Art ache for city colleges
More than 50% of seats in most arts colleges in the city are vacant as fewer students are opting for the stream
By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Thursday, July 29, 2010 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=201007292010072902560119e99ed781)
After science, arts is losing favour among students. According to an estimate, more than 50 per cent of seats in most arts colleges in the city are vacant. Even leading colleges are struggling to draw students to various under-graduate and post-graduate courses, especially the ones related to languages.
Academicians say interest in arts among students is waning because the number of professional courses has increased. They also say that job opportunities in the field are few and far between and this is proving to be a major turn-off for those considering to take up arts.
Arts colleges fear that the situation may worsen in the next two to three years unless efforts are made to attract students to the stream. “At the PG level, there used to be a scramble for seats. However, in the past few years, there has been a drastic drop in the number of students opting for arts,” the director of School of Languages at Gujarati University, Vasantkumar Bhatt said.
While arts courses such as psychology, history and economics still see enrolments, there are hardly any takers for languages. Last year, 400 students applied for Sanskirt at School of Languages. This year, the figure has plunged to 125. “This year, students have not shown much interest in Sanskrit, Urdu, Persian and even Hindi,” Bhatt, who is also the head of Sanskrit department, said.
He said that arts was losing prominence at the school level. “Fewer class X pass-outs are opting for the stream. This is because there are not many job opportunities for arts graduates,” he said. Bhatt said that teachers were also to partly blame. “Teachers are not trying out any new methods to make arts subjects more interesting. If drastic measures are not taken, language courses will die,” he said.
The principal of HK Arts College, Subhash Brahmbhatt, said that in rural areas, there were still ample enrollments in arts courses. “City colleges, however, are seeing fewer students. There are many vacant seats in language courses,” he said. “In the coming years, the situation is likely to worsen.”
Sanjay Vakil, the principal of CU Shah Arts College, said that the number of students picking arts had fallen by 25 to 30 per cent. “One way to increase enrollments is to limit the number of arts courses offered to external students and increase the number of full-time courses,” he said. Vakil fears that if students continue to stay away from the stream over the next three years, colleges may begin to pare down their staff.
Ranjana Argade, the head of GU’s Hindi department, rued the fact that language courses were losing favour. “Emphasis on languages is decreasing at the school level itself,” she said.
At the PG level, there used to be a scramble for seats. However, in the past few years, there has been a drastic drop in number of students opting for arts – V M Bhatt, director of School of Languages (GU)
Arts courses, especially the ones relating to languages, are losing favour. Emphasis on languages is decreasing at the school level itself – Ranjana Argade, head of GU’s Hindi department
By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Thursday, July 29, 2010 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=201007292010072902560119e99ed781)
After science, arts is losing favour among students. According to an estimate, more than 50 per cent of seats in most arts colleges in the city are vacant. Even leading colleges are struggling to draw students to various under-graduate and post-graduate courses, especially the ones related to languages.
Academicians say interest in arts among students is waning because the number of professional courses has increased. They also say that job opportunities in the field are few and far between and this is proving to be a major turn-off for those considering to take up arts.
Arts colleges fear that the situation may worsen in the next two to three years unless efforts are made to attract students to the stream. “At the PG level, there used to be a scramble for seats. However, in the past few years, there has been a drastic drop in the number of students opting for arts,” the director of School of Languages at Gujarati University, Vasantkumar Bhatt said.
While arts courses such as psychology, history and economics still see enrolments, there are hardly any takers for languages. Last year, 400 students applied for Sanskirt at School of Languages. This year, the figure has plunged to 125. “This year, students have not shown much interest in Sanskrit, Urdu, Persian and even Hindi,” Bhatt, who is also the head of Sanskrit department, said.
He said that arts was losing prominence at the school level. “Fewer class X pass-outs are opting for the stream. This is because there are not many job opportunities for arts graduates,” he said. Bhatt said that teachers were also to partly blame. “Teachers are not trying out any new methods to make arts subjects more interesting. If drastic measures are not taken, language courses will die,” he said.
The principal of HK Arts College, Subhash Brahmbhatt, said that in rural areas, there were still ample enrollments in arts courses. “City colleges, however, are seeing fewer students. There are many vacant seats in language courses,” he said. “In the coming years, the situation is likely to worsen.”
Sanjay Vakil, the principal of CU Shah Arts College, said that the number of students picking arts had fallen by 25 to 30 per cent. “One way to increase enrollments is to limit the number of arts courses offered to external students and increase the number of full-time courses,” he said. Vakil fears that if students continue to stay away from the stream over the next three years, colleges may begin to pare down their staff.
Ranjana Argade, the head of GU’s Hindi department, rued the fact that language courses were losing favour. “Emphasis on languages is decreasing at the school level itself,” she said.
At the PG level, there used to be a scramble for seats. However, in the past few years, there has been a drastic drop in number of students opting for arts – V M Bhatt, director of School of Languages (GU)
Arts courses, especially the ones relating to languages, are losing favour. Emphasis on languages is decreasing at the school level itself – Ranjana Argade, head of GU’s Hindi department
