Kaiyyezhuthu Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

An individual handwriting item for the lower-primary Arabic band, marked on clarity, letter form, completeness and proportion within a 10-minute limit.

Kaiyyezhuthu is the Malayalam word for handwriting. In a school festival it is an off-stage item in which a student writes by hand, under supervision, and the panel marks the page rather than a performance. The template does not print the passage or the script, so the organiser must announce what is to be written before the round. This page describes only what the entry rules and the scoring table show.

In the all-sections festival template it is an Individual item for the Arabic LP band (classes 1-4, about ages 6-9), open to boys and girls together. The limit is 10 minutes with a warning at 9 minutes, and the item is marked out of 100 across four criteria of 25 marks each: clarity (vyakthatha), form (roopabhangi), completeness (poornatha) and proportion.

A finished entry is a single clean page in which every letter can be read without guessing, the letters keep a steady shape and size, the whole passage is written before time is called, and the lines sit evenly with sensible spacing. Speed alone earns little; a page that is complete but cramped or uneven loses marks on form and proportion.

Organisers include it for the youngest band because it needs no stage, sound system or props. A quiet room, identical sheets of paper, pens or pencils and a clock are enough, and many children can be supervised at once, which suits the first days of a festival.

Where Kaiyyezhuthu is run

In this dataset Kaiyyezhuthu is carried by two templates: a state-level all-sections school arts festival and a school Arabic literary-festival template. Both place it in the On Stage category. It is a Kerala school-syllabus item, so an organiser elsewhere can adopt it as a timed handwriting exercise for children of about 6 to 9.

• Kerala, India (school arts festivals with an Arabic section)

Key facts

• Individual item – one student writes alone, never a team.
• Arabic LP band only in the all-sections template: classes 1-4, about ages 6-9.
• Open to boys and girls together in one competition.
• Time limit 10 minutes, with a warning at 9 minutes.
• Marked out of 100: clarity 25, form 25, completeness 25, proportion 25.
• The passage and the script are not printed in the template – the organiser announces both before the round.

On eTalenter, Kaiyyezhuthu is filed under On Stage and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 2 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Kaiyyezhuthu is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 10 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Kaiyyezhuthu

What a Kaiyyezhuthu panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Clarity – vyakthatha (25 marks): every letter must be readable at a glance. Letters that merge, dots that are missing or misplaced, and smudges all cost marks even if the child knows the word.
• Form – roopabhangi (25 marks): the shape of each letter, written consistently. A child who forms the same letter three different ways in one page loses marks here.
• Completeness – poornatha (25 marks): the whole given passage written, with nothing skipped. A beautiful half-page scores below a tidy full one.
• Proportion (25 marks): letter size, spacing between letters and words, and even lines. Letters that grow or shrink down the page, or lines that slope, lose these marks.
• Balance: four equal criteria mean no single strength wins. Neatness without finishing, or finishing in a rush with untidy letters, each leaves about half the marks unclaimed.

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Kaiyyezhuthu under Scoring Setup, or start from the full handwriting judging criteria guide.

How to prepare for Kaiyyezhuthu

How entrants and their teachers usually get Kaiyyezhuthu right on the day:

• Practise ten minutes a day on ruled paper, copying a short passage slowly first and speeding up only once the shapes are steady.
• Time yourself on a full passage of the length the organiser announces, so finishing inside the limit becomes habit rather than a rush.
• Drill the letters you form least well, a line at a time, until the shape is the same each time.
• Teach children to hold the pen lightly and keep the paper straight; a cramped grip is the usual cause of wobbly lines.
• Practise spacing deliberately: a finger’s width between words, equal gaps between letters, and the same margin on both sides.
• On the day, read the whole passage first, start writing at once, and check the last line at the 9-minute warning so nothing is left unfinished.

Frequently asked questions

Is Kaiyyezhuthu judged individually or as a team?

Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.

Is Kaiyyezhuthu judged individually or as a team?

Individually. Each student writes alone and is marked on their own page.

How long is the Kaiyyezhuthu round?

In the all-sections template it is 10 minutes, with a warning at 9 minutes.

How is it marked?

Out of 100 across four criteria of 25 marks each: clarity, form, completeness and proportion.

Which age group takes part?

The template offers it in the Arabic LP band only, for classes 1-4 (about ages 6-9). Which script and passage are used is announced by the organiser.

Want the full judging picture? Read the full handwriting judging criteria guide, or browse every on stage competition item.