The Hindu : New Delhi News : New NCERT deparment to promote creative arts

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 11, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

New NCERT deparment to promote creative arts

Staff Reporter

A committee to develop syllabus for different stages

NEW DELHI: To integrate creative arts into school curriculum and promote it as a medium of teaching, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has now established the Department of Education in Arts and Aesthetics.

With the Department in place, the NCERT feels that the main challenge would be for schools to find the appropriate space for arts to integrate it into the learning as well as teaching process. As a follow-up of the recommendations put forward, the NCERT has also constituted a syllabus committee for developing the syllabus for different stages. The NCERT also plans to design textbooks for theory papers in visual and performing arts for the higher secondary stage for the first time.

The Executive Committee of the NCERT had approved the formation of the Department in June this year. Based on the recommendations made by the National Focus Group on Arts, Music, Dance and Theatre chaired by Shubha Mudgal, the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) too has emphasised the need to encourage creativity among school children.

The recommendation to look at the possibility of improving arts education in schools across the country had come as early as 1967, when a committee appointed by the then NCERT Governing Body under the chairmanship of K.G. Sayiddin examined the question of improving arts education in schools. The NCF on its part has emphasised the need to integrate arts education with other academic curriculum and also as one of the compulsory subjects till Class X.

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