Museum Studies: Onstage and Offstage

In India there are several (more than 7) institutes under the command of
UGC and more than 4 Institutes without University Grant that provide a variety of
degree of Museum Studies and Managing Heritage. Even word Museology is got
confused with Musicology by common person. Candidates from different fields
take admissions to these Institutes with a hope for bright future. Usually the
students appearing to these courses are either unaware of field of Museum
Studies or having no other optional subject. A small percentage of students (not
more than 20%) choose it by their interest and own will. Perhaps Museum
Studies are the only subject with no counselling board, or helping desk across
the nation (manual or online). During admission, students are totally unfamiliar
to this field, having no idea of the curriculum and job availability, so they find
themselves totally confused. Even they don’t know what kind of degree of
Museum Studies will suite them best. They just appear to the courses with least
interest hoping to get a masters or equivalent degree that is related to history,
archaeology and art directly or indirectly. Each institute has the syllabus very
different from other institutes, facilitating poor library services on most of the
topic. Books that are fortunately available in the library are written by UK or US
writers and have least concern to the museums of India (Practical approach and
relevance of the subject to the Indian museum in these books doesn’t worth
much, as we have indefinable difference with the scenario of those countries the
writers belong).
After consuming one, two, five or more years these institutes provide MA,
M.Sc., Post M.Sc. Diploma, PG Diploma or PhD Degree to more than 300 students
per year. A larger part (approx 70%) of these New Born Museum Professionals
disappears from the field (I call them Profession Refugee: Seeking job again in
another filed to waste their 1-2 years of the golden period of the their life),
second largest part (more than 25%) absorbed in the field of Conservation of
Cultural Properties (generally in the field as being curator (2%) in any newly
opened Museum, lecturer (2%) in any Department or being student for any
university abroad (1%). As I see the annual product for the Profession Museum in
India is not more than 4%. It is equal to 12 Museum Professional per year for
country having population above 1000 million.

It amuses when the fact is got explored that: So called one of the most
culturally rich country has only 12 Museum Professional annually to take care of
its really vast heritage. Then the question arises how the profession (Museum)
run?
Well the answer is: people from other field (Profession Invaders) take
the burden to run the museum (as Profession) and profession. Commonly when a
typical, technical vacant post in museum is published in print or electronic media
it should require any professional degree of museum studies as essential, but
commonly this requirement is absent or it requires degrees other than Museum
Studies. Very fortunately if it is required then it falls in the desirable category.
But the same time in any other field if the post is vacant: strictly it requires the
relevant degree (of that field only) as essential. Most of the posts (even
curatorial post) in natural history museums are occupied by the persons who
have post graduate degree of zoology or botany. In art and history museum,
anthropology museums posts are occupied by either historian or alike degree
holders. Condition goes worst while University Grant Commission doesn’t have
any record of enrolment of students and research scholar, subjects and course
which are run in the Institutes granted by the Commission*.
 Here another question arises what is the value of a degree of museum
studies and what is the need to run these institutes in India in such a poor
condition.

Answer is an unplanned, haphazard strategy of education and

professionalism. Without considering the condition, consequences, availability of
job, and possibilities of absorption of products these institutes are run. It would
be better if efforts for the rearrangement of infrastructure would take place.
Backbone of any country is its corporate world and that says “a preset market
strategy demand should be created first (establishment of new museum, proper
advertisement of vacancies and recruitment on older vacant posts with a
mannered procedure in which suitable candidature is applied for the posts)
before launching the products the (Museum Professionals)”.

*Refer to application (under RTI 2005) no. F.1-1315/215(RIA)