Accommodating cinema and theatre in school
Students of Class IX, X, XI and XII in our country read novels and dramas as part of their Bangla subject curriculum. SSC students have to study one novel and one drama out of a few selected for them by the authority. There are other set of novels and dramas for the HSC students, out of which each student studies one novel and one drama. The novels are Hajar Bachhor Dhore by Zahir Raihan, Surjo Dighol Bari by Abu Ishaque, Azad by Kazi Abdul Wadud, and the dramas are Kabar by Munier Chowdhury, Sirajuddaula by Sikander Abu Zafar, Bahipir by Syed Waliullah for high school students. For Intermediate students, the novels are Titash Ekti Nadir Naam by Advaita Mallabarmana and Padma Nadir Majhi by Manik Bandopadhyay; and dramas are Raktakta Prantar by Munier Chowdhury and Zamindar Darpan by Mir Mosharraf Hossain. In the past, there were Srikanta by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Pather Panchali by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, Abdullah by Kazi Imdadul Huq, etc. for school and college students.
These are very good books and help the young people to gain a broad vision of life and society. These readings also lay a foundation for the capacity of enjoying great stories and literary works. Both light and serious writings are important for building sound mentality of a student. But one needs help from others to learn to read serious and classic books. This is one of the reasons that schools and colleges include those novels and dramas in the curriculum.
The same is true for cinema, theatre and other branches of arts. One needs to acquire the understanding and increase it gradually, and that may require help from experts. Most of those novels have been turned into films and most of those dramas have been staged at some time by some troupe. Computer facilities are now available in many schools and colleges. Films can be carried easily in a pen-drive. Nowadays, multimedia facility is also available in remote parts of the country. These films can be screened in education institutions, which can be mandatory for students to watch. There are theatre groups in most upazillas. They can be supported and instructed to stage those dramas for schools and colleges. Afterwards, there should be discussion on those between students and teachers. It will help students not only to learn about good movies and dramas, but also to help them in studying those books. This can be done with the minimum efforts by the authorities, but the outcome will be enormous.
The writer is Research and Publication Officer, Centre for Development Innovation and Practices.
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