school youth festivals

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These days, the state school youth festival is being conducted at Kerala, where children from all over the state get to participate in various competitions. The winners are graded according to their profeciency, and the overall championship is awarded to the particular district, which gets the maximum points. the victorious children too, apart from getting cash prizes from the govt, earns upto 30 marks in their board examinations, given by the education department as grace marks. That is a real incentive for the child, and results in unhealthy competetion. though such youth festivals were started to promote the art and culture of the state, these days, it has become a mere showcase for exhibiting power and wealth... The professional dance and music teachers in the state considers this a 'harvest period', as they charge exhorbitent amounts from the child. The parents are also ready to spend any amount to see that their child earns a bit of name and fame. The whole point is that after their period of education, most children automatically looses interest in all these activities. Very few bring up their talents to a professional level. I think, such youth festivals have started developing an unhealthy trend, promoting selfishness among the children. They are not able to withstand disappointment, according to an eminent psychiatrist, and react in unpredictable ways. I think it is high time the govt found out some alternate means to promote genuine interest for arts and culture, among school going children.