Patna: Patna University has decided to open a Faculty of Fine Arts, vice-chancellor Rash Bihari Prasad Singh announced at the 79th foundation day function of the College of Arts and Crafts on Thursday.

The five undergraduate courses offered at the College of Arts and Crafts will come under the new faculty and each course will function as a separate department.

"The university administration has decided to set up a new faculty under which various courses being offered by Arts and Crafts College will function as separate departments," VC Singh said. "

"Also, with separate faculty, postgraduate studies will be introduced."

The VC promised the students and college administration of providing all necessary help in infrastructure development of the institution.

Welcoming the move, college principal Ajay Pandey said: "With the setting up of the new faculty, the five courses offered by the college - painting, sculpture, applied arts, graphics & print making, and photography - will act as separate departments. All courses will have a separate head and also teacher strength will go up for all these courses."

Presently, the five courses run under the humanities department.

With the new faculty, the college will also start master in fine arts (MFA) course, a long-pending demand of students.

As the college doesn't offer a masters programme, students after completing their undergraduate courses are left with no other option but to move to other institutions outside the state.

Hence, the announcement on Thursday came as welcome news for the students.

"We have been hearing promise of launch of MFA course for past several years from different VCs who had graced the foundation day functions," said Nikhil, a student of the college.

"But this time we are optimistic as we have come to know that even Raj Bhavan has asked the university to first set up a separate faculty," he added.

The college foundation day function was also attended by Patna University registrar Ravindra Kumar and Patna University Teachers' Association chief Randhir Kumar Singh.

The College of Art and Crafts was established at Govind Mitra Road on January 25, 1939 by the late Radha Mohan.

Later, in 1949, the government of Bihar took control of it and renamed it as the Government School of Arts and Crafts. In 1957, the college shifted to its present location at Vidyapati Marg.

The institution was renamed on April 12, 1977 as the College of Arts and Crafts and was made a constituent college of Patna University.