Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday announced that a new master's degree programme in art conservation will be introduced at the Tamil Nadu J. Jayalalithaa Music and Performing Arts (Kavinkalai) University from the 2026-27 academic year.

He made the announcement while presiding over the university's third convocation at the Kalaivanar Arangam, where he also conferred honorary doctorates on veteran actor Sivakumar and renowned painter Chandru. Degrees were awarded to 1,372 graduates of music, fine arts, kavinkalai and related disciplines for the academic years 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Stalin said his government had treated the university named after former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa without any political bias and had strengthened it further after 2021. “This is a political value I want to establish, and it must continue,” he said, stressing that arts play a vital role in stimulating creative thinking in a demanding work environment.

The Chief Minister made four key announcements for the development of arts education in the State:

A rural arts training school will be established at Valiyankulam in Thiruparankundram taluk, Madurai district, with government-allotted land to promote Tamil Nadu's traditional, rural and folk arts.

A new master's programme in art conservation will be launched from 2026-27.

The university's annual grant for salaries and administrative expenses will be increased from ₹3 crore to ₹5 crore to enhance academic and administrative capacity.

The 'I am the First' skill-based courses will be expanded for students of music and performing arts.

Addressing concerns about technology, Stalin said the rise of AI-generated art, music and literature should not discourage students. “No matter how much technology advances, it cannot defeat human thinking,” he said.

Tamil Development Minister Saminathan, Higher Education Secretary Manivasan, Vice-Chancellor Soumiya, Registrar Poomalini, and Controller of Examinations Muthukumar were present.

Meanwhile, in a security measure linked to an incident during a Kalaignar birth centenary seminar in June—where a few students held handkerchiefs resembling the TRK flag with a Vijay film print—police reportedly allowed entry to graduates yesterday only after checking that they were not carrying similar handkerchiefs.