Visakhapatnam: The artist community has expressed strong discontent with the NDA government's GO no. 27, which notified the district selection committee (DSC) of 16,347 teacher positions. The breakdown of these posts includes 6,371 secondary grade teachers (SGT), 132 physical education teachers (PET), 7,725 school assistants, 1,781 trained graduate teachers (TGT), 286 postgraduate teachers (PGT) and 52 principals. However, the allocation for art and craft teachers remains unclear, sparking outrage among Fine Arts graduates and the artist fraternity.
D. Simhachalam, the head of the Fine Arts Department at Andhra University, said, “Those with financial resources typically collaborate with art galleries in other states or participate in various exhibitions and make a good living. Most artists with limited resources often seek positions as art and craft teachers in schools. After securing minimum survival, they strive to grow in this field. In this context, if the government specifies how many posts are available for art and craft teachers in the DSC, it would provide a minimum job guarantee for art graduates.”
The art community argues that the government has overlooked their needs, resulting in a perceived injustice. In response to the DSC notification, artists met the IT and education minister, Nara Lokesh, to present their concerns about the lack of specific allocations for arts and crafts teachers. They told him that the absence of provision for these positions undermines the importance of art education and the opportunities available to fine arts graduates. The artist community is eagerly awaiting the government's response to their concerns.
S. Ajay, the coordinator of the Progressive Artists League, opined, “Governments are increasingly neglecting their responsibility to employ students and youth, driving them to despair. They must take responsibility for offering gainful employment matching individual's educational qualifications, including those of fine arts graduates.” P. V. Hanumant, an artist, added, “Other state governments are actively recruiting art and craft teachers. For instance, our neighbouring state, Telangana, recently recruited 300 art and craft teachers. We urge the government of Andhra Pradesh to be just and fair to us.”
