Art Training

TaSUBa offers a three-year diploma program in dance, drama, fine arts, music, and stage technology. Students can also take short courses of varying duration. From the outset, the training program was very practical, with emphasis on physical activity, thus reflecting traditional cultural forms. Students learned through apprenticeship with hands-on tutoring. When the college was transformed into an executive agency a new curriculum was adapted, with more formalized and specialized training modules. Many staff and students find the curriculum too theoretical and not practical enough. Meanwhile, deteriorating teaching and learning facilities as well as high levels of absenteeism present serious challenges to the acquisition of artistic skills. High tuition fees have been introduced in an effort to generate more income for the college, resulting in a more elitist student body. These days, the majority of students are not interested in pursuing a career in arts, but seek a diploma to advance their position in other professions. By contrast, auditions and examinations are highly ritualized, while an elaborate graduation ceremony frames the rituals of schooling at TaSUBa.