Since long ago, man has been using art as a way to express his thoughts and emotions. It is an important medium for showing imagination and uniqueness. The essence of the creativity of a society can be seen through its arts, crafts, and designs. The ancient civilizations such as Aztecs, Egyptians, Mayans, and even the Indus Valley civilization of Mohenjo Daro used arts to create drawings, sculptures, and to show their cultures. Today, it is used to distinguish not just different nations but also individuals.
Balochistan, being the largest and the richest province of Pakistan, has previously remained in the highlights for security, poor health care, unemployment, low literacy and other social problems. While it is essential to address all these issues, this article illuminates the most crucial problem i.e. education. According to the Pakistan economist, the literacy rate of the province is as low as 39% and the statics show that only 1.3 million children have access to schools in the province. The situation is even worse in the higher education sector. Though the universities were established to meet the present-day requirements, yet they lack many departments and facilities. Arts and Design is one such neglected field in the overall hierarchy of the higher education system in Balochistan.
Arts and design is a very significant part of any and every person’s life. It can be seen all around us in many different forms such as the interior of our homes and in the making of the products we use. It is a subject which can be found in, and related to almost all the other subjects. It is basically the means to include ingenuity and innovation in a field. Architecture, Engineering, Business, Marketing, Technology and Production, are some examples of the fields which use arts and/or design as its basic component. It plays a very vital role in the economic and social development of a society. However, it is a subject which has been given the least attention in Balochistan. Most of the general public have the stereotypical opinion that Arts and Design is a less important field than other fields. The perspective of the people that only the science fields result in successful careers must be changed.
Balochistan is a culturally rich province where people from all sorts of backgrounds live together and wear their culture and traditions proudly. This is one reason why a general perception exists that the majority of the children in the province have an instinct and aptitude for creative fields like arts and design. However, due to lack of arts and design institutes, they are compelled to choose career paths which are both irrelevant and divergent to their capabilities. Students who opt for arts have to compete for a very small number of seats reserved for Balochistan in various national-level institutions across the country, as the desired courses are not available in the provincial universities.
There are scores of students who have to wait the entire duration of a bachelor’s degree before they get a seat in those institutions. It is both detrimental to their careers and their wellbeing and adds up their financial burden manifolds. The universities in Quetta have recognized arts departments, but they lack facilities and the number of courses offered are not at par with the requirements. This is one of the major reasons, student prefer to wait years to get their desired courses at institutions which burden them socially and financially.
One of the first steps the Government of Balochistan can take is the up-gradation of the current arts and design departments of the universities in the province. The departments should provide enhanced teaching and learning experience through state-of-the-art facilities, quality teaching staff and well-structured programs that suits student’s requirement. Another step that can be taken is the introduction of Arts and Design departments and subjects in the already existing universities and institutions.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Education can work on the establishment of new campuses of existing arts and design colleges and universities in the country. This will be beneficial for both the institutions and the students. While the institutes gain recognition, it is the students who would benefit the most. They get qualification from nationally renowned institutions, while living at their home town and without any financial barriers.
