New Delhi: A government-appointed task force — aimed to strengthen India’s gaming, animation and content sector — has suggested NCERT to design a syllabus focused on teaching animation in schools, while recommending colleges to introduce courses like bachelor’s degrees in Graphic Design and Experiential Art.
The task force for promotion of Animation, Visuals Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC), composed of officers from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and experts from the industry, released its report Monday. The committee was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the 2022 Budget.
The report underscored that AVGC has evolved into an important growth engine of the media and entertainment sector and of the Indian economy and has a huge potential for growth in the future.
“India’s AVGC sector had an overall market size of $2.3 billion in 2019, which was about 0.7 per cent of the global market size. The sector is expected to grow 2.2 times over the next four years driven by market forces and constitute about 1.5 per cent of the global AVGC market,” the report read.
In order to promote the sector in India, the task force has given suggestions across five areas including – ‘Market Access and Development’, ‘Skilling and Mentorships’, ‘Education’, ‘Increasing Access to Technology IP and Creating Financial Viability’ and ‘Promoting high-quality Content’.
The committee proposed that the I&B ministry should work closely with the Ministry of Education in drafting a holistic framework for AVGC education in India.
“The framework should consider teaching methodologies, core areas of teaching, new subjects, mode of examination for creative fields, etc. to ensure complete representation of the stakeholders in the AVGC ecosystem,” the report outlined.
It also suggested Media & Entertainment Creative Aptitude Test (MECAT) or similar exams to facilitate admissions into AVCG sector. These tests will measure the “creativity, aptitude and readiness of a candidate seeking admission in programs running in the media & entertainment sector.”
The committee also suggested “uniform nomenclature for degrees”. Some of the recommended degrees include – Bachelor/ PG in Experiential Arts (Gaming, XR etc), Bachelor in Graphic Arts (Comics and Animation Design), Bachelor in Cinematic Arts (Comics/Animation/VFX) among others.
Underlining the need to take the sector to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, it also suggested that NCERT should design relevant courses including animation in gaming for children in school.
“The schools should be encouraged to establish a media and entertainment studio/ labs, in addition to computer labs, within their premises to give students exposure to the industry,” the report added.
“The students at school level should be given exposure to subjects that help them sharpen their creative skills. The skills to be taught at primary school level from KG to Grade 5, may include the following: observation skills, understanding moving images, understanding visual language, colour theory, intro to art & design, intro to performing arts, music awareness, introduction to creative thinking,” it added.
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