Assam: College of Art and Craft in Crisis as Students Protest in Guwahati City

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Students of the College of Art and Craft in Basistha, Guwahati, have been protesting for over four days, expressing their disappointment over the institution’s lack of basic facilities.

One of the protesters, a student, said, “Despite being one of the oldest colleges providing a Fine Arts degree, it is sad to witness the severe underdevelopment and lack of basic facilities throughout its 75 years of existence.”

The college, established on August 15, 1947, as a symbol of post-independence artistic rebirth in Assam, is facing a major faculty shortage.

“Only five permanent professors are employed out of the 20 required to manage all departments, leaving two departments, including Applied Art and Art History, inoperative. The college is struggling to function at a bare minimum,” the students said.

Other departments, such as Sculpture and Graphic Art, have only one professor each, while the Painting department operates with three professors, below the required staffing levels.

Protesting students, who kept an eight-hour fast on September 13, demand that their needs be met. They have now begun a fast unto death, highlighting the sorry state of affairs of the college despite the state government’s claims of numerous educational facilities.

The final-year students are particularly affected, feeling unprepared for exams and graduation due to lack of proper instruction and guidance.

Also Read: Assamese Department of Gargaon College celebrated Pragya Sandhani Divas (sentinelassam.com)

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