CHENNAI: In order to bring out students' talents in arts and culture, the school education department has decided to link local artists with government schools. The artists will help the students in Classes 6 to 9 improve their skills in five art forms—music, dance, visual arts, folk art and theatre. Last two periods each week will be allocated for this. >From December to January, arts and culture competitions will be held at various levels and 20 best performing students will be taken for an educational tour abroad.
The department has released detailed guidelines to integrate these activities as part of the school education. Subsequently, competitions will be held at the school, regional, district and state levels as announced by the school education minister in the assembly. The State project directorate will identify artists and resource persons in the five art forms and link them with the teachers in all schools.
Apart from developing a curriculum for these five art forms, a mobile application will also be created for these events. While funds will be released for procuring items required for these events, the school management committee can also contribute. The students will be split into groups and given the opportunity to engage in two or three art forms each week. The students should be given a form with various art forms and the teachers can help them choose interested areas, said the guidelines.
Curriculum will be prepared to help the students understand various facets of the art form and it will be shared with the schools. The guidelines also provide a detailed list of the roles to be played by the in-charge teachers, artists, students and school management committees. In schools that don't have arts teachers, a teacher voluntarily coming forward to take up the responsibility should be given the job.
Students can be trained in Tamil music, folk arts like Udukkai, Parai, Oyilattam, Karagattam, Kummi and others, dance forms like Mayilattam, Devarattam, Bharathanatiyam and others, theatre arts like Bommalattam, Thol Paavai Koothu, Theru Koothu and others, visual art like photography, short film making, drawing, painting, clay arts and others.
The HM should ensure that at least two to three art forms are chosen in their school. He should also ensure that one month's schedule of the art classes are prepared in advance so that necessary materials are kept ready. The students would be allowed to choose different art forms only the next year.
For Classes 6 to 12, art and culture festival will be held in December. State-level competitions will be held in the second week of January. Students will be provided Kalaiarasan, Kalaiyarasi awards and 20 students will be taken abroad for educational tours.
NURTURE TALENTS
*Artists to be linked to schools
*Curriculum and mobile app to be prepared
*Students to choose art forms with teacher's help
*Two classes to be dedicated for arts and science weekly
*Competitions to be held from December to January
*Best performing students to be taken abroad