Financial Tribune- Farshchian University on traditional arts and handicrafts, proposed several years ago by master of Persian painting and miniature Mahmoud Farshchian, 86, �will hopefully open in February 2017,� said Mohammad Hussein Imani Khoshkhou, head of the University of Science and Culture, affiliated to the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology.

�All these years, we didn�t pay due attention to the traditional arts, since we had a business-minded approach, although handicrafts and traditional arts are an important part of our cultural identity, � he said at the 3rd Meeting for Honoring Pioneers of Handicrafts and Traditional Arts, held on Tuesday at the Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) in Tehran, Mehr News Agency reported.

The university of traditional arts and handicrafts was among the ideas of Master Farshchian. The Art and Architecture Commission at the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution prepared the draft for the constitution of the university and it was submitted to the council, which gave its approval. The Ministry of Science, Research and Technology also gave its approval at a series of meetings convened on the university charter.

Farshchian University will follow the old training system of �master craftsman and apprentice,� seeking to preserve the ancient traditional arts in a similar traditional environment.

�Many senior master craftsmen complain that their children and the younger generations do not care about traditional arts,� Imani Khoshkhou said.

But since the youth are fascinated with university education and Farshchian�s proposal will come in the shape of one, it is hoped that the young generations become more interested in the traditional arts.

�Once inaugurated, the university will be as influential as the Dar-ul-Funun (the first modern university and institution of higher learning in Iran, established in 1851),� ICHHTO handicrafts deputy Bahman Namvar Motlaq had said earlier in August.