New Delhi: The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has signed a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) with four zonal cultural centers of Ministry of Culture. As per sources, the MoC has been signed in order to launch programmes under Guru Shishiya Parampara Scheme.
Further, sources told that the four centers include South Zone Cultural Centre, Thanjavur; South Central Zone Cultural Centre, Nagpur; North Central Zone Cultural Centre, Allahabad and the East Zone Cultural Centre, Kolkata. On November 9, 2010, an IGNOU spokesperson said that the programme is Certificate in Indigenous Art Practices (CIAP), a university initiative for IGNOU Institute for Vocational Education and Training (IIVET), Shillong.
Mr. Anand Verdhan Shukla, Director, North Central Zone Cultural Centre, said that under the scheme, this Centre has short listed 19 Gurus and around 162 students, including accompanists. Further, he told that these Gurus have been drawn from Birha singing, Maand gayaki and others. The students will be evaluated on the basis of one performance per year, he added.
V N Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice-Chancellor, IGNOU, stated that all the teachers and students will be a part of the university. As per sources, Mr. Pillai invited the Gurus to meet him and tell their style of teaching while he asked students to know what they want to learn. Further, he said that they shall create an intellectual property out of the interactions so that Gurus can be owners.
As per sources, the objective of the programme is the design and implementation of job-oriented, skill development programmes in the area of art and culture to empower people and raise quality of life.
