The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Host of problems for teachers, students at RLV Music College

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Saturday, Oct 18, 2008
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Host of problems for teachers, students at RLV Music College

Shyama Rajagopal

There are about 15 guest lecturers in the college and each year it is a new teacher.

Photo: Vipin Chandran

A wish fulfilled: The new building of RLV Music and Fine Arts College that was inaugurated recently at Thripunithura. —

KOCHI: A new building for the RLV College for Music and Fine Arts at Thripunithura was one of the most important issues, but now that this demand has become a reality, the college can now focus its attention to a number of other issues. There are academic issues, the lack of full-fledged permanent teaching and non-teaching staff and of course the hostel facilities for students.

S. Vanaja, principal of the college believes that the new building brings to the fore the need of more non-teaching staff. A new library is coming up for which a librarian is needed. There are only two attendants in the college, more will be needed. Cleaning the premises would require some arrangement too.

Classes have yet to become regular in the new building, which was inaugurated on September 18. The classrooms are not habitable because work is going on for electricity connection. Classes could have been shifted after a month, said Sreekesh C.B., a student leader with allegiance to the ABVP Union.

It is the student community under the leadership of the college union that perhaps wanted the new college to start functioning immediately. C. C. Linu, college union leader, said that compared to the old building where there were only a few fans for the whole of the college, there is nothing wrong in conducting classes at the new building without electricity connection. Rooms have good ventilation. The new college is being cleaned by students themselves, he said. Those who are cleaning the principal’s room in the old building can be deputed to the new college, he said.

Funds to the tune of Rs. 3.22 lakh was made available by the College Education Directorate for furniture maintenance, electricity and shifting, said Mr. Linu. However, steps to utilise the funds have begun very late, he added.

All the old mats and whatever furniture available at the old college building was brought and dumped into the new building premises from where the students had to take them to their classrooms. The college office continues to function from the old building because of want of proper furniture and facilities in the new building.

As the demand for the new building had overshadowed any other issue in the college, the teachers as well as the student community have not been able to take up any other issue.

There are about 15 guest lecturers in the college and each year it is a new teacher. Being a college of music and fine arts, importance of a teacher is pre-eminent because of the style and method of teaching are different for each individual. A change in teacher obviously breaks the continuity of the student in learning a particular style.

Certain students also said that relying on the teaching in the college would not take a student anywhere. However, principal Mrs. Vanaja denied that there was any question regarding the quality of teachers. Noted ghatam artiste Thripunithura Radhakrishnan, a lecturer in the college, also backed the principal on this issue. “There is no dearth of qualified teachers in the college. They are adept at clearing the doubts of students who ask questions. It is the practicals that are important”.

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