New Delhi: V. Narayanasamy, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs & Planning presented the Running Parliamentary Shield and Trophy to Kendriya Vidyalaya, Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, for standing first at National Level in the '22nd National Youth Parliament Competition, 2009-2010'.

On this occasion, the students of Kendriya Vidyala also presented a short seating of the "Youth Parliament".

Apart from this, 5 Vidyalayas that stood first in their respective zones, and 12 Vidyalayas, which stood first in their respective regions, received this award.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that, “The Youth Parliament Scheme aims at inculcating among the younger generations the spirit of self-discipline, tolerance of diverse opinion, righteous expression of views and other virtues of democratic way of life. Besides, the scheme also acquaints the students with the practices and procedures of the Parliament, techniques of discussion and debate and develops in them the quality of leadership.”

Under the scheme of Youth Parliament, 22nd National Youth Parliament Competition for Kendriya Vidyalayas, in the series was organised during 2009-2010 among 90 schools.

In accordance with the scheme, the competition was held in two stages, first at the regional level and then at the national level. The position of zonal first is also determined based on evaluation of performance for the national level.

The Vidyalayas, which stood first in their respective regions, then competed at the national level.

Teams of judges which included MPs/Ex-MPs along with officers of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan evaluated these competitions.

"Based on the evaluations, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala was declared first at the National Level," said an official from the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

The Ministry have been organising Youth Parliament Competition in the schools under the Directorate of Education (DoE), government of National Capital Region (NCT) of Delhi and New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) every year since 1966.

In 1978, Kendriya Vidyalayas situated in and around Delhi were included in the competition along with the Delhi schools.

In 1988, a separate National Youth Parliament Scheme for Kendriya Vidyalayas was introduced as a part of the celebrations of 40 years of India's independence and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's birth centenary.

In 1997-98, two more national competitions, one for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and the other for universities and colleges were introduced as a part of the celebrations to commemorate 50 years of India’s independence.