Creativity and originality are compromised in online classes

When students of arts got admissions in first year in the session beginning 2020, they were looking forward to an aesthetic campus where they would learn, interact and observe. But the pandemic permitted only online classes.
“Most of the learning in the first year is by observing the work of seniors through exhibitions that are held in the college and learning from each other.All this we have missed over the last two years,” says Karan Uikey, a second year student of Government Arts College.
“Online classes were of no help. They were just about academic assignments while we learn best by practising and from guidance given to us by our teachers individually and in person on the campus,” say students who feel that they have been deprived of the most formative two years of their arts education.
Arts is a subject of interest and students who get into the colleges are eager to learn the techniques and hone their skills. Getting admission in government colleges in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur is tough as there are only 375 seats for which more than 10,000 students compete. Admissions are through CET. At a very nominal fee, these government colleges offer the best of facilities and faculty.
“Most of the students in Nagpur come from smaller districts like Wardha, Chandrapur, Buldana, Yavatmal and Amravati. Many are also from economically weaker sections and can barely afford their education,” says Kishore Ingle, a college lecturer.
“In the first year, students are taught the basics of drawing. These are the most formative classes for an arts student. The college hires models for Rs 400 per day to help them learn portrait paintings. We also place antiques in class which they see and draw. All this was not possible in online classes,” adds Ingle.
Students also had to struggle to procure material like paper, canvas, charcoal pencils, acrylic colours and other specific material as shops selling these items remained closed during the lockdowns. “There are specific shops that sell arts material. Most remained closed and those which were open ran out of stock. We had to practice sketching on newspapers and use coal as charcoal pencils were not easily available,” says Harshita Heliwala, a second year student.
“Assignments given to us in the first year were not challenging enough for our creativity to emerge. In fact most of the time we had to just copy the drawings,” complains Shridhar Dhalvi, a second year student.
“We are back on the campus now but are feeling a bit clueless. There have been no introductions between our classmates, we don’t even have a proper understanding of material or drawing sheets that we use. Now there is this rush to complete the syllabus. It feels as if we are in fast forward mode,” says Mitesh Ghose, and adds that many among them are also attending first year classes too to pick up on what they have missed.
Those in the third and final year also say that the closing down of colleges left them in the lurch. “Some of us take up painting jobs outside the college to cover the cost of education. We also take part in exhibitions and network with art buyers. But during the lockdown there was no work and no activity. With the world of arts in a slump, there is a sense of insecurity,” says Sayantan Bose, a final year student and this year’s winner of the Bombay Art Society award.
Creativity and learning have been compromised due to online teaching, agrees Ingle but adds, “It can be corrected if one is willing to work hard.”
Giving an example of a student from Amravati, Aniket Devgirkar, who got admission in 2020, Ingle continues, “He didn’t have a smart phone so was missing classes. The same year his father died in an accident. His mother works as a cook. His brother said they couldn’t afford a smartphone so I put a request in my social media groups and people responded.”
A brilliant student, Aniket wanted to join the JJ School of Arts so he again appeared for the CET and got the 10th rank and is now at JJ. “I tell the students that the college and studio are open in summer and that they can come and catch up with what they have missed,” says Ingle.