Challenges Faced by Students in Pursuing Arts-Based Education in Pakistan

Art education has been continuously resisted, especially in Pakistan. Firstly, a segment of parents feel that the profession of art will not give a decent income to their child; they prefer engineering, medicine, business studies, and in the present times, computers and IT. Also, the religious segment condemns figurative and performing art. Our education policy also didn’t give much importance to art; the subject of drawing is considered of less value, with art teachers not properly trained (Vandal, 2004). This paper is an attempt to create awareness of art and to inform parents and the general masses of its importance. The Methodology of the paper was done by consulting books written about or by senior artists, designers, architects and teachers of the arts. Also, published papers have been consulted to look at local/ inland as well as the global and international perspectives from online journals on the teaching of the arts. The qualitative method of study has been adapted, and thirty-four art design students were interviewed from the following institutions: 1. Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, 2. School of Visual and Performing Arts (SOVAPA), Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, 3. Karachi School of Art, and 4. ZVMG Rangoonwala Community Centre. The students expressed two concerns that they faced; 1. Some said that their parents were uncomfortable; reasons are mentioned in detail in the paper, 2. Financial constraints, as art education requires a continuous requirement of expenses incurred during the course duration. Still, the present situation is positive and encouraging as art education has a vide canvas and there are plenty of opportunities of art and design graduates in today’s day and age. Also, it is mentioned in this paper that there are quite a few institutions and NGOs’ that support students financially and in other matters also, which makes their initial journey comfortable.