State Schools Youth Festival.
The modus operandi, according to the channel, is that middlemen collect the money and pass it on to the judges of the events. These judges are drawn from across the state and are experts in various arts and cultural fields. The 50th edition of the annual weeklong youth festival began here. Over 9,000 students studying in Class 8 to Class 12 take part in 216 events.
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