Bhopal: Arts will no longer be extra-curricular activity, says Sangeet Natak Akademi head

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The New Education Policy (NEP) will generate job opportunities for the artistes, promote Indian arts and introduce the youths to the country’s cultural heritage, said chairperson of Sangeet Natak Akademi Sandhya Purecha. The arts will no longer be an extra-curricular activity in schools and colleges, she added.

Purecha, who was in the city, told Free Press on Wednesday that the NEP gave equal weightage to subjects like science and mathematics and arts. “It is a welcome development,” she said.

Purecha said that arts till now were treated as an extra-curricular activity in schools and colleges and the students did not get marks in them. That discouraged students from taking up arts. But all that is set to change now. “US and Japan give equal importance to all subjects whether it is dance or science,” she said.

“Even in ancient India, there was the concept of ‘chausath kalayein’, which were taught to students in an integrated form in Gurukuls.

She said that the policy would be implemented soon, which will create a big job market for the artistes. “The schools will need teachers and they will come from existing pool of artistes as well as graduates and post graduates in Fine Arts,” she said.