Arts Council’s internal fight not a pretty picture

Students protest the suspension of electricity and water supply to their institute allegedly by the Arts Council.

KARACHI: In the sweltering heat of October, the students of the Central Institute of Arts and Crafts (CIAC) wear black armbands as they wipe sweat off their faces.

The students of one of the oldest art schools in the city have been protesting the suspension of the electricity and water supply to their institute allegedly by the Arts Council. The alumni and the school administration claimed that the management of the Arts Council is threatening to take over and have therefore cut off the meagre facilities they had.

Graphics instructor Imran Kaisar said that there are no facilities for drinking water within the institute and students are forced to sit on stools as they are not enough chairs. Most equipment, including the compressor, are not working and only two computers are running in the institute, Kaisar added.

“We are tired of the harsh attitude of the school management,” complained a final-year, Fine Arts student, Samreen. “We pay the fee on time but when we ask for water coolers the principal says, ‘Do not bother me again and again, otherwise I will complain to the higher authorities’,” she said.

The art school, located on the second floor of the Arts Council building, was set up in 1964 as a non-profit, educational institution affiliated with the Sindh Board of Technical Education. The founders, aiming to offer highly subsidised education to talented students from low-income groups, formed an independent board of directors, who support the institute through funds and donations. Currently, there are 70 students enrolled at CIAC.

For his part, Ahmed Shah, who is the secretary of the Arts Council, had accused the CIAC of mismanagement. He questioned why they had failed to set up a water cooler in 40 years.

The founder of the Arts Council had established the art school to promote art but, a few years later, the CIAC management formed its own board of directors, he said.

Niilofur Farrukh, honorary secretary of the CIAC, agreed that the pioneers of the Arts Council had established it to promote art and culture but that they were doing the same job by awarding a four-year diploma to students from the lower-middle classes.

She also quoted Shah as repeatedly wanting to take over the school since it is located inside their building. “In the past few days, the Arts Council has created a law and order situation by banning the entry of our staff and students,” she said, adding that, “they have started building an elevator on our space without consulting us”.

CIAC treasurer Shanaz Siddiqi believed that the reason why Shah is interested in the school is because “someone had misguided the people of the Arts Council that we earn a lot from the fundraising campaigns”.

On the other hand, Shah insisted that the school does not pay rent nor does it pay utility expenses. “We have not created any obstacles for them,” he said, adding that, “the students and teachers protested against their administration over a lack of facilities and that is why we have taken notice”.

Siddiqi explained that the students protested only because the Arts Council management said that they would offer degree courses in arts and crafts once they took over. “Otherwise there are no issues of charging a high fee and having a lack of equipment,” she added.

Despite the ongoing battle, the principal of CIAC, Sadaf Sultan, is proud that even though they are going through financial losses, members of the institute support them by selling their paintings.

Sultan accused the Arts Council of trying to discourage new admissions at CIAC by stopping vehicles and forcing people to go back. “Recently the board of Arts Council has conspired with the recently dismissed faculty members to mislead students into protesting against us,” she said.

High tuition fee, low salaries

The Arts Council’s Ahmed Shah said that the institute is supposed to charge a tuition fee of between Rs1,500 and Rs2,000 from each student but they are actually charging Rs4,000. “The salaries of the teachers are equal to that of the peon,” he said. “They are not promoting the art and culture but defaming the Arts Council,” he added.

Abdul Rahim, who has been teaching power loom for the past four years, said that the management pays him around Rs6,000. Since none of the teachers have an appointment letter, the management can throw them out whenever it wishes, Rahim said.

Farrukh agreed that there is a huge different between the fee and the school’s expenses but they are trying to raise funds. The fee is Rs3,000 per month and around 30 per cent of students pay less than Rs2,000, she clarified.

The treasurer said that since the Sindh government has stopped funding the school, their only source of income is the tuition fee and donations from board members.

Artistes deride council secretary

It appears that the students of the CIAC are not the only ones who are unhappy with the state of affairs at the Arts Council. A group of artists held a press conference on Wednesday, titled “Arts Council Kay Baray May Aham Inkashafat” (New Revelations about the Arts Council).

Artists in the country are suffering and they have no place to turn to, said Majid Jahangir, of the PTV show Fifty/Fifty fame, adding that this is the reason why they have approached the media to help them in their ‘jihad’.

According to him, the biggest problem the Arts Council faced was Shah’s appointment as secretary. “He is not an artist,” said Jahangir. “He is someone who has been associated with the construction business and the stock exchange,” he said, explaining that such a person could not look after the affairs of an art institute properly.

The artists accused him of embezzling the funds collected by the council for flood survivors.

However, Shah rebuffed the claims. Talking to The Express Tribune, he said there is a proper accountability system when it comes to the fund. “I have not nominated myself.  I’ve come here through an electoral process,” he added.

Additional reporting by SAADIA QAMAR

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2010.