The difference of opinion between different zones has put the validity of examinations for various levels of Bharatanatyam being held in Mangalore in a clutter.
The difference of opinion between different zones has put the validity of examinations for various levels of Bharatanatyam being held in Mangalore in a clutter.
While the examinations in the Bangalore zone was carried out by May 15, the same for Mangalore has run into trouble with judges and examiners belonging to the state capital giving the tests in the coastal city a miss.
The Karnataka Secondary Examination Board went into a tailspin to make 56 judges and examiners from Bangalore conduct the tests in Mangalore. They were supposed to arrive in Mangalore three days ago, but only four have reported.
“Second-hand treatment is being meted out to Mangalore. We had sent a full team of 60 judges to Bangalore zone when they had their examinations last fortnight, but the teachers and gurus in Bangalore have not reciprocated in the same spirit. As a result, we have gone into crisis management exercise by using the local teachers as judges,” said Kamalaksha Acharya, president, Karnataka Karavali Nritya Kala Parishat (a Federation of coastal district dance schools).
A teacher, who is in Mangalore for the tests, blamed it on the weather and paltry payment to the examiners. “The weather in Mangalore is very hot and Bangaloreans do not want to stay here in summer. Moreover, the board pays as less as `150 a day and pays only II class travel allowance. So we have to spend the extra money from our pockets,” the teacher said.
Rubbishing the reason, an official of the board said teachers officiating in Bangalore zone were also paid the same, but the attendance there was full.
The understanding was that Bangalore zone will send its teachers as judges in Mangalore and vice versa. It is alleged that Mangalore is always left high and dry. “This injustice has been happening to the students in Mangalore zone for more than 10 years and we are tired of the crisis every year. The worst thing is that we have to bring in the local gurus to act as judges and some of them assign more marks to their own students and less marks to others. My daughter Geeta, who had switched from one school to another three years ago, could not pass her Vidwat Anthima (final). Last year, she took the exams in Bangalore and passed it,” said Sulatha Shenoy, a parent.
The board officials in Bangalore expressed helplessness on the issue. “The dance teachers are not our employees. We cannot force them to take up assignments as judges in Mangalore. The federation of dance schools in Bangalore should make a decision and regulate these things,” said a source in the board.
The zonal system of conducting examinations was started in the state to give credibility to the tests.
Most of the top-level students of Bharatanatyam are from Bangalore and Mangalore zones.
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