Mangaluru: It is time to think of revising the present education system modelled on the British system which is destroying creativity among children, said writer and president of Sahitya Akademi Chandrashekar Kambar on Sunday.

Speaking at the valedictory function of the three-day Alva’s Nudisiri in Moodbidri, the Jnanpith award winner said that presently people in the country are too overawed by the British system of education.

“We are trying a lot to imitate the British system of education. There is still a fascination for English language and it is considered as a necessary resource to get jobs,” he said.

Decrying the trend of writers coming with stories modelled on classical English literature, Mr. Kambar said that such literature hardly relates to people in the country who like to immerse themselves in stories. “When you ask a child to tell a story in English, he will repeat what he has read. But ask the child to tell a story in Kannada, he will come out with different versions of the story. You can see his creativity (in Kannada),” he said.

Lauding the efforts of Chairman of Alva’s Education Foundation M. Mohan Alva and his team in holding the literary festival, Vice-Chancellor of Kannada University Mallika Ghanti, who presided over the event, said that the festival has helped in building a bond among people from different regions of the State and country.

“Events like this foster the feeling of togetherness. It doesn’t encourage thinking of causing harm to another religion and caste,” she said. By providing a stage for various artistes and writers, the foundation was doing the task of society and the government in protecting one’s art and culture, she said.

Mr. Alva presented Alva’s Nudisiri Award to actor Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, theatre person Arundathi Nag, writers A.V. Navada and Prashant Madta, J.D. Joshi, L. Bandenawaz Khalif Aldal, Narahalli Balasubramanya, Aruva Koragappa Shetty, A.V. Narasimhamurthy, K. Ramanand Banari, N. Raghavendra and Nataraj.