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Kala Utsav (India National School Arts Festival) — A National School Arts Festival for Classes IX-XII, 22 Solo and Group Items, a 100-Mark Sheet for Every Art Form

Kala Utsav (India National School Arts Festival): India's national school arts festival run by the Ministry of Education and NCERT for classes IX-XII,...

e By Luke Justin October 20, 2026 4 min read

New here? Start with the basicsAge groups, competition categories and how to set up your event.

Kalotsavam · School Kalotsavam

India’s national school arts festival run by the Ministry of Education and NCERT for classes IX-XII, also used for district, state, KVS, NVS and EMRS rounds: six categories with 22 solo and group sub-categories (vocal, instrumental, dance, theatre, visual arts and local crafts, traditional story telling), with the printed 100-mark evaluation sheet for every art form (2024-25 guidelines).

Sets up an Indian national-style school arts festival for classes IX-XII: six categories with 22 solo and group items across vocal and instrumental music, dance, theatre, visual arts and local crafts, and traditional story telling, each with its own printed 100-mark evaluation sheet.

This template rebuilds the national school arts festival of India for senior pupils, the programme in which students of classes IX to XII from government, government-aided and private schools compete in arts. The same rulebook is also used for district and state rounds and by central and residential school systems, so one template covers every stage. A coordinator opens an event that already carries the groups, the 22 items and a marking sheet for each, instead of starting from a blank catalogue.

Entries fall into six broad categories, and each category is split into sub-categories. Vocal music has classical, traditional folk or tribal and devotional solos, plus choir, folk or tribal, devotional and patriotic groups. Instrumental music has classical percussion and classical melodic solos and an orchestra ensemble. Dance has a classical solo, a regional folk or tribal group and a non-filmy contemporary choreography group. Theatre has mono act and mimicry solos, a mime group and a play group. Visual arts covers two-dimensional and three-dimensional work, indigenous toys and games, and local crafts. Traditional story telling stands as its own category.

Two age groups are installed: IX-XII Solo for one-student entries and IX-XII Group for team entries, both for ages 14 to 17 and restricted to classes 9 to 12. The printed rules give classes, not ages, so the age span is an eTalenter mapping. Items are open to boys and girls, because the rules ask for equal participation rather than one boy and one girl. Solo entries are one student, group entries up to five, and story telling takes one or two. A student enters one category only.

Every art form carries its own evaluation sheet totalling 100 marks, and each includes 20 marks for a written summary and video. Vocal and instrumental music and visual arts are marked as five criteria of 20; dance and theatre use six criteria of unequal weight, and story telling does too. Performance items run 4 to 6 minutes for music and dance, 6 to 8 minutes for drama and up to 5 for story telling, while visual arts are made on the spot over three days with no minute limit. The platform does not model the size limits for artworks, the group cap, the one-sub-category-per-team rule or the prizes, and the rulebook prints no points for places, so no rank points are installed. Check your own circular for the yearly changes before the day.

Where this event is run

India, in school systems running classes IX-XII, at school, district, state and national stages. The structure suits any organiser staging a senior school arts day that mixes solo and team entries across music, dance, theatre and visual arts and wants every judge to use the same published 100-mark sheet. It is less suited to a festival for primary pupils, or one that needs ranked points per place.

India (national school arts festival, classes IX-XII)

Key facts

Two groups: IX-XII Solo (one student) and IX-XII Group (up to five students), ages 14-17, classes 9-12
22 items across six categories: vocal music, instrumental music, dance, theatre, visual arts and traditional story telling
A separate printed 100-mark evaluation sheet for each art form, with 20 marks for the written summary and video
Performance limits of 4-6 minutes for music and dance, 6-8 for drama and up to 5 for story telling
Open to boys and girls; places are recorded without points, so add your own rank points if you need them

Age groups: 2
Competition items: 22
Competitions: 23
Grade bands: 0
Rank awards: 0

Age groups

Every candidate is placed into one of these groups by age, and competitions are run per group.

IX-XII Solo

14From

–

17To

Candidates aged 14 to 17 compete in this group

IX-XII Group

14From

–

17To

Candidates aged 14 to 17 compete in this group

Competition items

The events themselves — each with the category it belongs to and how judges score it.

Competitions by group

The full schedule matrix, sectioned by age group then category — which item runs for whom, and for how long.

Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
IX-XII Solo
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Vocal Music - Classical	Individual	—	—	100	6 min
Vocal Music - Traditional Folk/Tribal	Individual	—	—	100	6 min
Vocal Music - Devotional	Individual	—	—	100	6 min
Instrumental Music - Classical Percussion	Individual	—	—	100	6 min
Instrumental Music - Classical Melodic	Individual	—	—	100	6 min
Classical Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Dance - Classical	Individual	—	—	100	6 min
Drama
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Drama - Mono Act	Individual	—	—	100	8 min
Drama - Mimicry	Individual	—	—	100	8 min
Art
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Visual Arts - 2 Dimensional	Individual	—	—	100	—
Visual Arts - 3 Dimensional	Individual	—	—	100	—
Indigenous Toys and Games	Individual	—	—	100	—
Local Crafts	Individual	—	—	100	—
Literacy
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Traditional Story Telling	Individual	—	—	100	5 min
IX-XII Group
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Vocal Music - Choir Group	Team	—	—	100	6 min
Vocal Music - Folk/Tribal Group	Team	—	—	100	6 min
Vocal Music - Devotional Group	Team	—	—	100	6 min
Vocal Music - Patriotic Group	Team	—	—	100	6 min
Instrumental Music - Orchestra Ensemble	Team	—	—	100	6 min
Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Dance - Regional Folk/Tribal Group	Team	—	—	100	6 min
Dance - Non-filmy Contemporary Choreography	Team	—	—	100	6 min
Drama
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Drama - Mime Group	Team	—	—	100	8 min
Drama - Play Group	Team	—	—	100	8 min
Literacy
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Traditional Story Telling	Team	—	—	100	5 min

Grades and ranks

How scores turn into grade bands, and how many points each placing is worth.

Grade	For	Condition	Score	Points

Rank	For	Points

Frequently asked questions

Can I change this template after installing it?

Yes — installing it creates a fully configured, live event, not a locked package. Every age group, competition item, rule and scoring setting can be edited afterwards to match exactly what your event actually needs.