JAY JOSHI
Minister of Goa for art and culture, Govind Gaude recently announced that the state government will amend the cultural policy to introduce ‘cultural marks’ for students who deliver good performance in cultural activities. The said policy works similarly to that of sports merit marks. Extra curricular activities in the cultural sphere have not been linked with marks so far, and this is indeed a new step to take. How will it affect the rate of students’ participation in cultural activities, and what impact the policy will ultimately have, is an interesting question.
Seeking answers to these questions, TG Life reached out to a number of students, teachers and artists in Goa, and even though some doubts were raised about the policy, the general response seemed to be positive.
“As an artist myself, I feel that this is a great boost for artists. Delivering good performance in art and cultural field also requires hard work similar to sports, and with this step, that effort will be recognised and rewarded,” said Devidas Amonkar, a Panaji-based theatre-person and founder of Rudreshwar cultural organisation. However, one can set a scale to measure sports, but how can performances or works of art be measured to get marks? “Of course they can be measured. Participating in prestigious competitions at institutions such as Kala Academy could help young artists gain cultural as well as academic recognition,” Amonkar added.
On the other hand, Ashwini Bakhle, a teacher at GVM’s KG and Primary School Ponda cautions that there might be some unintended consequences of the cultural marks policy.
“I feel that trapping art into the game of marks would be a bad idea. Pure art should bloom without the fear of competition. Adding marks will make it competitive,” says Bakhle. Secondly, it might result in a surge of students participating in cultural activities just to gain marks rather than to hone their performing skills and talents. This should not happen,” says the primary teacher.
However, Vaishnavi Raikar, a higher secondary student from Margao supports the policy. “It’s a good decision. Apart from sportspersons, other people also show different talents, and it is only fair that they also get marks for their performance. Not everyone can be a sportsperson. Dancers, singers, dramatists, writers etc also deserve recognition for their talents, and it is good that it is finally being done,” says Raikar.
Responding to queries from TG Life, chairman of the Goa Board Ramkrishna Samant declined to comment on what impact the said policy will have on high school academics, but stated that the Board is yet to receive the policy. The policy will come to the board after it is approved by the cabinet. After this, it will have to be passed by relevant committees at the Goa Board before finally being implemented, informed the Board chairman.
While the pros and cons of the policy are being debated, it cannot be denied that the step will bring recognition to those who participate in cultural activities at school. However, the policy must be so designed that only genuine artists and performers get the marks they truly deserve.
